Church Of St Denis

The Church of St Denis is a small parish church largely dating to the 17th century, with restoration work carried out by Goddard of Leicester in 1869. It is constructed of coursed ironstone rubble with a Welsh slate roof, and stone tiles to the chancel roof. The church comprises a nave, a western bellcote, a clerestory, and a chancel. The west wall, bellcote, and south porch are additions by Goddard.

The south wall features three small y-traceried lancet windows; the spandrel of the central window is filled with a floral motif carved in stone. The clerestory windows consist of paired trefoils above a continuous sill band. A small memorial stone commemorates William Brudenall, who died in 1636. The fabric of the chancel’s south wall appears to have been rebuilt above a few feet, likely in the 13th or 14th century, with a single light window possibly of medieval origin. The east wall, however, is largely Victorian, featuring a three-light window in the Decorated style by Goddard. The north wall of the chancel is probably from the 13th century, constructed of poorly coursed rubble with a moulded sill course and three paired lancet windows. The north wall of the nave has three Victorian windows in the Perpendicular style flanking a medieval lancet. Ashlar bands act as sill courses.

Inside, a blocked early 13th-century arcade of four bays is concealed within the south wall. The arcade features tall cylindrical shafts with bases and abaci, and outer two-chamfered arches with hoodmoulds. The eastern respond has stiff-leaf decoration on its capital. The interior also features a Victorian curved principal roof with pierced trefoils at the apex. A later 13th-century chancel arch displays clustered shafts. The chancel windows appear to be late 13th century, consisting of paired lancets in shafted recesses, the northern ones more deeply recessed with splayed sills. The chancel contains memorials to the Brudenall family, including the tomb of Edmund, who died in 1590. His wife and three of his children are depicted in high relief on the tomb chest, accompanied by a small effigy of his fourth child, swathed and lying on a miniature tomb chest. Other memorials include those for Dorothy Brudenall (died 1653) and Thomas (died 1661), the latter housed within a small aedicule ornamented with shields. A memorial to Thomas Brudenall (died 1707) shows an oval wall tablet capped by his shield and emblem, superimposed on low-relief military emblems. Thomas Brudenall served William of Orange, fought at the Battle of the Boyne and in Spain, and died in Gibraltar, where he was buried “betwixt 2 guns.” Stained glass in the chancel's east window is from 1869, created by Drury of Warwick. A plain octagonal font, a Victorian wood pulpit incorporating a small eagle lectern, and a Victorian timbered chancel roof with steep trusses, short king posts, and crossed wind braces are also present.