Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church with origins in the 13th century, but most of its visible fabric dates to the 14th century, with significant renovations undertaken in 1875. It is constructed of rubble or cobble, with leaded roofs over the nave and aisle, and Swithland slate on the chancel. The tower is of coursed and squared rubble.

The west tower has three stages, featuring a plinth, angle buttresses, paired pointed lights to the bell chamber, a two-tier west window (renewed), and an embattled parapet. The south wall of the nave is buttressed, with renewed windows featuring reticulated tracery. One window displays ball-flower decoration in its hoodmould. The chancel, entirely rebuilt in 1875, has a steep roof with ridge cresting and cross finials to the east and west gables. A south-facing door and a two-light window, along with a three-light east window, are designed in a 14th-century style. A small, lean-to vestry is positioned on the north side.

The north aisle is buttressed and includes a steeply gabled porch that encloses an early 14th-century doorway with double hollow-chamfered jambs. It contains Decorated style windows and a central window originally from the 15th century, with a stilted hoodmould.

Inside, a late 13th-century archway leads to the tower, roughly worked with a heavy inner chamfer springing from corbels. The north arcade consists of four bays, largely dating back to the 14th century. Octagonal shafts and abaci support double-chamfered arches with outer hoodmoulds; the label stops on the hoods are carved as heads. The east and west responds, however, are keeled and appear earlier. The arcade does not extend to the east wall of the nave, and a two-centred archway cuts through the final wall section. The chancel arch, dating from 1875, springs from stumpy corbel shafts.

The 15th-century nave roof retains its moulded tiebeams, which have central bosses carved as faces, with braces springing from stone corbels forming a series of placid or grotesque heads. The chancel, rebuilt in 1875, includes sedilia and a piscina in the Decorated style, with a canted wagon roof. A 1919 wooden reredos features carved figures. Other furnishings, both within the church and in the west tower and vestry, are from the 1875 restoration and include encaustic floor tiles, a wooden pulpit, pews, and screens in a heavy Gothic style.

The east window of the chancel is likely from around 1840 and has been replaced; it depicts the Good Shepherd against a geometrically patterned background. A north nave window, dated 1913, features glass in a traditional painted style, with darkly coloured main figures and white and yellow angels in the upper lights. The font, dating back to the 13th century, has a shallow chamfered round basin on a tall cylindrical base.