Church Of St Mary The Virgin

Church of St Mary the Virgin

Church dating from the 13th to late 15th century, restored in 1874. A vestry was added in 1903. The building is constructed of coursed squared ironstone with limestone dressings and has lead roofs.

The church comprises a chancel, vestry, aisled nave, south porch and west tower. The 2-bay chancel features a 3-light east window with flowing tracery, hood mould and label stops. To the north are 2-light windows with ogee-arched heads to the lights, and a 3-light window to the south with cinquefoiled ogee-arched heads to the lights. All have 4-centred heads and hood moulds. The vestry continues the south aisle and overlaps one bay of the chancel, with a 2-light east window, datestone to the left of the window, and a door to the south.

The nave has a 4-window clerestory consisting of 2-light windows with cinquefoiled heads to the lights and 4-centred heads to the hood moulds. The north aisle has 3-light windows to both the east and west ends, featuring round trefoil-headed lights, 4-centred heads and hood moulds. There is also a 2-light window to the northeast with cinquefoil-headed lights and 4-centred head, and a 3-light window to the northwest with cinquefoiled heads to the outer lights and a cusped ogee-arched head to the central light with a basket-arched head; both have hood moulds and label stops. A many-moulded north door has a hood mould and label stops. The south aisle has a 2-light window to the southeast with cusped ogee-arched heads to the lights, and a 3-light window to the southwest with cinquefoiled ogee-arched heads to the lights. Both windows have segmental-arched heads, hood moulds and label stops. A 2-light west window features Perpendicular tracery, 4-centred head and hood mould with label stops. A many-moulded south door has a hood mould and label stops; to the left is a re-used shaft capital with interwining leaf decoration.

The south porch has a double hollow-chamfered doorway with hood mould, crocketed pinnacles to the angles, and 1-light windows to both east and west with pointed trefoil heads.

The three-stage tower has a 2-light window to the bottom stage on the west with cinquefoiled ogee-arched heads to the lights and quatrefoil to the head, hood mould and label stops. There is a niche to the middle stage above with chamfer and hood mould. The bell-chamber has 2-light openings with tracery similar to that of the west window and hood moulds. The tower is topped with a battlemented parapet with crocketed corner pinnacles. The base of the parapet has a frieze with ball flower ornament, heads and animals. Diagonal offset buttresses are present, and the body of the church has plain stone-coped parapets.

Interior

The chancel has a chamfered piscina and a 3-light window to the southwest (now internal) with cinquefoiled heads to the lights, 4-centred head and hood mould. A 19th-century arch-braced collar truss roof rests on stone foliage corbels. The chancel arch has polygonal responds with nailhead to the capitals and a double-chamfered arch.

The nave has 3-bay arcades with quatrefoil piers featuring semi-octagonal shafts, polygonal responds, high moulded bases to clear the pews, moulded capitals and double-chamfered arches. Grotesque head corbels support the 19th-century roof.

The south aisle has a chamfered ogee-arched piscina. A double-chamfered tower arch with polygonal responds separates the aisle from the tower; the left respond bears an inscription recording a benefaction.

The octagonal font dates to 1606 and features 2-light blank tracery patterns to the bowl and the date carved later to the stem. The church retains 18th-century Commandment boards in oil on board, and the Royal Arms of George II in oil on board above the chancel arch. Above the chancel arch is a semi-circular panel with a painted inscription reading "FEAR GOD / HONOUM the KING".