Church Of St Martin

The Church of St Martin is a parish church dating back to the 14th century, with significant rebuilding in the 15th century and a complete restoration in 1849 by S. S. Teulon. It is constructed from squared ironstone rubble with ashlar dressings and has stone-coped slate roofs with cruciform finials. The church comprises a western tower, nave, north aisle, chancel, and south porch.

The short, three-stage 14th-century tower features a moulded plinth, chamfered string courses, a castellated parapet with angle beast corbels, castellated pinnacle bases, and stepped full-height angle buttresses. The belfry stage has paired ogee-headed louvred lights with vesicas over, set within chamfered surrounds. The 15th-century west door has a hollow-chamfered surround and a four-centred head with a moulded hood. Above is a 15th-century three-light window with trefoil heads to the lights, panel tracery, a hollow-chamfered surround and hood. The tower’s middle stage has a single light with a trefoil head, sunk spandrels, and a rectangular surround. The remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1849 in the Decorated style. The north aisle’s east and west walls have single two-light windows with cusped ogee heads to the lights, paired mouchettes and moulded hoods. The north wall has four similar windows separated by buttresses. The chancel north wall contains a single light with a cusped ogee head and hood. The chancel east wall has a three-light window with cusped heads to the lights and flowing tracery with mouchettes and daggers. The south wall features two windows of two lights with cusped ogee heads to the lights, cusped tracery, and hoods. The nave south wall has three taller two-light windows mirroring those on the north side. The gabled south porch has a moulded outer doorway with shafted responds, foliate capitals, and a moulded hood; it also contains stone side benches and an inner doorway with a simple, continuous filleted roll-moulded surround, and a door with elaborate curvilinear wrought ironwork.

Inside, the north nave arcade has four bays, with octagonal piers and responds, and double-chamfered arches. The moulded hoods have single end stops depicting the Young Queen and a Bishop. The 14th-century tower arch has octagonal responds, moulded capitals and a single chamfered head, all within a continuous single chamfered surround. The chancel arch has octagonal responds and a richly moulded head. The nave has a cusped king post roof with ballflower corbels, while the chancel has an arch braced roof with similar corbels. The fittings are largely 19th-century, including painted metal commandment boards. The 14th-century font consists of an octagonal base, shaft, and bowl with blank shields in quatrelobes, and it has a 19th-century conical pulley operated cover. A small 13th-century slab, marked with a stepped cross and sheep shears, is situated in the chancel by the north wall. A small brass wall plaque on the north wall commemorates the church’s rebuilding in 1849 by Rev. E. W. Hughes, in memory of his son.