Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

This parish church originated in the 15th century and was substantially restored in 1889 by Sir Arthur Blomfield. The building is constructed of greenstone coursed rubble with some ironstone rubble, limestone rubble and ashlar, and is roofed with slate, featuring stone coped gables and cross finials.

The church comprises a west tower, nave with north porch, and chancel. The late 15th-century west tower has a plinth and six stage angle buttresses. Its west doorway features a triangular head with a moulded surround in one and a plank door with pointed tracery. Above this is a pointed 15th-century window with three pointed, cusped lights, panel tracery and hood mould running into a string course. A further pointed opening above contains two cusped, ogee-headed lights with quatrefoil. Slit stair lights light the south side. Bell openings on all four sides are furnished with bowtell-moulded surrounds, each containing two cusped, ogee-headed lights, quatrefoil and hood mould. The tower features moulded eaves with corner gargoyles, battlements above and corner pinnacles.

A plinth and moulded string course run around the nave and chancel. The north side of the nave has a 19th-century gabled porch with a pointed doorway whose head and jambs are moulded in one and crowned with a hood mould. Behind it is a 15th-century inner doorway with triangular head and richly moulded surround in one, with a plank door. East of the porch are two large 15th-century windows with four-centred heads, each containing three cusped, pointed lights, panel tracery and hood mould.

The 19th-century chancel has a pointed window to the east with two cusped, pointed lights, panel tracery and hood mould. The east end features a pointed head with three cusped, ogee-headed lights, complex tracery design and hood mould. The south side of the chancel contains a pointed window to the east with two pointed, cusped lights, panel tracery and hood mould. The south side of the nave displays two large 15th-century windows with four-centred heads, each with three cusped, pointed lights, panel tracery and hood mould. A blocked doorway to the west has a triangular head and bowtell-moulded surround in one.

Internally, the 15th-century tower arch has a double cavetto-moulded head and jambs in one. The tower interior contains a small staircase doorway with flattened triangular head, cavetto-moulded surround and plank door. A pointed, double-chamfered chancel arch has its head and jambs moulded in one. A doorway in the north wall of the nave near the chancel arch leads to steps within the wall, with an upper rectangular opening that originally gave access to the rood loft, now gone. A large blocked, pointed opening in the chancel to the north has a double-chamfered head dying into rectangular jambs.

A small 19th-century piscina with corbelled bowl and pointed head stands in the south wall of the chancel. Two late 18th-century gravestones to the Welfitt family have been re-set in the south wall of the chancel. A small 14th-century cross head has been re-set by the north-east respond of the chancel arch.

The church contains a fine Anglo-Saxon fragmentary slab, approximately 26 by 19 inches, with cable decoration around its edge and rich, finely preserved interlace. A 15th-century octagonal font, re-decorated in the 19th century, has a square plinth and octagonal panelled pedestal. The lower side of the octagonal bowl is carved with crude faces, whilst the panels of the bowl feature 19th-century geometric flower-head decoration.

The roofs are 19th-century tie-beam construction with cusped queen posts. The pews, choir stalls and altar rail date from the 19th and 20th centuries. A 19th-century pulpit is executed in 17th-century style.