Church Of The Holy Rood

The Church of the Holy Rood is a parish church located in Mordiford, with its core dating back to the 12th century. The chancel was added in the 13th century, and the remaining base of a former central tower is still visible. Much of the church was rebuilt and altered around 1811, with further restoration by F. R. Kempson in the late 19th century. The building is constructed from sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings and features tiled roofs.

The church consists of a nave with a north aisle, a south-west tower, a south porch, and a south chapel. The south-west tower has three stages, a parapet, and a two-light vent at the bell stage. The lean-to south porch has open decorative timber supports that obscure the inner 12th-century doorway of the nave, which features a semi-circular head with chevron ornament and a chamfered label. Attached shafts with scallop cushion capitals and a moulded base are also present. The chapel to the right has a three-light 19th-century window in the gable, while the central tower has a two-light 19th-century window with plate tracery, and the chancel has a similar pair of 19th-century trefoil-headed lights.

Inside, the nave has four bays, largely reconstructed in the 19th century. The east and west tower arches are from the 13th century and consist of three chamfered orders. Most of the fittings date from the 19th century. Notable features include a late 13th-century coffin lid with decorative floral and vegetal reliefs in the north wall of the chancel, and a plain bowl font dated 1637 located in the south porch. There is also a monument on the east wall of the south chapel dedicated to Margaret Vaughan, widow of William Bridges, who died in 1655. This stone monument features a niche with an architrave containing a kneeling figure of a praying woman in contemporary dress, along with an inscription panel below. Before the alterations around 1811, the west gable of the church was said to have featured a painting of a large dragon, linked to the local legend of Mordiford.