Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

This parish church dates from the early 13th century, with significant extensions in the mid-14th century, and was partly rebuilt around 1728 and restored in 1864 by H Curzon. The building is constructed of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, featuring a graduated stone tile roof to the chancel and artificial tiles to the nave.

The west tower, built around 1728, rises in three stages on a 13th-century battered plinth with roll mouldings. The plain parapet has an obelisk at each corner, and offsets mark each stage. The belfry stage contains wide louvred openings with segmental heads. The south wall of the first stage has a segmentally headed window. The ground stage includes a 19th-century doorway on the south wall with a two-centred head and a rose window in the west wall.

The nave is early 13th century. The south wall is divided into three bays by 19th-century stepped buttresses. A 14th-century south porch is positioned to the west end. East of this is a 19th-century window of three pointed lights with a quatrefoil beneath the two-centred head, decorated with ball flower ornament and angel stops to the label. The central bay contains a 13th-century lancet to the left and a 14th-century window of three pointed lights under a two-centred head to the right with a label. The eastern bay has a window of two trefoiled lights under a two-centred head. West of this is a blocked 13th-century door with a two-centred roll-moulded head. The south porch of the 14th century has a two-centred outer arch of two chamfered orders with a label. Its side walls each contain a window of one ogee trefoiled light. The original 13th-century south doorway has a two-centred arch with continuous roll moulding and a moulded label with foliate stops.

The north wall of the nave is also divided into three bays by 19th-century buttresses. The west bay contains a 13th-century north door with a segmental-pointed head, chamfered label and roll-moulded jambs, and also a lancet. The central bay has two lancets. The eastern bay contains a 14th-century window of two trefoiled lights under a two-centred head with a moulded label.

The chancel is 14th century. The south wall has a diagonal corner buttress and is divided into two bays by a buttress. Each bay contains a window of two trefoiled lights under a two-centred head. The western bay contains a 14th-century priest's door. Below the window in this bay is a tomb recess with a cinquefoiled segmental-pointed arch and moulded jambs, with a moulded label bearing one head stop. The north wall contains a 14th-century north vestry with lancets in the north and south walls. West of this is a reset 14th-century window of two trefoiled lights under a two-centred head with a moulded label. The east window has four trefoiled lights with tracery under the two-centred head and a label.

Interior

The tower arch is 19th century, with a moulded inner order, chamfered outer order and two-centred arch. The chancel arch is similarly 19th century in design. At the east end of the nave are two facing tomb recesses with segmental pointed heads and labels. The one in the south wall has a finial to the label bearing three painted shields. The south wall of the chancel contains a three-seat sedilia, each with a trefoiled head. East of this is a trefoil-headed piscina with a projecting quatrefoil drain. The north wall contains two tomb recesses with chamfered jambs and segmental pointed arches.

The nave roof is 19th century, divided into four bays with crown posts on tie-beams supporting crown-plates. Common rafters have braced collars and ashlar pieces. The chancel has a 14th-century common rafter roof with arch-braced collars and inclined ashlar pieces.

A reset screen of the late 15th century stands under the tower arch, comprising eight bays with a 19th-century door at the north end. The open upper panels have foiled ogee and traceried heads beneath a cornice with running vine ornament. Most other fittings are late 19th century.