Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating from 1852-3, designed by Henry Clutton for Peter Arkwright, with subsequent work by John Hardy. It is constructed of dressed and squared Hollington stone with a tiled roof and parapets. The church is in a loosely Decorated style and comprises a south-west tower with a spire, a porch, a nave, a south aisle, and a chancel.

The tower has three stages on a plinth, with diagonal buttresses of two stages that are gabletted at the head. A circular stair tower is set against the south-east angle. The broach spire sits upon a foliate corbelled cornice and features a quatrefoil-pattern, fretted parapet set back from the eaves, linked to the spire by short flying buttresses; large gabled two-light lucarnes are present on each face, with gargoyles at eaves. The bell chamber has paired pointed labelled single-light openings. The lower stages have ball flower intrados lancets, with a quatrefoil opening to the head of the stair tower.

The porch is artfully set against the stair tower, with steeply gabled buttresses that create the impression of a triangle. There is an elaborately strapped trefoil-headed south door with ornate hinges, and the porch has a stone tunnel vault with transverse ribs.

The south aisle is of two bays, built as a lean-to against the nave, with a plinth and string at cill level. There is a two-stage buttress at the angle. The south face has trefoil-headed lancets, paired to the left and single to the right, and a two-light pointed labelled window to the east face.

The chancel, of similar detail to the aisle, is set lower than the nave and consists of two widely-spaced bays. It has steeply pointed and labelled two-light windows with quatrefoil tracery to the head, and a trefoil-headed Priest door to the centre. A three-light pointed East window is present. A lean-to vestry adjoins the north side.

Inside, the nave has four bays with an arcade to the south. There are circular columns, pointed arches, and foliate capitals, along with a pointed chancel arch on corbelled pilasters. A vaulted tower arch is present, and the nave and chancel have braced and boarded roofs. The chancel is completely lined in alabaster and features a tripartite stone reredos. A circular pulpit of Caen stone is decorated with a floral diaper pattern, while the square font rests on four supports with low-relief carved sides. The stalls are fronted by blind geometric tracery. The East window contains glass by Willement, and the second south window (chancel) is by Burlison and Grylls.