Church Of St Margaret

Church of St Margaret

Parish church. The core dates from around 1500 with 17th and 18th century additions. The building was heavily restored and partially rebuilt in 1842 by the architects Scott and Moffat. The structure is of sandstone ashlar that encapsulates a timber-framed core, with a plain tile roof featuring shaped tile bands and stone coped verge. The plan comprises a west tower, a 4-bay nave with side aisles, and a 2-bay chancel.

The west tower dates to the early 18th century and rises through four stages with diagonal buttresses and a moulded cornice at the base of a coped parapet with corner pilaster strips. The west door is set to the left with a 4-centred arch. A possible former south door, now a window, has a semicircular head with ogee moulded surround. A second stage west window contains two semicircular headed lights. The belfry windows are 4-centred with two trefoil-headed lights and Y-tracery, all with ogee-moulded surrounds.

The nave and aisles feature slim buttresses at the bay divisions and corners, the latter placed diagonally. Windows are square-headed with three trefoil-headed lights, panel tracery and returned hood moulds. East and west windows contain two lights with similar detailing. The aisle parapets are coped with a string course incorporating carved human heads. Timber-framed north and south porches date to the 19th century, each with a pointed entrance, braced king post in the gable, and shaped barge boards. A timber-framed clerestory with diagonal braces contains windows of two trefoil-headed lights with sunken spandrels.

The chancel dates to 1610. It has a chamfered plinth and slim buttresses, those at the corners projecting diagonally. Each side features a square-headed window of three trefoil-headed lights with sunken spandrels and hollow chamfered surround. A priest's door to the south has a pointed arch and wave moulded surround. The large east window contains five lights with sub-arcuated Perpendicular tracery and a hollow chamfered hood mould terminating in carved human heads.

Interior. Timber arcades dating from around 1500 feature octagonal columns with moulded capitals from which spring arched braces with ogee and quarter-round mouldings. These form the arcade arches and brace the tie beams of the main roof trusses. The columns continue upwards to the clerestory wall plate, demonstrating this to be an original feature despite considerable restoration. The open timber roof has cambered and brattished tie beams and cambered collars with raking struts between them. Two pairs of moulded purlins and two sets of curved wind braces are visible. The 19th century aisle roofs feature slanting tie beams on curved braces. An arch-braced collar roof of 1610 spans the chancel, with braces springing from console brackets and decorative pendants.

A baluster font in the chancel has a scalloped basin, probably of the 17th century. Wall panelling around the sanctuary dates from a similar period. 19th century stalls are decorated with poppy heads. A chapel occupies the east bay of the north aisle and contains an early 16th century screen of Perpendicular style with linenfold panels and open arches above, plus a carved frieze of vine leaves, grapes and continuous undulating stem. A 17th century hexagonal pulpit features two tiers of panels carved with semi-circular arches springing from Ionic columns, with gadrooning around the top and guilloche ornament to the edges. 19th century pine pews are present. An additional font, probably 13th century, has a cylindrical stem with moulded base and quatrefoil section basin.

Monuments include that of Ralph Egerton (died 1610), featuring three kneeling figures—a man, woman, and female child—with heraldic shields in the background, Ionic columns to each side, and a top with central semi-circular arch. A monument to George Tollet and Elizabeth Tollet (erected 1768) is an architectural tablet with open semi-circular pediment and urns crowning the corners.