Parish Church Of The Holy Cross

The Parish Church of the Holy Cross is a significant building, with its oldest surviving part being the north arcade, which dates from around 1180 to 1190. The south aisle and arcade were added in the late 13th century, and the chancel was rebuilt during this time. In the late 14th century, a clerestorey was added to the nave, along with the construction of the west tower and south porch, while the walls of the chancel were altered and raised. The church underwent restoration in 1730 and again in 1868-1869, during which the north aisle was rebuilt, and the south aisle and porch were rebuilt in 1889. The spire was removed in the 19th century.

The church is constructed of rubble with Barnack limestone and clunch dressings, and the roofs are covered with slates and lead. The south elevation features a tower with three stages, a moulded plinth, an embattled parapet, and grotesque gargoyles at the corners. The bell-chamber window consists of two trefoiled lights with a quatre-foil above. The clerestorey has three windows, each with two trefoiled lights. The south aisle wall contains two original 13th-century windows, and the south doorway features a two-centred arch with a moulded label and mask stops. The south porch has an outer two-centred archway with hollow-chamfered, moulded jambs. The chancel includes two two-light cinquefoil windows with a quatre-foil in a two-centred head.

Inside, the north arcade consists of three bays with two-centred arches supported by circular piers that have scalloped capitals and moulded bases. The south arcade is later and features octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases. The chancel arch, dating from around 1300, has a two-centred arch with responds of three grouped shafts that have moulded capitals and bases. The tower arch is also two-centred, with two hollow-chamfered orders, and the middle order springs from a moulded capital. There is a late 13th-century double piscina, a monument in a tomb recess in the south wall from the late 13th century, and a 13th-century font with a square bowl and octagonal stem. Additionally, there is a sundial located on the south-east buttress of the south aisle.