Church Of St Margaret

The Church of St Margaret is a small parish church largely dating to the 13th century, although the late 11th or early 12th century south doorways to the chancel and south aisle suggest an earlier church existed on the same site. The church includes a 13th-century nave and chancel, and a 14th-century west tower with a broach spire. In 1870, the north aisle was rebuilt by G.G. Scott, and the south aisle and much of the west tower were faced with limestone ashlar.

The church is constructed of coursed limestone rubble and pebblestone. The west tower is of three stages, topped by a bell stage with gargoyles to the main cornice. The bell stage has two cinquefoil openings within a four-centred head; each wall features a moulded label and stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. The broach spire is of Barnack ashlar with two tiers of gabled spire lights.

The nave has a 19th-century tiled roof and a clerestory of Ketton stone, featuring three windows on each side, each with two ogee lights in a square head. The south aisle has larger, similar windows. The south doorway is likely late 11th or early 12th century, and has been reset; it features a rounded head with roll moulding and small attached shafts with scallop capitals. The bases of the doorway have been renewed in Ketton stone.

The early 13th-century chancel has a plain tiled roof, with single lancet windows in both north and south walls. The south doorway has a chamfered reveal, trefoil cusping to the head, a moulded label, and mask stops. The early 13th-century east window has three lights with tracery intersecting in a two-centred arch.

Inside, the 14th-century tower arch is two-centred, consisting of two chamfered orders, with the inner order resting on half-octagonal attached shafts with moulded capitals. The north and south aisles now have three bays, extending west before the tower’s insertion. Early 13th-century two-centred arches with two chamfered orders are supported by round columns with moulded round capitals and hold-water bases. The windows in the south aisle have deep splayed reveals. The chancel arch is probably 14th century with two wave moulded orders on 13th-century responds of two chamfered orders.

A tomb recess with a shallow moulded arch is set into the north wall of the chancel. A restored 13th-century double piscina is located in the south wall of the south aisle, featuring a two-centred arch, chamfered with trefoil cusping, a continuous moulded label, and trefoil-cusped drains. A fine 12th-century square font is present, decorated with a double scallop design on each side. It is supported by a 13th-century round stem with detached subsidiary shafts, featuring 13th-century capitals and bases, but with modern marble shafts.