Parish Church of St Mary

The Parish Church of St Mary is a now-ruinous church with surviving walls from the late 14th century west tower and doorway, as well as the south nave wall and a blocked doorway, the south aisle wall, part of the jamb to the south doorway, and buttresses and wall of the south transept dating from around 1300. The south transept and south aisle were rebuilt in 1914, and the tower was restored in 1932. The church is constructed from pebbles and limestone rubble with limestone dressings. The blocked south doorway of the nave features Romanesque chevron ornament, while the west doorway of the tower has a two-centred design with double ogee moulding, a hollow-chamfered label, and plain stops.

Historically, the church originally included a west tower with a spire, a nave with north and south aisles, a small south transept chapel, and a chancel. Although it is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, the Romanesque stone chevrons in the south nave wall indicate that a building existed on this site in the 12th century. The chancel, nave, aisles, and transepts were constructed around 1300, with the nave being lengthened and the tower and spire added in the late 14th century. The chancel was restored in 1857, the south transept and aisle were rebuilt in 1907, and the north aisle was restored in 1914. The nave arcades were strengthened, and the tower and spire were restored in the 1930s. The church was abandoned around 1960.

Despite its ruinous state, the church holds significance due to its fragments of Norman fabric and the more substantial elements from around 1300 and the 14th century, including the surviving west doorway. It is a site of historical and social importance, with the ruins and churchyard, featuring headstones, reflecting centuries of religious observance in the parish. Churches often represent high art and hold an iconic status in the nation's history.