Parish Church Of St Margaret

The Parish Church of St Margaret is a Grade II* listed building located in Covington, built from limestone rubble that was originally plastered, with dressings of Weldon stone. The roofs are covered with a mix of old and 20th-century plain tiles, as well as lead. The church features a 14th-century nave that was rebuilt on a 12th-century plan, with a chapel on the south side that was demolished in the 15th century. The chancel dates to around 1300 and has been restored, featuring a chancel arch from the same period. The west tower, built in the 14th century, was partly rebuilt in the early 16th century and includes angle buttresses, with a tower roof from the 16th century. The vestry, south porch, and roofs of the nave and chancel were added in the 20th century. Features from the 12th-century church have been reset into the building.

Inside, the chancel has three original windows, each with two lancet lights; two of these in the south wall have spandrels with quatrefoils. The glass in the north window displays a 14th-century shield of arms. The piscina has chamfered jambs and a trefoiled head, and there is a rectangular recess in the north wall. A 12th-century door has been reset in the south wall, featuring chamfered jambs and a round arch with moulded imposts and a label. The two-centred chancel arch has responds with attached shafts.

In the nave, the north wall contains two 14th-century windows with three and two ogee lights. The 12th-century north door features chamfered jambs and a lintel, moulded imposts, a round arch, and a chamfered label, with a tympanum that has a carved griffon and lion. A 15th-century window is set in the sealed 14th-century two-centred arch leading to the former chapel, and a sealed doorway is high in the external wall. The south doorway, dating to the early 13th century, has a richly moulded two-centred arch with two shafts on the jambs that have foliate capitals.

The tower has three stages and a pyramidal roof. The early 16th-century tower arch has been rebuilt using earlier materials. The west window from the 14th century features two trefoiled ogee lights, while the belfry windows are from the 16th century. The north door leaf retains original 12th or 13th-century strap hinges, and the south door, possibly from the 14th century, has five v-edged oak boards with 16th-century strap hinges on modern battens. The pews were rebuilt in the 16th century, and the octagonal font from the 12th century has a scalloped base.