Church Of St Mary Magdalene

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is a parish church with a complex history, primarily dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, with later additions and restorations. The chancel is from about 1300, the nave from the late 13th to early 14th century, and a north aisle, west tower, and clerestory were added in the 15th century. Further general restoration took place in 1872-4 and 1885, and the top stage of the tower spire was rebuilt in 1926. The church is constructed of pebbles, clunch, and limestone, with tiled, slate, and leaded roofs.

The west tower, circa 1300, is of pebble construction, rendered, and has embattled parapets. The west window features reticulated tracery with two trefoil lights, while the bell stage has two trefoil-headed windows with Y-tracery on each wall. A small, stone ashlar spire tops the tower. The nave has rendered walls, with a 15th-century clerestory of five windows on each side, each containing two cinquefoil lights within four-centred arches. The original roofline from about 1300 is visible at the west end. The south porch has been extensively restored. The chancel is predominantly of pebble construction and largely a 19th-century restoration. It features one lancet window and one 14th-century window with reticulated tracery, both restored, to the south wall, and a three-light graduated lancet east window, which is largely a 19th-century alteration.

Inside, a 14th-century tower arch, two-centred with hollow and roll molded orders in a segmental arch, provides access to the nave. A five-bay north arcade, dating from around 1300, features two-centred arches with hollow and roll molded orders on columns of quatrefoil section with roll molding in the angles, and molded capitals and bases. The roof is 19th-century. The chancel arch is two-centred, with two chamfered orders on half-octagonal engaged columns with responds. The chancel’s north and south walls have deep splays to their restored fenestration. A 12th-century stone font has a square bowl divided into panels with chevron tooth and interlaced arcading, one 13th-century square stem with angle shafts. A late 17th or early 18th-century communion rail, originally from Great St Mary’s, Cambridge, has been reset. Reset 16th-century glass is found in the south wall of the chancel, including a window depicting a two-light embattled figure from around 1525, likely of Antwerp origin, showing figures of Justice, Charity, and possibly Charlemagne.

The north aisle contains a wall monument to Jane Cotton (1707), featuring an effigy in the round and built of stone and black marble. The chancel north wall holds a monument to John Hynde Cotton (1807), signed Rd. Westmacott, London, and a monument to Dame Jane Cotton (Hynde) (1692) of alabaster and black marble; another memorial is for Elizabeth Stewkely (1636), commemorating a female infant. The south wall features memorials to Commander Charles Cotton, RN (1828), signed by Richard Westmacott, and Sir Charles Cotton, Admiral of the White (1812), signed by Flaxman, R.A.