Parish Church Of St Mary

Parish church. The chancel and nave date from around 1200, the west tower from around 1225, and the tower arch, south arcade, and aisle were added in the early 14th century. A south porch is also 14th century. Windows in the nave and south aisle were replaced in the 15th century. Restorations occurred in 1895-7 and 1900.

The church is constructed of flint rubble with clunch and limestone dressings. The roofs are covered with slate and plain tiles, and the spire is covered in lead. The west tower has two stages with a plain parapet, a moulded string below the belfry, and a roll-moulded string below the ground-stage windows. A two-light belfry window is recessed in a two-centred arch. The south aisle has a plain parapet and two-stage diagonal buttresses. Two restored cinquefoil-light windows with vertical tracery and two-centred arches are present. The south porch has a weathered two-centred arch, and a renewed south doorway with a 15th-century, or earlier, door featuring vertical boards and integral moulded battens. The chancel has a single original lancet window, a larger single-light window with a two-centred arch to the west, and a double lancet-light window with a quatrefoil above to the east.

Inside, the nave arcade consists of four bays with two-centred arches of two chamfered and moulded orders, quatrefoil piers, and semi-quatrefoil responds with moulded capitals and bases. Steps are visible in the north wall, with a 15th-century window above, indicating the former location of a rood loft. The tower arch is two-centred, with two chamfered orders and semi-octagonal responds with moulded caps and bases. A window in the west wall features three graded lancet-lights. The chancel is structurally undivided from the nave, with wooden boarded barrel vaulted roofs. A double piscina is located in the south wall of the chancel and an aumbrey is in the north wall, featuring a moulded label and small finial. The font is from the 13th century, with a plain octagonal bowl on a circular base. A pulpit dates to around 1634 and a 17th-century communion table is present. A monument in the chancel commemorates Sir Wm Hatton Knight (1639) by W. Wright. It features a recumbent figure in armour with a small lion below, on a pedestal with two moulded and enriched panels. Above is an inscribed tablet between scrolled consoles, under a curved pediment with a cartouche of arms. Fragments of glass are found in the tracery of the east window, the centre window of the north wall of the nave, and the south aisle window, depicting a figure standing in an archway of an embattled town. Originally, the nave and chancel were thatched.