Parish Church Of St Mary

The Parish Church of St Mary is a building of late 11th and 12th century origin, with significant alterations from the 14th and 16th centuries. It is constructed of flint rubble with limestone dressings and has a shingle-covered broached spire. The chancel features 14th-century splayed windows and a moulded rear arch to the southwest window, with a small, low-side loop window further west. The nave's north wall contains two 14th-century windows, each with “Y” tracery in a two-centered head with a moulded label. A blocked 14th-century doorway with two chamfered orders, a two-centered arch, is also present on the north wall. The south wall has three windows: the eastern and westernmost resemble those on the north wall. Between them is a 16th-century brick window with two four-centered lights and vertical tracery in a two-centered head. Above and below the windows on the south wall are doorways relating to a former rood loft staircase. A south doorway, similar to the northern one, is also present. The roof is likely of the 15th century, with four bays of moulded tiebeams and braces, some of which are queen post trusses. It supports a side purlin roof with wind bracing, springing from figure carved corbels depicting figures holding musical instruments. The south porch is of 16th-century red brick, with a pointed arch outer doorway and single-light windows with four-centered heads on each flank wall. Its roof is of king post form with curved braces to a moulded ridge and embattled top plates, probably dating to the 15th or 16th century. The west tower, also of the late 11th or 12th century, has three undivided stages externally, with a moulded timber plate at the base of the spire. The second stage has two internal recesses with semi-circular heads on the north, south and west faces. The bell chamber has a 14th-century window of one trefoiled light with a moulded label on each face. A double piscina from the early 14th century is located in the chancel, featuring shafted jambs and a column with a moulded capital and base. A 14th-century piscina with moulded jambs and a trefoiled head is present in the south wall of the nave. A recess is set into the inside of the south wall of the porch. Good stained glass, probably by Hardman, is found in the east window. The church is included on the list for its architectural, historical and landscape importance.