Parish Church Of St Mary The Virgin

Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin

This is a parish church dating mainly from the 15th century, with alterations made in the 19th century. The building is constructed of flint and pebble rubble with some ironstone, with dressings of limestone and clunch. The roof is covered with handmade red clay tiles and copper. The church comprises a chancel, nave, west bell-turret (timber-framed and weatherboarded with a shingled spire), and a south porch (timber-framed). The north vestry, organ-chamber and general restoration date from the 19th century.

The chancel contains a 19th-century east window, a 19th-century arch in the north wall, and two 19th-century windows in the south wall. Between the windows is a doorway of 15th-century origin, extensively restored. The chancel arch dates from the 15th century and is two-centred with two orders; the outer order is moulded and continuous, while the inner order is hollow-chamfered and springs from semi-octagonal attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The chancel roof is 19th-century.

The nave contains an early 15th-century window in the north wall of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery in a four-centred head, now restored. Below its west corner is a 15th-century tomb recess with a hollow-chamfered two-centred arch. The south wall has two windows of similar date and detail but with two lights, both restored. The western of these windows retains an early wrought-iron grill. Between them is an early 15th-century south doorway with moulded jambs, a two-centred arch and label. The door itself is 15th-century, made of humped planks on ledges with moulded fillets and strap hinges with incised lines trenched into the front. The west wall contains a moulded recess holding the west window, an early 15th-century work of two cinquefoiled lights with tracery in a four-centred head, and an earlier doorway reset, which has continuously moulded jambs and arch, with a moulded external label with headstops. The door is similar to the south door but cut down and more restored.

The nave roof is 15th-century, arranged in three bays. The west bay comprises a contemporary bell-turret; the remainder is of crown-post construction. The main tiebeam is cambered with a hollow-moulded fillet, set on deep wall-pieces with solid hanging knees. The main crown-post is of cross-quadrate section with broach stops and four-way arched braces. Soulaces and inclined ashlar-pieces are present to every couple. The eastern truss lacks a tiebeam but has a collar above the chancel-arch with arch-braces of unusual cranked curvature, and a short crown-piece supporting the collar-purlin. The belfry stands on four posts, chamfered with step stops; the eastern pair have five-sided attached shafts with moulded bases. Arched braces appear on all four sides, and above the east tiebeam is a crown-post with curved down-braces and outer down-braces to the bell-turret structure. No access is provided to the upper part, but it appears to be original and of unusual architectural interest.

The south porch is timber-framed, dating from the 15th century and moderately restored. The outer archway is two-centred. The east wall has six open lights with moulded mullions and trefoiled and traceried heads; the west wall is similar, but with three trefoiled and three cinquefoiled lights. The studs and wallplates are moulded. Both tiebeams are cranked and moulded, the inner one with wide arched braces. The common-couples are seven-canted with soulaces and inclined ashlar-pieces.

The church contains three bells, the second cast by Miles Graye in 1655. In the nave is an indent for figures of a woman and three men with an inscription plate, groups of children and two shields, dating from the early 16th century. The north window of the nave contains 15th-century glass of canopy heads and 14th-16th century glass of foreign origin, including figures of two saints, the symbol of St John the Evangelist and various fragments. There are two 15th-century piscinae: one in the chancel with a moulded and cinquefoiled head and a side opening into a sedile with a hollow-chamfered and four-centred arch with restored drain; the other in the south wall of the nave with a trefoiled head, grooves for shelves and a square drain.