Church Of St Mary

CHURCH OF ST MARY

Parish church of the 13th and 14th centuries, restored in the 19th century. Built of flint with some brick and ashlar dressings; slate and plain tiled roofs. The building comprises a nave, nave aisles, chancel, south porch and north vestry.

EXTERIOR

The west end features a 19th-century arched brick opening, partly glazed, which replaced an early 16th-century tower that collapsed in 1715. Remains of flushwork arcading survive to either side of this opening. The south aisle has one 2-light early 14th-century reticulated west window, while the north aisle has a window with mouchette tracery. A 19th-century timber and weatherboarded belfry with an octagonal broach spire crowns the west end.

Both aisles are lit by early 14th-century 2-light reticulated windows to the flanks and similar windows to the east ends. Each aisle also has an early 14th-century moulded doorway. The south porch is timber-built on a brick plinth, comprising 6 bays of formerly open arches, now glazed, each with cinquefoil cusping. The porch roof is an elaborate crown post structure with moulded timbers, moulded ashlaring and arched braces to the crown purlin, with timber benches to east and west having opening lids for storage.

The clerestory has 3 19th-century segmental windows to both north and south, set within splayed 13th-century openings. The 2-bay chancel has stepped buttresses, diagonally positioned at the south-east corner. The south chancel wall displays 2 early 14th-century 2-light windows and one 3-light Perpendicular window. A 5-light late 19th-century Perpendicular east window lights the chancel. The north chancel is largely obscured by a large vestry erected in 1849 under a catslide roof, featuring a prominent flint and stone chimney. One 2-light early 14th-century window with a quatrefoil vesica remains visible.

INTERIOR

The arcade consists of 3 bays dating to around 1260, with alternating octagonal and circular piers on moulded bases and undercut capitals, joined by double chamfered arches. Traces of paint survive on the piers, notably a complete 14th-century secular head on the north-west pier. The clerestory openings are splayed. The north aisle contains 2 13th-century round-headed niches.

The nave roof is 13th-century scissor-braced work with collars and 4 tie beams. The north aisle roof comprises moulded 15th-century rafters and purlin, while the south aisle roof is of plain chamfered timbers, probably 19th-century. The former tower arch retains remains of early 16th-century double sunk chamfer mouldings to the jambs, though the arch itself is missing. The chancel arch has a double chamfered arch on semicircular responds.

A Painting of Doom survives over the chancel arch, probably 15th-century, very faint with traces of red and ochre depicting a central Christ flanked by angels and a frieze of souls below. The chancel contains triple sedilia under depressed arches and a double 13th-century piscina to the east with trefoiled arches. An arched 13th-century vestry door opens to the north.

FITTINGS

The chancel contains a fine alabaster wall monument to Cecilie Sandys, died 1610, erected 1619. It features a kneeling figure in profile within an architectural surround of block entablatures on Corinthian columns with a deep shell hood decorated with rose trails in the form of a bower, topped by 2 victories with a standing figure of Time to the left; the corresponding figure on the right is missing.

The chancel also contains 4 15th-century stalls with poppy-head bench ends. A plain 14th-century octagonal font and a circular 19th-century pulpit with panelling complete the fittings.