Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* listed building in the Epping Forest local planning authority area, England. First listed on 20 February 1967. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Mary the Virgin

WRENN ID
slow-bailey-bistre
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Epping Forest
Constituency
Brentwood and Ongar MP: Alex Burghart (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
20 February 1967
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Road, Moreton
OS grid reference
TL 537 070
Coordinates
51.74097, 0.22535
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a parish church that dates from the 13th century, with additions from the 15th century and late 18th century. It is constructed of flint rubble with limestone and clunch dressings, featuring a red brick tower and red plain tile roofs. The early 13th-century nave includes a late 15th-century window on the north wall, which has moulded jambs, a label, and two cinquefoiled lights under a segmental pointed head, along with two early 13th-century lancets. The north door was added in 1868. The south wall features an 18th-century window, an early 13th-century lancet, and a late 15th-century window with two square-headed lights and a label. There is also an 18th-century south door. The west wall contains an 18th-century door leading to the tower, along with an inscription noting the tower's rebuilding in 1787. The roof has chamfered tiebeams with octagonal crownposts, which are braced to the ties.

The mid-13th-century chancel has three lancets in the east wall, two of which are from the 13th century and one from 1868. The north wall has two 13th-century lancets, while the south wall features one 1868 window in an earlier opening and one late 15th-century window with a single cinquefoiled light in a square head. There is no structural division between the nave and chancel. The chancel has a 15th-century seven-cant roof with moulded tiebeams. The south porch, which dates from the 15th century, has a braced tie beam but was extensively restored in 1868. A north vestry was added in the 19th century. The red brick west tower, built in Flemish bond, dates from 1787. The font, made of Purbeck marble and dating from the late 12th century, has a square bowl with ornamental designs including fleur-de-lys, crescent discs, and whorls, supported by a cylindrical stem with four detached angle shafts. Additionally, there are circa 1600 carved panels and a moulded top that have been incorporated into the 19th-century pulpit.

Local climate

Church of St Mary the Virgin sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 96% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 58% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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