Church Of St Mary

The Church of St. Mary is a parish church located in Barton Bendish. It dates back to the 14th century and underwent restorations in 1788-89, 1858, and 1871. The west door, which is from the 12th century, was moved from the Church of All Saints in 1789. The building is constructed of brick, rubble, and carstone, with some parts rendered. It features thatched roofs over the nave and chancel.

The west door, dating to the mid-12th century, has two orders of shafts; the inner is bobbin moulded while the outer is circular with a modified beakhead. The arches above are adorned with foliated scalloped capitals, also featuring a properly formed beakhead. A hood mould with dogtooth decoration is present above the door. The west window, a two-light design in Geometric style, was added in 1858. The gable head, made of flint, supports a bell-cote from 1871. There is a plain arched south door and an early 14th-century two-light window with Y tracery and mouchette infill on the east side. The nave's east gable is supported by moulded kneelers, and there is a two-light reticulated chancel window, an ogeed priest's door with a finial, and a three-light square-headed window from the 19th century with arched lights. The east gable is built on ashlar kneelers with grotesque heads. The east window is a three-light reticulated design with sub-cusping. The north chancel includes a gabled 19th-century vestry and a reticulated two-light window, along with a two-light mouchette window in the nave.

Inside, the chancel arch is double chamfered and rests on corbels. The window embrasures vary in size and all feature rere arches. There is a set of plain box pews from 1789, which were cut down in 1865. The nave and chancel roofs are boarded and plastered with scissor bracing. The vestry has a segmental pointed arch with a square hood that terminates in late 14th-century head stops, and foliage carving is present in the spandrels. Remnants of wall painting on the south nave wall depict St. Katherine and her wheel.