Church of St Faith

The Church of St Faith is a parish church with Norman origins, though significantly altered over the centuries. The west tower was constructed around 1370, and the main body of the church was rebuilt in the late 16th century. The chancel was re-roofed in 1909, with transept restoration and the addition of a vestry and south chancel chapel by W.D. Caröe between 1923 and 1926, followed by a complete rebuild of the nave and aisles in 1923-26, and a south-west nave chapel in 1989. The building is constructed of brick with ashlar stone dressings, and has plain tiled roofs.

The three-stage west tower features diagonal stepped buttresses and a Y-tracery west window. It has slit windows to the ringing chamber and cusped two-light belfry windows, topped by a crenellated parapet. A stair turret is set into the south-east corner. The north porch, rebuilt in stone between 1923 and 1926, incorporates a reused Norman arch, with a single order of shafts and scalloped capitals. The inner arch displays incised beakhead decoration, while the outer has a chevron pattern, with a nailhead in the hood mould. The inner doorway features double wave mouldings. Aisle windows are of three-light panel tracery, with gabled rooflines. The transepts are now engaged by the aisles and feature kneelers and two-light Y-tracery windows, the south window being cusped and of 14th-century design. The north side has a large vestry adjoining the chancel. The south chancel includes a 1909 red-brick chapel, finished with a concave gable above a round-headed window with a square hood. The remainder of the chancel is rendered. A two-light cusped Y-tracery south window and a three-light reticulated, cusped east window are also present.

Inside, a four-bay arcade from 1923-26 features lozenge piers and four-centred arches. The nave has a barrel-vaulted timber roof, while the chancel roof, dating from 1909, incorporates arched braces to the collars. The west tower arch is triple-chamfered. A late 14th-century octagonal font has two-light cinquefoiled tracery on each facet of its stem. The bowl is decorated with alternating facets of encircled tracery and 17th-century inscriptions. Two 17th-century painted panels are located in the south aisle: one depicting Queen Elizabeth arriving in Tilbury with the Spanish Armada experiencing difficulties, and the other depicting the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. These panels were bequeathed by the rector, Thomas Hare, who died in 1634.