Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

Parish Church. The building comprises work from the 12th to 14th centuries, with later additions and restorations. It is constructed of knapped and rubble flint with a cement-rendered chancel and slate roofs.

The plan consists of a south-west tower, a 4-bay nave with aisles, a north porch, and a 2-bay chancel.

The tower is a 3-stage structure on axis with the south aisle. It has an ashlar plinth, string courses, and buttresses with set-offs. The ground floor stage contains a 2-light Decorated window with tracery head, and rectangular lancets at the south-east angle providing access to an internal staircase. The second stage has 4 lancets. The bell chamber features 4 2-light Decorated tracery windows with a flat parapet cornice above.

The nave's west gable displays a fine 5-light Perpendicular tracery window with lower battlemented transoms and rich upper lights featuring transoms, cusping and sub-cusping, with label moulding and carved head end stops.

The south aisle contains 3 straight-headed Decorated 3-light tracery windows in deep reveals with richly cusped and sub-cusped opposed tracery spandrels. A Decorated south door is present. The south aisle east window has flowing tracery with 2 cinquefoils and 2 quatrefoils in the spandrels. There are 2 south and 1 east buttresses.

The north aisle has 1 Perpendicular 2-light west window, 2 north 3-light and 1 east 2-light Decorated windows matching the south aisle details. The north porch is Perpendicular with a chamfered outer arch featuring capitals and flanking flush work arches. It has 2 north, 1 east and 1 west buttresses with set-offs. Above are 3 flush work ogee-headed niches with kneelers bearing crocketted spirelets. The porch features 2 north and 2 south tracery windows.

The chancel contains 1 south and 2 north c.1300 'Y' tracery 2-light windows, and 1 south Perpendicular 3-light window. The 5-light Perpendicular east window is a replacement of c.1850. Angle buttresses are present.

Interior features include a 12th-century tower east door into the south aisle, which is a fine late Norman example with single colonnettes, capitals, and a zig-zag moulded arch later refashioned as a pointed arch. The north porch's north door is 13th-century with paired columns featuring bases and capitals and a richly moulded pointed arch. Both north and south sides are articulated by rectangular chamfered frames with blank shields springing from wall seats and outer and inner blank arched-headed niches.

The nave arcades are fine 4-bay Decorated examples, with 3 clustered semi-columns featuring angle fillets and chamfered hollows with base seats, moulded capitals and bases, and double hollow chamfered arches with half-column responds at east and west.

A south aisle piscina is present. An octagonal 13th-century Purbeck marble font stands on a 15th-century Perpendicular shaft with moulded pedestal and capital. A hexagonal 17th-century pulpit features arched carved panels and cherub heads in spandrels, accompanied by 18th-century wooden stairs with carved string and Gothick arched head tracery between balusters.

A pre-Reformation stone altar mensa with consecration crosses lies in the floor in front of the chancel. The chancel arch is a fine Decorated example with moulded bases, capitals, and rood stair doors both below and above.

A 15th-century rood screen with 7 lights has painted lower panels, tracery dado and upper lights. The 15th-century sedilia comprises 3 seats with carved spandrels and cinquefoil heads, accompanied by a piscina. A 17th-century Holy Table is inscribed "Donum GY 1640".

Interior windows include north and south 'Y' tracery examples with internal hood moulds. The south window features stained glass arms of the Clare family, 14th-century patrons. There are blocked 15th-century north doors and a blocked north-east window.

Later additions include c.1850 box-pews with poppyhead bench ends, nave and aisle roofs, and a west window with stained glass texts. The chancel roof dates to c.1850 and features a 4-bay structure with carved wooden corbel heads to wall posts.