Church Of St Mary

The Church of St. Mary is a parish church located in Surlingham, dating back to the early 13th century, with a belfry stage added to the tower in the mid-15th century, supported by bequests from 1458 and 1466. The church underwent alterations in the 18th century when the chancel was rebuilt, and it was restored in 1840, with a south porch added in 1859. The structure is built of flint with ashlar dressings, along with some ashlar, carstone, and brick, and features slate roofs.

The church includes a west tower, a nave with a north aisle, and a chancel. The tower is a three-stage circular design with an additional belfry. It has a lancet window on the west side and blocked ringing chamber windows beneath brick hoods. The octagonal belfry stage features two-light cusped windows on alternating facets. The gabled south porch has a moulded entrance arch and single side lights. There are two late 18th-century two-light Y tracery windows on the south side of the nave. The brick-built chancel is illuminated by a three-light intersecting window on the south and a similar window on the east. A vestry made from re-used ashlar blocks is located against the north chancel wall, featuring a two-light Y tracery window and a sloping roof. The north aisle has two brick buttresses and a lancet window, along with a lean-to outbuilding to the east of the 18th-century brick north doorway.

Inside, the church has a three-bay north arcade supported by circular piers on solid bases, with circular capitals that hold pointed double chamfered arches. There is a timber west gallery resting on two cast iron columns, and the chancel arch is a three-centred design from the 18th century with circular responds. Remnants of rood stairs can be found to the north. The roofs are boarded and plastered. A 15th-century octagonal font features four lions sejant sitting on plinths, with bowl panels alternating between relief carvings of the lions and angels bearing shields, and eight angel heads beneath the bowl. Fragments of medieval glass are present in the two-light east window of the north aisle, which looks into the later vestry. The chancel contains a brass memorial to John Alnwick from 1460, depicting a figure in academical dress with an inscription, as well as a chalice brass for Richard Louhawkys from 1513, which also includes an inscription.