Church Of St Margaret

The Church of St. Margaret is a former parish church, now under the care of the Redundant Churches Fund. The building largely retains its fabric from the 12th century, with additions from the 13th and 14th centuries. It is constructed of flint with brick and conglomerate, partly rendered, and has limestone dressings. The nave and chancel are thatched, with a hipped roof over the east end. The church consists of a round west tower, nave, and apsidal chancel.

The west tower, possibly dating back to the 11th century, has 14th-century bell openings, a single-light west window with a raised cill, and a later parapet with a chequerwork pattern of brick, flint, and limestone. A fine 12th-century south door features two orders of shafts with cushion capitals, and an arch with zigzag, billet, and roll mouldings. On the south wall of the nave are two 2-light windows with Y tracery; the western window has cusping. A blocked original window opening is located between these windows, featuring engaged shafts and capitals, a roll moulded semicircular arch, with a cill cut by a later blocked lancet. The chancel has arcading of pairs of semicircular-headed recesses divided by pilaster buttresses with nook shafts at their bases, and is pierced by 13th-century lancets. A decorative cill-band runs below the arcading. The 2-light east window has Y tracery under a shallow arch. A north nave window has been blocked with brick, with a later rood stair slit window inserted, which is now also blocked. A very fine and ornate 12th-century north doorway possesses two orders of shafts with capitals decorated with stars and volutes, a hood mould with a wheel motif, and arches with zigzag, bobbin, and dentil decoration.

The interior features a 19th-century boarded waggon roof in the nave and a plain plaster vault over the chancel. The chancel arch has a double chamfer. A base of a 15th-century screen remains, with traces of colour. Figure niches with pedestals flank the east window. In the north wall of the chancel is a square aumbry recess with a shelf. A rood stair is located in the north-east corner of the nave, with a four-centred arched head to the opening. Two memorial slabs are set into the chancel floor, one to Peter Lawes (died 1722), and another 17th-century slab to Mary Lawes. An 18th-century gallery is at the west end of the nave. The semicircular tower arch has castellated imposts. Blocked circular north and south windows in the lower stage of the tower have splayed reveals showing traces of basketframing. A 15th-century octagonal font is supported on angel-corbels, with lions around the stem, and panels of roses and angels bearing shields on the bowl. A 17th-century font cover is of open ogee crown type with a turned centre post and acorn finials. Wall paintings include a 14th-century figure of St. James the Great with trail design above, within the jamb of the south-east nave window, a fragment of St. Christopher on the south wall of the nave (probably 15th century), and a foliage frieze above the east window (14th century).