Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary, located in Bixley Church Close, is a parish church that dates back to a bequest in 1474 for its tower. The church is primarily from the 13th century but underwent significant restoration in 1876. It is constructed of flint with ashlar quoins and features plain tile roofs. The building includes a west tower, a nave, and a continuous chancel.

The west tower is a three-stage structure without buttresses, with all details dating from the 1876 restoration. It has a two-light Y tracery window on the west side, wide lancets in the ringing chamber, and two-light louvred Decorated belfry windows. The south porch is gabled and features lancets, a moulded entrance arch, and side lights. The south side of the church has one two-light 19th-century window east of the porch, a lancet, a two-light Perpendicular window, a lancet leading to the chancel with a low side window below it, and a paired lancet at the east end of the chancel wall.

On the north side, there is a blocked north doorway with wave mouldings, one lancet on each side of the doorway, a two-light cusped Y window further east, and two lancets leading to the chancel. There is one stepped buttress on both the north and south sides of the nave, and a three-light Perpendicular window at the east end.

Inside, the tower arch features roll moulding and a roll with fillet, while there is no chancel arch. The 19th-century boarded roof of the nave and chancel is enhanced with cusped timbers. A king post stands on an arched timber chancel screen with traceried pierced spandrels. The church has a plain font and eight poppyhead bench ends in the 19th-century chancel stalls. The nave benches were made by J.P. Seddon. There are eight bench sedilia and an arched piscina in the chancel. A wall monument commemorates John Herne, who died in 1697, made of stone and painted plaster, featuring a black inscription panel with two columns of Latin text framed by painted foliate scrolls and topped with a helmet. An open segmental pediment sits above the helmet, with further scrolled foliage and additional inscription in the predella panel immediately above.