Church Of St Margret

The Church of St. Margaret is a parish church dating to the late 12th and early 13th centuries, with a 15th-century south porch and nave window replacements. It is constructed of flint with limestone dressings, with plain tiled nave roofing and lead-covered chancel and south porch roofs. The church comprises a west tower, nave, chancel, and south porch.

The early 13th-century octagonal west tower features a single lancet window on its west face. The middle stage has lancet windows at the cardinal points, alternating with round openings, with those to the northeast and southeast blocked. Tall lancet bell openings are flanked by narrower blind lancets. The tower is topped with a 15th-century knapped flint parapet featuring stepped castellation. Small lancets are located on each side of the tower on the west wall of the nave. The nave has 15th-century windows, with the westernmost window on each side likely being 19th-century replacements. At the south-east corner of the nave, red brick blocking reveals old rood stair openings, flanked by a 19th-century buttress.

The 15th-century south porch has rendered east and west walls with blocked windows filled with red brick. The gable features flushwork panels with ogee cusped heads, largely repaired, above a plinth, along with diagonal buttresses. Limestone and flushwork decoration adorn the arch, with a niche above. The chancel was extensively remodelled in the 19th century, now featuring two lancet windows on each side, with the eastern openings blocked. A priest's door is located on the south side between window openings. Diagonal buttresses are present on the east gable, with a large 4-light 19th-century east window. A massive brick and limestone buttress sits at the north-east corner of the nave. A north doorway to the nave, set very low, is blocked with red brick.

The interior features an arch-braced porch roof with carved head decorations on the wallpost ends. The nave has a good 15th-century roof, largely renewed, with roll-moulded purlins and arch-braced principal rafters, carved bosses at the intersections, and a roll-moulded ridge with pendants. There are two tiers of castellation to the cornice. The elaborate tie beam at the west end originally supported a font cover. The tower arch is pointed with plain imposts. Above the tower arch is a semicircular-headed doorway, with a second doorway above it now truncated by the nave roof. A smaller blind recess is located immediately north of the lower doorway; the lancets in the west wall possess deep splayed reveals, suggesting the previous existence of a western gallery. The 13th-century chancel arch has a deeply-cut hood mould, engaged shafts, and polygonal capitals. The chancel floor contains 17th-century memorial slabs. A wall monument is located in the north-east corner of the chancel, commemorating John Bayspoole (died 1653) and Rector John Lodington (died 1789). The piscina, much restored, is in the south-east corner. A 15th-century octagonal font has four lions around the stem, angel corbels below a defaced bowl, and figures around the bowl. A 17th-century font cover is also present.