Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church that dates back to the medieval period and was restored in 1891. It features a nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch. The building is constructed from random flint and stone rubble, with a knapped flint tower and a plastered nave. The nave has a lead roof, while the chancel is covered with plain tiles.

The late 15th-century tower is notable for its four-stage diagonal buttresses, two of which have original inscriptions. It has a crenellated parapet, flushwork detailing on the plinth, buttresses, and parapet, and a fine west doorway adorned with two orders of carving on the arch, a hoodmould with carved spandrels, and an original door. The tower also features a three-light west window flanked by trefoil-headed, ogee-canopied empty niches, with an additional empty canopied niche above, as well as two-light openings in the bell chamber.

The late 15th-century nave consists of three bays and retains mostly original windows. The late 15th-century porch exhibits rough flushwork chequering and has an original figure at the apex of the gable. The south nave doorway is distinguished by fleurons on the jambs, arch, and hoodmould, along with carved spandrels and an original door.

The early 14th-century chancel has two bays and features two-light Y tracery windows, with a Priest's doorway on the south side. The east end was modified in the 19th century and includes a three-light window in the Decorated style.

Inside, there is a remarkable original double hammerbeam nave roof with six bays, featuring a carved cornice and figures positioned against each wall post under ogee arches. The church also contains a 15th-century octagonal font with a carved bowl and stem, which has an original inscription on the base, along with a 17th-century font cover. There is a set of 26 poppyhead nave benches with traceried ends, installed in 1940, which include some 15th-century work but have undergone significant 20th-century restoration and renewal. The church features a fine 17th-century pulpit complete with a tester, the Arms of Charles II in the south nave, mid-17th-century turned altar rails, and a piscina under a moulded ogee arch in the sanctuary. The church is graded I for its surviving medieval work.