Church of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating back to the 12th century, with significant restorations during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, when the south aisle and south tower were added. Further restoration occurred in the 19th century. The main body of the church, including the nave, chancel, and tower, is constructed from a mixture of rubble flint and septaria. The south aisle is encased in early 16th-century brick, and the west wall of the nave was rebuilt in red brick around 1810. The roofs are tiled, featuring decorative ridge tiles on the nave and chancel, and a lead roof on the south aisle.

The three-stage south tower has diagonal stepped buttresses with stone quoins and a 15th-century castellated parapet, embellished with 19th-century crocketed pinnacles and angels. The base of the tower serves as a south entrance porch; the second stage has small openings with stone jambs on three sides, and the bell chamber has two-light openings with pointed arches and Y tracery on all four sides. The nave, chancel, and aisle contain a mixture of windows, primarily from the early 14th century, with one 15th-century perpendicular window in the south aisle. A pointed arch doorway on the south side features a carved graffito depicting a medieval ship. A Tudor brick priest’s doorway with a grille, reportedly used by those suffering from leprosy, is located in the north wall of the chancel.

Inside, the nave has a single hammer beam roof with carved spandrel supports. A 15th-century rood loft stair, with upper and lower entrances, is set within the north wall of the nave, and fragments of the screen framework with carved panels remain. The chancel has an arched braced collar roof incorporating some reused medieval timber. The original south aisle roof is of simple rafter construction. The restored east window in the chancel retains 12th-century circular shafts. An early 13th-century lancet window in the south wall of the chancel has been divided to create a small side window for an external bell. A simple perpendicular arch separates the south aisle from the chancel, along with a trefoil headed piscina and a double sedilia in the south wall of the sanctuary, with matching features also in the south wall of the aisle.

The original octagonal stone font was restored and recut in the early 19th century; its panels depict the Evangelists alternating with angels, supported by angels on a stem featuring lions alternating with wild men. The altar is a Stuart Holy Table. Some 15th-century stalls with poppy heads and traceried panelling are found in the chancel. The tower contains one bell, originally cast by Miles Graye in 1621 and recasted in 1885 by C. Carr.