Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a medieval parish church with late 13th-century origins, subsequently enriched with 15th-century additions and alterations. A chantry chapel was added around 1527, and the present tower dates from 1751-2. The building is constructed of flint and rendered flint with ashlar dressings and brick, with lead roofing. It comprises a nave, chancel, south-western porch-tower, and south-eastern chantry chapel.

The Tower

The tower, built in Flemish bond brick, forms the south-western porch. Its south face has a projecting plinth that dies back via an offset of moulded brick. The corners feature clasping buttresses formed as two tiers of pilasters, with the upper order more attenuated, giving the impression of Tuscan columns surmounting Roman Doric. The central ground floor doorway has a round-arched head with moulded brick, projecting springers, gauged brick voussoirs, and an ashlar keystone. Immediately above is a rectangular date stone with moulded brick surround inscribed: "This Steeple was Built The Bells set in Order and Fixt. At the Charge of Robert Thinge Gent. Lately Deceased A.D. 1731-1732."

Above the doorway is a two-light window with a round arched head similar to the lower doorway. A moulded string course above this marks the top of the entablature-pieces of the lower order of pilaster buttresses. Higher still is a rectangular sundial with segmental top, above which sits a circular metal clock face with Roman numerals. A further two-light window follows, again with a round arched head, though here a moulded band extends from the level of the springing to the pilaster buttresses. The belfry stage has a similar but wider opening with louvres. Above the upper order of pilasters are entablature pieces with triglyphs and guttae, topped by a panelled parapet with renewed brickwork.

The tower's eastern front is in Flemish bond with fired headers except on the buttresses. Its lower body abuts the nave aisle, while the upper body is blank save for the belfry opening, which matches that on the south face. The western face is similar except that a rectangular staircase turret projects from the lower left-hand side. The north face abuts the church at lower level, lacks fired headers, and has a similar belfry opening.

The Nave

The nave's west face is of rendered flint with diagonal buttresses dying back into the corners via four offsets. A central three-light window has Geometrical tracery of 19th-century date, with trefoil heads to the lights and quatrefoils and a sexfoil to the apex. The gable has ashlar coping and a cross.

The south face shows rendered walling to the left of the tower-porch with one Perpendicular clerestory window having a stepped transom with brattished top and brick voussoirs alternating with knapped flint above. To the right of the tower-porch, the nave aisle has two bays divided by a buttress, with a further buttress to the far right. The windows have curvilinear Decorated tracery of two lights each, with trefoil heads and quatrefoils to the apex. A string course with gargoyles runs below a battlemented parapet. The recessed clerestory above has five windows, each of three lights and similar to that seen at the left of the tower, with similar brick voussoirs. A deep band of flushwork runs at the level of the springing of the window arches, decorated with coats of arms, crowns, a lily in a vase, and crowned initials.

The north face is of rendered flint. The lower range has three windows with Perpendicular tracery largely renewed in the 19th century. Above this run nine clerestory windows, each of two lights with trefoil heads, the tracery also largely renewed in the 19th century. There are diagonal buttresses at the right and shoring buttresses at the left.

The Chancel

The chancel's east face is rendered, with ashlar quoins to the corners. A band runs slightly above the level of the springing of the window arch. The central three-light 19th-century window is of early curvilinear type, which may follow the form of an earlier window, with quatrefoil heads, a central ogee arch, and three arcuated triangles to the apex.

The south face has a single Perpendicular window of two lights with quatrefoil heads at the right. To the left of this projects the chantry chapel, whose southern wall has two Perpendicular windows of three lights with tracery replaced in the 19th century. A diagonal buttress at the right has ashlar quoins and flushwork to the outer face. A further buttress to the extreme left follows a similar pattern with brattishing above the offset. A central wide buttress surrounds a priest's door with a four-centred arch and reduces in girth via lateral offsets to enclose a canopied niche containing a statue of a female saint holding a lily in her left hand. Miniature buttresses with crocketed pinnacles stand to either side of this. The battlemented ashlar parapet to the top of the chapel bears an inscription in Gothic script, now defaced, which records the chapel as dedicated to Thomas and Alicia Awall, with coats of arms on the projecting battlements. The eastern chapel face has a three-light window with Perpendicular tracery, mostly replaced in the 19th century. The north face is of rendered flint rubble.

Interior

The porch contains a church door with a richly moulded ashlar surround featuring wave moulds and hollow chamfers terminating in run-out stops above a moulded base.

Nave and Roof

The nave roof consists of nine bays, with trusses of double-hammer beam construction. The wall posts and lower hammer beams terminate in carved angel bosses, all bearing scrolls held diagonally. Four-centred arched braces run along the walls connecting the wall posts and spring from the wall posts to the lower hammer beams. Further arched beams connect the lower hammer posts to the upper hammer beams and end against the upper pendant hammer posts, which have floral drop-finials. Another series of arched braces rises from these upper hammer posts to the cambered and brattished collars, which support square king posts against which are set angels with spread wings. The wings and many of the heads of the angel bosses appear to have been replaced during the restoration of the 1880s. The purlins are heavily moulded and have brattishing, and the ridge beam is also moulded, as are all the common rafters. A deep cornice with six layers of moulding combines cable, vine leaf scrolls, brattishing, and fleurons.

The south aisle has an arcade of three double-chamfered arches on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases. Its roof is of six by two panels with richly moulded transverse beams and longitudinal beam, with square floral bosses to the intersections. Wall posts bear pendant angel bosses of 17th-century date holding shields. Arch braces connect the wall posts to the transverse beams.

Furnishings and Decoration

An octagonal font stands above three steps, the upper two having quatrefoils to the risers. The octagonal shaft features seated lions and buttresses. Below the bowl are defaced figureheads and flowers, while the bowl itself has eight sunken panels showing alternating angels bearing shields and lions, the angels being heavily defaced.

A four-centred arch with ashlar surround marks the rood loft stair on the northern wall, immediately above which are remnants of coloured wall painting. A larger wall painting to the west shows St Christopher.

The rood screen consists of five panels divided by buttresses. It has a central ogee archway with decorated cusps and crockets, with a panelled dado to either side bearing painted decoration including sacred monograms. Above each panel are two lights with floral cusps, and above these and the central archway is miniature tracery. Above the whole is rich cresting with brattishing and vine leaf scrolls with roll mouldings. This screen was restored in 1967. The parclose screen dividing the south aisle from the chantry chapel is similar to the rood screen.

Chancel Roof and Features

The chancel roof has three bays, with trusses consisting of wall posts (those to the south resting on stone corbels in the form of crowned figures bearing shields). These connect with the cambered tie beams, richly moulded to their undersides. Arched braces also run between the two with boarded infill to their spandrels. King posts above these have arched braces extending to the ridge and purlins. The common rafters and purlins are all chamfered, and several of the common rafters appear to be 19th-century replacements.

A piscina features dog-tooth ornament to the chamfered sides and to the pointed arch and hood mould, dating from the late 13th century according to Pevsner, or possibly earlier.

Chantry Chapel

The chantry chapel now houses the organ. Its ceiling is similar to that of the south aisle, except that the wall posts rest on stone corbels showing crowned figures bearing shields displaying the arms of the Awall family and the City of London. The arcade dividing the chancel and chantry chapel consists of two arches, the piers having moulded bases and capitals and shafts of quatrefoil section with fillets to the outer faces and inner corners which rise up through the lower level of the capitals.

Monuments

A wall monument in the chancel commemorates Sir Charles Blois (died 1730). This rectangular tablet has an aedicular surround of grey and white marble. A lower ledge supported on console brackets has between them an apron of grey marble bearing a cartouche with central coat of arms. White marble pilasters to either side of the tablet have central recessed panels, with winged cherubs' heads to the tops and foliage trails below. The frieze has knots and a dentilled cornice. A further small aedicular surround above encloses a free-standing sculpture of a cherub holding a golden trumpet. Swags decorate the pilasters and console brackets support a heavy segmental entablature, the centre of which is slightly recessed, with urns at either side.

The monument to Martha Brook (died 1657) is supported on four console brackets between which is diamond-point rustication and an oval cartouche. The brackets support a ledge on which stands a central reading desk in high profile, flanked by mourners—five male at the left and five female at the right. Above this is an oval plaque of black marble set against carved drapery with a coat of arms above. The chancel floor has a series of eleven ledger stones to the Blois family.