Church Of St Margaret

The Church of St. Margaret is a medieval parish church, largely restored in the 19th century. It comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch. The church is built of flint rubble, with cement rendering except for the tower, which has stone dressings. The nave and porch have thatched roofs, while the chancel has glazed black pantiles.

The round tower was constructed in two phases, neither later than the 11th century. The lower part is of coursed rubblework with later slit windows at two levels. Above a stone string course is the belfry stage, featuring four openings. Three openings have two triangular-headed lights separated by a circular shaft, set within semi-circular arched recesses with colonnettes and a billet frieze; the eastern opening is different, with larger lights. Later lancet windows in red brick are situated at the south west and north west of the tower. A semi-circular tower arch with billet decoration leads west. A good 12th-century south nave doorway has two orders of colonnettes, abaci with saltire crosses, and an arch with a roll-moulding and chevron ornament. To the north, a blocked unmoulded doorway and a lancet window are of 13th-century date. The other nave windows (one to the north, two to the south) are late 15th and early 16th century, each with two square-headed lights. A small 12th-century window is to the north of the chancel; two later windows are to the south, one of brick and square-headed. A three-light Perpendicular-style east window with a transom was inserted in the early 19th century.

Inside, both roofs are ceiled. The sanctuary contains a trefoil-arched piscina. A font was installed around 1860. The church was substantially re-furnished from 1824 onwards by John Francis Leathes, including poppyhead-type benches in the nave and chancel, and panelling along the walls. A west gallery, also from this period, was altered in 1982. The east window contains imported fragments of painted glass, largely from Cologne, dating as late as the 18th century. The south east chancel window has two good stained glass figures. Several wall monuments are dedicated to the Leathes family, notably to John Leathes (1787) on the south chancel wall. Three hatchments of the same family are located at the west end of the nave.