Church Of St Mary And St Lawrence

The Church of St Mary and St Lawrence is a parish church. Its origins lie in the mid-12th century, initially serving as the church for the Priory of St Leonard, founded between 1114 and 1119 by Augustinian canons from St Leonard de Noblat. The priory was dissolved in 1444 and subsequently granted to Henry VI's college in Cambridge. The church comprises a nave, chancel, and a south porch. It is primarily constructed of random flint rubble with freestone dressings, featuring medieval additions in limestone and tile rubble, alongside later brick rubble visible at the upper levels. A continuous plaintiled roof covers the building.

The core of the original early 12th-century church remains, with extensions added at both ends in the 12th century, followed by numerous alterations throughout the Middle Ages. A particularly noteworthy feature is the late 12th-century south doorway, adorned with intricate carvings on the jambs, shafts, imposts, and arched head. Eight reused carved stones with an inscription, including a word reading "LEONARDUS," are incorporated into the doorway’s jambs. These likely originated from an earlier doorway located a short distance to the east, the former position of which is marked by an early scratch dial. Surviving features from the 12th century include a blocked tall west doorway with a window above, and blocked lancet windows in the north and south walls.

In the chancel, two 12th-century transepts were demolished, and a mid-13th-century window with a hood-moulded doorway was inserted on the south side. Blocked early 13th-century arches on the north and south sides led to transeptal chapels at the eastern end, which were later demolished in the 14th century. A 14th-century crocketed and pinnacled piscina and a window are incorporated within the south arch. The north arch also features an inserted window. Further south wall features include several 13th and 14th-century Y-traceried windows and a plain 14th-century piscina. The east wall was rebuilt in 1868. The east window is in the mid-14th-century style and may be original or a reconstruction; fragments of 14th-century glass, formerly from the east window, are now housed in another window. The nave has an early 15th-century crownpost roof, with moulded archbraced tiebeams and wallpieces featuring moulded pilasters. The chancel roof is later, potentially rebuilt with the removal of the chancel arch.

A fine late 12th-century font is present, showcasing a square limestone bowl with interlaced arcading and shafts ending in foliate capitals, a plain square stem, and base. The hexagonal oak pulpit, possibly constructed or assembled in the 19th century, is styled after the 15th century, with carved sunk trefoils and quatrefoils, along with tracery detailing on one side. A marble wall monument commemorates John Bright of Tollemach Hall, Little Bricett, who died in 1680. An archaeological plan illustrating the church's complex development is displayed on the north wall.