Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a medieval church, with substantial rebuilding of the tower in 1625. It comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a west tower, a south porch, and a north chapel. The church is primarily constructed of flint rubble with some limestone rubble and freestone dressings, featuring crenellated parapets and parapet gables, and low-pitched leaded roofs.

The existing structure was built in two main phases, around the early/mid-14th century and the late 15th century. The 14th-century work includes the south aisle, characterised by a triple arcade, windows with trefoiled and hood-moulded details, a piscina, and two image pedestals. A south doorway, now fitted with an 18th-century six-panelled door, and a south porch also date to this period. The chancel doorway, restored in the 19th century, and a trefoiled piscina are further examples of 14th-century work. A south chancel window was inserted around 1468, funded by the bequest of Thomas Stuteville, whose tomb lies beneath it. The chancel walls were raised and the roof rebuilt in the late 15th century.

The north aisle was added in the 15th century, featuring a triple arcade, two two-light windows, and a moulded arched doorway with its original counter-boarded oak door. The north aisle retains a good roof with arch-braced principals. The roof of the south aisle was also renewed in the 15th century. The nave walls were raised during the 15th century with the addition of clerestory windows, and a tie-beam roof of three bays with king posts and principal rafters at half bays, which was restored in the 19th century and around 1950.

The north chapel, now roofless and ruinous, contains 18th and 19th-century tombs of the Affleck family. This structure appears to date to the 16th century, with a mullioned window and arched doorway; the datestone "CS, 1705" likely marks an alteration. The tower arch is 15th century. Following a collapse around 1625, the tower was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style and features a frieze below the crenellated parapet bearing the inscribed message "ANNO DOMINI 1625, DEO TRINEUNI SACRUM. KEEP MY SABBATHS. REVERENCE MY SANCTUARY," executed in flushwork, alongside flushwork panels on the buttresses. The west window and belfry openings are also of Perpendicular form. A prominent inscription above the tower arch details the benefactors and the cost of the rebuilding.

A notable feature is an octagonal limestone font, dating to around 1625. The chancel screen is largely original 15th-century, surviving to the middle rail, with four solid traceried panels on each side retaining original decoration in black, gold, and red. Traces of 15th-century wall paintings depicting the seven deadly sins, emblems of the passion, and various other themes are visible on the east and west nave walls. The large east window and tie-beam roof to the chancel were renewed around 1904. The church contains 19th-century choirstalls with poppyheads, some of which appear to be reused from the 15th century. Nave pews are also 19th-century, with animal buttresses, alongside a 15th-century moulded pew in the south aisle. Arms of George II, dated 1760 are displayed, and an early 19th-century organ is located in the north aisle.

Wall monuments in the chancel include one to Thomas Stuterryle (d.1571) of classical form with coats of arms, another to Sir Martin Stuteville (d.1631) and his children, and a third to John Affleck and his wife Neeltje (d.1718 and 1729, respectively). Eight marble floor slabs, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, are also present in the chancel.