Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a mediaeval building with substantial alterations from the 19th century. It comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, south aisle, and north porch. The walls are of flint rubble, with some areas refaced in knapped flint during the 19th century. Limestone dressings and parapet gables are also present, while the tower is constructed of stuccoed brick. The roofs are slate-covered.

The chancel dates from the mid-13th century and features an east-facing triple-lancet window with linked hood-moulds, inner shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, and an oculus above. Two lancet windows and a squint are located in the north wall. Around 1300, a three-light window with cusped intersecting tracery was inserted into the north nave wall. The rear arch has attached shafts and a hood-mould, and beneath the window is a piscina with a leaf-carved pediment, cusped heads, a double drain, and a moulded bearer stone which formerly supported a credence shelf. A dropped window sill functions as a seat. This area is likely the site of a former side chapel dedicated to St Mary. A simple 13th or 14th century doorway is situated in the north nave. A restored 15th century south nave window is present in the chancel, alongside an adjacent cinque-foiled piscina.

The west tower was constructed in 1833 and is three-stage in design, featuring a porch with a west doorway at ground level, triple-lancet bell-chamber openings, crenellated parapets, and crocketted corner pinnacles. The south aisle, also dating from 1833, was created as private seating for the Harvey family, with two arches and a balcony leading into the nave. A west balcony provides access to the ringing chamber (1833). A continuous roof over the nave and chancel was rebuilt in 1911, using scissor-braced trusses with alternately A-style (moulded tie-beam and cusped collar-braces) and B-style (plain arched collar-braces springing from short hammer beams), along with two tiers of wind-braced purlins and a crenellated cornice. The north porch, added around 1911, is open, timber-framed, with a gabled cedar-shingled roof. The church contains a plain 15th century octagonal limestone font. A 17th century octagonal pulpit was converted around 1775 into a three-tier structure with balustrading and original graining. Altar rails from around 1775 feature turned balusters. There are 20 17th and 18th century marble wall and floor slabs in the chancel, bearing carved achievements marking members of the Hervey family. Fourteen 17th and 18th century wall tablets are found in the nave, commemorating members of the Hervey family and others. A red-line wall painting depicting the angel of the Annunciation is located on the east wall of the chancel. Roundels of Flemish painted glass are incorporated into several windows, dating from the early 14th century to the 19th century.