Church Of St Magnus The Martyr

The Church of St Magnus the Martyr, built between 1671 and 1687 with the steeple completed in 1705, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is a rectangular, aisled building featuring a clerestory. The west tower, which was originally surrounded by aisles, has been shortened. The church has round arched windows, with those on the north side designed as circles within long panels. The concealed south elevation is rendered, as is the entire clerestory, which includes circular openings. The east side, recently exposed, is made of rubble and patched with brick, with a single opening that has been blocked. The north elevation is constructed of Portland stone, featuring a modest cornice and blocking, with three windows that were originally centered, a pedimented doorway, and a circular opening above adorned with a carved festoon.

The west front is more ornate, with much of the original masonry reset. The tower now has archways on the north and south sides, flanked by pilasters, with a pediment and an impressive doorway to the west. Above this is a multiple pedestal stage with a bracketed clock dated 1709. The tower includes a round arched belfry opening and a crowning entablature, topped by a pierced parapet with pairs of urns at the corners. The high lantern is pilastered and arcaded, featuring a lead-covered dome, a small lantern, and a spire.

Inside, the church has an altered Ionic colonnade on octagonal bases, which supports a later 18th-century plaster barrel vault and flat ceilings in the aisles. There is a west organ gallery with a fine case, supported partly by a pair of wrought iron columns, and an enclosed vestibule below. The interior also features a large and impressive reredos with added figures and two painted panels depicting Moses and Aaron. Additionally, there are two good doorcases (displaced), a pulpit with a tester, high pews to the west, wainscot, a wrought iron altar rail, and a sword rest.