Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary, built between 1681 and 1687 by Sir Christopher Wren, features a nearly square body with a plaster vault that supports a large dome. The church has a north-west tower with a gallery to its south. Its plain exterior is made of red brick with Portland stone dressings, a moulded brick band, and a hipped, slated roof. Each front has a large, segmentally-arched window, with the north side obscured, flanked by round-arched openings and circular ones above. There is an arched and corniced door beneath the western window on the south side, and the west front has been altered. The plain tower consists of four stages with round-arched and circular openings, and the lowest stage is now rendered with an arched and corniced doorway. The dome is square and covered in lead, topped with a plain lantern and spire.

Inside, the dome is remarkable for its decorative paintings that extend into the splayed reveals of four elliptical dormers. The vault springs from enriched corbels and from a Corinthian column and pilaster that define the west gallery, which has an enclosed vestry beneath its northern half. Notable interior features include a fine original reredos by Grinling Gibbons from 1686, a pulpit with a tester, a font with a cover and rails, an organ case, gallery front, doorcases, wall pews, and two sword rests. There is also a stone doorway leading to an octagonal, domed lobby at the base of the tower. The church contains several wall monuments and is considered one of the least altered of Wren's churches.