Church Of St. Mary

The Church of St. Mary is a Grade I listed building located in Silchester, with origins dating from the 12th to the 17th century. Initially a Norman nave, it underwent significant alterations, including the addition of a north aisle in the early 13th century and a south aisle in the mid-14th century. The church features a long chancel from the early 13th century, along with north and south porches and a timber-framed bell turret.

Architecturally, the chancel is notable for its lancet windows, a Perpendicular style east window, and additional windows on the north and south sides. The north aisle includes coupled lights, two arches supported by a round column with cushion caps, and a north door. The south aisle also has two arches and features a recessed wall tomb with an ogee cusped arch, as well as a large three-light reticulated window. The belfry is supported by massive timbers that occupy the western half of the nave, which also contains a 14th-century reticulated west window.

Inside, the church boasts a 15th-century wooden screen with pierced cresting, a hexagonal pulpit from 1639 with a domed tester, and several wall monuments dating from 1732 to 1769. Additional furnishings include a large hatchment, a record of gifts from 1774, a set of painted prescriptions, a 14th-century octagonal font, a female effigy possibly representing Margaret de Cusancia, who died in 1300, and several sections of medieval wall painting, primarily masonry markings, on the eastern walls and deep reveals of the chancel.

The exterior features tile roofing, with the south aisle having a separate ridge and the north aisle covered by a catslide from the nave. The walls are constructed of flint, partly plastered, with stone dressings and later buttresses, including two massive brick structures at the west end. The church is topped with a single broach spire on a shingled bell chamber and has gabled porches.