Parish Church Of St Mary

The Parish Church of St Mary in High Halden is a Grade I listed building. It features a chancel, south chapel, north transept, nave with a south aisle, and a wooden south porch. Notably, it has an unusual belfry tower at the west end, constructed of timber with scissor trusses and a shingled exterior, topped by a shingled spire. The ground floor of the tower is octagonal, with wooden rooms on each side, the north one currently serving as the vestry. The nave dates back to the Norman period, the chancel to the 14th century, the tower to around 1300, the south porch to the 14th century, and the south chapel, north transept, and south aisle to the 15th century. The church has a 14th-century crown post roof in the nave and aisles. It was restored by the architect George Edmund Street in 1868. Inside, there is a 13th-century font. The churchyard contains a tomb chest and several 18th-century headstones featuring cherub or hourglass motifs, including one with a serpent, book, heavenly crown, and hourglass motif, as well as an early 19th-century headstone with cast iron cherubs and some oval bodystones.