Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating from 1096 to 1107, originally built for Prior Ernulf of Christ Church, Canterbury. It is constructed of flint, with some areas laid in a herringbone pattern, and dressed with Quarr and Caen stone. The roof is covered in plain tiles. The church comprises a chancel, a nave with a north porch, and a Westwerk tower.

The Westwerk tower is a three-stage structure, its ground floor area nearly as large as the nave. A stair turret, rising in several uneven stages, is set into the south-eastern corner. The tower features string courses and a parapet with small lancet windows throughout. A 15th-century two-light window is set into the west wall, below a 15th-century moulded arched doorway set within a reused 11th-century outer arch, incorporating the same re-used, tooled 11th-century blocks in the spandrel. A blocked, simple chamfered 11th-century south doorway is also present. A 19th-century north porch features a simple chamfered pointed arched doorway. A Decorated style three-light window appears in the north nave wall, alongside inserted lancets in the chancel. A deep recess is present to a low opening in the chancel north wall.

Inside, a tall and massive rebated tower arch with rope-moulded abaci extends across the west wall of the nave. A complete and wide spiral staircase ascends within the tower, leading to a chapel on the first floor, which contains three finely moulded arches on its east wall. The centre arch has a pile of rubble attached, representing all that remains of an altar. A 12th-century wall painting depicting Christ blessing is found above the arches. The presence of this chapel gives the tower a Continental Westwerk style. The nave has a simple rafter roof. A simple low chancel arch sits on imposts, with a round headed recess to the north, and evidence of a former rood door above. The chancel walls feature beam ends, while the roof is boarded and ribbed.

Fittings include a re-set stone altar slab. An almond-shaped opening, roll moulded, is set into the north wall, corresponding to an exterior niche, likely used for ringing the sanctus bell and locally attributed to the use of an anchorite. A wood-lined aumbrey and a sedile with a moulded hood are also present. Medieval encaustic tiles are found in the sanctuary. Wall paintings adorn the chancel, including a trecusped piscina. A scheme of roundels depicting scenes of Christ's Nativity is visible on all three chancel walls, with those on the east wall interrupted by a 13th-century east window and subsequently overpainted with masonry and cross-patterned, painted cusped arches. Nave wall paintings, also from around 1280, feature larger roundels portraying scenes of a saint's life. The north wall includes 14th-century figures, notably a large St. Christopher above the north door, and two 17th-century texts within flamboyant cartouches. A Royal Coat of Arms is displayed in the tower.