Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a building with significant origins in the mid-12th century, demonstrably in its north wall and doorway. Foundations of an apsidal Romanesque chancel were discovered in 1896. A south aisle was added in the late 12th century and rebuilt in the 14th century, incorporating round Romanesque piers but utilising pointed arches and responds with carved head capitals. A corbel table with similar carved heads was added to the south wall by T. Rickman in the early 19th century. The chancel was rebuilt in the 18th century and again in 1897 by Sir Ninian Comper. The Romanesque tower and tower arch were reconstructed in 1906 by G.F. Bodley, reusing old materials.

The church is constructed of coursed and squared coursed limestone rubble. The south aisle has a lead roof. The building comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle, and west tower. The chancel features renewed Decorated and Perpendicular style windows set in ironstone; specifically a 4-light window on the east, 2- and 3-light windows on the south, and a 2-light window on the north, along with a renewed priest's door on the north. Diagonal and clasping buttresses are present, along with a shallow parapet. The nave retains a Romanesque north doorway, along with two 2-light Perpendicular windows with square heads, hood moulds, and label stops on the north. The north and south clerestories each contain four small square Decorated windows. A shallow stone parapet borders the nave. The south aisle displays a 3-light window with reticulated tracery, two 2- and 3-light Decorated windows flanking a porch, and a 3-light window with intersecting tracery on the west. Diagonal buttresses, a gargoyle, and a corbel table featuring carved heads adorn the south aisle. A 15th-century south porch has a wide pointed arched doorway, stone bench seats, and a stoup; the south doorway has a pointed arch with hood moulds and head stops. The four-stage west tower includes strings to the first, second, and third stages and a 2-light Romanesque opening to the bell-turret.

Inside, the chancel has a four-bay 19th-century roof. The nave features arched tie beam construction, while the south aisle preserves its original 14th-century roof. The chancel arch displays foliage and a carved head on the responds, indicating a reconstruction around 1300. A three-bay south arcade is present, and the north wall bears the remains of a large St. Christopher. A 12th-century tub font is also present. The chancel contains three brasses, one dated 1514 to Thomas Warner, another to an unknown woman from the 16th century, and a heart with scrolls dating to around 1460, originally bearing an inscription replaced in the 16th century to J. Throckmorton. A wall memorial to Thomas Hardinge, dated 1648, is located in the chancel, along with a 19th-century reading desk, pulpit, and pews.