Church Of St Mary And St Edburga

The Church of St Mary and St Edburga is a church dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, with a restoration in 1861 by Roger Smith. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with slate roofing, stone coped gables, and visible parapets. The church consists of an aisled nave, a chancel, a west tower, and a north porch.

The main body of the church has a four-window range on the north side. The chancel features a three-light Perpendicular east window, and two-light Perpendicular windows with square heads, hood moulds, and label stops. Diagonal buttresses are present, along with crenellations and gargoyles. The north aisle has a three-light east window with intersecting tracery, two four-light Perpendicular windows (one restored), and a lancet window to the right of the porch, all topped by a crenellated parapet with gargoyles. The porch is built of stone with a wide moulded and chamfered archway, internal bench seating, and a Decorated stone four-centred arched north door with moulded and chamfered jambs.

The west tower has four stages with a pointed arched west doorway and two-light Perpendicular windows to the first and bell stages, the latter having louvres. Elsewhere, lancet windows are present, along with angle buttresses and a crenellated parapet with finials. The south aisle has two entrances, one with a pointed arch, and a reused 12th century doorway. There are two four-light Perpendicular windows to the right, along with a stone parapet and gargoyles. The nave has three two-light Perpendicular clerestory windows.

Inside, the chancel roof is of the 15th century, exhibiting cusped struts and open tracery. The nave and aisles have a restored 19th century roof incorporating earlier timbers. Three-bay north and south arcades provide access to the aisles; the north arcade has clustered Early English piers, while the south arcade appears to be recut rather than rebuilt in the 14th century. A Jacobean pulpit and a medieval octagonal font are also present. A south chapel contains a Baroque monument to Sir John Burlase, dating to 1688, featuring a reclining figure in Roman armor and mourning women, alongside cherubs, drapery, and cartouches. Another memorial, to Baldwin Borlase, dated 1678, has a strapwork surround with drapery and cherubs. Stained glass in the north aisle’s east window includes fragments of 14th-century glass with the arms of Ficuves of Segrave, a frontal head of Christ, while south chancel windows feature a 15th-century grotesque lion’s head. The west window of the south aisle holds Early 14th-century shield fragments of Clare and family, and foliage fragments.