Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building located in North Stoke, dating back to the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, with an early 18th-century top to the tower. It is constructed of flint with stone dressings and features red brick dressing at the top of the tower, topped with a plain tile roof. The church consists of a nave, chancel, and a west tower.

To the right of the center, there is a porch with a brick base and a two-centred wooden arch at the front. The original studded door to the church is set within a stone two-centred archway that has a damaged hood mould and carved end stops. The nave has three two-light Y-tracery windows, while the chancel features three pointed lancets and a single trefoil-topped lancet. There is a two-centred arched doorway to the chancel with a moulded hood.

The tower is located to the right and has a pointed lancet with a hood mould and end stops at the first stage. The second stage features 18th-century round-headed openings with brick dressings, and the third stage has a round-headed louvred opening also with brick dressings. The tower is topped with a shaped brick cornice and a shaped parapet with stone ball finials at the corners.

At the rear, there is a blocked two-centre arched doorway to the left of center with a hood mould, along with three two-light Y-tracery windows in the nave and three pointed lancets plus a rectangular window in the chancel. Above the blocked door, there is a carved head and hands holding a stone sundial. On the left return, there is a three-light window with plate tracery, likely from the 19th century.

Inside, the chancel contains a 13th-century piscina and aumbry, along with a Romanesque round font on a hexagonal pillar with a round base. The nave features probable 14th-century wall paintings and a transitional chancel arch. There is a Jacobean wooden pulpit with a sounding board and Jacobean choir stalls with linenfold panels at the front. The nave is topped with a queen post roof that includes windbraces.