Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a largely 13th-century church with late 12th-century elements and a 15th-century porch. It is constructed of squared and coursed chalk on a sarsen base, with limestone quoins and dressings; the tower has roughcast walls and a stone slate roof. The building is cruciform, incorporating aisles to the nave and a west tower. The architectural styles are Decorated and Perpendicular. The east window is a late 13th-century design with intersecting tracery, and there are several other late 13th-century windows to the chancel and transepts. The north wall of the nave features a two-story porch with a four-centered arch and a planked door. A round-headed lancet is located in the south wall of the nave, and a late 12th-century door has a semi-circular arch decorated with nailhead and dog tooth ornament, along with acanthus leaf carvings on the capitals. The late 13th-century west tower has corner buttresses, louvred windows, a crenellated parapet, and a late 19th-century Perpendicular style window.

Inside, the chancel displays a late 19th-century reredos, a trefoiled piscina dating from around 1300, and several brasses depicting John de Walden (c.1350), Thomas de Bushbury (c.1409), and William Skelton (c.1448). The chancel and north transept feature 17th-century roofs with king posts and floral bosses. The south transept houses a Lady Chapel, dedicated in c.1926, featuring a screen, reredos, and a stained glass window depicting a pastoral scene from Durer, alongside a 17th-century roof. The north transept contains a 15th-century planked and studded chest, a cinquefoiled tomb recess, and a trefoiled aumbry. The nave has a late 19th-century limestone pulpit and memorial to the Reverend W. Matthew, and benches installed around 1884. The north aisle contains a 15th-century fireplace and font, and features stained glass removed from Ashdown House around 1920. The south aisle has original corbels. The tower’s vestry houses a late 19th-century screen, wall tablets, and lead plaques commemorating 18th-century church wardens. Engaged half-columns with scalloped capitals are positioned at the top of both the north and south aisles. The porch features Perpendicular responds and capitals to a tierceron star vault with a carved central boss.