The Old Church Of St George

The Old Church of St George is a church dating from the mid-12th century, with significant remodelling of the chancel in the late 13th century. It is constructed of uncoursed limestone rubble, with later 19th-century buttressing, and has a tiled roof. The church comprises a nave and chancel; a bell turret was demolished in 1873. The east window of the chancel is a late 13th-century three-light stepped window. The south chancel wall contains a late 13th-century one- and two-light windows, and a mid-12th century priest door with a splayed architrave. A mid-19th-century one-light lancet window and a one-light square window are also present on the north chancel wall. The south wall of the nave features an early 16th-century four-light window with arched heads and a late 13th-century one-light window. The mid-12th-century south doorway has a 19th-century plank door, retaining mid-12th-century decorative hinges with flattened beast head terminals, and scalloped capitals displaying zig-zag decoration to the arch. A stone slate water table is set over the door. A 17th-century sundial is set into the north wall of the nave, upon a chalk block. Other windows include a late 13th-century four-light window on the north nave wall, a late 13th-century one-light window, and a doorway with a pointed arch and splayed architrave. A late 13th-century two-light west window was extensively restored around 1970, with a high transom dividing the cusped lights. Inside, the church features mid-17th century panelling behind the altar and 17th and 18th-century ledger stones on the floor. Notable ledger stones commemorate Francis Piggot (1614), Martha Piggot (1629), and Margaret Piggot (1637), as well as a wall tablet to John and Elizabeth Tyrell, who died in 1762 and 1760 respectively. A carved head and a shallow pointed arch with a moulded architrave sits above a late 13th-century effigy on the north wall, depicting a figure holding his heart and resting his feet on a hound. The chancel has a late 15th-century three-bay crown post roof. A mid-12th-century chancel arch features scalloped capitals. The nave has a stone flag floor and a late 19th-century three-bay queen post roof. At the west end of the nave is a mausoleum for the Rev. Samuel Paynter, who died in 1893, with paired grey granite Doric columns supporting a west gallery and a red granite sarcophagus.