Church Of St Mary The Virgin

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed building located in Byfleet, Woking. It dates back to the 13th century, with a south aisle added in 1841, a transept designed by H. Woodyer in 1864, and a vestry built in 1867. The church is constructed from flint and puddingstone rubble, featuring stone dressings and a plain tiled roof topped with a wood-shingled bell turret beneath a broach spire at the west end. The layout includes a nave, a north porch, a south aisle, a transept, and a chancel with a vestry addition to the southeast. The windows are predominantly two-light, except for the three-light east window which has intersecting tracery. The north porch is gabled and has an arched north door.

Inside, there is a simple belfry frame at the west end of the nave, supported by two posts and beams tied into the outer walls on three sides. The nave features a four-bay arcade on round piers, with a central crown post truss supporting the roof. The chancel arch has a thick inner order that is corbelled off at the arch springing, a detail also found on the transept arch. The church contains 19th-century fittings, including a stone octagonal font with quatrefoil decoration and the royal arms on the south aisle wall dated 1843. There is an oak Jacobean pulpit that is panelled and cut down, featuring a billeted top. Notable paintings include a fragmentary consecration cross and a seated king above the north door.

On the north chancel wall, there is a brass memorial of Thomas Taylor, who died around 1480, depicted as a standing figure with clasped hands and a prayer inscription on a scroll coming from his mouth.