Boundary Walls, Piers, Gates And Railings To Church Of St Thomas A Becket

The boundary walls, piers, gates, and railings surrounding the Church of St Thomas a Becket date from the 18th century and are made of ashlar, cast iron, and wrought iron. To the north of the church, there are a pair of plain square piers with moulded bases, broad moulded cappings, and ball finials featuring equatorial vermiculation. These piers support a pair of iron gates with dogbars. On the right, a high ashlar wall with weathered coping serves as a retaining wall for the raised churchyard and abuts the north-west corner of the tower. Beyond the tower, the wall continues as a retainer with crowning railings and connects to a return wall at the south side of the churchyard, which is adjacent to Manor Cottage. To the left of the gate, the wall extends along Church Lane, featuring a small gate at the upper end, which adjoins the retaining wall on the south side of the churchyard. At the gates, there is a flight of stone steps leading down to Church Road, accompanied by an approach path made of stone flags and setts. This structure is an important element in the setting of the church.

Additionally, there is a war memorial made of roughly hammered grey granite, featuring a Celtic cross on a square base. The base has inscriptions on three sides, with the names of those who died in the Second World War added below on the front. The inscription begins with "Erected by the people of this parish in memory of brave men who died for Freedom, King and Country 1914-1918." This memorial holds group value with the adjacent church gate piers, and the number of names listed is notably significant.