Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is an Anglican parish church. It likely has origins dating back to the 12th century, or possibly even Saxon times, with substantial rebuilding in the mid-17th century following damage during the Civil War in 1643. A restoration and remodelling occurred in 1832, involving rebuilding much of the walling on earlier foundations. The church is constructed from coursed and squared limestone, with uncoursed masonry to the tower; the lower stage of the tower is quoined. The roof was tiled in 1960, replacing earlier Welsh slates and stone slates.

The architectural style is Gothic. The church's plan includes a 2-bay nave and a long, 1-bay chancel, a west tower, and a north-east vestry. The chancel has a single 2-light window with a Y-tracery arch on both the north and south walls, alongside a reset 15th-century head stop on the north side. The south side of the nave features 19th-century three-light windows with intersecting tracery. The north side, retaining more medieval masonry, features an 18th-century 2-light mullioned window with a beaded surround, a 3-light Perpendicular Gothic window, and a late 15th/16th century square-headed window opening with a double-chamfered surround and chamfered mullions, with some later replacement mullions. The three-stage tower has small square-headed and round-arched lights, a 19th-century Norman Revival-style doorway on the north side, beneath a much-restored medieval 2-light window with 19th-century plate-tracery. The upper stage of the tower was rebuilt in the 19th century and has round- and segmental-arched windows, finished with corner obelisk pinnacles and crenellations. An early 19th-century lean-to is located on the north side.

Inside, the walls are plastered, and the chancel has a plastered barrel-vaulted roof. The chancel arch was remodelled in the 17th century, featuring a semicircular arch set on moulded medieval (14th-century) piers. The nave has a 19th-century collar-truss roof. A west gallery from around 1832 is supported by slender cast-iron columns. Fittings include a late 19th-century brass eagle lectern, a pulpit constructed from 17th-century fragments, and pews dating from 1934. Wall memorials are primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, with one dating to 1639. Stained glass includes 19th-century examples, including the east window and red glass margin panes in the chancel. Notable stained glass memorial windows commemorate Francis Welford Ward and Arthur Harold Hobbs, created by Humphries Jackson and Ambler Ltd of Manchester. A particularly fine example of a 13th-century font is also present, featuring a circular top on a chamfered octagonal base, adorned with eight well-carved early Gothic style heads.

A drawing from 1789, held in the vestry, depicts the church with a gabled south porch and corbelling on the upper gabled stage of the tower, which have since been removed. An incorrect 1851 date for the restoration was previously given by Nikolaus Pevsner. The church, along with Saltford Manor House and Dovecote, form a notable group.