Church Of St Mabena

The Church of St Mabena is a parish church with probable Norman origins, although the largely visible fabric dates mainly from the late 15th century. The church was altered in 1818 and restored in 1884. It is constructed of ashlar slate stone with a moulded plinth and wall plate, and has rag slate roofs with gable ends.

The church consists of a late 15th century seven-bay north and south aisle, a south porch, and a tall, unbuttressed west tower of three stages with a battlemented parapet and crocketted finials. The top stage of the tower is decorated with four carved figures, possibly representing the Evangelists. A four-centred catacleuse stone arch with carved florets adorns the west door, which has a 19th-century door and a 19th-century Perpendicular window above it. Belfry openings are three-light with slate panels and louvers. A church clock was installed in 1950. The north and south aisles contain three-light Perpendicular tracery windows, while the east windows are four-light. A five-light chancel window has been renewed or heavily restored. A projection provides access to a roof loft stair in the north aisle, and there is a blocked four-centred arch where a north door once stood. The south porch has a moulded four-centred arch and a 15th-century waggon roof from which the carved bosses have been removed. A four-centred arch gives access to the south door.

Inside, the walls are plastered and the nave and chancel are combined. A chamfered four-centred arch defines the tower. The nave, chancel, and north and south aisles retain original ceiled 15th-century waggon roofs with carved wall plates and bosses. The north and south aisles have seven bays with piers featuring moulded bases, carved capitals, and four-centred arches. The furnishings are largely 19th century, with 20th-century chairs in the nave and aisles. A Norman font of table-top type, with a square bowl decorated with a blind arcade and a round ornamented shaft, remains. A piscina is located in the south wall of the chancel, and an early church wardens chest is also present. 17th and 18th-century ledger stones have been remounted on the exterior north wall of the tower and the west wall of the north aisle. Fragments of old glass are found in the west window of the south aisle. The churchyard is an oval-shaped space dating to the 19th century.