Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a church with a 15th-century west tower and the remainder dating to 1869, designed by G R Crickmay, following plans by J Hicks, with some input from Thomas Hardy. It is constructed of banded flint and rubble, with a tiled roof featuring stone copings. The plan includes a west tower, nave, chancel, a north aisle with an organ chamber, and a south porch.

The west tower is of two stages, featuring an octagonal north vice, diagonal buttresses, a plain parapet with a string supporting gargoyles. A 4-centred opening on the west side now contains a 19th-century window. Above this is a 3-light 19th-century window with a pointed head, Perpendicular tracery, and a label with head-stops. The belfry windows are of two lights with pointed heads and returned labels. The main body of the church is windowed with chamfered lancets. The east chancel window has three graduated, trefoiled lancets. A pointed, chamfered south doorway is present on the chancel, and the porch has a pointed arch of two chamfered orders with a label terminating in head-stops.

Inside, a three-bay arcade features pointed arches with flat soffits and keel mouldings to the arrises. The arcade is supported by round piers with moulded bases and carved capitals in an early French gothic style, attributed to Thomas Hardy. A similar arch connects the chancel to the organ chamber, and the chancel arch is also similar, with roll mouldings and springing from carved angel respond corbels. A restored 15th-century, moulded, pointed tower arch has a continuous outer chamfer and inner mouldings, terminating in 19th-century carved respond corbels. A chamfered 4-centred vice doorway is also present. The east chancel window has a shafted rear-arch. The nave roof is scissor-braced, springing from oversized head corbels, while the chancel has a boarded waggon roof, and the aisle features a collar-truss roof. There is a 19th-century shafted wooden pulpit and an elaborate 19th-century font decorated with carved stone biblical scenes. Various 19th and 20th-century monuments are present, some reset, including a tablet with a sarcophagus and weeper commemorating Mark Davis, who died in 1832, and was made by Simmonds of Blandford. 19th-century encaustic tiles and glass are also included.