Church Of St Paul

The Church of St Paul is a parish church dating from 1839, built on the site of a possible earlier secular building. It is constructed of rubble, with snecked stone in the chancel, limestone dressings, a squared freestone porch, and slate roofs with raised coped verges and cross finials. The church is in an Early English style and comprises a northwest tower, nave, north porch, and chancel with north and south transepts.

The three-stage tower is stepped at each stage, with trefoil-headed lancet windows at the first and second stages on the west side. The third stage has similar openings, with bell-louvres, along with a smaller lancet to the south at the second and third stages and a lancet to the north at the second stage, a clock dated 1897 at the third stage. The tower has a saddleback roof with gable ends at both east and west. The two-bay nave has two lancet windows to the north and a lancet and paired lancet in a flat stone surround with a quatrefoil above on the south. A tall paired lancet with a circle above and quatrefoil in the gable end is also present to the west. The gabled porch at the west end of the nave has a pointed arched opening in a hollow chamfered surround, with a quatrefoil above. This porch may incorporate re-used earlier stonework, alongside stone benches and a pointed arched inner door—its surround composed of two convex-moulded orders with broach stops. Inside the porch are a brattished wall-plate, principal rafters, a ridge purlin, a double door with raised fillets and strap hinges (also possibly re-used),.

The chancel has three lancet windows to the east, the central one being taller and with plain surrounds, and a quatrefoil in the gable. The north and south transepts feature widened lancets with hood mould and stops in the gable end, and a small lean-to is attached to the side of the north transept.

The interior of the nave is characterized by a five-bay roof with principal rafters and cambered collars, alongside two rows of purlins. Several windows are likely later with chamfered rere-arches. A chamfered pointed arched door leads to the tower. The chancel arch is formed by a rib of the ceiling supported on wooden shafts. The chancel has a wagon roof of nine bays with moulded and painted ribs and a ridge purlin, with three similar bays over each transept and a moulded wall-plate. The east wall has a cill string and a string at the imposts of the lancets, and a trefoil-headed piscina is located to the south. One transept is used as a vestry, and the other as an organ chamber. The church contains 19th-century pews and a pulpit, as well as a stone font with an octagonal stem and four stops to the base. Stained glass, dating from 1873 (south) and 1870 (north), is present in the nave windows, with similar glass in the east lancets. This glass is potentially by the Reverend Rawden Hautenville who served as rector from 1866-80. Historical records from 1791 indicate the presence of a church on this site in the 18th century.