Church Of St Mary Parish Church Of St Mary The Virgin

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, with origins dating back to the 12th century, has undergone alterations in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. It was restored in 1848 by Francis Niblett. The west tower, built around 1540, was restored in 1889 by F.W. Waller. The church features a nave, north and south aisles, and a two-storey south porch, all constructed in the late 15th century. The chancel dates from around 1340, and the south chapel, known as the Stafford chapel, is from the late 14th century. The building is made of coursed rubble with ashlar blocks, particularly prominent in the tower, while the south chapel is entirely ashlar. It has a Cotswold stone slate roof.

The tower consists of four stages with diagonal buttresses, distinguished by fine pierced battlements and open turrets, resembling those found at St Stephen's in Bristol and Dundry. The south porch is two storeys high, featuring a 14th-century doorway with a two-centred arch and a sundial from 1764 above, restored around 1953. The porch has a blank arcaded parapet with a central niche. The south door is heavily restored, showcasing a transitional/Norman arch with dogtooth ornamentation, supported by Early English shafts with stiff-leaf capitals. The door also features 19th-century decorative ironwork. The nave and aisles have embattled parapets with finials, while the north door displays Norman/Transitional characteristics with roll moulds. Numerous heraldic badges can be found on the stops of the hood moulds.

Inside, the clerestoried nave consists of six typical Perpendicular bays. The north aisle has square-headed windows, while the south aisle features four-centred arch-headed windows with 'bisected drop' tracery, and the roof was added in 1848. The chancel arch and east window are from the 19th century. The south wall includes a decorated piscina and triple sedilia, all under a cinquefoil arch. A Perpendicular pulpit is accessed by a Victorian stair. The church also contains Norman/Transitional elements at the front, with Victorian stained glass by Thomas Willement from the 1840s and 1850s. Notable monuments include one for Sir John Stafford from 1624 in the north chancel, a brass for the Tyndalls from 1571 in the chancel, which only includes the wife's memorial, and a 1648 monument to Roger Fowke in the south chapel's Perpendicular recess. There are additional 17th and 18th-century tablets in the aisles, particularly one for John Atwells from 1729.