Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is an Anglican parish church with significant fabric dating back to the 10th century, with major additions in the early 13th, 15th, and 20th centuries. The church was restored and a south aisle added around 1920 by Sir Charles Nicholson. It is constructed primarily of dressed limestone, with rendered rubble stone in the nave, and has a stone slate roof with coped verges.

The plan includes a west tower with a spire, a nave with a south aisle, an east bellcote, a north porch, and a chancel with a south vestry. The early 13th-century gabled porch features a moulded round arch on triple shafts with moulded capitals and a hoodmould. The nave has two 17th-century two-light mullioned windows with round arched lights and a hoodmould, along with a wall tablet with a scrolled pediment. The bellcote has round-arched openings. The chancel has a 19th-century cusped lancet, a blocked square-headed lancet, a three-light Perpendicular east window with a hoodmould, and a cusped lancet on the south side. The early 20th-century south aisle incorporates a reset three-light square-headed Perpendicular east window, three two-light south windows, and a roof pitch adjusted to accommodate a three-light 16th-century mullioned window with arched lights set into the south wall of the nave. The vestry, probably dating back to the late 19th century, has a two-light window in a 14th-century style.

The two-stage west tower is unbuttressed and chamfered, with arrowloops on the west side. The bellstage has pierced stone louvred arrowloops on the north, west, and east sides. The recessed octagonal spire features roll-moulded ribs and bands, with a lower brattished moulding and a moulded capping. Inside, the porch includes fixed stone benches and a restored depressed Tudor-arch doorway with a restored ledged and ribbed door. A 1960s niche above the door contains a statue of the Virgin and Child. The three-bay nave's roof is a late 19th-century deep arched-braced collar truss structure, supported by stone corbels. A west gallery for the organ incorporates reset 17th-century panels with lozenges and arches. The south arcade includes a fine Saxon arch with moulded imposts, originally a south door, flanked by two early 20th-century double chamfered arches to the west and one deep chamfered pointed arch to the east, with a lean-to roof on stone corbels. The plastered chancel arch is double chamfered and pointed, and the chancel roof has braced collar rafters dating from the 19th century. A plain chamfered pointed piscina is located on the south wall, alongside a 19th-century reredos, communion rail, and communion table. Additional fittings include a fine 15th-century stone pulpit with cusped panels and stone steps, set into a segmental-pointed recess in the north wall, and an 18th-century pedestal font in the south aisle. A Royal Arms of George III from 1771 is positioned above the north door. Stained glass, including a south-east window in memory of Francis Kerr (died 1932), is signed by A.K. Nicholson of London. Monuments in the chancel include an oval black and white marble to John Morgan (died 1786) and an early 19th-century grey marble tablet to the Fisher family by Reeves of Bath. Nave monuments include two white marble tablets to Susanna Cooper (died 1720) and Ann Dike (died 1776), and a 19th-century marble tablet to the Fisher family by Sheppard of Bath.