Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is an Anglican parish church with significant fabric dating from the 13th, 14th, and 18th centuries, as well as restorations in 1806 and 1906. It is constructed primarily of flint with limestone and greensand quoins, and dispersed rubble, topped with a tiled roof. The church comprises a nave, a south porch, a north vestry, and a chancel. The nave features 14th-century two-light cusped windows with labels terminating in mask carvings, accompanied by an ogee eaves course. The chancel contains a single lancet window, alongside inserted windows reflecting 14th to 15th-century styles. A 19th-century three-light window illuminates the east end. A bellcote, supported by offsetting buttresses that create an arch at the top, sits atop the west gable of the nave, flanking a three-light west window. The bellcote houses one bell, believed to date from around 1290. The vestry, set at a right angle to the nave, has three north-facing lancet windows and a cross formed from flints. The south porch is timber-framed and reconstructed in the 19th century, incorporating an outer doorcase from approximately 1500. The inner door features a 13th-century pointed arch with an inset half-round moulding. A sundial affixed to the south wall of the nave is dated 1786. Inside, the nave is plastered and flagged, with a 19th-century depressed panelled barrel vault supported by brattished wallplates. Wallpaintings from the 16th century, featuring texts within a yellow gadrooned border, are visible on the north and south walls, along with a panel on the west wall. A stoup, originally positioned by the north door, now provides access to the vestry. The chancel arch is pointed and chamfered, bearing the date of repair (1780) at its apex, while sockets are visible for a former rood beam. The chancel’s roof is a 15th-century trussed rafter construction with arch-braced collars and solid shaped ashlars to a moulded wall plate. A 19th-century north door is present. The piscina has been altered; it is accompanied by a credence shelf. Red line masonry painting highlighting a flower design is present around the reveal of the south lancet. The east window dates to 1852, and the south windows are 20th-century additions. The font consists of a bulbous bowl resting on a short octagonal shaft and a leaf-carved base, likely dating to the 13th century. It has a turned moulded cover with a 20th-century bird terminal. The pulpit is an 18th-century oak construction, with six sides adorned with applied carved figures, probably from the 17th century. Simple bench ends, carved with stylized plants, are probably 19th-century. Within the chancel, there is a 19th-century cusped arcaded communion rail and matching front stands for choir stalls. Monuments include a white marble tablet with an urn on a shelf against a grey marble pyramid, commemorating Beata Powell, who died in 1797. The nave contains two 20th-century tablets. Miscellaneous items include a panel displaying the Royal Arms, dated 1787, and another from the early 20th century. Launcelot Addison served as rector from 1670 to 1703, and his son, Joseph Addison, the essayist and statesman, was born at the rectory in 1672, and undoubtedly worshipped at this church.