Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

This is a parish church with Norman origins, substantially rebuilt in the late 13th to early 14th centuries and significantly modified thereafter. The building is constructed from local stone and flint rubble with original Beerstone ashlar detailing; 19th-century work uses Membury stone ashlar. The roof is slate with some 19th-century crested ridge tiles.

The church has a cruciform plan with a long 19th-century chancel that is lower than the nave and transepts, a west tower, and a south porch. It was refurbished in the 15th century with a new tower (the upper part rebuilt in 1905) and south porch. Major renovation work was carried out in 1885–90 when the chancel was rebuilt, and again in 1923.

The west tower is tall with three stages and diagonal buttresses rising to the top of the second stage. The eaves cornice, rebuilt in 1905, is moulded with gargoyle water-spouts. The parapet has moulded coping. A semi-hexagonal stair turret is positioned on the south side. The belfry windows are 2-light openings with Perpendicular tracery. The tower doorway is a 2-centred arch with moulded surround; directly above is a 4-light window with Perpendicular tracery, hoodmould, and carved head label stops. The tower is now used as the baptistry.

The south side of the nave comprises three bays and contains a central doorway: a possibly late 13th to early 14th-century 2-centred arch with moulded surround, hoodmould, and carved head label stops, above which is a shallow image niche. The 15th-century gabled porch has a 2-centred outer arch with moulded surround and hoodmould with carved head label stops. Its open wagon roof with moulded purlins is original. The porch is flanked by 2-light windows with Decorated tracery and hoodmoulds with carved foliage label stops. The gable-ends of the transepts feature early Decorated style 3-light windows with stilted Y-tracery; the north transept window is original. The north side of the nave has two 2-light windows of similar type, one on each side of a blocked doorway. The chancel has 19th-century windows with Perpendicular tracery; the south side includes a reset, probably late 13th to early 14th-century priests' door with trefoil head.

The interior is of considerable quality. The roof of the nave and transepts may be late 13th to early 14th-century, though possibly later 14th or 15th-century. It is an open common rafter truss vault with moulded purlins and wall plates. The crossing is particularly impressive, composed of intersecting arch-braced trusses with a replacement carved oak boss at their intersection. Large moulded arch braces spring from half-engaged octagonal shafts with moulded capitals. The chancel has a 19th-century open wagon roof. The 15th-century tower arch is tall and panelled in Beerstone with moulded surround and capped shafts. The chancel arch is a triple-chamfered arch ring springing from shafts with moulded caps. A plain 2-centred arch connects the chancel to the vestry. A small trefoil-headed piscina is located in the north transept. The walls are plastered. The nave and transept floors are flagged, with some ancient graveslabs set within the transepts. The chancel floor is 19th-century tile.

Furnishings include a 20th-century oak reredos and 19th-century altar table. On the south side of the sanctuary, a length of Norman carved stone has been adapted to form a piscina. A 19th-century oak altar rail has twisted iron standards; similar standards are incorporated in the stall frontals. All furniture is 19th-century oak, some with minimal Gothic decoration. The font is of considerable quality and, though probably Norman, may be late Saxon. Built of Membury stone, it has a square bowl with round rim moulding. The bowl is covered with rich and elaborate sculpture: the east face features a martyrdom, whilst other sides depict a fabulous monster, wild animals, and patterns. Each corner has a large mask-like head. Most of the shaft and base are 20th-century.

There are no memorials except for a late 13th or 14th-century sepulchral arch, which has been reset in the chancel. The 19th-century glass scheme is simple but complete. Various old fragments—including part of a medieval brass, acoustic bowls, 15th-century carved oak bosses from the tower, and other architectural fragments—are displayed within the church.