Church Of St Albans

The Church of St Albans is a parish church, largely rebuilt in 1871, although the base of the tower retains medieval origins. The church is constructed of slate and limestone rubble, with limestone dressings, and has gable ends to the nave and chancel, covered with decorative 19th-century ridge tiles. The tower has a conical slate roof with sprocketted eaves. The plan includes a nave and chancel, a west tower, and a south porch.

The earliest feature is the reuse of Norman imposts in the south doorway. The base of the tower, possibly of 14th-century origin based on a lancet window and its lack of buttresses, appears to have been partially reconstructed in the 19th century, likely following a lightning strike in 1810 that resulted in the replacement of the spire with the existing conical roof. The church appears to have been virtually rebuilt in 1871, with a former lack of demarcation between the nave and chancel now clearly defined. A screen was removed in 1810.

The unbuttressed two-stage tower has a 19th-century pointed arched doorway on the north side and a 2-light arched belfry opening with a smaller, earlier square light below. There is no west doorway; the 2-light west window is in the Decorated style. A single lancet window on the south wall, low down, may be of 14th-century date. The 19th-century nave has two windows on each side, which are 2-light cusped lancets, except for the 1-light east window on the south side. Buttresses are present at either end of the nave and as diagonal buttresses to the chancel. The chancel features single-light windows on each side, and the 3-light east window is in the Decorated style. The gabled south porch has a pointed arched doorway.

Inside, the south doorway incorporates two Norman imposts carved as ram’s heads, and two contemporary pieces of stone at the base with bands of saltire and pellet carving. The nave and chancel are plain, with a 19th-century chamfered arch leading to the chancel and a plain arch to the tower, below which is a simple late 19th-century castellated screen. The benches and pulpit also date from the late 19th-century rebuild. The roof displays arch-braced collar beams to principal rafters. A small granite font has a circular bowl that has been subsequently cut away externally to create an octagonal shape.