Church Of St Stephen

The Church of St Stephen is an Anglican parish church with a history spanning the 12th century to the 19th century, located in Moreton Valence. The original nave and chancel date to the 12th century, with a 15th-century tower added later, and a south aisle constructed in the late 15th or early 16th century. The church was restored between 1880 and 1884.

The church is built of coursed and dressed stone, featuring a chamfered plinth to the aisle and tower. The roof is of stone slate, with artificial slating on the north side, coped verges, and cross finials. The east ends of the nave and chancel are distinguished by a plain string course and animal corbels. The tower is of three stages, with stepped diagonal buttresses up to the second stage, an embattled parapet with gargoyles, and two-light decorative louvred belfry openings on the top stage, featuring ogee heads. A pointed arch doorway and a two-light window with ogee heads are set into the west side of the tower's lowest stage, alongside scattered small stair lights.

The north gabled porch is timber-framed and likely once featured a bracket for an image. The inner Norman doorway has a roll-moulded arch on raised capitals and chamfered abaci, a scalloped and zig-zag lintel, and a tympanum depicting the Archangel Michael fighting a dragon. Small squints flank the porch, with stone wall seats below. A large four-light Perpendicular window occupies the east side of the nave, with a square hoodmould. A pointed, chamfered arch provides access for the priest's door, accompanied by a small Norman lancet with an inner splayed reveal on the north side of the chancel. A 14th-century three-light east window is located in the chancel.

The south aisle has three three-light Perpendicular windows along its south side, with similar windows at its east and west ends. A Tudor arched doorway with cavetto moulding, enriched spandrels, a square hoodmould, and an original vertical battened door is situated between the first and second bays of the aisle, opposite the north porch.

Inside, the Norman chancel arch resembles the doorway of the north porch. A two-bay nave arcade features octagonal concave-moulded piers and four-centred arches; a smaller, similar bay extends from the chancel. Remains of a 15th-century rood loft are visible. The chancel contains a piscina, and a free-standing Norman piscina is located in the south aisle, near a baroque stone wall monument dedicated to John Harris, dated 1727.