Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating to the 15th century, extensively restored in 1875. It is constructed of stone rubble with granite ashlar buttresses and has a slate roof. The church comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a west tower, and a south porch. The aisles and chancel have 3-light Perpendicular windows, largely restored. The north and south chancel windows differ, each having 2 lights with a quatrefoil in the head, and the south chancel window appears less renewed. The aisles and chancel are punctuated by buttresses, with additional buttresses between the windows in the north aisle. The south porch is similarly buttressed and features a moulded cornice and battlemented parapet. It contains a 2-centred arched doorway both inside and out; the outer doorway is moulded and the inner one is chamfered. The porch ceiling has a centre boss dating to 1908, designed by R M Fulford and executed by Harry Hems. The two-stage west tower is topped by an oversailing battlemented parapet with corner pinnacles. A 2-centred arched doorway is set into the west face, above which is a restored 3-light Perpendicular window. The belfry has paired openings with pointed heads on each face, and a smaller pair of openings on the east face leading to the ringing chamber. Inside, the nave and chancel each have four granite arches on either side, with wave-moulded piers and 4-centred heads. A plain pointed arch defines the tower entrance, set on hollow-moulded impost blocks. Doorways with pointed arches at the top and bottom of the tower stairs provide access to the tower stairs. In the south wall of the south aisle are upper and lower doorways leading to former rood stairs, which were blocked in 1875 and with the turret removed. The waggon roofs are ornamented with a 'glory' (ceilure) over the rood position, redecorated with new columns in the 1980s. A late Norman limestone font has a square carved bowl on a round pier, with detached shafts at the corners and a moulded base. A Perpendicular rood screen spans the nave and aisles, though the loft is missing, and simpler parclose screens are also present. Much ancient colour, including dado figures, was cleaned and retouched by Anna Hulbert in the 1980s. Surviving medieval stained glass can be found in the head of the second window from the east in the north aisle. Several 17th century ledger slabs are also present. The church contains four bells; the treble and third are from the 15th century, the tenor was cast in 1637 by Thomas Pennington of Exeter, and the second in 1904 by Mears and Stainbank of London. The frame, which is old, stands on plain, thick beams and has large, curved downward braces, though its origins are uncertain due to reconstruction.