Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church with medieval origins, significantly rebuilt in the early 17th and early 18th centuries by T Archer, with a 19th-century reroofing. Originally constructed of rubble flint and stone, the exterior was first encased in coursed ironstone. Later, the ends were rebuilt in Portland stone, and similar dressings were added, topped with an old plain tile roof. The church was initially a simple nave and chancel, but early 18th-century additions created a cruciform layout with transepts.

The eastern chancel facade is ashlar, featuring a central arched window with large keystone end imposts that extend to corner pilasters. Below the window is a tall segmental-headed blind opening, and above it a rectangular opening. Doric pilasters decorate the corners, supporting a plain entablature and a 19th-century plastered gable with 2-light round-headed tracery. Similar pilasters are found at the junction with the transepts. The ends of the transepts feature central doorways with moulded pilasters, capitals, a moulded arch with an oversized keystone, and rising outside arches with volute-like console brackets, moulded hoods, and lunette windows. A double door and fanlight are on the north transept; a blind opening on the south. High-set rectangular windows are on each side, accompanied by similar pilasters and gables. A square timber bellcote with a hipped lead roof and bell sits above the north transept. Pilasters are at the junction with the nave. Rectangular windows with 19th-century 2-light roundheaded tracery are on the sides of the nave. The west end mirrors the transepts but is plainer.

Inside the chancel, there is stained glass by Mayer of Munich. The south transept contains monuments, including one in 1743 to T Archer by P Scheemakers, featuring a reclining effigy on a sarcophagus and flanked by female figures. A 1768 monument to H Archer was created by J Wilson; it depicts a woman standing by an urn with a portrait medallion. A brass memorial commemorates Sir J Penruddock (1600) on the nave floor. There is also a 1796 monument to J May, designed by J Wyatt and carved by R Westmacott, with a slender urn on a square base with ram’s heads at the corners. The walls have stone benches, and the roof and furnishings are from the 19th century. A medieval circular font rests on a square base, with an early 17th-century carved band.