Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a building of considerable historical importance, dating to the 12th century with substantial alterations in 1854, possibly by Stevens. It is constructed of coursed limestone with gritstone dressings and has slate roofs, with a lead roof over the north aisle. The church comprises a nave with a north aisle, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower.

The heavily buttressed west tower stands four stages high, featuring dentil corbels and a 19th-century parapet with corner pinnacles. The tower’s second stage has buttresses of varying height and profile, while the top stage has a square bell opening on each face. A small 12th-century lancet window with roll moulding is set into the south side of the second stage, alongside a gargoyle.

The south side of the nave and chancel exhibits a buttress with three set-offs, followed by a small 2-light window, a restored Dec window, a linked single light window, and a gabled porch with a semi-circular arch. The porch has raised and fielded double doors. To the right are a 19th-century lancet, a wider single light window, a wall memorial dated 1838, and another wall memorial from 1791. The chancel is lower and narrower, with a neo-Norman window. The east wall contains a single neo-Norman window. The north side of the church, entirely rebuilt in 1854, features four neo-Norman lancet windows with continuous roll mouldings, along with four smaller clerestory windows. The north aisle’s east window mirrors the others, while the west window is more elaborate, incorporating a zig-zag and roll moulding. The building is largely embattled.

Inside, a four-bay north arcade features round piers with round abaci and two-stepped arches. Tripartite windows in the aisle have smaller blind windows on each side, and a Norman chancel arch is also present. A significant monument to Francis and Sir John Fitzherbert, who died in 1619 and 1643 respectively, displays two tiers of kneeling figures, columns with Ionic and Corinthian capitals, and a family achievement and obelisks at the top. Other monuments from the 17th to 19th centuries commemorate the Fitzherbert family. Early 17th-century communion rails with turned balusters, an 18th-century pulpit, painted coats of arms above the south door and chancel arch, two 18th-century prayer boards, a panelled dado along the south wall, and a Norman tub-shaped font with incised animals are also noteworthy features.