Church Of St Simon And St Jude

The Church of St Simon and St Jude is a parish church dating back to the late 12th century, with significant restoration work undertaken in the mid-19th century and a later addition of a south transept. The church is constructed of rubble flint, rendered and with stone dressings, and has an old plain tile roof. The nave and chancel date from around 1170, although the chancel has been extensively restored. The south wall of the nave was lost in the 19th century. Features include a 19th-century north porch, a south transept with an adjoining southeast vestry, and a bell turret at the west end of the nave roof. The chancel was restored in 1863, taking in a new east window of three lancets beneath a surrounding arch. The side walls retain two plain, short lancet windows from the 12th century. A late 12th-century north door features a round arch with a square order and hollow chamfered abaci and a small chamfer to the jambs. The door itself is original, with strap hinges and a wooden lock case, and is situated within a 19th-century gabled timber-sided porch which also contains memorial tablets from 1721 and 1814, alongside a fragment of a medieval coffin lid. A large two-light window of the 19th century, with a quatrefoil in the head and a lancet above, is located to the east of the porch. To the west is a reworked or new 2-light perpendicular window, also from the 19th century. On the west wall is a 15th-century square headed window with three cinquefoiled lights, topped with a plain lancet. The south wall, just west of the transept, has the remains of a 2-light round headed window. A weatherboarded bell turret topped with a short shingled spire sits at the west end of the nave roof. The church also incorporates a large, wide south transept. Inside the chancel, the rear arches and roof are from around 1863, with most fittings dating from the same period, except for a 17th-century altar table. A brass memorial from 1639 commemorates Mary Travers, alongside further monuments including those of Elizabeth Durnford (1763), Rev. William Gomm and his wife (1808), and Elizabeth Gomm (1836, by James Kellow). Other tablets commemorate Sarah Hodges (1800) and Christopher Hodges (1826). The 12th-century chancel arch is transitional in style, pointed and of two orders with slight chamfers. The capitals feature waterleaf moulding on the north side, and recut scrolled leafwork on the south. Nook shafts are located to the west and half-round shafts to the jambs, all with spreading moulded bases. The nave roof is from the 16th century and is plastered. The bell turret rests partly on the west wall and partly on the west tie beam. A benefactor's board commemorating the Venables family from 1766 is located in the vestry.