Church Of St Michael

Parish Church. The church largely dates to the 13th century, with additions in the 15th century, repairs following a fire in 1744, and restoration work undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed of rubble flint with stone and 18th-century brick dressings, and has an old plain tile roof. The church is built on a mound, with the chancel situated on a steep slope above a crypt.

The original 13th-century core comprises the chancel and nave with north and south aisles, incorporating roofs that project beyond the aisle walls. The chancel was extended during the 15th century. The tower, porch, and aisle walls were rebuilt in 1744. An added bay to the chancel features diagonal buttresses, an east buttress to the crypt, and a brick buttress on the north-east corner. A restored 15th-century four-light square-headed east window is present, along with a two-light transomed window to the sides, with labels featuring head stops and cinquefoiled lights (except the south window below the transom, which has shouldered heads). The original chancel contains a pointed south door, a single lancet window beside the door, and reworked 13th-century two-light lancets on both walls. A 19th-century chimney and brick boilerhouse are situated in the north-west corner. The west ends of the aisles have 15th-century square-headed two-light windows. Two early 20th-century three-light windows, in a Tudor style, are located on the aisles, with labels featuring dated stops and heraldic stained glass.

A gabled porch with 18th-century brick sides and a reset stone end with buttresses stands on the south side. The porch contains a 13th-century arch with moulded capitals and elaborately carved 14th-century stonework panels on either side. A blocked 18th-century segmental-headed doorway is situated on the north side, blocked internally. The west ends of the aisles feature 18th-century two-light timber-leaded windows. The 18th-century tower has a brick plinth and a 18th-century south door, with a two-light timber window on the west side and a single light above, surrounded by four wrought iron tie plates and featuring large rectangular bell openings.

Inside the chancel, 19th-century rear arches are located above all windows, except the southwest lancet and door. A 13th-century trefoiled piscina with a shelf lies to the east of the door. On the south wall are a cartouche dated 1785 commemorating Anne Ferrers, and tablets of 1825 to Edmund Ferrers and his second wife, and of 1845 to Elisa Ann Hunt. A rare survival of 14th-century Flemish tiles is located under the altar. The pointed 13th-century chancel arch consists of two chamfered orders with nook shafts. The nave has 13th-century arcades, recut in three bays, featuring round piers on bases with spurs and abaci, with arches of two chamfered orders dying into vertical cylinders. The tower arch is similar, with a string at the springing, and is walled up with a small 18th-century door inserted. The south door is 18th-century, segmental headed, and the north door is blocked with reused stones, including one inscribed with a medieval-style cross. Furnishings such as the stone pulpit and font are 19th-century.