Church Of Saint Mary

The Church of Saint Mary is a Grade II* listed building located in Muker, dating back to 1580, with 18th-century alterations and a restoration in 1891. It is constructed of rubble with a stone slate roof and features a west tower, nave, and chancel all under a single roof, along with a south porch.

The tower, possibly built in 1580, consists of three stages and has quoins. On the ground floor, there is a vent with a vertical iron bar, and the belfry has two-light chamfered-mullion openings. A benchmark is present on the west face, and the lead rainwater head is cast with the inscription "R METCALFE, I CALVERT, C-WARDENS 1793". The porch, dated 1849 on a kneeler, is made of coursed stone and features a sundial. The inner doorway has a chamfered, four-centred arch with the inscription "LW 1719 IP".

The nave and chancel, primarily from 1580, consist of three and two bays respectively. There is a two-light chamfered-mullion window on the south-west side, while other windows are 19th-century, featuring two trefoil-headed lights with hoodmoulds. The east window has three trefoil-headed lights under a hoodmould, and the north side includes an 18th-century lead rainwater head.

Inside, the beaded wall plate and roof timbers are largely from 1580, although they were raised from a steeper thatched pitch in 1761. The font is a 19th-century round basin on a cylindrical shaft and base. On the south wall of the sanctuary, there is a small stone inscribed "SG 1769". The north wall of the sanctuary features a vertical slab commemorating Mr. James of the parish of Redrith, Cornwall, who died in 1746. The south wall of the chancel has a memorial to Alexander Calvert of Richmond, a land agent and commissioner under the Inclosure Acts, who died in 1834. The north wall of the nave contains a memorial to Edmund Alderson Knowles of Low Row, who died in 1835, created by G Green of Newcastle, along with a board painted with rules for the use of the Parish Hearse from 1836. This church is a rare example of a new church built in 1580.