Parish Church Of St Mary

Parish Church of St Mary

This is a parish church with significant medieval remains spanning from the 12th century onwards. The church comprises a two-bay chancel with a south chapel, a four-bay nave with a south transept and north transept tower.

The earliest fabric dates to the 12th century and survives in the nave. The chancel and south transept were built in the 13th century, the north tower in the mid-14th century, the nave was widened in the 15th century (eliminating the original south aisle), and a south chapel and new roofs were added in the 16th century.

The building is constructed of coursed rubblestone with limestone and clunch dressings. The chancel and south transept roofs are covered with old tiles, while the remainder are lead. All elevations have parapets except the south transept.

The chancel features a late 13th-century east window of three uncusped lights with pierced spandrels and mask stops, and three original lancets to the north with stepped buttresses. The south chapel, dating to the 16th century, contains three-light cinquefoil windows beneath a four-centred head—one to the east and two to the south (the right one blocked)—and a blocked door.

The south transept has a three-lancet south window set under a pointed arch. The nave is lit by two three-light windows on each side of the porch; the west window has a four-centred head and both are late 15th-century with cinquefoil lights and tracery.

The prominent south porch is two storeys tall with diagonal buttresses, a plain parapet, and an octagonal turret carried above the parapets to provide stair access to the roofs. A four-centred moulded archway opens to a ground stage with a two-light window above, covered by a four-centred barrel vault roof divided into five cusped panels.

The north tower transept consists of two stages with an octagonal stair turret at its south-west angle. The bell chamber and ringing chamber have small trefoiled single lights. A mid-14th-century three-light east window and a two-light north window (above an inserted doorway) light these spaces, and diagonal buttresses strengthen the north face. The nave's north wall contains three three-light late 15th-century windows with cinquefoil lights and tracery in two-centred heads. The west elevation has a three-light window in a four-centred head above traces of the original west door, flanked by large stepped buttresses.

The interior reveals further complexity. The chancel contains a locker in its north wall and a 13th-century chancel arch of two chamfered orders on half-octagonal responds. A 15th-century roof of two bays with arch-braced collar trusses sits on moulded timber corbels and includes purlin braces. The south arcade to Croke Chapel consists of 16th-century four-centred arches of two chamfered orders with octagonal columns and semi-octagonal responds, moulded bases and capitals.

The south chapel has a rough round-headed arch into the transept and a short king-post roof with a chamfered and stopped tie beam and king post. The nave's east wall shows traces of an earlier roof line; south of the chancel arch are two 15th-century arched openings with moulded jambs—the right one leads to a rood stair and upper opening.

The arch into the south transept is late 15th-century, two-centred with two moulded orders; its inside jamb carries three chamfered and moulded orders with moulded caps and bases. The north transept arch, from the mid-14th century, consists of three chamfered orders with ogee-moulded labels to each side. Its roof is late 16th-century with six bays; the tie beams are chamfered with curved braces to wall posts on stone corbels carved with angels and prophets' heads. Chamfered stopped posts support purlins and the ridge.

A 15th-century traceried door opens from the porch into the newel stair. The font is octagonal with a cup-shaped bowl, moulded circular stem and base, dating to the late 15th century. An 18th-century communion rail features turned balusters. The choir stalls reuse 16th-century poppy-head bench ends and panelling. The screen between chancel and south chapel is 16th-century with panels having traceried heads, a carved rail and moulded cornice, though the mullions were replaced with 17th-century turned balusters.

The church contains important monuments. In the south chapel stands an architectural monument to Sir John Croke (died 1608) and his wife, featuring two recumbent effigies beneath a coffered arch with eleven kneelers in front of the tomb chest. The back wall carries an inscription and strapwork flanked by two black columns and obelisks, crowned by a Corinthian entablature and pediment. Also in the south chapel is a small kneeling figure of Elizabeth Tyrrell (died 1631) in a semi-circular recess with Ionic pillars and pediment. At the west end of the nave is a tripartite monument to Chief Justice Carter (died 1755) of white and grey marble with outer pilasters, inner columns, an open pediment, palm fronds and putti in the frieze. The south chapel contains 16th and 17th-century brasses.

A 17th to 18th-century organ in a double case stands at the west end of the nave, flanking the Carter monument; it was originally housed in Chilton House.