Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

A church dating from the mid-12th to 14th centuries, with 19th-century restoration. Built in squared coursed and regular coursed limestone with ironstone dressings, the west tower is constructed of limestone and lias ashlar. The roofs are lead and slate.

The church comprises an aisled nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch.

The south elevation of the chancel displays a range of three windows of 14th-century date, consisting of two- and three-light square-headed windows, the left window having a transom and low sill. A south door is positioned left of centre. The chancel has a gabled roof with ashlar parapet and finial. The 19th-century four-light east window is in Perpendicular style, with label stops indicating an earlier opening beneath.

The north elevation of the chancel contains two windows of 14th-century two-light square-headed form with a blank centre bay. The right window has a low sill to one light.

The south aisle has a range of three three-light windows, the centre window with a four-centred head and flanking windows with square heads. There are three-light windows to the east and west. The aisle has a lean-to roof with castellated ashlar parapet. The south porch is gabled with a square finial carrying a sundial. Its outer arch is double-chamfered, and the late 12th-century inner door opening has one order of shafts, a thick roll moulding, and flat faces of the arch decorated with saltire crosses and palmette leaves.

The north aisle contains a range of three windows comprising two-light square-headed windows to the far left, a three-light window with four-centred head left of centre, and a double lancet right of centre. A transitional north door opening at the far right has a double-stepped pointed arch. Three-light windows occupy the east and west positions. The aisle has a lean-to roof with plain ashlar parapet.

The nave clerestory displays a range of three two-light square-headed windows beneath a shallow gabled roof with castellated ashlar parapet.

The Perpendicular west tower comprises five stages with four-stage clasping buttresses at the corners terminating in panelled corner pinnacles. The lower two stages are banded limestone and lias. The west door opening has decorated spandrels and a ribbed door with tracery decoration. Above this is a large three-light Perpendicular window with two small quatrefoils to the right. A square panel at the base of the third stage contains four-petal flower tracery. Tall two-light bell-chamber openings with transoms occupy each face of the upper two stages. Gargoyles feature at the corners and a castellated parapet crowns the tower. A clock on the south face is dated 1862.

The interior contains four-bay nave arcades. The two western bays on either side feature 12th-century plain round arches with circular piers having scallops and circular abaci. The two eastern bays have double-chamfered Decorated arches with polygonal piers. A double-chamfered chancel arch rests on carved brackets, and a double-chamfered tower arch has polygonal responds. The chancel contains triple sedilia with crocketed head and an Easter Sepulchre. A trefoil-headed piscina is located in the south aisle.

The 19th-century roof structures and furnishings include a font. Three Compton family hatchments are displayed in the north aisle. Monuments comprise three brasses in the nave showing two 15th-century knights with a lady between them, and a plain inscribed tablet to Thomas Willoughby dated 1682 on the north wall of the chancel. The 19th-century stained glass east window is probably by Kempe, with aisle windows in geometrical patterns. A late 17th-century clock mechanism is housed in the north aisle.