Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary, a large parish church of coursed squared lias stone with ashlar dressings and a lead roof, dating from the late 13th to 19th centuries. The building comprises a nave with south and north aisles, a chancel, a north chapel, and a west tower.

The chancel and north chapel were largely rebuilt for John Spencer in 1522 and restored by Edward Blore in 1846. The chancel and north chapel are of equal length, each with an identical Perpendicular five-light east window with a four-centred head. Both have ashlar parapets and shallow gabled roofs. The north chapel features a polygonal projection with single-light windows, added in 1846 by Reverend H. Rose.

The south side contains three three-light Perpendicular windows. The south aisle, dating from the mid-14th century, has three three-light windows with reticulated tracery, a similar west window, an ashlar parapet, and a single pitched roof. Between the second and third windows is an arched and gabled tomb recess with dog-tooth moulding. A gabled porch with a datestone of 1832 stands between the first and second windows, designed by Blore. Gabled buttresses at the corners feature gargoyles.

The north aisle is similar to the south aisle and has a six-panelled north door. The nave clerestory contains a six-window range on the south and a three-window range on the north, each with three-light windows with square heads. Several rainwater heads are dated 1794 and 1827.

The west tower is in three stages with a string course and two-stage angle buttresses. The west door has a four-centred head. Immediately above is a tall 14th-century three-light window with panel tracery. The third stage has plain two-light windows on each face. The tower is topped by a castellated parapet with a corbelled table.

The interior features a six-bay 14th-century arcade with octagonal piers and double-chamfered arches. The south arcade has piers with concave sides and is taller than the north. The south chancel window contains remains of glass dating to around 1532. The east window contains stained glass by Morris and Company from 1912. The north chapel contains 19th-century glass by Ward. The pews date from around 1846 and feature poppy heads incorporating 15th-century work. A circular font of Purbeck marble has a 13th-century base.

The chapel contains an important series of Spencer family monuments. The north chapel is enclosed by a railing with spikes and is scheduled as an Ancient Monument. Monuments include inscribed tablets to Robert Washington (died 1622) and Laurence Washington (died 1616) in the nave and chancel. Spencer monuments include: Sir John Spencer (died 1522) and his wife with effigies on a tomb chest beneath a canopy decorated with shields, quatrefoils, and an angel; Sir John Spencer (died 1586) and his wife, a work by Jasper Hollemans featuring recumbent effigies on a tomb chest under a round arch with shields and obelisks; Robert, first Baron Spencer and his wife, erected in 1599 by Hollemans, with effigies on a painted sarcophagus, he in armour and she with a heraldic coverlet, beneath a depressed arch supported on Corinthian columns, with obelisks and pendants above; Sir William Spencer (died 1532), with a plain tomb chest with quatrefoils beneath the east window; Sir John Spencer (died 1599) and his wife in the north-east corner, by Hollemans, with effigies under a canopy decorated with obelisks and strapwork supported by black columns with Corinthian capitals; William, Lord Spencer, erected in 1638 by Nicholas Stone, with effigies on a tomb chest and canopy in black and white marble; Sir Edward Spencer (died 1655) in the south-east corner by John Stone, as a demi-figure rising from an urn; and John Spencer (died 1783) by Nollekens, a white marble tablet with a female figure and male profile in clouds to the west of the bay window. Other 19th-century monuments, coronets, and hatchments relating to the Spencer family are also present.