Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a church dating from the late 12th century, with additions and alterations in the early 14th century and the Perpendicular period. It is constructed of squared uncoursed limestone and ironstone, with lead and slate roofs. The church comprises a chancel, nave, and aisle, a north porch, and a west tower. The east window of the chancel dates from around 1300 and features three trefoiled lancets. Two two-light windows with Y-tracery, also dating from around 1300, are located on the south side. A 19th-century priests doorway is also present on the south side, as is a 19th-century lancet window to the north. In the south aisle, a plain 13th-century lancet is found in the east wall, and the south-east window, also dating from around 1300, features Y-tracery and a hood with lead stops. A two-light window with a quatrefoil in the head is situated to the right of the doorway. The south doorway, dating from the late 12th century, has a round arch with roll mouldings and jamb shafts with crudely moulded capitals. A window to the left, dating from around 1300, has two lights with cusped Y-tracery. A round-headed late 12th-century lancet is found in the west wall. The west tower is of Perpendicular style, with three stages and a crenellated parapet, incorporating bell openings of two lights with cusped heads and a transom. The north aisle features windows in the east and west walls and to the right of the porch, all dating to the early 14th century with tracery, renewed in the 19th century. The window to the left of the porch has three cusped lights and a four-centred head. The north porch was rebuilt in 1885, as indicated by a datestone. The inner doorway of the porch, dating from the early 14th century, has an arch with roll mouldings and hollow chamfered jambs. Internally, the south arcade consists of two bays with pointed double chamfered arches and a round pier. Stiff-leaf carving can be seen on the capital of the east respond. The north arcade, dating from around 1300, has three bays with octagonal piers and double chamfered arches. Corbels carved with naturalistic foliage are present in the west and north-west windows of the north aisle. A Perpendicular chancel screen and bench ends are also found within. Fragments of 15th-century stained glass remain, including figures of St. Anne and the Virgin Mary, and St. Christopher in the east window of the north aisle. A monument exists for Fulk Woodhull, who died in 1613, and a stone effigy is housed in a recess framed by fluted columns of composite order within the north aisle. Early 18th-century black marble floor slabs, bearing coats of arms and fine lettering, mark the Woodhull family’s burials. A painted wooden panel records repairs to the church in 1701, paid for by John Tooley—although no evidence of these repairs is currently visible.