Church Of St Mary Magdalen

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is a Grade II* listed church located in Hayton, dating back to 1780, built on a medieval site. It features a Latin inscription above the entrance. A side chapel was added in 1793 for the Graham family, and the chancel was rebuilt in 1842, as indicated by an inscription stone inside. The church underwent restoration in 1888.

The exterior is constructed of red sandstone coursed rubble on a chamfered plinth, with ashlar quoins featuring V-shaped joints and a shaped cornice. The roof is made of graduated slate with coped gables and kneelers. The building includes a small square three-storey west tower that also serves as a porch, a five-bay nave, and a three-bay side chapel with a separate stepped entrance. The two-bay chancel has a north vestry.

The tower features a plank door with an alternate block surround and a keyed entablature, along with a round-arched window above that has a similar bell opening with wooden louvred vents. It has clock faces on three sides and a battlemented parapet with pointed corner pinnacles. The nave is adorned with round-arched windows that have projecting impost blocks and false keystones, along with a wall sundial. The side chapel mirrors this window style, with its entrance framed by a pilaster strip surround and false keystone. The chancel also has similar windows.

Inside, the church boasts an open timber ceiling supported by shaped corbel stones. The side chapel features a screen with elliptical arches on clustered circular columns, while the pews and furnishings date from the late 19th or early 20th century. Stained glass windows were created by Charles Evan of London in 1888 and W.H.A. Ward of London in 1907. The porch has an internal door with a radial fanlight, and the side chapel contains white marble wall plaques dedicated to the Grahams of Edmond Castle. There is also an Ordnance Survey bench mark on the tower quoin.