Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building constructed between 1840 and 1842 by architect Sarah Losh, featuring sculptural stonework by William Hindson. It was built at the expense of estate workers. The church has dressed sandstone walls and a stone-slate roof, designed in a Romanesque style that shows influences from both French and Italian architecture.

The structure includes a four-bay nave with a semicircular apse. Each side of the nave has four round-headed windows, with a triple clerestory window above. There are two gargoyles on each side, designed to represent reptiles. The apse features recessed and round-headed niches, with clerestory arcading above. The west gable entrance has a round-headed arch decorated with roll-moulding featuring formalized water-lilies and pine-cone motifs. Above the entrance are three round-headed windows, with a rising arcade of small windows above, topped by a stone bellcote with a carved stone eagle. To the right of the entrance, there is a small stone-enclosed well.

Inside, the church is arranged on three levels, with a sunken body and steps leading up to the apse. The apse is surrounded by an arcade of 14 columns, each with carved capitals. The ceiling is made of pine panels and oak trusses, while the floor consists of sandstone slabs. The seating is made of oak and Spanish chestnut, with additional chairs and the pulpit crafted from carved local bog oak and ebony. The lecterns are made of carved chestnut, representing an eagle and a pelican on bog oak stands, and the pulpit is also made of carved bog oak. The font is crafted from varved alabaster by Sarah Losh and W.S. Losh, and the altar is made of green Italian marble supported by brass eagles. The stained glass is non-figurative and partly consists of re-used glass from the Archbishop's Palace in Paris. Carved wooden archangels flank the chancel arch, and other carved wood details are by local craftsmen.

The church was built close to or on the site of a medieval church that was completely demolished during the rebuilding, except for the font, which is now in the churchyard and listed separately, as well as a re-used corbel stone above the entrance to the boiler house and some re-used timber.