Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary, located to the east of Queen's Square, dates from the 12th to the 16th centuries, with alterations made in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is constructed of ashlar and rubble, topped with a slate roof and lead gutters. The church features a nave and chancel, along with an axial west tower that has four storeys, two north aisles, and one south aisle. The outer north aisle is gabled. The tower, partly from the 18th century, and the walls were entirely embattled in the 19th century. The east wall has two deep buttresses with many setbacks, and the east window consists of three lancets with a vesica above. The aisles have square-headed windows with multiple lights; the south aisle's lights are cusped while the north aisle's are round-headed. There are three Romanesque doorways, two leading to the south aisle and an elaborate one with four orders at the base of the tower. A Romanesque south porch was added in 1866.

Inside, the nave and chancel arcade has seven bays, with the first three featuring round arches from the 12th century and the eastern four displaying two-centred arches from the 13th century. The Romanesque north arcade of the nave combines composite piers and round piers with incised decoration reminiscent of Durham Cathedral. The fabric of the south aisle primarily dates from the 14th century, while the north aisles are mainly from the 16th century, separated by an arcade of that period. The chancel's east window has an inner order of slim detached shafts with rings. There is an early 13th-century piscina in the first column of the south arcade, and the pulpit dates from 1619. Other woodwork and furniture range from the 17th to the 18th centuries. This church is the principal medieval church of South Westmorland, and its arcade, which imitates that of Durham Cathedral, is of significant importance.