Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a building with pre-conquest origins, largely rebuilt around 1360, with a Norman chapel dating from the 15th century. The church is constructed of local squared and random coursed stone, with Ham stone dressings. The roofs are tiled, with stone slates on the north chancel slope, lead on the north aisle and chapel.

The plan includes a two-bay chancel, a three-bay nave, a west tower, a three-bay north aisle and chapel, and a south porch. The chancel features a plain triple lancet East window. On the south side is a corner pilaster with a 15th-century three-light hollow chamfered mullioned window, a 14th-century pointed arch doorway, and a two-light pointed arch window. A corner pilaster with a slit window of uncertain date and a 15th-century mullioned window are on the north side, where herringbone stonework is visible between the windows; earlier stonework exists at low levels on the north and east walls. The nave has a corner offset buttress and pilaster on the north side, with a 14th-century three-light pointed arch window. Similar windows are on the south side, with offset buttresses for each bay. The south porch has a two-centre arched doorway with plain jambs.

The north aisle and chapel have angle and bay offset buttresses, a string course, a plain parapet with corner gargoyles, and 14th-century traceried windows with pointed arches. A four-centre arched doorway with moulded jambs is in the west bay of the north wall. The three-stage west tower has angle buttresses, a plinth, string course, crenellated top, a stair turret to the south-east corner, gargoyles, pinnacles, a lead spout on the north side, a 14th-century two-centre arched West door with moulded jambs, a traceried window above with a label mould incorporating eight-petal roses, a clock face, and simple 14th-century traceried windows on all four sides with pierced baffle boards. A 20th-century weathervane is on the northwest corner. The tower contains four bells and a 20th-century clock.

Internally, the chancel has a rib and plaster panel pointed barrel vault. The Easternmost windows are set in 11th-century reveals and the southwest window contains fragments of early glass. The chancel arch is two-centred and dates from the 14th century. The nave has crown post roof trusses with circa 1900 boards and rafters, unplastered walls, and a pointed arch with bell capitals into the north aisle and chapel. There is an 18th-century timber pulpit on a 20th-century base, with a backboard and an ogee top tester. A Norman, lead-lined font has a cylindrical base and decorated scallops. The north chapel and aisle are of particular interest, featuring a 15th-century statue niche, traces of wall paintings on the North Wall, a 15th-century roof frame, and a rather primitive 15th-century timber screen that has been adapted to form a wind lobby for the North door and choir gallery, where a 1710 clock mechanism is now stored.