Church Of St Christopher

The Church of St Christopher is a parish church dating primarily from the 15th century, with significant 19th-century restoration work carried out by the Reverend A J Stephenson and his son J H Stephenson. Constructed of coursed and squared rubble with slate and lead roofs, it features coped verges and cruciform finials. The church is built in the Perpendicular style, comprising a nave, chancel, a north aisle, a south chapel now used as a vestry, and a west tower.

The four-stage west tower has set-back buttresses, pinnacles, twin bell chamber windows, two tiers of niches to the west side, a west door, and a west window. It has a pierced and arcaded parapet as does the north aisle and south chapel. The nave and chancel also have 2-light windows. A panelled tower arch features at the base of the tower, with a small carved figure on each corbel. The nave has a wagon roof of the 19th century springing from corbels carved as heads, likely of Perpendicular design, with a lower entrance to the rood.

The north aisle, dating from around 1400, was restored in 1840. It contains an arcade with piers of a four-wave section, wall shafts on leaf corbels, a panelled lean-to roof, and a restored niche to the north wall, with a gabled and crocketted surround. An 11th-century stone Crucifix, obviously reused, is set on the East wall, along with a piscina under a foil arch and remains of a squint. The chancel, largely restored, has an early 19th-century turrel-vault plaster ceiling on corbels carved as heads, again probably Perpendicular. Numerous texts are stencilled in black letter around window openings, along walls, and around arches. A painted Norman tub font features a text, alongside a Jacobean cover. There is also a C17 painted royal arms. The church contains a chandelier from 1744, along with other furniture from the 19th century, including choir stalls, pews, a pulpit, a lectern, an altar rail, two gothic-style chairs, and a western gallery.

There are fifteen 19th-century wall monuments, some in brass; those dedicated to the Stephenson family are located in the vestry and boast a particularly elaborate style. A monument commemorating those lost in the Great War is also present. There is considerable 19th-century stained glass, including an east window by O’Connor of 1863, and five further stained glass windows. A 19th-century painting of Christ is also featured.