Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is an Anglican parish church, exhibiting fabric from the 11th century through the 15th century, with substantial restoration work undertaken in 1880. It is constructed of coursed and squared rubble, with coped verges and slate roofs, except for the vestry which retains double-Roman tiles. The church comprises a nave, chancel, south porch, north chapel, north vestry, and a west tower. Architectural styles include Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular.

The three-stage embattled tower features angle buttresses with offsets to the lower stage, two-light bell-chamber windows, a stair-turret with an embattled octagonal upper stage, and a clock. The embattled parapet incorporates corner pinnacles, likely dating from the 17th century, and a two-light window on the south side. The nave incorporates two-light square-headed windows and a large three-light window to the south, with a gablet; vestiges of a blocked Norman doorway remain on the north side. The gabled porch has simple inner and outer door openings, and a 15th-century ribbed and studded door secured by ornamental strap hinges.

The north chapel, dedicated to Gilbert de Woolavington, is of 13th-century origin with grouped lancet windows. Similar lancets are found on the south side of the chancel, with a two-light square-headed window to the north, and a 17th-century three-light east window in Perpendicular style, along with a priest’s door.

The interior features scraped walls, a carpeted floor (recorded in September 1985), wagon roofs (nave and chapel plastered), and a wagon roof in the porch, dated to the 14th century. The tower is supported on four intersecting triple-chamfered arches from the early 14th century, originally intended to create a crossing which was never completed. A plain 13th-century archway leads to the north chapel, while a 14th-century arch defines the chancel. Further interior features include a lower entrance to the rood, sedilia, a piscina within the chapel, an aumbry in the chancel, and a hagioscope. The octagonal font, dating from the 15th century, is decorated with quatrefoils. The wooden pulpit combines 16th and 17th-century woodwork with rich carvings. A detached stone head from the 15th century is preserved in the chancel, representing the remnant of a former effigy. A stone with incised initials is set into the north wall of the nave, likely commemorating Sir John Hody, Chief Justice of England, who died in 1441. Two Jacobean chairs and two coffin stools are also present. There are three 18th and early 19th-century wall monuments, along with 19th-century pews and an organ. A late 19th-century stained glass window is located to the south of the nave. The church houses five early bells.