Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is an Anglican parish church, originally under the jurisdiction of Glastonbury Abbey. Dedicated in 1323, it comprises a 15th-century nave with north and south aisles, remodelled between 1456 and 1494 and completed around 1494. A rainwater head dated 1896 marks a later restoration. The church is constructed of coursed rubble and squared stone, with ashlar and freestone dressings; the chancel is stuccoed, and the roofs are covered in slate with lead sheeting and coped verges featuring cruciform finials.

The architectural style is a mix of Decorated and Perpendicular. A two-stage, unbuttressed tower with battlements and a pyramidal roof is a prominent feature; it incorporates simple two-light bell-chamber windows, an octagonal stair turret, gargoyles, a three-light Perpendicular window facing west, and a west door. The nave and aisles have buttresses and plain ashlar parapets. Original decorative elements, an interlace of pointed quatrefoils in lozenges, are largely missing from the south aisle, with partial loss on the north aisle and west end. The south aisle incorporates the arms of Abbot Selwood, and features gargoyles. Three-light windows illuminate the aisles and clerestory; iron stanchions and saddle bars are present. The south porch features a chamfered outer door opening with a four-centred arch and a plank door with elaborate hinges; a sundial is positioned above the door.

The chancel has two bays with two-light Decorated windows and a further three-light Perpendicular window. The East window is unusual, comprised of three lancet lights with a spheric quadrangle cusped into three trefoils above; carved heads serve as label stops. A priests door is also present. The north vestry has a two-light lancet with Y-tracery.

Inside, the church has plastered walls and flagstone floors. The nave features arcades with slender piers displaying a four-hollows moulding; the tower arch has bold 14th-century moulding, while the chancel arch is Perpendicular with angel capitals. A squint is also present. The nave boasts an elaborate panelled roof with angel corbel supports; the south-east corner displays the arms of Abbot Beere. Wagon roofs with angelic corbels are in the aisles, with one in the south aisle bearing the mason's name "John Jackman". The chancel’s queen-post roof features arch-bracing up to a collar beam with three tiers of cusped windbraces. The church contains an octagonal Decorated font, a Perpendicular stone pulpit, an alms box, a piscina, a chest dated 1705, two Jacobean coffin stools, 19th-century pews and choir stalls, a brass lectern dated 1916, and a brass branch dated 1777. 17th and 18th-century tablets are set into the chancel floor, alongside two further 19th-century wall monuments. 19th-century stained glass is found in the south aisle and West window; the East window depicts The Crucifixion (post 1855), and two further windows in the chancel were created after 1871 by C.A. Cibbs; remnants of medieval glass are present in the south aisle windows. Royal arms from 1840 are displayed under the tower, alongside a painting of Christ.