Church Of St Matthew

The Church of St Matthew is an Anglican parish church with a history extending back to the 12th century. The chancel dates to the late 13th century, while the main body of the church was constructed between the 14th and early 15th centuries, with a 16th-century chapel added later. The church underwent restoration in 1872 by Giles and Gane, and a 20th-century vestry was added. It is built of coursed rubble stone with freestone dressings, featuring coped verges, cruciform finials, a slate and lead-sheeting roof, and ashlar stacks.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a south chapel, a south porch, a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower is three-stage with diagonal buttresses, pinnacles, an embattled parapet, and a polygonal stair-turret topped with a stone spirelet. It has 2-light bell-chamber windows with quatrefoil interlace, a clock face, a 4-light west window, and a west door. The nave and aisles have 2-light windows and buttresses. A lofty porch with moulded inner and outer door openings provides access, leading to a benched interior laid with flagstones, featuring wooden dog gates and a 15th-century roof.

The south chapel has a large 4-light square-headed window dating to 1423, along with two pointed head windows, and a 3-light west window. The chancel has a 3-light east window and stepped cusped lancet lights. The simple vestry is in a neo-Perpendicular style. The interior features flagstone and encaustic tile floors and plastered walls. The nave’s roof is cusped and kingpost, largely restored in the 19th century, with retained earlier details and corbels. The aisles have lean-to roofs, again with possible earlier elements. Wagon roofs are found in the nave and chapel.

Significant architectural features include the tower arch and chancel arch, both with a double-quadrant moulding, mirrored in the 3-bay north arcade. The 3-bay south arcade dates to the 15th century, with 16th-century arches leading to the south chapel. There is a restored 13th-century font, two hagioscopes, a rood stair, and three piscinae. The church also contains two 17th-century chests, a table incorporating remains of a 17th-century altar rail, an altar rail from 1635, and an altar table dating to around 1635. Various pieces of furniture are present, including an 18th-century chest and coffin stools, 19th-century pews, a tester, choir stalls, and reredos.

A notable monument is a Perpendicular chest dedicated to Thomas Clarke, who died in 1555, potentially for whom the south chapel was constructed. Numerous 17th and 18th-century memorial tablets are also present, as is a 19th-century charity plaque. The church holds a collection of late 19th-century stained glass, along with some 20th-century works, and a north chancel window contains fragmentary medieval glass. The church's early bells have been preserved. A 17th-century bible is held within a glazed case. An organ loft beneath the tower includes an Art Nouveau gesso plaque. Royal Arms dated 1837 are also displayed.