Church of St Mary

Church of St Mary

An Anglican parish church of Decorated Gothic style with an equal-armed cross plan. Built of rock-faced crazed rubble stone with ashlar dressings, it features steep-pitched slate roofs banded in purple and blue with coped gables. The building sits on a raised plinth and is buttressed by clasping angle buttresses.

The church layout is distinctive for its southwest porch tower, which is linked unusually to the side-wall of the south transept via a short passage. The tower is approximately 19 metres high and has two stages. The lower stage features clasping buttresses and narrow loops to each face for lighting the ringing floor, set beneath a cornice. A single light with hood carried down to mid-height string course is on the west face. The south side has a gabled doorway, the gable coped with a finial and quatrefoil plaque in the apex, with a pointed doorway beneath having a hoodmould and red sandstone voussoirs. Carving in the door head remains unfinished. The door is ledged. The bell-stage has clasping buttresses and long 2-light traceried bell-lights with louvres, red sandstone voussoirs without hoodmoulds. Above this sits a corbelled cornice, parapet with blank quatrefoil panels, and 4 crocketted angle finials. The tower and church are connected by a short link containing 4 tiny lancets from the transept west wall.

The short nave has a segmental-pointed west window with 3 cusped lights and traceried 2-light windows to each side. Elaborate ogee Decorated tracery with red sandstone voussoirs and hoodmoulds embellishes the windows. The north transept features a large 3-light north window and similar 2-light to the west. The south transept has 2-light east and west windows and a large 3-light south window with hoodmould.

The chancel has a small lean-to vestry to the north and a large 4-light east window and south segmental-pointed 3-light, both with hoodmoulds. The north wall contains an elaborate recess with a triple arch, the centre arch carried on 2 angel corbels, originally designed for a harmonium, with the vestry door beneath the right arch. Pitch-pine stalls with open-fronted kneelers displaying Gothic column shafts occupy the chancel, with punched roundels in bench-ends.

The interior features plastered walls with 4 by 3-bay roofs of arch-braced collar-trusses elaborated with further bracing above the collars. Trusses rest on ashlar corbels with leaf carving, though 8 of the 16 corbels remain uncarved. The crossing is particularly impressive, measuring 18 feet square, with crossed trusses springing from quatrefoil shafts at the angles. These shafts have carved corbels and caps; the bases bear Christian symbols including a dove and lamb, while the caps display armorial shields. A brass corona, apparently designed for oil lights, hangs from the apex.

The west end features an organ loft of 1913, housing a divided organ by Jardine & Company of Manchester, positioned on each side of the west window. A plain octagonal font stands in the nave. A plain pointed door in the west wall provides passage to the porch tower.

The church contains significant stained glass. The chancel's fine 4-light east window is signed by Alexander Gibbs and dated 1866, commissioned by J Burton of Minera Hall. It depicts 4 scenes of the Life of Christ beneath canopies in deep colours. The north transept displays a fine 3-light stained glass window of 1867 by Alexander Gibbs, commissioned to A Reid, chairman of the mining company, with subjects depicting the Good Shepherd and Healing the Sick, with a memorial to the Darlington family dating 1866-94. The south transept holds a 3-light stained glass window by Celtic Studios commemorating Canon E R Jones (died 1951), depicting the Good Shepherd with the arms of 6 dioceses, and a 2-light window by G Maile Studios commemorating Rev H Jones, vicar 1960-76, depicting SS Mary Tudfil, David and Andrew.

A peal of 10 bells, cast in 1923 by Taylor of Loughborough, is housed in the tower. A pulpit of 1935, apparently made of cast stone in Gothic style, stands in the crossing. An eroded plaque to R Hughes dated 1733 is visible in the tower base.