Church of Saint Mary

The Church of Saint Mary is a largely Perpendicular Gothic style building, largely dating to the 16th century, though with significant earlier elements. The church is set within a wider landscape. A prominent feature is the fine, square west tower with angle buttresses and a square stair turret to the southeast, topped with a corbelled parapet. The tower’s parapets step upwards at the corners, and it has paired small bell openings to the west and north. A high plinth course runs along the north and west sides, broken by a moulded, pointed west doorway, above which is a 19th-century square-headed two-light window with reticulated tracery and a hoodmould. A weathercock sits atop the tower.

The south side has two windows to the nave, each a two-light design with quatrefoil heads, hoodmoulds, and plate tracery. There are also two windows to the transept ends - long two-light designs with cusped quatrefoil heads - and three cusped lancets to the sides of the chancel. A large four-light east window contains two paired quatrefoil-headed lights and a sexfoil above. The north side includes a low lean-to vault-entry against the chancel, a stone-coped projection set into the angle between the chancel and the transept, and one window to the nave. This window is accompanied by a large gabled porch with a moulded, shafted pointed arch, a quatrefoil panel above, a rafter roof, and a moulded pointed inner door. A plank door is fitted with ornate wrought-iron hinges.

Historical records show the church had lower roofs and paired transept gables in a 1787 view. However, between 1834 and 1835, it underwent substantial alteration based on designs by John Morgans. These changes included the insertion of small-paned pointed windows throughout the building, the creation of single, broad transept gables, and the addition of an interior gallery, box pews, and plastered flat ceilings.

Inside, a big chamfered tower arch is separated by an ornate, glazed eight-panel 19th-century timber screen, with 20th-century glazing above. A piscina with an ogee head is set into the south tower pier. The nave has a six-bay arch-braced collar truss roof supported by ashlar corbels, and rere arches behind the windows. A fine 12th-century scalloped square font sits upon a column base. Paired arches lead to the transepts, supported by quatrefoil columns and wall corbels, with the transept roofs carried on an axial timber arch-braced beam with uprights to an upper valley beam. A nave pulpit is supported by quatrefoil shafts. The chancel features 20th-century Gothic woodwork including stalls, a communion table, and panelling at the east end. The east window contains stained glass depicting the four Evangelists, likely dating from around 1890. Lancets on each side of the chancel hold attractive glass dating from around 1879, created by Heaton, Butler and Bayne; this incorporates painted quarries with 15th and 16th century medallions. Other north-side windows contain glass dating from around 1911 and 1935, while a south-side window has glass from 1911. A number of 19th-century wall plaques are present, including one to Rev W G Hughes (died 1824), and a 1902 brass portrait relief to Evelyn Alderson, apparently signed T Molock.