St Mark’s Church

St Mark’s Church is a late Perpendicular style building constructed from red rubble sandstone with Bathstone detailing. It dates to the 18th century and has a plan consisting of a nave with lean-to aisles and clerestory, a west tower, and a chancel with a north vestry.

The tower is tall, with three stages, and features diagonal buttresses rising to tall pinnacles. It has elaborate, large, paired belfry windows with panel tracery filled with ashlar openwork. A frieze of blank quatrefoils sits below the battlements, and angle shafts rise between the windows to pinnacles. Clocks are located below on all sides, set within square openings. A polygonal vice projects from the northeast corner, terminating below clock level. The west door is in three orders, the outer two on shafts with plain caps. Above is a large rose window, which illuminates a gallery. The north elevation of the nave has five bays, with three-light, four-centred clerestory windows featuring idiosyncratic panel tracery. A central gabled and battlemented porch projects from the aisle, with boarded doors and a tall cross finial. The aisle windows are panel-traceried and comprise three lights, and are similar in style to the west and east elevations. The battlements of the aisle end in carved finials with open trefoils and spirelets. The north side of the chancel is partially obscured by a later, single-story, battlemented vestry, which has a canted east elevation. The vestry has flat-headed Perpendicular windows, and a three-bay north elevation with a central porch matching the aisle porches. A polygonal ashlar chimney with a battlemented top is located on the south side of the vestry. The east end of the chancel has a large five-light Perpendicular window. The south elevation of the chancel is of three bays with two-light windows between two-stage buttresses. The south elevation of the nave is similar to the north, with the two eastern bays terminated by tall, square, cupola-like open finials with spirelets.

Inside, five-bay arcades have double-chamfered arches on octagonal piers with moulded capitals. The chancel arch is formed by triple shafts. The nave has a simple open-trussed roof with thin principals rising from wall-posts, and carved spandrels. The chancel roof has tie beams with principals rising from wall-posts, supported by large carved angels. The roofs feature simple painted decoration by George Pace, with blue and white patterning above the altar. A gallery spans the west end of the nave, and has front panels with diagonal boarding and supporting brackets. The church contains plain pews from 1875-77. An elaborate, early 20th century oak chancel screen of five bays features tall, open traceried panels and a richly carved cornice with a corresponding frieze. A similarly dated oak pulpit and communion rail are also present, both with open cusped panels. The oak reredos, from 1902, is heavily carved with broad polygonal terminals, a central niche, and pinnacles. The sanctuary has coloured marble paving and altar steps. A 20th-century hexagonal font has carved oak sides. Stained glass includes an east window from 1891 by A. Savell depicting the Ascension, a south aisle east window from 1876, and a south aisle SE window from 1913 by Savell (St Mark). Other stained glass windows are primarily from the 20th century.