The church of St.
Mary the Virgin stands a little to the east of the village. It
consists of chancel, large south vestry, nave, north transept, and
north porch, over which is a tower. The walls are of flint rubble
covered with cement with stone dressings; the roofs are tiled.
The eastern part of
the nave was built in the 12th century, and perhaps the chancel
also. In the early part of the 16th century the chancel arch was
rebuilt, the church re-roofed and new windows inserted. In 1874
about 20 ft. was added to the west end of the nave, a north
transept and south vestry built, and a north porch with tower and
timber spire above erected. The window of three cinquefoiled lights
in the east wall of the chancel is modern. In the north wall is a
modern blocked doorway, and a blocked window of 18th-century
character outside, but within are the jambs and arch of an earlier
window, possibly of the 13th century. In the south wall is a modern
door to the vestry. The two-centred chancel arch is of two
chamfered orders with jambs of the same section; the capitals are
moulded; it is of early 16th-century date.
In the north wall
of the nave is a modern arch to the transept, and in the modern
extension of the nave is a single-light window. The north doorway
is of mid-12th-century date, and has a semicircular arch of two
orders, the outer having a vertical cheveron moulding, the inner a
horizontal cheveron; the jambs have circular engaged shafts and
capitals carved with leaf ornaments; the bases are moulded; the
doorway is in a good state of preservation. The east end of the
south wall has a thickness of about 4 ft., which probably marks the
position of the former rood-stair. To the west of this is a window
of two cinquefoiled lights with tracery under a four-centred head;
it is of mid-15th-century date and has been much repaired. In the
upper part are some fragments of old glass of the same period. The
other windows in the south wall are modern. The roof of the eastern
part of the nave retains the 16th-century kingpost trusses and
timbers; the rafters are plastered underneath.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would
just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can
keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid
duplication.