This beautiful little building is dedicated to St. Mary the Blessed Virgin, to give it in full detail, and is believed to have been built possibly on the site of an earlier one by the first Ernald de Bois; certainly parts of it are contempory with his time.
The arcading of the nave seems to have been built not later than 1200A.D. in the Transitional period between the Norman and Early English styles.
The tower is probably a few years later and appears to have been little altered since its building. It contains three bells, the youngest is dated 1658. The clerestories over the nave are of a later date than the body of the church in the Decorated style probably about 1330.
In the 18th century the church was in such a poor state of repair that the then vicar complained that, owing to the bad state of the chancel roof, he had to wear a hood when it rained to keep his head dry when celebrating Holy Communion. However in 1778 a thorough restoration was completed and there is little history of disrepair since then.
An interesting survival from pre-Reformation times are the carved corbels at the east end of the nave, which must have supported a fairly massive medieval rood screen. A unique feature of the church is the ancient font which appears to be older than the present church building. It has a warrior figure attacking two dragons. Several historians have attributed this to St. George, but the cult of St. George as patron saint of England was unknown until later medieval times.
This carving from its great age is much more likely to represent St. Michael the Biblical dragon slayer.
In the churchyard close by the porch are the remains of the village cross and at the base of the eastern steps is the lid of a stone coffin probably as old as the foundation of this interesting church.
I have driven past this church many times and not fully appreciated the history and how lovely it is, and is again built using the local Ironstone.
If you choose to do the nearby cache, Smokey's Big Adventure which is about 300m from the church.
I suggest that you park in a place that does not block the field entrance.
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
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