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Grade II* listed

The round tower is definitely Saxon in origin, approximately 950 years old, and has a triangular headed doorway on the first stage above the tower arch inside the church and is constructed with some large puddingstone material near the base inside. The thickness of the flint walls is less than that of a Norman builder. It has Saxon belfry windows constructed with flat flints set to make a round topped opening. The bottom one on the west face is a modern one made to match the others. The tower is capped with a lead roof but at one time would have been tiled. The base of the tower is 6 inches thicker up to a height of 10 feet.

During the 1797 restoration the church was described as “the aspect of a gloomy moss grown cavern” being changed into “a decent place of public worship”. During this restoration the north aisle and south porch were demolished and the east window was opened up. The chancel floor was also raised at this time and new seats added.

At the 1855 and 1898 restorations the north aisle was rebuilt and the Norman parts of the north doorway returned to their former position. The south porch was rebuilt and a vestry added. The present pews were installed in 1898. The chancel arch is from the Perpendicular period and the wrought iron screen and modern rood were added in 1932.

The Norman font once stood in the north aisle but in 1797 it was broken when being moved and was taken to Fincham Rectory to be repaired however it stayed in the garden there for 40 years before it was finally restored to its present position. The font is made of Barnack stone and is of special interest as it shows the farming year from a working man’s point of view.
In some panels the names of the months are inscribed in Latin. The west side of the font has the Tree of Life.

The west window of the north aisle has a perfect emblem of the Holy Trinity showing God the Father holding Jesus His Son on the cross with a dove for the Holy Spirit flying down to us. The word “Geld” at the bottom is an indication that a local Guild was a donor of this glass. A merchant’s mark at the apex signifies another donor. All glass in this window is 15th century. The west window in the tower has an angel pulling triple chains attached to a censer above him. In the lower half there is Mary Magdalene in a pink robe holding a scroll. Her head and nimbus is drawn on a single pane quite undamaged in spite of events in the last 500 years.

Behind the pulpit is a square low side window surrounded by early bricks and glazed with medieval glass. The porch windows, known as the Sun and Moon windows, would have come from either side of a Crucifixion scene in an east window. The windows are filled with assorted fragments including the words “Death where is thy sting?”

(Abridged from Church information sheet)