St Mary’s Church was built in the 13th Century then added to in the 14th Century after the collapse of an earlier tower. The present tower and Lady Chapel were added in the 15th Century. Many other features were added over the years and in 1990 a sixth bell was added to the original five. The font which dates from 1450 came from Milton Abbey, with the emblem of the vine round the top which is very rare on fonts.
The Parish Room
Today there is new life in the Parish Room where refurbishment is in hand and it is again becoming a village meeting place including weekly coffee mornings on Wednesdays between 10.30 and noon. But the building has an interesting history. This is an extract from a history of the village written in the early 1980’s.
The old Boy’s School stands in the Churchyard and is being restored as an annex for Church meetings. It was once used for boys at an Industrial School some two miles away on the road to Milborne St Andrew from which they were marched in twos through the village to the school room. Before the village hall was built round about 1938 it was used for all entertainment and most teenagers of that period learnt to dance at the Sixpenny Hops with the Brass Band in attendance. What a noise! But everyone seemed to enjoy it. During World War 2 it was used to house the overflow of infants for lessons. This Church room was also used by two very devout school teachers about 90 years ago (now 120 years). They conducted a night school for pupils who wished to go further with their education and they were able to progress to Higher Mathematics – for this they were charged 1d (one old penny) per week.