Church of St Mary, Marston Magna

The Church of St Mary stands in the quiet Somerset village of Marston Magna. Its origins go back before the Norman Conquest, but the present building mostly comes from about 1360. A later rebuilding in the 15th century added the Lady Chapel and oak screens. The church is listed as grade I, marking its national importance. The church was once owned by Polsloe Priory near Exeter from the 12th century until monasteries were dissolved. Traces remain of the earlier Saxon church, including two small window heads on each side of the central arch. The north wall still shows herringbone masonry from Norman times, and the font is also Norman. The east window, with three lancets, dates from about 1230, though its glass is Victorian. Visitors find a three-stage tower with a stair turret leading to the belfry. The tower top has battlements, crocheted pinnacles and gargoyles. Inside the tower base is a clock made by William Monk in 1710, the same maker who made the clock in Sherborne Abbey. The bells were dedicated in 1912 when new land was added to the churchyard.