St Mary's Church

St Mary’s Church stands in Lambourn Woodlands, a quiet hamlet two kilometres south of Lambourn in Berkshire. It is a small Anglican church built in flint with stone details and slate roofs, designed in Gothic Revival style by Thomas Talbot Bury in 1852. The church has a simple plan with a three-bay nave, a north aisle and a chancel, and an octagonal spire at the west end. Inside, an arcade of octagonal piers separates the nave from the aisle, and the chancel holds a sedilia and a piscina.

The church is recognised on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed building and is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant in 1990 and transferred to the Trust the following year. The east window has three lights, and three two-light windows in Decorated style light the nave. John Bacon carved the reredos, and his son became the first parish priest here.

Visitors find a calm interior with plain furnishings and subtle Gothic detailing. The octagonal piers and carved reredos stand out against the flint walls. The chancel’s sedilia and piscina add historical interest, while the slate roofs and stone dressings show the care taken in its construction. The church sits beside the B4000 road, surrounded by open countryside, offering a quiet place to pause.