St Mary's Church, Garthorpe

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Garthorpe, Leicestershire, its ironstone walls glowing in the East Midlands light. The church is a Grade I listed building, looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust since 1999. Its oldest parts date from the early 13th century, when the Norman south arcade was built. Later centuries added the north arcade, aisles, chancel, clerestory and west tower. In 1895–96 J Day of Leicester carried out a thorough restoration. The church’s architecture tells a story of changing styles across seven centuries. The tower rises in three stages, its limestone surface marked by lancet windows, quatrefoils and bell openings with ogee heads. Inside, the Norman south arcade contrasts with the slightly later octagonal piers of the north arcade. Fourteenth-century roundels survive in north aisle windows, while the chancel holds a 13th-century piscina and tomb recess beneath a crocketted canopy. The east window shows 19th-century stained glass, and the round font is from the 17th century. Visitors step into a calm space where medieval stonework meets Victorian craftsmanship. The oak pulpit and desks were made by Rev W Thorold in 1899, and the west tower still contains three bells cast between 1580 and 1608. Outside, a late 19th-century brass sundial stands on a reused 15th-century pinnacle, marking time in the churchyard. The leaning north aisle wall and cracks are carefully watched, evidence of the building’s continuing life.