Parish Church of St Mary

About

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Old Letchworth in Hertfordshire. A church appears to have been on the site since before the Norman Conquest. The current church was built in the late 12th century and is Grade II listed.

It comes under the Diocese of St Albans. The original dedication of the church is unknown; it was rededicated to St Mary during the First World War. The church is the oldest building in the area and is only 60 feet long inside.

Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, parts of the building date to the 11th century and is built on the remains of an older Saxon structure. However, most of what is seen today dates to the late 12th century and was reroofed in the 15th century when the south porch was also added. The nave has three bays and a chancel.

The church has a pyramidical timber-framed bell-cot with a tiled roof at the west end inside which is a bell dating to the 14th century. The exterior is of flint and ironstone random rubble, partly rendered, with freestone dressings and ashlar, brick and tile buttresses. The windows in the nave have a Y tracery.

The gabled porch has a square headed doorway with shields in spandrels. Inside...