The church was built in 1822 replacing an older church; a church has been present on the site since the medieval era.[1] This church closed in 1870 when it was superseded by the new St Stephen's Church, on a new site near the railway station.[3] The old church was vested in the Trust on 1 December 1986.[4]
The church has been semi-converted inside to make it habitable for campers (or what travel-writers and the Church of England are calling Champing).[5]
Architecture
Exterior
The church is constructed in sandstone with a purple slate roof. It is a simple building comprising a single-cell "preaching box", with a six-baynave, a small sanctuary, a south porch and a north vestry. At the west end of the church is a bell-cupola. The architectural style of the church is Neoclassical. Above the porch is a sundial bearing the dates 1736, 1864 and 1919. Inside the porch are wooden benches. In the walls of the nave are windows with pointed arches. There is a square-headed door in the south wall of the sanctuary. The east window is similar to those in the nave, and it is flanked by diagonal buttresses. In the wall of the vestry is a 15-pane window.[1]
Interior
The interior of the church contains its original Georgian fittings. These include a panelled gallery on the north and west sides that is carried by Doric columns, a triple decker pulpit on the south wall with a sounding board, and box pews. One of these pews carries the name and the coat of arms of the Farsyde family. There are also memorial tablets to members of the Farsyde family. The font dates from the early 18th century.[1]
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