St Mary's Church


The graceful arched ceiling at the centre of this 13th-century triple-naved church is studded with fascinating wooden bosses, mainly dating from the 15th century and carved into flowers, cheeky faces, mythical beasts, fish and even a mermaid holding a comb and mirror. There's a memor­ial here to Robert Recorde, the 16th-century writer and mathematician who invented the 'equals' sign, and an eerie cadaver-topped tomb intended to remind the viewer of their own mortality.

The young Henry Tudor (later to become King Henry VII) was hidden here before fleeing to Brittany. It's thought he left via a tunnel into the cellars under Mayor Thomas White's house across the road.


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