Stunning Architecture
Grade 1 listed building

Tower:
Unusually for English Parish churches, the campanile at West Walton stands 60ft to the south of the church. It was built in its entirety in about 1250, after completion of the main body of the church and is one of the most elegant and accomplished early Gothic structures in England. The tower has recently been restored by The Churches Conservation Trust. It contains the original 13th century bell-frame and five bells which are no longer rung because of the decayed state of the timber which supports them.

Entrances:
There is a striking western entrance of about 1240 with a central shaft or trumeau of Barnack stone, clustered Purbeck columns and stiff leaf carving retaining some traces of the original colouring.

The elegant south porch is of similar date and features octagonal columns and dog-tooth ornaments.

Nave arcade:
The spacious six bay nave arcade is of outstanding design with its cylindrical columns and clustered marble shafts, all surmouted by deeply cut stiff leaf capitals. Curiously, although of similar date, the clerestory and nave arcading are not aligned with each other.

South window:
In the south aisle is an elaborate two-light Early English window with dog-tooth and rose designs carved in its capitals and mouldings, described by Pevsner as a perfect miracle of exquisite carving. This is almost certainly the only surviving original window in the church, the remainder having been altered in the 15th Century.

Wall paintings:
The blind bays of the clerestory contain medieval wall paintings. The original ochre heraldic designs are contemporary with the construction of St Mary's. The spandrels between the arches of the nave arcade contain roundels emblematic of the tribes of Israel. These were painted over older geometrical roundels. Greater detail is given under nave wallpaintings.