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 | The oldest part of St Mary's Church, as it now looks, dates back to the latter half of the thirteenth century, the Saxon and Norman versions having been destroyed. The tower and spire were completed by the end of the fourteenth century, and the south porch was rebuilt in 1664 (we know that from the inscription on the entrance jamb).
One of the unusual features of the inside is a thirteenth century double piscina - a basin close to the altar for draining water after use. Still present is the wooden shelf used for holding the napkins and cruets used during communion.
All the stained glass and furnishings are relatively modern, but the plate includes an Elizabethan communion cup.
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Just outside the south porch stands the restored headstone of Houghton's blacksmith, Thomas Garner, who died in 1826. The epitaph reads:
"My sledge and hammers lie declined
My bellows too have lost their wind
My fire's extinct, my forge decay'd
My vice is in the dust all laid
My coal is spent, my iron gone
My nails are drove, my work is done
My fire dried corpse here lies at rest
My soul smoke-like, soars to be blest"
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All text © Eddie Winter 2005.
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