All Saints

Here the church goes with the house, or rather tower, for the outstanding feature of Layer Marney Tower is the huge brick gatehouse built by Sir Henry Marney, who became the first Lord Marney.

Tucked away from its village, and next to Copford Hall, St Michael's is one of Essex's most important Norman churches, and has a remarkable collection of original wall paintings from the 1140s.

The church is a beautiful building, standing prominently in the centre of the village in a well kept churchyard containing a considerable number of Georgian and early Victorian headstones and tombs.