St Mary the Virgin
Tilty, Essex
St Mary's looks like two, or even three, churches magicked together, with its rather grand chancel and an exceptional east window that is often cited as an example of Decorated window tracery at its finest.
The finest thing about the exterior is the windows and their wonderful tracery. And the oddest thing about the exterior is the strange, spindly brick belfry, described by some as looking like a chimney. It dates from 1871.
Inside, the church is dignified, and full of light because of the enormous windows along the south side. The north side has 13th century piers that were once the link between this part of the building and the priory chancel. Between and below the south windows and the east window is blind arcading that includes carvings of animals and foliage.
The finest monument is that to Lord Fitzwalter and his wife Elizabeth, of about 1431. Their effigies are made of alabaster and the details of clothes and faces is superb. They look like portraits rather than idealised images.