The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Mary of Bec (medieval)
Parish church
The village of North Stoke sits alongside the Thames, approx. 2 miles S of the market town of Wallingford. The church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and lies at the end of a leafy lane where the Ridgeway passes through the churchyard. Its appearance is primarily of the 13thc and consists of 3 cells: a W tower, and aisleless nave and chancel under tiled roofs. The exterior has been restored and is of flint rubble with stone dressings. Inside are the important remains of an extensive scheme of 14thc mural decoration. A 12th or possibly 11thc sundial is reset high on the exterior of the S nave wall above a blocked doorway, and a plain tub font are the only surviving Romanesque features.