From the exterior, St. Mary’s is primarily a 13^th and 14^th c. church with a W tower, nave with N and S aisles, S porch, and a chancel with a N aisle. In 1858, restoration work saw the complete rebuilding of the N wall of the N aisle as well as the reconstruction of the N aisle of the chancel which had fallen into ruin. The interior, however, reveals elements of the earlier church of the Romanesque period – namely the N and S arcades of the nave, a fragment of stringcourse and the baptismal font.

Clipsham is not mentioned in Domesday Book in 1086 but is likely to have been in the possession of the king at that time as the manor was given away in the early 12^th c. as part of a grant of Oakham manor and castle by Henry I. The first known lord of Clipsham manor was John de Freney who received the manor between 1209-1219 at which time there was already a vicarage established here. The advowson of the church descended with the lords of the manor.

The N arcade is from c. 1190 when the N aisle seems to have been added. The S arcade with its circular bases and polygonal pier capitals, but with round-headed arches, points to the Transitional style of around 1200.

In the 12^th c., chalice shaped fonts are not common. Do the excessive claw chisel marks on the surface of the font suggest a cutting back? Perhaps this was originally the more common 12^th c. drum shape type of font and the lower part has been cut back to form the chalice shape.