St Mary's lies to the S of the village of Mapledurwell (or Maplederwell), close to Basingstoke. It is a flint-faced building with ashlar dressings and red tile roofs, comprising a chancel with a S vestry, a nave, and a timber-clad bell turret which rises over the W end of the nave. The plain W doorway and a lancet in the N side of the chancel may date from the late 12thc.

The manor was owned by Hubert de Port in 1086. No church was mentioned. Hubert de Port’s descendant, Adam de Port, was outlawed for treason and forfeited his possessions in 1172. Cresselin the Jew (d. 1190) purchased the manor of Maplederwell but did not gain possession. In 1185 it was held by William Fitz Audelin. Prior to 1198, Richard I granted the manor to Alan Basset (d. 1232). It remained with the Basset family through the 13thc.

The present building was probably not erected before the late 12thc., perhaps by Alan Basset. It was a chapelry of Newnham.

The church was heavily restored by Benjamin Thorne of Basingstoke in 1850-54.

The doorway appears to be original work of the late 12thc. It may have been moved from a position in the N or S wall of the nave.