St Mary the Virgin
Ashwell, Rutland
With its 13th century tower, from the outside this could pass for a medieval church, though in fact the rest of the church is a 1782 rebuilding.
The interior is Georgian, but a delightfully quirky take on the typical box pews and three decker pulpit. Walking into the nave through the west door below the tower, visitors find they have just walked underneath the pulpit! It is flanked by a pair of reading desks with ogee shaped canopies, and behind it in the tower arch is a large trompe l'oeil window with 'leaded lights' and a 'view' of trees and sky beyond.
The aisle is flanked by rising tiers of box pews, set parallel to the aisle, facing each other as though for a choir. An Georgian mahogany font and a plaster ceiling complete this curious but pleasing church.
The 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was filmed at the nearby Georgian rectory.
