The Reverend Whitwell Elwin was the rector for 50 years and became dissatisfied with his parish church.  So he decided to improve it and ended up rebuilding it entirely, keeping only the walls of the nave and chancel.

Although never having had any training as an architect, the Reverend pinched ideas from churches throughout the country.
 It was finished in 1891 having taken him nearly 50 years. The outside is a riot of exuberant ornamentation of the Decorated period, with pinnacles of all shapes and sizes.  Inside large dramatic angels in the hammerbeam roof and also good set of stained glass windows.

The distinguished architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, observed that the church was ‘very naughty, but in the right spirit’.