Staunton Harold Church
Staunton Harold Church was built in 1653 on the instructions of the ardent royalist Sir Robert Shirley, 4th Baronet. Sir Robert built the church as a defiant political statement against the Commonwealth and in defence of the divine right of kings. He did not live to see its completion; he was imprisoned by Cromwell in the Tower of London where he died in 1656. After the restoration of the monarchy, Richard Shepheard saw to the completion of the church in 1665. The exterior of Staunton Harold Church is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style with buttressing, battlements and pinnacles. The interior furnishings are Jacobean with oak box pews and wood panelling made from local oak by the joiner William Smith. Smith also created the pulpit, the Jacobean-style panelling in the chancel and the original chancel screen which now stands beneath the organ loft.