Betjeman’s Best British Churches: Avington

At their best, 18th-century churches achieved a kind of perfection, and this is true of St Mary’s. With its red-brick simplicity and modest square tower, it is clearly less spectacular than its Gothic predecessors, but its mix of Classicism and the vernacular is deeply pleasing. The sense of order, proportion and close allegiance to symmetry continues in the interior, with its well-made box pews. A three-decker pulpit stands courteously to the side, allowing full view of the altar.