Staunton Harold Church

Staunton Harold Church is one of the few churches built during the Commonwealth period, completed in 1653 by Sir Robert Shirley in defiance of Oliver Cromwell. The church retains its original 17th-century interior virtually unchanged, including box pews, a painted ceiling and a wrought-iron chancel screen. An inscription above the door boldly records that Shirley built it 'when all things sacred were throughout the nation either demolished or profaned'.