Runwell

Situated on low hills near the river Crouch to the north and east of Wickford.

At its south-western boundary lies the parish church of St Mary. Its grey, stone tower dates back to the 15th century but the round column of the arcades are from a church which was a place of pilgrimage in the 12th century, Thomas Becket’s time. Decoration of the timber of the porches bears Tudor roses and one of the doors, now curtained, is a strange burnt mark which legend says is the mark of the devil’s hand when one summer’s day he was shut in the church by a corrupt priest, Rainaldus, who dabbled in the black arts.