These great Norman barons were responsible for appointing rectors up to 1234, when Walter FitzWalter gave the living to the Priory of Little Dunmow, and a vicarage was instituted.  After the Reformation, Henry V111 gave the living to Robert Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, from whom it passed to many various patrons.  The living is now held by the Church Society.

Stand outside the porch, built in the late I5th century, and look across the fields to the north-west, where the manor house of the FitzWalters and the Earls of Sussex once stood. 

You can see the line of the moat, bordered with trees, which has been unaltered since those days. A little bit of 12th century Norman shingle work built into the south side of the tower is a link with the church's earliest times.  On either side of the outer porch are two small shields - that on the eastern side is of the FitzWalters.  The medieval carvings of masks and foliage on the porch roof deserve study.

On entering the church you will notice the pillars on the north side are shorter than those on the south.  Originally the most eastern arch on the south side opened into a transept.  Unfold for yourself a picture of the church as it was in the thirteenth century - a church with a nave of the same size as the one we see, but with solid walls and no aisles; no screen before you, and a dark chancel lit by small windows; a transept on the south side, which was pulled down about 1300, to be replaced by the present south arcade and wall.

About twenty-five years later the north arcade and aisle were built, and the beautiful group of two angels censing the Virgin and Child carved on the capital of the second column.  Other interesting carvings are the face of a laughing devil on the reverse side of the second column, and a dragon with a knotted tail on the fourth column.  The Black Death closed down on Henham in 1348, and no more important work was done for many years.

The heraldic glass in the eastern window of the south wall, commemorating the FitzWalters and their marriages, is late 16th century.  The Lord's Table, in memory of Agnes Marshall Pimblett, was made by a Henham craftsman in 1952. The piscina, where the sacred vessels were washed, is late l5th century ; the recess or cupboard on the north wall may have stored the altar vessels, or been connected with the services of the Easter Sepulchre.

Wall paintings of the apostles may have originally stretched right round the chancel: traces can still be seen, as well as a fragment of wall painting near the Feake memorial, possibly illustrating the tablecloth used at the Last Supper; this was uncovered in 1946.

Near the 13th century doorway is an effigy of Thomas Kirbye, 1603. in white marble inlaid on slate; he is wearing an old-fashioned cloak for that period and a pair of tight modern Spanish breeches; he turns his leg sideways so you can admire the gusset and clock on his stocking.  This effigy was covered by choir stalls for many years until the chancel was restored in 1952.  At the same time the Laudian altar-rails were replaced.

The screen is late 15th century, carved with foliage and grotesque heads.  The little rood-loft staircase, at one time blocked by the organ, was opened up in 1952. On the centre arch of the screen and on either side of the four side lights can be seen where the supports have been cut off which carried the traceried vault of the rood-loft, on which must have stood the Rood or Cross, with the attendant figures of St. Mary and St. John.

The pulpit dates from the 15th century , with a 17th century bookrest.  In 1890 the three-decker arrangement of pulpit, desk and clerk's desk was still in existence, and the high post-reformation pews still remained with their doors and fastenings.  The old deal pews and lamp-brackets are still in the side aisles.

The lectern is Jacobean with guilloche ornament.  It was used as a desk in the chancel until 1952, when it was repaired as a lectern.

The east window is 15th century: the other windows have 18th century wooden frames: the eastern window on the north wall was probably similar to the east window but of three lights.  The opening of the second window, like the north doorway, was probably 14th century. The altar table, moved from the chancel in 1952, is early l7th century: it may have been originally a domestic table, for traces of mud were found along the stretchers when the coverings of brown paint were removed. The piscina is 15th century .It is rewarding to look up at the little bits of carving under the roof at the junction of the arcade. The list of rectors and vicars of the parish, dating from 1150, hangs near the vestry.

Fragments of wall-paintings, judged to be 12th century, were uncovered in 1989 on the east and south walls. On the north wall a very early fresco, largely obscured by the Feake memorial, is probably of a Nativity scene.