The church was built around 1220 in the Norman cathredral form with chancel, nave, two aisles and a tower in the centre. The circular pillars of the nave date from this time. The church is Grade I listed. Originally there was a central steeple with 5 bells, but this fell in 1698, destroying the chancel. The subsequent steeple rebuild was evidently poor, as it collapsed again in 1717 and remained derelict for decades. The owner of the Debden Hall estate, Richard Chiswell MP commissioned the rebuild of the chancel in 1793 when the west belfry, spire and parapets of the nave and aisles were added, as well as an octagonal east chapel in white brick. He shot himself in 1797 after losing his fortune on failed investments in the West Indies but his legacy lives on.