St Mary the Virgin is the smallest complete church in Essex - the 14th century nave is only 25 feet long. The porch is 16th century brick, rebuilt in 1879, when Frinton's population was 29. By the 1920s, the population was well in excess of 3000, and the old parish church of St Mary the Virgin was considered too small. St Mary Magdalene was built in Old Road in 1928 as a replacement.