The Old Parish Church of St John the Baptist in Greatham has barely changed in centuries.

But if a plan by its former guardians had succeeded 20 years ago, part of it might have resembled a scene from Snow White with a tomb encased in a glass coffin.

The part-ruined church dates to 1282 and is one of the oldest buildings of its kind in East Hampshire.

But part remains intact and with a roof – and this section contains an historic monument to Dame Margery Caryll.

It seems not much is known about Maggie but she was baptised in the church in 1594 and was buried there in 1632.

Margery was 17 when she married her husband, Sir Richard Caryll of Harting, while there’s an effigy of the latter at his final resting place at St Mary & St Gabriel in the Sussex village.

These days the church is maintained by Greatham Parish Council with a working group playing the biggest role in its upkeep and general maintenance.

But back in 2006 it was the eight local volunteers of the Greatham Old Church Preservation Group, and they had some big ideas to prevent it falling into further disrepair.

One of their ideas was to replace the entrance with a glass wall and door, with a bid being submitted for £10,000 of lottery funding to help with the work.

“We have to make the monument more visible,” said David Self, a member of the preservation group.

“The money will be used to restore and repair the monument – I think it will be a good thing because a lot of people living nearby don’t know the monument is there.”

Alas, Margery remains behind a closed door as the glass scheme never became a reality. But if you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth peeking inside.