The Church of St Mary and All Saints dates from the 13th century. A church probably existed on this site in Anglo-Saxon times. There are three Anglo-Saxon crosses in the churchyard. The "Church of St Mary held in Wallei" was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Most of the present church was built in the 13th century, replacing a simpler structure which likely had an aisleless nave and chancel. The tower was added in the late 15th century.

The ruins of the Cistercian abbey of Whalley Abbey, founded in 1172, are very close by. The last abbot, John Paslew, was involved in the "Pilgrimage of Grace" against the church policy of King Henry VIII and was subsequently executed. Following the sequestration of the monastery by the Crown in 1537, it was dissolved in 1545 and fell into disrepair towards the end of the 17th century.

The stalls in the parish church may originate from the former Cistercian abbey.