In 1631 the classical architect Inigo Jones was commissioned by Sir John Penruddock to remodel the medieval church or St Mary's in Hale as a Tuscan temple along the lines of St Paul's, Covent Garden. It has long been suspected that the church was Jones's, but the proof was only recently discovered by Kate Bennett in a manuscript in the Bodleian Library recording a Latin inscription in the hands of the Penruddock family attributing the church to Jones. (See also Dianne Duggan, 2003, 'Hale Church and St Paul's Church, Covent Garden', Hampshire Studies 58, published by the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society.)