Ware has many listed buildings by Historic England, many timber framed, four grade I, fifteen grade II* and 181 grade II, including the remains of a fourteenth-century friary, now the local council offices and a conference centre called The Priory and Fletcher's Lea. Recent restoration work has shown that it dates from the thirteenth century. Opposite the priory is the large fourteenth-century parish church of St. Mary. It is known for its elaborate font with large carved stone figures. The town is also famous for its many 18th-century riverside gazebos, several of which have been restored recently.