Parish Church Of St Marwenne

Parish Church of St Marwenne

This is a parish church of considerable complexity, with development spanning from the 14th to the early 20th century. The lower stage of the tower and the chancel and transepts date to the 14th century, while the upper stages of the tower, the north aisle and porch were added in the 15th century. A late 19th-century vestry and early 20th-century restoration followed. The church is constructed from stone rubble with granite and greenstone dressings. The south side and chancel employ rubble with granite and greenstone dressings, while the north aisle is built in freestone ashlar with granite dressings. The tower and porch are of dressed stone brought to course with greenstone and granite dressings. The roofs are covered in slate.

The architectural plan reveals a complex development history. The 14th-century chancel and tower are not aligned with each other, with an adjustment visible at the junction between the south transept and chancel. This misalignment may reflect the original cruciform plan with transeptal arches set back from the crossing, and the addition of the north aisle (one bay extending the length of the chancel) may have required the chancel to be widened to the north.

The chancel has a coped gable with greenstone quoins and a 3-light greenstone Perpendicular east window with hoodmould and label stops. The south wall of the chancel contains a priests' door under a triangular arch and a 2-light window replaced in the 1980s. The south wall of the nave retains what is probably 14th-century masonry but features an inserted square-headed 16th-century 3-light granite mullioned window. The south transept has a renewed Perpendicular 3-light window with hoodmould and label stops. The east wall of the transept appears to have been rebuilt and contains a 2-light timber mullioned window that lights the pulpit.

The north aisle comprises four bays. At its east end is a 3-light 19th-century Perpendicular greenstone window with hoodmould and label stops. Two late 19th-century buttresses with offsets are present on the north side of the aisle, along with one earlier buttress. A blocked 13th-century lancet window survives in the west wall of the north aisle. The north aisle was extended with a late 19th-century vestry and boiler room at its west end; the vestry is gabled to the north and contains a 3-light 19th-century Perpendicular window in the north gable end with a transomed middle light. The boiler room is housed under a lean-to roof.

The west tower is a three-stage structure with battlements and tall angle buttresses with offsets, a tall parapet and crocketted pinnacles. Moulded strings mark the junctions above the first and third stages only. The tower is topped by a polygonal north-east stair turret with slit openings. The west doorway is arched and moulded, constructed in greenstone with hoodmould and label stops. The west window appears to be 19th-century with 2 lights and hoodmould and label stops. A louvred slit opening is present on the south at bell-ringers' stage. The belfry opening on the west side has two 15th-century trefoil-headed lights with slate louvres below a pierced quatrefoil under a hoodmould. The north and south side belfry openings each contain two round-headed lights with slate louvres below a blind quatrefoil. A statue niche occupies the second stage on the east wall of the tower.

The gabled south porch has granite quoins and coping with a shallow-moulded arched outer door. Granite-topped benches are positioned inside the porch. The porch roof features moulded arched braces and collar construction with foliage carved on the wall plates, though some bosses are missing and some ribs have been renewed. A holy water stoup is present. The inner door is shallow-moulded and made of granite, and a notably important 16th-century studded door survives, constructed of overlapping vertical moulded planks with heavy strap hinges terminating in elaborate finials. The door is hung on gudgeon hooks and preserves a loop drop latch, protected behind a glass panel, and features a massive wooden lock case.

Interior

The interior reveals further architectural sophistication. The shallow-moulded 15th-century granite north arcade features monolith piers carved with four hollows and four shafts, with the hollows projecting above the collars on the shafts. The north aisle roof is a 15th-century unceiled waggon with ribs and bosses, a vine-carved wall plate and angels carved at wall plate level. The nave and chancel roofs are late 19th-century ceiled waggons with boarding, with some original bosses retained. The chancel is stepped up, with the chancel arch marked by an adjustment to the roofs. The walls of the nave and aisle are plastered, except around windows where the masonry is left exposed. The tower arch is unmoulded, and the arch into the transept is chamfered. The floor of the nave and aisle consists of early 20th-century slates laid on edge in a chequerboard pattern, while the chancel floor is laid in black and white marble, probably 18th-century, with a 20th-century marble altar step.

A trefoil-headed 14th-century piscina is set in the south wall of the chancel. The pulpit is a notable 17th-century piece, constructed as a five-sided drum. The upper section is carved with strapwork and cartouches, below which runs a cornice supporting demi-figures of saints under round-headed arches, with symbols of the evangelists displayed below. The pulpit retains its contemporary tester. A granite cresset stone with four holes is positioned by the bower arch. One 17th-century bench with carved ends survives in the chancel, alongside late 19th-century and early 20th-century choir stalls and communion rail. 19th-century brass fittings include full-size candleholders. A late 19th or early 20th-century font, probably a recutting of a Perpendicular original, is also present.

A large plaster royal arms of Charles II, carved in situ, occupies the south wall and retains early colouring. This is comparable to examples found in Kilkhampton, Launcells and Boconnoc churches. A good slate memorial to George Rolle, buried in 1645, is fixed to the north wall of the north aisle chapel, with a coat of arms carved in relief and a scroll border. Another slate memorial on the south wall of the north aisle chapel has a carved border and retains some ancient colour, though the inscription is illegible. Several good 17th-century slate memorials are used as paving in the nave. A brass to Maria Maskell, who died in 1845, is set into the north aisle chapel floor, featuring an ornamental cross and text possibly in a medieval matrix.

The east window and two north aisle windows were designed by Kempe, while the westernmost window of the north aisle is by Beer of Exeter. A blocked cinquefoil-headed single-light stone window with two slits below a transom is set into the west wall of the north aisle. According to Charles Henderson, this window was found in the rectory garden and is believed to have originated from the cell of Cecilia Moyes, who was granted a licence to be an anchorite in 1403. Her cell may have been on the north side of the church, with the window allowing her to see Mass and receive the sacrament. The belfry was not inspected at the time of listing.