Church Of St Stephen

Church of St Stephen

This is a parish church with origins in the 12th century, substantially rebuilt and enlarged through the 15th century. The north aisle dates to 1425, with further 15th-century additions; the north aisle was restored and the date 1822 recorded at that time. The tower bell-openings are dated 1893. The church underwent significant 19th-century restoration.

The building is constructed of squared granite rubble with granite dressings. The roofs are slate with ridge tiles, and the gable ends have raised coped verges and cross finials.

The plan consists of a nave and chancel united in one space, with north and south aisles, a south porch, a west tower, and a 20th-century north vestry. The south doorway to the nave is the only surviving element of the original 12th-century church, which was probably lengthened eastward with a 15th-century chancel added.

Exterior features

The nave has three south-facing windows, all of the 19th century, each with two lights, cusped ogee lights and square hood moulds, without a plinth.

The chancel east end sits on a chamfered plinth, discontinuous with the aisle plinths. It has a 15th-century Perpendicular east window of four lights with cusped lights and Y tracery, a four-centred arch and hood mould. Above this is a recessed stone and a 19th-century quatrefoil breather.

The north aisle, on a chamfered plinth, consists of eight bays with a 20th-century vestry at the east end; this vestry has a pitched roof, a door, and a 19th-century weathered stack rising from the aisle eaves. The east end has a four-light 15th-century Perpendicular window matching the chancel, with a quatrefoil breather and a datestone inscribed with the initials JS, RC, and CW, dated 1822. The west end has a three-light 19th-century window with cusped lights and squared head, with a quatrefoil breather above. The north elevation features one 19th-century three-light Perpendicular window with cusped lights, four-centred arches and hood moulds. The third bay from the west has a four-centred arched doorway with moulded surround, hood mould and relieving arch, with a 19th-century plank door.

The south aisle, three bays on a chamfered plinth, has windows entirely of 19th-century reconstruction. The south-facing elevation has three three-light windows in Perpendicular style with four-centred arches and hood moulds; the second from the west has a two-centred arched hollow-chamfered doorway with hood mould and a 19th-century plank door. The west end has a similar three-light window without a hood mould but with a quatrefoil breather above. The east end has a four-light 19th-century window with Y tracery, a four-centred arch and hood mould.

The south porch has a two-centred arched outer doorway with cast iron gates. Set above is a slate sundial with gnomon, with a nowy head, dated 1806. The porch interior has a granite paved floor and a 19th-century scissors truss roof. The inner doorway is a fine example from the 12th century, consisting of two chamfered orders with a round arch in banded dark and pale stone, with imposts. Roundels are carved on the chamfer of each arch, with a convex moulded arch above. The 19th-century plank door has fleur de lys strap hinges.

The west tower is in three stages, without a plinth, with moulded string courses and set-back weathered buttresses. It has an embattled parapet with large crocketted pinnacles. The four-centred arched west doorway has hollow mouldings and 19th-century plank double doors with strap hinges. A three-light west window, of the 15th century, displays unusual tracery with cusped lights, four-centred arch and hood mould. The third stage has three-light four-centred arched bell-openings with cusped lights and pierced slate louvres, dated to 1893. The second stage on the south has a cusped lancet and a plain lancet. Clocks are fitted on all four sides at the third stage, serving as a memorial to the 1914–18 War. A rectangular stair tower to the north has string courses and lancets.

Interior features

Plaster has been removed from all walls except the nave and chancel. The floor is granite paved throughout. The nave and chancel have a continuous ceiled roof with moulded ribs, carved bosses and a wall-plate of 19th-century date. The north aisle has a similar wagon roof with 15th-century carved wall-plates. The north arcade consists of eight bays with Pevsner A-type piers supporting two-centred hollow-chamfered arches. The east end of the north aisle serves as an organ chamber and vestry, with a two-centred arched chamfered aumbry at its east end. A round-arched hollow-chamfered doorway opens to the north (externally concealed by the 20th-century vestry). The south arcade has four bays with similar two-centred arches displaying convex and concave mouldings; there is no indication of a former rood loft. A tall chamfered two-centred arched tower arch with imposts is fitted with a 19th-century Gothic screen and corbelled inner arch. A two-centred arched hollow-chamfered doorway opens to the stair tower.

Fittings

The nave contains a fine late 12th-century stone font of Bodmin type, with a circular bowl carved with beasts and demi-figures at the corners, surrounded by four outer shafts and one central shaft. The nave also displays a 19th-century wooden pulpit incorporating panels of 17th-century carving. Good 19th-century Gothic stalls and desks occupy the chancel, decorated with stencilled ornament and matching the screens to the north and south. A pair of 19th-century sanctuary chairs in the south aisle have inset tiles in their backs. The church contains no early monuments.