Church Of St Odulphus

Church of St Odulphus

This parish church is probably of the 14th century, with additions from around the mid-15th century and later in that century, followed by 19th-century restoration. The building is constructed of slatestone rubble with granite dressings, with the tower, south porch and south transept finished in granite ashlar. The roof is of slate with crested ridge tiles; the porch and south transept have raised coped verges, with a cross finial to the transept.

The plan comprises a nave and chancel in one, with a north aisle probably added in the early 15th century. The south transept, south porch, west tower and rood stair were added later in the 15th century.

The south wall of the nave features a window of three cusped lights with a recessed surround; this section of wall was rebuilt when the transept and porch were added, with a high chamfered plinth continuous with the transept plinth. The south porch is on the west side of this wall, and the transept to the east.

The chancel has a rubble plinth and a 15th-century east window of three cusped lights with the central light taller, a four-centred arch and hood mould, with a cross finial above. A south window has two cusped lights with a square head and hood mould. A slate tablet commemorating Robert Smith, dated 1815, is attached to the east wall, and a stone gutter runs in the valley to the north aisle.

The north aisle has a three-light east window matching that at the east end of the chancel. Four bays along the north side each contain a three-light window with cusped lights, square head and recessed hollow-chamfered surround. The west end has a matching window.

The south transept stands on a high chamfered plinth. Its south window has three cusped lights with a four-centred arch, cusped lights and upper tracery, with a hood mould. The east window has three cusped lights, a square head and recessed hollow-moulded surround. A polygonal ashlar rood stair is attached to the east wall, featuring a lancet and pitched roof.

The south porch is gabled, set on a hollow-moulded plinth with a hollow-moulded string course. The outer doorway is four-centred and arched with wave moulding and a hood mould. The interior has a 19th-century tiled floor, plastered walls and slate benches to the sides. The late 15th-century wagon roof has moulded ribs and carved bosses; the wall-plate is carved with pomegranates and flowers. The inner doorway is four-centred and arched with roll-mouldings and recessed spandrels, fitted with a plain 19th-century door.

The west tower rises in three stages on a high plinth with upper and lower hollow moulding and plain string courses. Set-back buttresses support the structure, topped with an embattled parapet with pinnacles. The west doorway has a four-centred arch, roll-moulded, with recessed spandrels and a square hood mould, fitted with a plain 20th-century door. The west window has a four-centred arch, wave-moulded surround and hood mould; its tracery was rebuilt in the 19th century. All sides of the third stage contain a three-light bell-opening with three-centred arched lights, upper tracery and wooden louvres, set within recessed surrounds.

The interior has plastered walls and a 19th-century tiled floor. The nave and chancel are roofed with a 19th-century roof. The north aisle retains a ceiled 15th-century wagon roof with moulded ribs, carved bosses and wall-plate. The south transept also has a 15th-century wagon roof with moulded ribs and carved wall-plate, set on a moulded granite wall-plate.

A tall four-centred moulded tower arch features Pevsner A-type piers with carved capitals; a 19th-century wooden screen spans the opening. The six-bay north arcade has four-centred hollow-chamfered arches on slender piers with four shafts and roll-moulding between them. The bases are octagonal and chamfered with ring mouldings to the capitals.

The nave has a corbel for an image stand at its east end. An unusually wide south squint to the transept, with chamfered arch, provides access to the rood stair, which features a four-centred arched chamfered doorway, stone newel stair and upper skew doorway. The north aisle has a round-arched niche at its east end. A tall four-centred arch opens to the transept, with Pevsner A-type piers; a chamfered piscina is positioned to the south side.

The fittings include 19th-century pews, pulpit and a screen between the chancel and north aisle. An octagonal stone font, probably of the 19th century, stands in the nave. The Royal Arms of George II, dated 1729, and the Royal Arms of Charles II, dated 1663, are displayed in oil on board in moulded frames in the nave and north aisle respectively. A 17th-century set of stocks is located in the porch.

The chancel contains a marble tablet on a slate ground with an urn, commemorating Jane Francis, 1819, and a scrolled marble tablet on slate ground to Reverend Henry Woollcombe, 1816. The north aisle holds a marble tablet on slate ground for Nicholas Rawle Herring, 1836. The south transept contains a marble tablet with pilasters, apron and cornice for James Tillie, 1746; a slate tablet with stone pilasters, cornice and flaming urn, with an apron featuring a carved stone putto with wings and flowers, for Robert Tillie, 1742; and a fine classical monument with pilasters, frieze and entablature, with an apron bearing a bucranium, for James Tillie, 1772.