Church Of St Denis

Church of St Denis, North Tamerton

A parish church of early 15th-century date, restored in 1875 when the chancel was rebuilt and a north vestry added. The building is constructed of stone rubble with granite freestone dressings.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, south aisle, south porch, west tower and north vestry, with the nave and chancel forming a single space and a full-length south aisle. The chancel appears to be entirely of the 1875 rebuilding, evident from straight joints at the east and north ends and the absence of plinth moulding seen elsewhere. On the north side of the chancel is a reused window, probably taken from the west end of the north side of the nave. The chancel's east window, a 19th-century insertion, contains five lights with Perpendicular-style tracery.

The nave and south aisle are detailed with flush granite bands at sill and arch-springing levels, hollow-chamfered plinth moulding and eaves. Two north nave windows and one north chancel window feature straight heads with carved label stops and cusped lights. A polygonal ashlar rood stair turret rises on the north side of the nave. Four south windows and the west window of the south aisle contain three lights with rectilinear Perpendicular tracery and pointed arches. The east window of the south aisle displays Perpendicular tracery with intersecting bars.

The south doorway has a four-centre arch with roll-mould between two chamfers. The south porch is distinguished by hollow-chamfered and roll-moulded pointed arch, sunken spandrels and label. Its interior features a ceiled wagon roof with carved running foliage ribs, wall plate and carved bosses, and includes a holy water stoup. The porch gable displays a slate sundial dated 1828.

The west tower is a fine, tall unbuttressed structure in three stages with slight batter. It is topped by weathered string courses and a moulded cornice below an embattled parapet and large octagonal crenellated pinnacles with crockets. The moulded plinth contains a deep frieze of panels with roundels decorated with mouchettes, trefoils, quatrefoils, and Stars of David. Bell-openings feature blind tracery with three cusped lights, colonnettes and slate louvres. The moulded west doorway has quatrefoils in its spandrels and label, with a three-light west window above containing Perpendicular rectilinear tracery. Internal tower stairs with loops are positioned at the north-west corner. A late 19th-century vestry stands on the west end of the north side of the nave.

Interior: The church contains a five-bay south arcade with monolithic granite piers of Cornish standard A-type, with moulded capitals and bases and wide moulded four-centred arches. A tall moulded tower arch with standard A-type responds dominates the space, alongside a chamfered ogee doorway to the tower stairs. Plain unmoulded granite rear arches are visible throughout. The nave roof is a restored unceiled barrel with arch braces to collars (plaster removed). A wooden chancel arch incorporates old carved pieces. The chancel has a late 19th-century unceiled wagon roof with carved bosses. The south aisle retains its original 15th-century ceiled wagon roof with moulded ribs, carved bosses and carved running vine wall plate. The rood stair door and screen have been removed.

Two piscinas survive: a small simple round-arched example in the south wall of the chancel, and a pointed-arched piscina on the south side of the south aisle. Circa early 16th-century carved bench ends have been reused in 19th-century benches, with two in the choir stalls displaying carved animals on top. A circa 17th-century hexagonal carved wooden pulpit is present. The font dates to the 12th century, with a rough round bowl and later stem. Late 19th-century additions include a glazed tile reredos and wrought iron altar rail. The church contains some late 19th and early 20th-century stained glass.

Memorials include a small brass at the east end of the south wall of the aisle to Leonard Loves, died 1576, of Ogbeare Hall, North Tamerton, and a decoratively carved and inscribed slate to Walter Robins, died 1706, at the east end of the south side of the aisle. The interior of the bell chamber was not inspected at the time of listing.