Church Of St Gregory

Church of St Gregory

This is a small parish church situated attractively in the parish of Newton Poppleford, Venn Ottery and Harpford. The medieval church was almost entirely rebuilt in 1882 by the architects Packham and Groote of Exeter, with woodcarving by Hems of Exeter. Only the 15th-century tower and font survive from the original fabric.

The Tower

The west tower is a small, unbuttressed 15th-century structure built in two stages from red conglomerate stone rubble with massive dressed quoins and detail in red conglomerate ashlar and Beerstone ashlar. It has a chamfered plinth and the upper drip course is soffit-moulded below the embattled parapet. The belfry windows are square-headed with 2-light windows containing 3-centred heads and sunken spandrels. An internal stair turret in the north-western corner has tiny plain slit windows. The west doorway is of conglomerate ashlar, formed as a 2-centred arch, almost round-headed, with hollow-chamfered surround and containing a 19th-century plank door. Directly above is a restored 3-light Beerstone window with Perpendicular tracery, moulded hood and external ferramenta. The south side includes a small rectangular light to the ringing loft. Open putlog holes are visible on all sides.

The rest of the church is built from local stone random rubble with Beerstone ashlar quoins and details, covered with a slate roof with crested and pierced ridge tiles.

The Nave and Chancel

The nave projects either side of the tower and is continuous with the chancel, although the chancel roof is slightly lower. Both roofs are steeply pitched and unusually tall. The roof eaves on both sides are carried on a series of shaped Beerstone corbel-like brackets.

On the south side is a gabled porch with bargeboards and a terracotta ball finial at the apex. The outer arch is a reset late 15th or early 16th-century 2-centred, almost round-headed Beerstone arch with moulded surround. Old work has been reused in the porch. To the right of the porch, the nave has a single 2-light arch-headed window with Perpendicular tracery. A chimney shaft rises from the south-east corner. The south side of the chancel contains a single lancet with an ogee arch of tracery, with another identical window opposite on the north side. The east end has a shallow moulding under the gable and contains a 3-light window with Perpendicular tracery and a small lancet ventilator above. The north side of the nave contains three 2-light windows with Perpendicular tracery.

Interior

The porch floor is made up of reset and very worn 18th and 19th-century slate graveslabs. The porch roof is a 19th-century open common rafter roof. The south doorway is another reset late 15th or early 16th-century Beerstone 2-centred, almost round-headed arch with moulded surround, containing an ancient studded oak plank door with moulded coverstrips and large strap hinges. The door was rebacked and reset in the 19th century.

The nave has a very tall 3-bay open roof backed with pine boards and carried on two arch-braced king post trusses. The chancel has a similar 2-bay roof. All trusses spring from carved Beerstone corbels. The tall plastered tower arch has a chamfered soffit drying into the responds. The 19th-century Beerstone chancel arch has a double-chamfered arch ring; the inner arch has a moulded cap on a half-engaged column resting high up on a corbel. The chancel floor is laid with red and black tiles.

The 15th-century Beerstone font is plain and unadorned, with an octagonal bowl, coved underneath to a plain stem and a chamfered base. The ogee-shaped oak hood is 17th-century.

Furnishings

A 17th-century oak table serves as the altar, featuring turned baluster-like legs and a chip-carved arcade. The 19th-century carved oak reredos comprises a blind arcade with carved foliage in the spandrels and a centre panel taller with an ogee arch, crocketted finials and poppyhead. A 19th-century oak credence to the left is in Gothic style. The contemporary oak altar rail has wrought iron standards and scroll brackets with repousses fleur-de-lys and roses.

The pine stalls have open Gothic arcades across their fronts and medieval-style carved bench ends. Some are reused late 15th or early 16th-century bench ends of high quality with moulded frames; one bears the initials BH. A large Gothic octagonal drum pulpit features sunken quatrefoil panels containing carved symbols of the evangelists and a sacred monogram. A 19th-century brass lectern with twisted stem and scroll legs stands on a marble base. Pine benches with carved bench ends feature some reused oak late 15th or early 16th-century bench ends of high quality with moulded frames, carved with a mixture of blind reticulated tracery and carved foliage. One bears the initials MB and TD, and another the initials SQ. The 19th-century bench ends are carved in a similar style but are much bolder. A 19th-century pine Gothic-style tower screen is present.

The chancel contains some plain 19th-century marble mural monuments in memory of members of the Mundy family. Two graveslabs have been set against the tower arch responds: one in memory of S. Marshall Ayers (died 1708) and another in memory of his wife Elizabeth (died 1715) and another Marshall Ayers (died 1720). Both have different heraldic achievements.

The east window contains good stained glass of 1913 in memory of Augustus Montague Toplady, author of the hymn "Rock of Ages" and Vicar of Harpford and Venn Ottery from 1766 to 1768. The other windows have plain diamond panes of leaded glass with green-coloured margin panes.

Bells

There are three bells. The treble was recast in 1844. The second was recast in 1657 by John Pennington of Exeter. The tenor is late 15th-century by an unknown Exeter founder, bearing the initials I or LT. The bell frame was rebuilt in 1900.

The carved late 15th or early 16th-century bench ends are the most notable feature of this small church.