The Parish Church Of St Mary

The Parish Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed church built mainly in the 15th century, though in two distinct phases. The nave and north aisle date from around 1450, while the north transept (formerly the Wadham chantry) and chancel were built in 1495 by Sir Nicholas Wadham, Sheriff of Devon in 1502. The tower was substantially rebuilt in 1810. The nave south wall, south porch and much of the chancel were rebuilt (probably reusing medieval materials) in 1867–68 by Edward Ashworth. The church is constructed of coursed volcanic trap rubble with a 19th-century crested slate roof.

The exterior comprises a west tower, nave, north aisle, south porch, north transept and chancel. The west tower has two stages above a moulded plinth with battlementing above a moulded string and no buttresses. A south stair turret with four narrow lights has a pyramidal cap at string-course level. The west door sits beneath a three-light Perpendicular west window, with a trefoil-headed lancet to the south lighting the ringing chamber, and two-light cusped square-headed belfry openings. The south side has a porch with a two-centred doorway with diagonal corner buttresses and apex cross, a three-light Perpendicular-style window and a castellated stair turret to light the pulpit, all by Ashworth. The chancel has one square-headed two-light window of circa 1495 to north and south, and a three-light Decorated east window from the 19th century. The north aisle has two three-light windows to the north side and one to the west end, all Perpendicular of circa 1450, with buttresses between them and two offsets, that at the north-west angle set diagonally. The north transept is castellated, with a north window reused in 1495 from the north aisle identical to the aisle windows, and a west door with three-light square-headed windows to both east and west. The north aisle east window, three-lights, is from the 19th century.

The interior has a three-bay mid-15th-century arcade with wavy moulding, four shield-bearing angels and foliage to the capitals, and a west capital with a figure grasping fronds. Moulded bosses sit on the pier shafts. The roofs are wagon-form, largely from the 19th century but with some medieval bases and shield-bearing angel corbels in the chancel. There is no chancel arch; the ends of the chancel walls are visible from the nave. The tower arch has simple moulded capitals. A cinquefoil-headed piscina and double sedilia, each bay under similar cusping, sit on the south chancel wall, with an aumbry to the north, trefoil-headed, the aumbry and sedilia featuring fluted base-stops. These are probably from 1495, though possibly recut.

The medieval woodwork includes a five-bay screen with conventional Perpendicular tracery but with much cusping and, in the upper lights, small shields à bouche with lance notches. Although this feature is more typically late 14th-century, the screen is probably mid to late 15th-century. No coving remains; the cresting and cornice are from the 19th century. The back of the screen is plain except for hood moulds, and the screen appears largely original, though now heavily painted over. Wainscotting features panels with varied tracery. A good set of 32 bench ends, dating from around 1500, includes some heraldic panels, one recording a marriage alliance between Wadham and Seymour, though most feature tracery panels with roundels and some knot motifs. The font is 15th-century octagonal stone with quatrefoils to each bowl panel and a plain stem. A stone polygonal pulpit from 1867–68 has traceried panels heavily painted, on a stem with a foliage knot, with access by rear stairs occupying a vaulted turret. An almsbox, panelled, on a fluted column with pronounced entasis and dated 1631, is wooden.

Monuments include a mural monument in the north transept to Paul Draper of Exeter, died 1689, with Corinthian columns, broken pediment and armorial devices. In the sanctuary to the north is a mural monument to Frances Tripp with an epitaph poem by her husband. A north aisle north-west window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne dates from 1900.