Church Of St Mary And St Peter

The Church of St Mary and St Peter at Salcombe Regis is a medieval parish church of special architectural interest, displaying structural evidence spanning from Norman times through to the Reformation and beyond.

Dates and Development

Norman work survives in the north arcade and the south wall of the chancel. The 13th century saw the construction of the north arcade arches, the south aisle (including its west window), and possibly the south arcade, with a recorded dedication of 1259. The dominant Perpendicular west tower and the extension west of the north aisle date from the late medieval period. The chancel was restored by architect Ewan Christian in 1869, while the remainder of the building was restored by William Weir in 1924.

Exterior

The church is built of local rubble with limestone dressings and slate roofs. It comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a west tower, and a two-storey extension west of the north aisle.

The Perpendicular west tower dominates the exterior. Rising in three stages above a high plinth, it features a polygonal stair-turret at the south-east that rises above the tower battlements. The ground stage contains a square-headed west doorway with a three-light panel-tracery window above it. The second stage has a small two-light square-headed window to the west. The belfry stage displays two-light square-headed belfry openings.

The south aisle stands under its own gable and has a double-chamfered doorway with, to its east, a large five-light square-headed window with mullions and cusping. This window was renewed following bomb damage in 1942. A lancet window appears in the west wall.

The chancel contains a blocked south doorway showing traces of Norman work, along with two renewed cusped lancets on the north and south sides and a renewed three-light east window with one intersection and cusping in the tracery.

The north aisle, also under its own gable, features Perpendicular windows of two lights to the north and three lights to the east. West of the aisle is an unusual two-storey building, probably of 15th-century origin, now serving as a vestry but possibly originally functioning as a priest's house, at least on its upper storey, though its precise original purpose is undocumented. It has a window at the east end of the upper floor accessed internally, a plain west doorway, and a three-light square-headed window on the north side.

Interior

The walls are plastered and whitened. The arcades comprise two bays each. The north arcade displays a circular scalloped pier with later double-chamfered pointed arches. The south arcade is differently treated, with double-chamfered arches but no capitals. Capital-less piers occasionally date to the 13th century, suggesting the south arcade may relate to the aisle's west lancet and the recorded consecration date of 1259. The acutely pointed chancel arch is also plain, lacking capitals and responds.

The nave is covered with a three-sided canted plaster ceiling. The south aisle ceiling is divided into panels by square ribs. Indistinct traces of wall-painting survive over the chancel arch.

Fixtures

The octagonal font stands on a round base and is a plain medieval piece, topped by a Jacobean ogee-shaped cover. The pulpit is 18th-century work with plain panelling. An 18th-century tower screen also survives. The reredos dates from 2000 and is a distinctive engraved glass triptych designed by Sir Laurence Whistler, with the centre panels depicting the Crucifixion. Fragments of 15th-century stained glass appear in a north window, while the chancel windows are 19th-century work by Clayton and Bell. An interesting monument is a slate tablet to Joanna Avant bearing an inscription in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English. The chancel stalls have been removed.

Setting

At the west entrance to the churchyard stands an attractive timber lych gate set on high stone side plinths.

Historical Context

The church's structural history can be traced visually back to Norman times and displays work from most centuries down to the Reformation, reflecting the gradual evolution typical of many parish churches. The late-medieval two-storey structure west of the north aisle is of particular interest, its original purpose uncertain but possibly serving as a priest's dwelling. By the 18th century it functioned as a school and now provides vestry space. The 19th-century interventions were modest, with only the chancel receiving restoration under Ewan Christian in 1869, while the rest of the building remained little altered until 1924 when William Weir undertook a sensitive restoration of the entire structure.