Church Of St Michael And All Angels

This parish church was largely rebuilt or extensively remodelled in the late 15th or early 16th century, apparently as a single programme of upgrading and enlarging an earlier building. Hoskins described it as "mostly rebuilt in 1846", though this appears to be an overstatement. The church underwent reseating and restoration by Robert Medley Fulford in 1886–7. It is built mostly of local flint with Beer stone dressings and has a slate roof.

Plan and Historical Development

The church consists of a nave, chancel, west tower, five-bay north arcade (with one bay extending into the chancel), south transept, south porch adjoining the transept, and an organ chamber and vestry adjoining the chancel on the south side. The unusually grand, matching late Perpendicular details—including panelled soffits to internal arches and a stone chancel screen—indicate a major refashioning in the late 15th or early 16th century. This work was probably associated with a chantry to Thomas Chard, described by Hoskins as "probably titular bishop of Salubria", who was born at Tracey in the same parish. The rather awkward abutment of one of the arcade piers against the chancel suggests that the chancel is earlier than the arcade. The vestry and organ chamber date from 1886–7.

Exterior

The chancel is ashlar-faced with diagonal coped buttresses. It has a four-light transomed Perpendicular east window and a two-light transomed south window, though the latter is concealed externally by the embattled two-bay vestry and organ chamber. The organ chamber to the west has a lean-to roof, and the structure has a diagonal south-east buttress and two eclectic late 19th-century traceried windows flanking a contemporary two-centred moulded doorframe.

The embattled south porch, which adjoins the south transept, is unusual both for its elaboration and for having doorways in both the south and west sides. It has a diagonal south-west buttress with set-offs and a shallow statue niche with a canopy and buttresses in the angles with the nave and transept. Shallow statue niches survive over both doorways; the west niche has lost its canopy work, and all three statue niches have moulded bases of Renaissance character. Both the south and west doorways are moulded with an order of fleurons, matching the internal arch into the south transept. The steps to the west doorway no longer exist. Inside, the porch has a shallow stone rib vault, the ribs carried on corner shafts, with a central roundel and carved bosses. A cornice on the east wall is decorated with fleurons, and there are stone-topped benches.

To the west of the porch is a two-light probably 15th-century nave window below two re-set 12th- or 13th-century corbels; the masonry is disturbed here, possibly indicating a raising of the nave.

The north aisle has set-back buttresses at the west end and a diagonal north-east buttress, with two crude later buttresses on the north side (one concrete). It has a large four-light Perpendicular east window and a three-light Perpendicular west window above an embattled 19th-century store or boiler room. Five irregularly spaced three-light Perpendicular north windows light the aisle, and a probably 16th-century north door has a moulded frame with an almost flat arch and a hoodmould; the studded plank door is probably also 16th century.

The south transept, probably the Chard chantry, has wide buttresses with set-offs to the south face and a very large, grand five-light south window. This window was entirely renewed in the 19th century in Bath stone on the exterior, but medieval masonry survives on the inner face. Medieval hollow-chamfered Beer stone jambs decorated with fleurons survive; the hoodmould has disappeared, but 19th-century carved label stops remain. The window is transomed, with tracery below the transom as well as above it, and has a second transom in the centre light. It has something of the grandeur of Colyton's west window, but on a smaller scale. The right (east) return of the transept has a 16th-century square-headed volcanic stone window with trefoil-headed lights.

The embattled three-stage west tower has moulded strings, gargoyles below the battlements, and an unusually large, rectangular, projecting south-east stair turret of diminishing stages. The turret is embattled and rises above the height of the tower proper. It has slit windows and a two-centred chamfered external doorway with steps up to an early 19th-century Gothic door. The west face has a moulded three-centred west doorframe with a 19th-century door with elaborate strap hinges, a three-light Perpendicular west window (the tracery 19th century), and a moulded stone frame to the clock. Two-light stone traceried belfry windows appear on all four faces, with an extra rectangular opening on the north face at belfry stage.

Interior

The walls are plastered, some of the wall plaster early and possibly concealing wall paintings beneath limewash. The remains of a painted Royal Arms survive over the south door.

The rounded chancel arch has a panelled soffit, and the tower arch is similar with a panelled soffit and shafts with capitals to each respond. The five-bay north arcade has piers set diagonally with corner shafts, capitals with carved foliage bosses, and shallow-moulded arches. The easternmost nave pier abuts the chancel arch rather awkwardly. There is a double arch into the chancel, the inner arch with a panelled soffit, possibly originally forming a canopy above a tomb chest. This suggests that the east end of the north aisle is a remodelled chapel absorbed into the later north aisle. The south transept arch also has a panelled soffit and shafts to the responds, and the arch is decorated with an order of fleurons.

The nave has a late medieval ceiled wagon roof with carved bosses, the ribs more closely spaced at the abutment with the chancel arch, forming a ceilure. The north aisle roof also has a late medieval ceiled wagon, but with flatter, well-carved bosses with probably modern gilding. The chancel roof probably dates from Fulford's 1886–7 restoration: an open wagon boarded behind with two tiers of cresting to the wall plate and heavy carved bosses. It has painted decoration of the 1880s by Palfrey of London. The south transept has a ceiled wagon with carved bosses.

The grand five-bay Beer stone chancel screen is presumably early 16th century with considerable restoration work. It has 19th-century battlements with a solid dado, a central Tudor arched doorway decorated with fleurons on the soffit and jambs, and two-light traceried openings to each bay with projecting demi-angels holding scrolls.

The chancel fittings are 19th and 20th century. The traceried dado and matching communion rail to the sanctuary are probably early 20th century. Commandment boards in elaborate stone frames with ogee gables, pinnacles, and good Gothic script for the text are probably late 1840s or 1850s. The poppyhead choir stalls may be of the same date, incorporating some medieval woodwork. A trabiated opening leads into the organ chamber-cum-vestry, which was added in the late 1880s by Fulford.

The nave fittings are also 19th century: a set of benches and a matching pulpit and timber lectern of 1887 designed by Fulford and carved by Hems of Exeter.

The font is probably 15th century: an octagonal Beer stone bowl carved with quatrefoils, the stem with shallow panels and miniature buttresses.

The south transept window is especially fine, with hollow-chamfered jambs decorated with tracery and statue niches. A probably 18th-century hatchment hangs in the transept.

Monuments

Several white marble wall plaques commemorate: Daniel Pring, died 1791; John Pring Esquire of Ivedon, died 1820, with a Greek Revival wall plaque featuring a profile head in a medallion, signed by Peter Rouw, Modeller to His Majesty, New Road, London; and Mary Elliott, died 1853, signed Rogers of Bath. In the chancel aisle a wall monument to Captain Daniel Pring, died 1846, shows a bust in a framed niche, signed Newman's, Sidmouth.

Stained Glass

Remains of a 15th- or early 16th-century medieval scheme by the Doddiscombsleigh school survive in the head tracery of the north aisle. Three very fine 19th-century windows include the excellent east windows in the north aisle and chancel, probably 1860s and on stylistic grounds probably by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The fine south window in the transept is probably by Wailes, dated 1863. The west window is signed Wailes and Strang, 1887. A memorial window in the north aisle to Neumann (of Tracey), dated 1898, is probably by Percy Bacon. A memorial window in the south aisle to Porter, 1913, is by Blanchford.

This is an unusually grand church with impressive medieval and 19th-century features.