Church Of St Petrock And St Barnabus

This parish church retains a Norman font but was otherwise completely rebuilt in 1870 by the architect William White. The building is constructed of local stone rubble, incorporating considerable quantities of red conglomerate stone and red sandstone, with the interior faced in brick. Throughout the church, contrasting colours of ashlar are used for architectural detail: purple volcanic stone, cream Beerstone, and yellow Hamstone. The roof is covered with red tiles and crested ridge tiles, whilst the spire is finished in shingles.

Architectural Layout

The church comprises a nave with a lower and narrower chancel. The way part of the nave is thrown southwards suggests that existing foundations were reused during the rebuilding. White added a north transept, a shallow north aisle, and another aisle off the chancel used as a vestry. There is also a west tower and south porch.

The entire building is executed in the Early Decorated style. Being of one building phase, the style is consistent throughout. All windows, for instance, have sides constructed of alternate blocks of cream Beerstone and purple volcanic ashlar with Hamstone ashlar tracery.

Tower and Spire

The tower is relatively small and comprises two stages without buttresses. It is topped with a splay-footed spire surmounted by a brass weathercock. The belfry has large two-light rectangular windows with broad brick mullions on the east and west sides only; these lights are louvred. There is no stair turret, only an internal iron ladder. The west side features a trefoil-headed lancet with hoodmould and a tiny rectangular light to the ringing loft. Lancets to the ringing loft are also present on the north and south sides.

South Elevation

The south side of the nave projects slightly from the tower. This corner is surmounted by a large and conspicuous chimney shaft of volcanic ashlar with chamfered corners and weathered offsets. A trefoil-headed lancet with hoodmould sits between this corner and the porch.

The porch is gabled with Hamstone coping and a fleuree apex cross (all gables are similar except the north transept, which has an Iona apex cross). The outer segmental pointed arch has a double-chamfered arch ring both internally and externally. To the right of the porch, the nave projects forward slightly and includes two windows: a four-light window to the left and a three-light window to the right, each with different Early Decorated style tracery. A large buttress of dressed conglomerate stone stands at the right end. The buttress and chancel have a sandstone chamfered plinth.

The south side of the chancel has two double lancet windows with a narrow priest's door with two-centred arched head and a buttress of dressed conglomerate stone between them.

East and North Elevations

The east end has similar flanking diagonal buttresses; the south one contains a limestone date plaque inscribed 1870. The east end has three trefoil-headed lancets, the centre one slightly taller than the others.

On the north side, the vestry and aisle are under a continued roof, although the pitch is lessened over them. The vestry has a small two-light arched window in the east end and on the north side a rectangular light to the left and twin lancet to the right. The gable end of the transept has an arched two-light window with moulded hood ending in labels carved as human heads. The north aisle has two more trefoil-headed lancets and another in the west end.

Interior

The porch has a 19th-century roof and contemporary tiled floor surrounding reset, very worn, probably 17th-century graveslabs. The south doorway is of volcanic ashlar with a two-centred head and ovolo-moulded surround, containing double plank doors with ornate strap hinges and other ironwork.

The entire interior of the church is of exposed brick with volcanic stone and limestone quoins to the openings. The walls are decorated with painted stencil designs which become more elaborate from nave to chancel. These are painted directly onto the exposed brick and form an important part of the original 1870 scheme.

The nave has a three-bay roof carried on tie beams with crown post trusses, and the chancel has a two-bay roof carried on an open arch-braced truss. The north transept has a smaller two-bay roof with arch-braced truss, and the aisle and vestry have lean-to half trusses. The entire roof is lined with pine boards.

The tower has a triple arch ring dying into the responds. On the south side, where the nave is thrown out slightly, an octagonal Hamstone pier with scallop base and moulded capital enlivened with carved stiff-leaf decoration supports the nave roof truss. The three-bay arcade to the narrow nave, overlapping the transept, has double-chamfered arch rings supported on similar columns. At the front (eastern) end, the arch comes down on a slender circular pier with moulded and carved head. North of the chancel is a similar arch to the organ house with a comparable slender column on the front (eastern) end. There is a double-chamfered chancel arch on moulded Hamstone corbels.

Floors and Furnishings

The floor is made up of 1870 coloured tiles. The nave includes several reset 17th-century graveslabs, notably one of black marble bearing an armorial device in memory of George Taner (died 1636). In the chancel, encaustic Minton tiles are used, including symbols of the Evangelists and others in memory of 17th-century members of the Rows family. Beyond the altar rail are all encaustic tiles.

The chancel contains a carved oak reredos comprising bas-relief carving of scrolled foliage either side of an ornate Cross of Iona. The oak altar is decorated with painted stencil motifs similar to those on the walls. A Beerstone credence is set in the wall to the left with trefoil head, moulded hood with carved foliate labels, and the corbel under the shelf carved as a praying angel. The low altar rail has twisted iron standards and repoussé roses. There are Gothic-style stalls of oak and pine.

A low chancel screen of oak panelling features blind cinquefoil arches with carved foliate spandrels and a central open quatrefoil. At the south end, the screen cants forward to give access to the Gothic-style drum pulpit. A similar-style lectern is present. Plain pine benches are installed throughout. The squire's pew in the north transept has wainscoting enhanced with panels of linenfold oak. The Gothic-style tower screen is probably 20th century.

Font

The Norman Beerstone bucket font is particularly beautiful. The rim has a band of carved star and pellet, then a very fine band of semi-Classical foliate scrollwork bounded by an arris edge, below a row of narrow scallops, then a broad cable, and finally a band of wide sawtooth chevrons. It is set on a chamfered plinth. The hood is oak and tapering with ribs and poppy-head finial, probably a 19th-century rebuild, a restoration of the original.

Monuments

The finest mural monument is in the north transept: a white marble drapery monument containing a scrolled cartouche in memory of John Cholwich of Farringdon House (died 1714), his wife Philippa (died 1720), and several family relations who died between 1721 and 1800. His arms below, flanked by fern-like wings and contained in a scrolled cartouche, are inscribed to the effect that the monument was erected by John and Philippa. Also here is a marble plaque under a heraldic achievement in memory of the Reverend William Cholwich, also resident of Farringdon House (died 1833), his wife Elizabeth (died 1836), and sister (died 1848).

Other monuments in the same style in the aisle commemorate the Reverend Richard Rouse, rector of Clyst St George (died 1810), Francis Rous Ellicombe (died 1834), and a slightly grander version to the Reverend John Sleech (died 1788) and his family. The tower arch is flanked by similar monuments with inscribed drapery over the plaques: that to the right in memory of Frances Cholwich (died 1748) with epitaph, and to the left to John Cholwich (died 1835) with epitaph.

Inside the tower are two reset 17th-century monuments: on the north side, a grey marble rectangular plaque with a bolection Beerstone frame enriched with carved acanthus leaves in memory of Francesca Burnet and her infant son Ludovic (both died 1683) with a Latin epitaph; and on the south side, another grey marble plaque with a moulded frame with scrolled pediment with heraldic arms in a central cartouche in memory of Samuel Tanner (died 1686), his wife Mary (died 1657), and those members of his family who died 1684 to 1688.

Additional Features

The vestry contains the Jacobean communion table and a contemporary chest. Victorian stained glass is present in the east window and in the south chancel windows.

The church has an attractive setting and is a very successful example of Victorian Gothic architecture.