Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a parish church that dates from the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, with restoration work carried out in 1889 by Hayward of Exeter. It is constructed from stone rubble with freestone dressings and has slate roofs. The 12th-century nave and chancel feature a south doorway with one order of octagonal colonnettes, voussoirs decorated with zig-zags and crenellations, and an inset four-centred arch doorway with a tympanum above, dated 1698. The north windows of the nave have four-centred arches. The chancel includes a restored perpendicular four-light east window and a south window with pointed trefoil heads.

There is a narrow early 13th-century south aisle supported by large buttresses and featuring two-light flat-headed windows. The 13th-century south chapel has restored windows, while a 19th-century north vestry is also present. The late 15th-century south porch and west tower, which has diagonal buttresses, battlements, and a polygonal northeast corner stair turret with battlements, add to the church's architectural interest. The tower features two-light ogee traceried bell openings, a large perpendicular four-light west window, and a moulded west doorway without capitals.

Inside, the church has a three-bay south arcade with window piers and capitals, and double-chamfered pointed arches. The wide moulded chancel arch and similar arches to the south chapel and tall tower arch are also without capitals. Circa 1400 wall paintings on two of the arcade piers depict Christ displaying his wounds and either St Peter, St Michael, or the Madonna. Another fragment of painting on the south wall of the aisle shows a martyr being tortured.

Monuments within the church include a 14th-century effigy of a priest in the chancel recess, a monument to Dame Anne Erle and her son Thomas from 1650/53 in the south chapel, and a memorial to Richard Hallett of Stedcombe from 1747 in the nave. There is also a monument to Gulielmi Serle from 1726 in the south aisle. The church features late 19th-century furnishings and has two tomb chests in the churchyard, one dating from 1777 located immediately northeast of the chancel and the other, dating from 1733, situated north of the church.