Church Of The Holy Cross

CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS

Parish church with structural elements dating from the early 14th century, substantially rebuilt after a destructive fire in 1689, and restored in the early 19th century. The building is locally renowned for its exceptional survival of 18th-century interior fittings and furnishings.

The main fabric comprises local stone, with rubble masonry to the chancel and nave, snecked stone to the aisle. The earliest phase appears to have been a simple nave and chancel arrangement dating to around the early 14th century, evidenced by the Decorated tracery of the east window and the west window of the tower. A tower and south aisle were added at a later date. The arcade dates from the mid to late 15th century.

The fire of 1689 destroyed the tower, roof and all interior fittings. The tower was subsequently rebuilt, with the upper stage constructed of local brick brought to course. The north, south and east faces of this top stage are late 17th-century brick with 19th-century brick battlementing, and the roof is laid with asbestos slate. Early 19th-century restoration, probably carried out in 1838 (evidenced by a dated rainwater head), appears to have been limited to window replacement and the addition of a vestry on the north side of the chancel; some of the box pews may have been altered at this time.

The chancel has dressed volcanic quoins and rubble masonry of small dimensions, with some rebuilding in the gable. It is lit by a 3-light east window with intersecting tracery of circa early 14th-century date, and a 1-light 19th-century trefoil-headed south window with a hoodmould. A lean-to vestry adjoins the north side, attached to which is a small early 19th-century battlemented east porch with a chamfered Tudor arched outer doorway.

The stone rubble nave contains two 3-light untraceried windows with Tudor arched lights and timber lintels carried on stone corbels. To the west of the westernmost window, a corbel table survives below a moulded wall plate. The aisle, mostly constructed of snecked stone, includes sections of random rubble around the rood loft stair and priest's door. It is lit by a 3-light Perpendicular east window with a hoodmould, and four further 3-light windows—three east of the porch and one west of the porch—all 19th-century with square heads and Tudor arched lights. The priest's doorway is chamfered and Tudor arched, with volcanic stone quoins; the door itself, dating to circa early 19th century, is deeply recessed. A shallow splayed stair turret adjoins, and the wallplate is ovolo-moulded. A 3-light 19th-century Perpendicular window lights the west end.

The west tower is a notable three-stage structure. The lower stages are dressed stone brought to course, whilst the upper stage is an early 18th-century replacement in local brick, constructed following the fire of 1689. This brick stage bears 19th-century or later brick battlementing. The tower features diagonal buttresses and corner pinnacles, with an internal south-west stair turret. There is no west door. A probably 14th-century intersecting traceried 3-light west window with cusping and hoodmould lights the lowest stage. Trefoil-headed openings appear at the bellringers' stage on the south side, while the brick stage contains round-headed 18th-century belfry openings with keystones.

The stone rubble porch displays a sundial in the gable above a chamfered Tudor arched outer doorway. An outstanding early 19th-century iron gate with intersecting Gothic rails below the middle rail and bold finials hangs from a timber doorframe. The porch interior features an unceiled wagon roof with moulded main braces and wood-topped benches. A moulded stone inner doorway with hoodmould, label stops and elaborate bar and pyramid stops to one jamb opens into the interior. The inner door is a late 17th-century 2-leaf panelled example.

Interior

The interior is notable for its survival of high-quality 18th-century fittings and the near-complete absence of 19th-century restoration. The interior walls are ornamented with moulded plaster cornices, plaster panelling and foliage trail pargetting over the chancel and aisle east windows. The latter is associated with armorial bearings of the Cruwys family. The roofs are plastered wagons with longitudinal plaster mouldings. There is no chancel arch; instead a chamfered rounded tower arch rests on gigantic carved corbel heads.

The arcade comprises five bays with piers featuring corner shafts and capitals carved with foliage, shields and grotesques. The arches are moulded and Tudor-arched. The west end of the aisle is raised to form a baptistry.

The interior fittings are of exceptional interest and largely unique within the county. The chancel screen and parclose, presumably of the early 18th century, are fashioned in an urbane Corinthian style, with the chancel screen centrepiece featuring a three-dimensional crown on a cushion. The Laudian altar rail is outstanding, with barley-sugar balusters and original gates to north and south. The 19th-century east-facing choir stalls have poppyhead finials, traceried ends and buttresses. A 1700 seating plan reveals that the nave and aisle seating were disposed much as they remain today, with the pulpit and clerk's seat at the east end of the nave and aisle seating facing north. Box pews facing west in front of the chancel screen, assigned to the clerk and parson's wife, remain in situ. The box pews survive intact in the aisle, though some adjustment appears to have been made to the nave benches. The design of the wall plaster indicates that the west-end benches were formerly banked up. Names of local farms whose tenants or owners contributed to the early 18th-century restoration are painted on the benches, which in some cases appear to have been rearranged. Painted texts on benches designated their use: "Boys under 16 years of age" and similar allocations. A font with an 18th-century bowl on a 19th-century stem with carved foliage is surmounted by an 18th-century onion-shaped cover crowned with a dove; the original lifting mechanism no longer survives. The doorway to the rood loft stair is plain and Tudor arched; a tower screen dates to 1930.

The chancel window, west window and east aisle window are all by Beer of Exeter. The aisle window bears a memorial date of 1897 and is by Drake of Exeter. A 17th-century wall monument in the south aisle is largely obscured by the organ. An 1832 brass on the nave wall commemorates W. Stone Esq and describes a charity established by him, with an angel bearing a scroll above the inscription.

The church is outstanding for the quality and completeness of its 18th-century interior fittings and seating arrangement. The rebuilding of the tower after the fire of 1689 with bricks manufactured in the adjacent field—known as Brick Mead—represents an interesting example of relatively early brick use in a remote rural area of the county. The total cost of rebuilding the church after the fire was £1,838 12 shillings.