Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

A Grade I listed parish church of 15th-century date, constructed in two or three building phases, at Holcombe Rogus. The church was restored in 1875-80 and a vestry was added in 1898.

The building is constructed in grey-coloured chert rubble laid to rough courses, with some red sandstone and purple-coloured volcanic trap ashlar used internally. Hamstone and Beerstone are the principal decorative stones. The roof is slate. The plan comprises a nave and chancel under a continuous roof, with north and south aisles that both overlap the chancel. The north aisle contains the Bluett chapel, while the south aisle chapel has been converted to an organ loft. A west tower stands at the west end, with a vestry of 1898 attached to its north side, and a south porch projects from the south aisle.

The church is executed throughout in Perpendicular style. The tall west tower has two stages with set-back buttresses and an embattled parapet. A square stair turret projects from the south-east corner. Carved gargoyle water spouts ornament all corners, and the corners of the stair turret parapet are carved with large faces. The belfry windows are of two lights with Perpendicular tracery. The west doorway is a two-centred arch with a moulded surround, above which is a restored three-light window with Perpendicular tracery. The south porch has diagonal buttresses and a Beerstone ashlar front. It contains a Hamstone two-centred outer arch with a richly-moulded surround and hoodmould with crudely carved human head label stops. Inside the porch is a good Beerstone fan vault with carved bosses, some featuring the Tudor Rose. The south doorway is a moulded Tudor arch with carved foliate spandrels and a hoodmould, and contains an ancient studded plank door with moulded coverstrips. Both aisles and the chancel have set-back corner buttresses. The south aisle has a Beerstone coping to a low parapet, carried round the rood stair turret which projects square. Most windows have been restored. The south aisle and chancel have similar Beerstone windows, some with recut carved human head label stops. Most are of two lights; the east chancel window is of four lights. The north aisle windows are of Hamstone and display a different style of tracery with Tudor arch heads.

The interior is of considerable quality. The nave and chancel have a continuous wagon roof. That in the nave was plastered over in the 19th century, though 15th-century carpentry is thought to survive. The chancel roof is a 19th-century rebuild with new carved bosses and boarded back. Both aisles have good 15th-century wagon roofs with moulded ribs and purlins and good carved oak bosses, though they differ in character. The south roof is ceiled and has a plain wall plate. The north roof is now open and has a richly-carved wall plate with crestwork, and carved oak angels holding shields are positioned under each main truss. The tower has a 19th-century ringing floor.

The tall plain tower arch has a triple-chamfered arch ring. There is no chancel arch, although the arcades are interrupted at this point; the wider space between the piers is occupied by Beerstone Perpendicular panelling. Each side of the nave comprises four-bay Beerstone arcades. The piers are moulded Pevsners B-type, but the arcade characters differ. The south aisle arcade, probably the earlier, has moulded caps to the shafts only (more Somerset in character), whereas the north aisle arcade has carved capitals (more Devon in character). The westernmost arch of the south arcade includes a couple of carved royal heads, and the pier has an image niche. The rood stair is open and complete. The inner arches of the windows are moulded Beerstone; the walls are otherwise plastered. The floor of the nave and aisles comprises patterned 19th-century tiles, including some good black marble graveslabs of 17th and 18th-century date. The Bluett Chapel is completely floored with graveslabs. 19th-century encaustic tiles are in the chancel, with the most ornamental reserved for the sanctuary. A late 19th-century carved Beerstone reredos enriched with marble and Gothic in style stands in the chancel, with a contemporary piscina nearby in the north wall. A late 19th-century altar rail on twisted brass standards, oak stalls in Gothic style with poppyhead finials, an oak pulpit and lectern, plain pine benches with children's pews to the rear, and a richly carved Beerstone font in Perpendicular style are all present.

The Bluett Chapel is enclosed by reused sections of a good 15th-century oak rood or chapel screen, with panelled wainscotting of Perpendicular tracery (Pevsner's type B) and a delicately-carved frieze. This screen, known as the Walrond Screen, was rescued from Tiverton Church and removed here in 1854. Nothing remains of the rood screen belonging to this church except for a couple of panels incorporated into the Bluett pew. The Bluett family pew itself is a most remarkable example of early 17th-century craftsmanship. Much restored, it retains its original form. Built of oak, it comprises small field panelled wainscotting below a richly carved arcade with a crest incorporating ten medallions carved with scenes from Genesis and Exodus.

The church contains a notable group of monuments, particularly of the Bluett family. The two oldest are in the Bluett Chapel. One commemorates Richard and Mary Bluett (died 1614 and 1613 respectively) and is of marble, depicting Richard reclining on one elbow above the figure of his wife. The other, larger and more classical, commemorates Sir John Bluett (died 1634) in armour and his wife Elizabeth (died 1636), with the carved figures of their eight daughters at the base. Alongside in the north aisle stands a polychrome marble mural monument in memory of the Reverend Robert Bluett (died 1749), which shows a bas relief of the Good Samaritan with a large urn above. In the chancel is another large marble mural monument featuring two allegories sitting at each end of a sarcophagus and vase, erected in 1783 to commemorate Robert and Kerenhappuch Bluett; it outlines the family history but gives no dates. Other good Beerstone and marble mural monuments from the 18th century are present. Some late 19th-century stained glass and some earlier fragments appear in the tracery of the east window of the south aisle.