Church Of St Michael

The Church of Saint Michael at Poughill is a small parish church of exceptional architectural interest. It has 13th-century origins but was substantially rebuilt in the 15th century with a contemporary or slightly later north aisle. The building underwent thorough restoration in 1855–56 and minor renovation work between 1960 and 1967.

The walls are constructed primarily of purple mudstone and volcanic trap stone, employed in various styles at different periods, with volcanic ashlar, Beerstone and Bathstone details used throughout. The roof is slate. The church comprises a nave with a narrower and lower chancel, a north aisle that overlaps the chancel but does not extend its full length, a west tower and a south porch. The architectural style is Perpendicular.

The west tower is built of crudely squared stone blocks laid to rough courses in two stages. It has a chamfered plinth and an embattled parapet. A square stair turret projects from the north side, rising slightly above the tower with its own embattled parapet. The belfry windows are of restored Beerstone, square-headed with two lights and cinquefoil heads. Some volcanic hood moulds may be original. The west side of the tower features a restored plain arched doorway with a restored two-light Perpendicular window above it, which retains the original mullion, right jamb and labels to the hood mould. Narrow single-light windows light the ringing floor on the west and south sides, positioned immediately above a moulded dripstone.

The south side of the nave is built of similar roughly coursed masonry but includes a portion of volcanic and limestone ashlar towards its centre. Two three-light Beerstone windows with Perpendicular tracery and hood moulds light this elevation. The south porch, positioned between the two windows, was rebuilt in the 19th century. It is gable-ended with a chamfered two-centred outer arch and contains a white marble World War I memorial beneath its gable. Near the right end and close to ground level is the top of a nowy-headed slate headstone in memory of John Trude, died 1789, which is fixed to the wall with iron clamps. At the right end of the nave stands a 19th-century angle buttress constructed of rusticated purple mudstone ashlar.

The chancel is of 19th-century snecked and rockfaced mudstone with contemporary Beerstone detail. The south side includes a cinquefoil-headed lancet to the left and a central arch-headed priests' door. The east end has a three-light window with Perpendicular-style tracery and hood mould. Both ends of the north aisle feature similar three-light windows. The gable ends of the nave, chancel and aisle have 19th-century shaped Beerstone kneelers with coping; these originally bore fleuree crosses on their apexes, though only the nave cross now remains. The north aisle is built of apparently original mudstone rubble. Its north front features four 19th-century replacement three-light windows with Perpendicular tracery. A disused rood stair turret is positioned left of centre; to the right of centre is a reused Beerstone block with a blocked quatrefoil light.

Interior

The porch has a ceiled wagon roof with moulded ribs and carved bosses, some of which may date to the 15th century. On the right side are two painted benefaction boards dated 1829 and 1853. The south doorway is a 19th-century volcanic two-centred arch with a simple chamfered surround and contains a 19th-century studded plank door with ornate wrought iron strap hinges featuring side scrolls and fleur-de-lys finials.

The nave and north aisle have similar restored late 15th-century ceiled wagon roofs with moulded ribs and carved oak bosses. The bosses are relatively plain, with several featuring roses. A carved foliage wall plate is interrupted by small carved bosses positioned under the main trusses. The chancel has a rebuilt open wagon roof with moulded ribs, carved bosses and a moulded wall plate; it is stained and painted, making assessment of late 15th-century timberwork survival difficult.

A 15th-century volcanic ashlar tower arch has jambs moulded like the piers of the arcade but with plain soffit and chamfered capitals. It was scraped in the 19th century. The arcade comprises four bays of painted ashlar with moulded piers (Pevsner's B-type) and carved capitals. The western respond features a green man motif. The eastern fourth arch overlaps the chancel; the wall here is thick and the two-centred arch has chamfered surrounds enriched with four-leaf decoration leading to the present vestry, which is a former chapel in the north aisle. The soffit and sides are lined with Beerstone panels with cinquefoil heads. The chancel arch has a moulded surround. Inner arches of windows have hollow-chamfered surrounds except for the east window of the chancel, which has shafts and capitals.

The tower contains a probably 19th-century ringing loft floor of large intersecting beams with a massive carved boss. The tower floor is largely composed of medieval encaustic tiles from Barnstaple. The nave floor is of volcanic flags and large quarry tiles, possibly of 17th or 18th-century date, along with numerous 17th and 18th-century grave slabs, including a white marble memorial to the former minister William Frank the Elder, died 1675, notable for the crude lettering. The chancel floor includes good quality 1856 encaustic tiles.

Much of the church retains the 1856 scheme of painted decoration, including extensive stencilwork. On the tower arch and arcade, the capitals are highlighted and the outer moulding of the arcade is decorated. Text over the chancel arch is now painted over. On the chancel roof, the bosses and ribs are painted; the remainder is stained with painted fleur-de-lys on the soffits of minor ribs and gold stars on the painted boards behind. In the arch from the chancel to the aisle, the upper panels feature fleur-de-lys and sacred monograms on a blue ground, whilst the lower panels display roses in circles on fleuree crosses on a pink ground; the outer arch is painted. The reveals of the south chancel window are similarly decorated. Texts around the shafts of the east window are now painted over.

An 1856 gothic-style carved Beerstone reredos is similarly painted and flanked by high commandment panels with crocketed pinnacled ogee arches. To the right of the altar is an orange marble credence on a carved Beerstone bracket.

Most furnishings date to circa 1856 and include an oak altar rail on wrought iron twisted stems with ivy leaf brackets; gothic-style oak choir stalls; and a semi-octagonal oak pulpit with open panels under trefoil heads. The stiles and top rail of the pulpit are carved with acorns and foliage and include the original brass desk and candelabra. An oak lectern and nave pews are probably contemporary. The north aisle includes a series of 18th-century oak box pews with fielded panel doors and sides and original hinges, along with contemporary wainscotting at its east end.

A Beerstone cushion font, where the tops of semi-circular faces meet at the corners on a circular stem with attached shafts, moulded capitals and bases, may represent restored Norman work.

The east chancel window was created by Drake of Exeter in memory of Thomas Melhuish, died 1875. A good marble mural monument erected in 1809 commemorates Gertrude Pyncombe of Welsbeare Barton, died 1730; it comprises a white marble bas relief drum with dedication and obituary, a vase with drapery above and cherubs below, all set on a shaped black marble base.

The tower contains a highly regarded ring of six bells: five cast in 1814 and one in 1949.