Church Of St Michael And All Saints

Church of St Michael and All Saints, Wembworthy

This is a parish church of medieval origin, substantially rebuilt in 1868 and restored again in 1902 by Harbottle Reed, though retaining significant earlier work. The church contains some early 16th-century elements and a tower dated 1626.

The earlier medieval work is built of local mudstone rubble laid to rough courses with volcanic and red sandstone ashlar detail. The 19th-century restoration work uses snecked mudstone with Beerstone and Bathstone detail, including some granite in the tower. The roof is slate with bands of fish-scale decoration.

The building comprises a nave with a lower and narrower chancel, a north aisle with an east chapel under a continuous parallel roof, a west tower projecting to the aisle with the nave overlapping on the south side, and a porch on the west end of the nave. The architectural style throughout is Perpendicular.

The west tower is plain and low, of two stages, with low set-back buttresses and an embattled parapet. The north-west corner has been repaired with massive granite ashlar quoins. The belfry contains small segmental-headed windows except on the south side, which has a 19th-century Beerstone 2-light square-headed window with trefoil-headed lights and a hoodmould. The north side of the tower has a slit window to the ringing floor, and the west side has a plain ground-floor 2-light window of volcanic stone with a chamfered mullion, flanked by inscribed volcanic stone plaques both dated IC 1626.

The porch, added in 1849 at the west end of the nave, has a low-pitched gable end with a moulded string and parapet, diagonal buttresses, and a 2-centred outer arch with moulded surround and hoodmould.

The nave, though substantially rebuilt in the 19th century, retains its essentially early 16th-century or earlier character. The south side presents a 3-window front with buttresses between flanking angle buttresses and a soffit-chamfered wall plate under the eaves. All windows are tall, square-headed, 3-light designs with cinquefoil or trefoil heads, sunken spandrels, and moulded hoods with square labels. The leftmost window is Bathstone and a 19th-century copy. The centre window, coated with external ferramenta, is probably early 16th-century. The right window, also coated with some volcanic stone and red sandstone showing through, contains trefoil heads, external ferramenta, and is likely early 16th-century work.

The chancel appears to be a complete 19th-century rebuild. Its south side has a Hatherleigh stone 2-light window with Decorated style tracery. The east end has shaped kneelers and coping with an apex Iona cross, angle buttresses, and a 3-light Perpendicular window. The east end of the north aisle has a similar 3-light window. The north side of the chancel has a 3-window front of square-headed 3-light windows; the left end window is Hatherleigh stone and a 19th-century copy, while the others are Beerstone and appear to be 17th-century, containing diamond panes of old leaded glass and external ferramenta. To the left of centre is a 19th-century rebuilt priests' door.

Interior

The porch contains a tiled floor with encaustic memorial tiles to the Reverend Peter Johnson (died 1869) and his wife Gratiana (died 1845). The main west door is a 19th-century moulded 2-centred arch matching the outer arch of the porch.

Both nave and north aisle have ceiled wagon roofs. Though much restored in the 19th century, they retain a good deal of early 16th-century carpentry. In the nave, the six western bays have original chamfered ribs and large crudely-carved bosses, while the four eastern bays are 19th-century with moulded ribs, neater bosses, and a slightly lower vault. Similarly, the aisle has four original bays to the west with moulded ribs and carved bosses, and four 19th-century bays to the east in the same style. Both have 19th-century moulded wall plates.

The chancel has a 19th-century open 3-bay roof comprising arch-braced trusses springing from moulded Beerstone corbels. A 19th-century Beerstone chancel arch has inner moulding springing from half-engaged columns against the responds.

Between the nave and aisle is a Hatherleigh stone 4-bay arcade (with one bay overlapping the chancel) with octagonal piers and moulded capitals of Pevsner's Type C. This is probably a 19th-century replacement.

The tower projects into the aisle with a 19th-century door and, on the south side, a 17th-century 2-light volcanic stone window with a chamfered mullion overlooking the nave.

The floor of the nave and aisle is mostly slate slabs with some reset 17th-century green-glazed relief-decorated floor tiles. The nave includes two white marble grave slabs: one to John Tarlton, rector (died 1666), and another to Joanna his wife (died 1683). The chancel floor is of 19th-century patterned tiles.

The chancel contains a 19th-century painted stone reredos in Gothic style comprising a blind arcade, with a cross in the centre panel and flanking panels with sacred monograms. Alpha and omega symbols enrich the spandrels, and the cornice has 4-leaf decoration. A 19th-century oak altar rail, supported by twisted iron standards with foliate brackets, has twisted brass stems at each end with ivy-leaf repoussé ornament carrying oil lamps. Stalls and benches are 19th-century deal.

The chapel at the east end of the aisle is now screened off as a vestry with field panelling, possibly 18th-century in date.

The pulpit is 17th-century, renovated in the 19th century, with a panelled octagonal drum and a cornice enriched with cable moulding and shallow acanthus leaves.

The font is 19th-century Beerstone in Perpendicular style, with a moulded base and blind arcade around the stem. The octagonal bowl has sunken quatrefoils alternately arranged in squares and lozenges.

Two similar 17th-century marble mural monuments are set side by side on the south wall of the nave. The left commemorates Lawrence Clotworthy of Rashleigh (died 1655) and the right commemorates Mary Bury, daughter of John Clotworthy (died 1651). Both have triangular-headed plaques with moulded frames flanked by Ionic columns supporting a broken pediment with a lower plain shelf on moulded consoles. Both are surmounted by the arms of the deceased, the latter on a lozenge-shaped plaque framed with laurel leaves.

The east window of the aisle contains fragments of 16th-century stained glass in the tracery.