Church Of St Simon And St Jude

The Church of St Simon and St Jude is a small parish church situated in Hockworthy. The church’s origins lie in the Norman period, with a Norman font remaining. The tower is likely from the 15th century but was substantially restored in 1848, while the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1865 by the architect Charles Durnford Greenway. The building is constructed of local chert stone rubble for the tower, with the remainder of the church built of the same stone but with a snecked finish; limestone details are incorporated, all beneath a slate roof.

The plan consists of a nave with a lower and narrower chancel, a north aisle, a south porch, and a west tower. A vestry is located on the north side of the chancel, and during the 19th century, the tower was converted into a baptistry. The architectural style is a blend of Early English and Early Decorated elements.

The exterior includes a plain, unbuttressed tower of two stages featuring an embattled parapet. The belfry windows are lancets, and the west window has two lights with Perpendicular tracery and a hoodmould. A 19th-century stair turret projects square from the south side, incorporating an external shoulder-headed doorway. The rest of the church displays similar detailing with plate tracery windows. The south porch is gabled with a two-centred outer arch, and the south doorway replicates this style on a smaller scale.

The interior, dating from 1865, features tall, open scissor-braced common rafter truss roofs in the nave and aisle, and an open, arch-braced common rafter truss roof in the chancel. A plain tower arch leads to the baptistry. The chancel arch is double-chamfered, ring springing from moulded imposts. The three-bay arcade has marble piers with moulded limestone capitals. The walls are plastered, and the floor is a chequer pattern of red and black tiles, with encaustic tiles representing the Evangelists included in the sanctuary. A Beerstone reredos in a blind Early English style arcade is enriched with marble. A trefoil-headed piscina is located to the left. An oak altar rail rests on twisted wrought iron standards. Pine stalls are present, alongside a Beerstone reading desk and pulpit, the latter rising from a marble stem, both with brass fittings. Simple 19th-century pine box pews are also included. The circa 1200 font has a cushion bowl, which has been planed down, a cylindrical shaft, and a 19th-century square plinth. A 17th-century oak chest is present. Painted Commandments boards flank the tower arch, and 19th-century stained glass is found in the chancel.