Petton Chapel

Petton Chapel is a chapel of ease to Bampton, reopened in 1848 after thorough rebuilding by G. Boyce of Tiverton, with Mr. Gale of Bampton as the builder. It is constructed from local stone rubble and features slate roofs, with the apse roof painted in bitumen. No parts of the medieval chapel remain visible except for the bells. The chapel is a small, aisleless structure in the Romanesque style, featuring an apsidal east end, a west doorway, and a bellcote, along with a north-east vestry. Boyce's original design was modified based on recommendations from the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society, which suggested more accurate Romanesque proportions and details. The building has remained virtually unaltered since 1848.

The exterior consists of a 4-bay nave with pilasters and round-headed windows that have chamfered architraves and lattice iron glazing bars, along with a string course below the windows. The apse has similar pilasters and three windows. The north-east vestry features a round-headed east window and a west doorway, as well as a small east lean-to. The west end has corner pilasters and a triple order round-headed doorway with colonnettes and capitals, leading to a 2-leaf west door. The Romanesque style rose window at the west end has lights divided by colonnettes with cushion capitals, and there is a gabled bellcote for two medieval bells.

Inside, the chapel has plastered walls and a 4-bay arched brace nave roof supported on corbels. The round-headed chancel arch rests on cushion corbels, and there is one arched brace truss in the chancel. The apse is decorated with pilaster ribs featuring zig-zag ornamentation. The bowl font has palmette decoration and a frieze, while the timber drum pulpit has been reduced in height. There is a timber altar rail with chamfered standards and original benches with doors. A memorial tablet from 1840, reused from an earlier church, is located behind the pulpit and is framed with a zig-zag Romanesque design. The east window includes a stripe of red glass.

Overall, Petton Chapel is an extremely attractive and well-preserved isolated chapel, showcasing a late use of the Romanesque style for its date.