Lychgate To Parish Church Of Holy Trinity On South Side

ILFRACOMBE

SS5147 CHURCH HILL 853-1/6/89 (North side) 12/03/90 Lychgate to Parish Church of Holy Trinity on south side (Formerly Listed as: HOLY TRINITY CHURCHYARD Lychgate on south side, opening on to Church Hill)

GV II

Lychgate. 1894, by Henry Wilson of London. Wood, on stone pedestals; rendered brick panels. Slated roof with leaded ridge. Arts and Crafts style. The structure consists of a broad central arch with lower, narrower openings at either side. The main arch is carried on 4 massive square posts with moulded bases, these resting on stone pedestals with moulded caps and bases; the shafts of the pedestals are cut from single pieces of stone. The sides of the archway are filled with almost equally massive timber-framing. The lowest panels are of cemented red brick, but those in the middle are open, with moulded wood mullions and ornamental iron bars. In the solid wood upper panels are the inscriptions: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF JOHN MILL CHANTER FOR FIFTY ONE YEARS THE BELOVED VICAR OF THIS PARISH. On the centre studs of the framing are the dates 1836 and 1887. The flat, plank ceiling is supported by 3 chamfered, 4-centred arches, the outer 2 of which carry shields carved with coats-of-arms. The side openings are simpler, each with a single square wooden post on the outside, now resting on a concrete plinth; long moulded brackets run north and south from it to support the plank ceiling. The whole structure is covered with a pitched roof having swept eaves with a moulded wood cornice beneath. The leaded ridge is decorated each side with 3 flowers, and there is a shaped finial at the west end; a matching finial appears to have been removed from the east end. The main arch rises above eaves-level and has on each side a flat, deeply projecting canopy carried by pairs of carved brackets attached to the main posts. The edges of the hoods are moulded and finished with an ornately patterned lead cresting. The gates within the openings are of wood with decorated iron strap hinges. The lower parts of the gates have sunk panels with applied strapwork; the upper parts are open with flat shaped balusters. The heads of the uprights are carved with dolphins. The western side-gate has been removed. The structure is beginning to deteriorate. Apart from the missing lead finial, the ornamental iron bars have rusted badly and 2 have gone entirely. The base of the main south-eastern post has gone, and several large cracks are opening in other parts of the woodwork. HISTORY: Henry Wilson (1864-1934) was chief assistant to JD Sedding, 1888-91, and carried on his practice. He has been describved as 'arguably the most inspired architect-designer-craftsman of the Arts and Crafts movement'. (The Buildings of England: Cherry B: North Devon; Hussell AT: Ilfracombe Chronicle, 30.7.1937: 2; Service A: Edwardian Architecture: 1977-: 45-46, 212).

Listing NGR: SS5139147261