Church Of St John The Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist, Bishops Tawton

This parish church dates principally to the 14th century, with the tower and probably the nave from that period. The nave was remodelled in the 15th century when the north aisle was added. The north aisle was restored in 1849, the chancel was rebuilt in 1864, and further general restoration took place in 1878, all under the direction of R D Gould.

The building comprises a nave with south porch, chancel, north aisle, and a north transeptal tower with adjoining vestry. The walls are constructed of stone rubble, roughly coursed to the north aisle and squared rubble to the chancel, with ashlar dressings throughout. The roofs are of slate with coped gable ends and an apex cross at the east end. The chancel coving features 19th-century ball flower ornamentation.

The transeptal tower is of two stages with a parapet, crowned by a crocketted octagonal recessed stone spire that is unique in Devon, topped with a weathervane. Buttresses with offsets stand at the north-east and north-west corners. The tower has 2-light bell openings on each face with trefoil cusped heads and a hoodmould to the west side. A single narrow lancet sits below the bell-opening on the east face. The north side features a pointed arched opening of 2 trefoil-headed lights above a pointed arched doorway with double chamfered surround.

The north aisle projects forward slightly from the tower and has a diagonal buttress at its north-west corner. Three buttresses with offsets to parapet sill height divide three Perpendicular-style 19th-century windows of 3 lights each. Two grotesque gargoyles sit over rainwater heads. The west window of the north aisle is pointed arched with 3 lights and a hoodmould.

The nave has two diagonal buttresses at its west end. It contains a 4-light window with cinquefoil traceried head and corbelled hoodmould above the west door, which has a Pevsner 'B' type moulded surround, hoodmould, and a framed and ledged plank door. A tall blocked opening with pointed brick arch towards the west end probably originally provided external access to a west gallery, now removed. A pointed arched 3-light window with hoodmould stands to the left of the slated south porch. The porch entrance is set within a 19th-century chamfered arch and hoodmould with floriated corbels, with a framed and ledged inner doorway. Short buttresses flank the porch. To the right is a single 19th-century 3-light pointed arched nave window with hoodmould. A buttress with offsets stands at the right end, with a small blocked opening near ground level to its immediate left.

The chancel has two buttresses with offsets and contains two 2-light windows and a 3-light east window, all with pointed arches and hoodmoulds with human head corbels. The vestry has a low parapet pierced with trefoils along its east side. It features a 4-centred arched 2-light window in the east side with floriated corbels to the hoodmould. The east doorway has a nowy-arched head with a probably reset 13th-century lancet to its right.

Interior

The north arcade comprises 3½ bays, Perpendicular in style except for the easternmost pier, which was replaced in the 19th century. The nave has a ceiled waggon roof with carved bosses at the intersections of ribs and purlins, and a moulded timber wall plate. The north aisle has a trabeated roof of 12 panels with carved bosses along the central spine and half-bosses to the ends of each cross member. The chancel has a 19th-century waggon-style roof.

An elaborately patterned tiled 19th-century reredos features the inscriptions "And if Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain" along the headrail and "And your faith is also vain" to the bottom rail. 19th-century tiles line the altar step. The priest's door has a pointed arched hoodmould and foliated corbels. A 19th-century pointed chancel arch features human head corbels. The north transeptal arch displays blind tracery to heavy faceted corbels.

A 19th-century pulpit has five facets to the drum with short colonnettes between twin trefoil-headed arches. The stone base features engaged colonnettes with foliated capitals. 19th-century nave seating includes poppy head bench ends on five front pews on the south side.

An 18th-century font has a lead-lined octagonal bowl on a squat round stem with lobed plinth. A wrought iron font crane extends to a cone cover swept up to a finial top with crocketed ribs. Blind traceried panels decorate the eight facets with short corner finials.

A mid-16th-century timber screen of three sections occupies the east end of the north aisle. Each bay contains four lights with two large cinquefoil-headed panels to the base, a crenellated top rail, and crested cornice. A foliated design adorns the stone top rail to the north aisle altar.

Monuments and Fittings

The chancel south side holds a tablet to Anne, wife of Thomas Hutton and eldest daughter of Charles Chichester (died 1834), positioned above a charming 17th-century round-arched wall monument. A shield above a plaque commemorates an infant daughter of Charles Dart and Rose his wife (died 1652), with an epitaph featuring a baby in swaddling clothes on a console shield with scrolling surround.

An elaborate wall monument to Frances Chichester (died 1698) displays a shield with two angels flanked by classical urns above a nowy arch with fluted cornice supported on Corinthian colonnettes with caryatids outside, topped with Ionic capitals. The surround is richly carved with ferns and cherubs' heads. Cherubs' heads decorate the consoles flanking the central Chichester achievement and a skeleton's head.

A wall monument to Lady Ursula Chichester (died 1635) features a swan-necked pediment with shield above a semi-circular headed surround with shields to the spandrels, enclosing a praying female figure flanked by Ionic colonnettes with a plaque to the base.

Three marble wall tablets stand at each end of the nave south side, flanking a plaque with an oval medallion to John Pyke and family (late 18th/early 19th century). The north wall of the north aisle has two late 19th-century wall monuments by Physick of London to members of the Law family, flanking a wall monument depicting a weeping female clasping an urn on a pedestal.

A wall monument at the east end of the north aisle commemorates John Mulys of Halmestone (died 1633). The north wall of the chancel holds a marble wall tablet to John Yeoman, rector (died 1826), and a large wall monument to John Chichester (died 1669) with a central achievement and shields flanking a broken semi-circular arched pediment supporting reclining putti. Corinthian colonnettes flank the central plaque with three heads in the cornice with scrolling wings and a skull to the base. A Perpendicular table tomb recess below contains a stone table top to John Chichester with a plaque in the wall behind to the widow of John Chichester of Hall.

A charity board stands to the base of the tower, and an old ledged door provides access to the vestry. All windows feature 19th-century stained glass, principally to Chichester and Law families.