Church Of St Matthew

The Church of St Matthew is an Anglican church built in 1860 by John Hayward, incorporating some materials from a chapel of ease constructed in 1833. It is located in Ilfracombe and is set into a hillside. The church is built of narrow coursed slate with Welsh slate roofs.

Architecturally, it is designed in a 13th-century style, featuring a two-bay nave with diagonal buttresses and two-light plate tracery windows. The west end includes a roundel with a sunk quatrefoil, and the porch is flanked by two-light windows. The north side has square-headed two-light windows.

Inside, the church showcases a decorative scheme with stencilling throughout, including fleur-de-lis designs in the chancel and framed roundels in the nave. The nave has a wide boarded wagon roof, while the chancel features side purlins and wind braces, with tiled floors throughout. A notable three-bay stone reredos includes trefoil-headed niches. The seating was installed in 1913.

In addition to the 19th-century decorations, the interior is distinguished by a significant collection of reused early 17th-century woodwork, likely sourced from a large house. This woodwork includes elements such as bench and choir stalls, gallery frontals, a pulpit, dado, and reading desk, with some pieces featuring heraldic and figure work, including a shield with three Saracens' daggers.