Church Of St Augustine

A parish church of the 13th century and later periods, located at Heanton Punchardon. The building is constructed of coursed dressed stone with some laced stone (notably in the second stage of the tower) for the tower and aisle, while the nave, chancel, and both north and south porches are built of random rubble. The roofs are slate with 19th-century crested ridge tiles.

The nave and chancel probably incorporate earlier fabric but were heavily remodelled in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the west tower and north aisle were added. The windows in the north aisle suggest possible refenestration in the early 17th century, and a datestone of 1675 below the east window may indicate rebuilding of the gable end wall of the chancel. The north aisle arcade was rebuilt and its piers remodelled in the 18th or early 19th century. The nave and chancel were refenestrated in the 19th century.

The west tower comprises three stages with setback buttresses, an embattled parapet with crocketted corner pinnacles, and an internal stair turret on the north side with seven openings—all slits except the third from the ground, which is a quatrefoil panel. Blind quatrefoil panels appear in the first stage of the tower on the north, south, and west walls; those to the west and south contain shields. Large pointed-arched bell-openings on all sides have three lights with cusped and traceried heads and hoodmoulds. A single-light bell-opening with ferrimentor and flat hoodmould appears in the second stage of the east wall. Above the Tudor-arched west doorway (with triple hollow chamfered surround and hoodmould) is a three-light traceried west window with hollow-chamfered surround.

The north porch has a plain pointed-arch doorway. The Tudor-arched north doorway features a moulded surround. The north aisle contains four three-light cavetto-mullion windows with depressed arches and hoodmoulds with label stops. A two-light transomed vestry window with hoodmould is also present. The three-light east window is partially recut and inserted in a former larger opening, with a small datestone inscribed "WM 1675" below. The 19th-century fenestration on the south side comprises pointed arches to the nave and square-headed windows to the chancel. A priests' door features large dressed jamb stones and alternating stone and brick voussoirs. The plain rubble south porch doorway has a slate sundial over it dated 1795 by Jn and Thos Berry. An undecorated barrel ceiling is present internally. The south doorway, probably of the 13th century, has a double chamfered surround and an ancient pointed-arch ledged plank door.

The interior dates to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. An arcade of five bays with depressed arches is supported on wave-moulded piers with thin cornices set unusually square rather than diagonally. A tall, double, hollow-chamfered west tower arch has a quatrefoil panel inset in the wall to its right. Both the aisle and nave feature fine ceiled waggon roofs—the aisle roof of smaller panels—each with variously carved bosses in the intersections of the ribs and longitudinal members. A four-centred arch vestry door with moulded surround contains an ancient door inserted in a larger pointed-arch opening with a large rough keystone. Many walls and reveals have been subjected to 20th-century replastering. A Perpendicular screen to the chancel features small angels carrying shields in the uprights of Pevsner 'A' type tracery and was heavily restored in the late 19th century, with almost all the coving entirely replaced. A 20th-century screen serves the north aisle.

An octagonal stone font with a faceted base to its bowl is supported on a squat central column and four corner colonettes on a square base. Furnishings include two late 16th or early 17th-century chairs in the sanctuary with carved backs and 20th-century pews.

The monuments are of considerable significance. A very fine early 16th-century table-top tomb to Richard Coffin (died 1523) is located in the north chancel wall. It features an ornate Tudor arch to the canopy with floriated pendants and intermediate pierced trefoils, supported on stopped and chamfered jambs with attached shafts cut down at the top. The initials "R.C." appear in each of the foliated spandrels, surmounted by a demi-angel bearing a shield in the centre of a foliated frieze with short fleur-de-lis bars to the headrail. The base comprises two tiers of six quatrefoil panels with square linen-fold centres to the upper tier and floriated centres below. Above the tomb are two wall monuments to members of the Ballyman family, both retaining ancient colour decoration. The left monument is dated 1695 and features a scalloped base above a winged and wreathed skull, with cherubs' heads flanking an oval medallion and two above in a draped and palmette surround. The right monument has an oval medallion with cherubs' heads over and putti reclining on a plinth each side, with a winged cherubs bust between the console.

Painted Royal Arms of George III are positioned over the south door. Four good marble wall monuments to the Bassets of Heanton Court are located in the family chapel in the north aisle, all retaining some ancient colour decoration. The monument to Elizabeth Basset (died 1635) depicts a praying female figure kneeling in high relief under a shoulder-headed arch with flanking Ionic colonnettes, shields above, and an inscription below: "Should monuments Goe by merit, then Surely Thine with Pretious Stone and Orient Pearls should shine. But since thy world of worthy world doth know this marble stone may serve thy name to show." The monument to John Basset (died 1660) features Ionic colonnettes supporting a scrolled pediment. The monument to Arthur Basset (died 1672) has Corinthian colonettes with a broken pediment and cherubs flanking a Classical urn, with a trophied surround to an oval medallion supported on cherub-headed consoles. The monument to John Basset (died 1686) displays cherubs' heads in a foliated surround to an oval medallion with a segmental pediment with central shield and reclining putti to each side, and a skull with flanking cherubs in the base. The belfry was not inspected.