Church Of St Peter

This parish church is primarily 15th century, though it contains a 12th-century font. The south porch dates from the early 17th century. The church was refitted in the late 18th century and around 1835, with further alterations in the later 19th century.

The building is constructed of slate rubble with slate dressings. The hoodmoulds over windows are granite, and the west doorway of the tower is red sandstone. The roofs are slate. The nave, chancel, and north and south aisles have been re-roofed under a single span with a gabled east end featuring slate coping and a simple Latin cross at the apex.

The church comprises a nave and chancel built as one space, with a west tower, five-bay north and south aisles, and a porch at the west end of the south aisle. A vestry has been formed in the east end of the north aisle, which extends to the east end of the chancel.

Historical Development

All that survives from the early church is the 12th-century font. The present building dates from the 15th century. The aisles may have been constructed at different periods during the 15th century, and the south porch is probably an early 17th-century addition. According to the Exeter Faculty Books, the church was entirely refitted in 1788 (as noted by Hoskins), though the box pews and window tracery appear to be 19th century. Cresswell suggests a restoration around 1835 when the box pews, gallery, and windows were more likely installed. White's Directory of 1878 records that "the church was recently cleaned and beautified throughout at a cost of upwards of £400", but the building appears to have largely escaped Victorian restoration.

Exterior

The exterior features moulded slate wall plates and a chamfered slate plinth moulding. The north aisle has a six-bay north elevation. The left-hand (east) bay is blind, while the others contain two-centred arch windows with granite hoodmoulds. Their original tracery has been replaced with slender wooden intersecting tracery dating from around 1835. Buttresses with weathered set-offs stand between the windows, and the end buttresses are diagonal.

The south elevation of the south aisle is similar, except that the fifth bay towards the east end contains a large polygonal rood stair turret, and the first bay has a gable-ended porch. The porch's early 17th-century round-arched doorway is of dressed slate with broad ovolo moulding on the west side. The inner doorway has a moulded granite round arch with quatrefoils and mouchettes in the spandrels and convex stops. The hoodmould is missing, but a corbel above remains for an image. The round-headed flush-panel door is early 19th century. The east end window of the south aisle was blocked around 1611 when the Harris monument was built in a projection on the south wall of the chancel in the angle with the south aisle.

The east window of the chancel has a wide four-centred arch with a granite hoodmould featuring quatrefoils in the stops. The early 19th-century replacement tracery was itself replaced in the 20th century with wooden intersecting tracery. The east end has diagonal buttresses on the corners and another buttress between the chancel and north aisle, all with weathered set-offs.

The tall three-stage west tower features set-back buttresses with set-offs and an embattled parapet with moulded coping. Below the parapet runs a moulded cornice, and the stages are marked by weathered string courses. These string courses and the cornice continue around the polygonal stair turret at the centre of the south side. The turret rises above the tower and has an embattled parapet and window slits. The belfry stage has a single-light lancet to the left (east) of the stair turret, while the other sides have two-light bell-openings with straight hoodmoulds, three-centred arch lights, and slate louvres. The middle stage has a clock face on the west side. The bottom stage features a chamfered two-centred arch red sandstone west doorway with pyramid stops and a 20th-century door. Above this is a three-light two-centred arch window with slender intersecting tracery, a 19th-century replacement.

Interior

The porch, entered from the west side, has a ceiled early 17th-century wagon roof with moulded ribs. A slate bench runs around the inside of the porch, and the walls are limewashed.

The internal church walls are plastered, and the exposed Beer stone rear-arches are hollow chamfered. The floors are quarry tiled and concrete paved. The nave, chancel, and aisle roofs are ceiled but may conceal early roof structures.

The five-bay north and south arcades have granite monolith A-type piers (except for the responds, which are Beer stone), moulded Beer stone four-centred arches, and moulded Beer stone capitals. Some capitals feature foliage carving on the south side and flowers on the north side. The two westernmost arches on the south side and the easternmost arches with their capitals are of granite. The piers have been mutilated to accommodate the rood screen and pulpit. The tall tower arch has an unmoulded two-centred arch with chamfered imposts. A chamfered two-centred arch piscina stands in the south wall of the chancel south chapel, and unmoulded hagioscopes are located at the east ends of the arcades in the chancel.

Furnishings and Fittings

The church retains a 15th-century rood screen spanning the full width of the church. The canopy is missing, but the screen is otherwise largely intact with some remains of colour, including foliage decorations in the traceried wainscot. The wainscots of the parclose screens are concealed or replaced by early to mid-19th-century panelling.

A good early 18th-century octagonal pulpit from Ashprington church features fielded panels and pilasters on the corners. The stem has been rebuilt, but the fine sounding board, original to this church, has a carved cornice and an ogee dome with a gilded trumpeting angel finial. The pulpit has a brass candelabra, and there is a fine 18th-century brass candelabra in the nave.

The nave and aisles contain panelled box pews dating from around 1835. At the west end of the pews are four large round corner posts with fluted pinnacles that probably formerly supported a gallery, now removed. Dado panelling on the aisle walls continues in the recesses under the windows as seats.

The church contains a good 12th-century red sandstone font with a short circular stem, a moulded base, and a hemispherical bowl carved with a frieze of palmettos and a narrower frieze above of saltire crosses. The altar is late 20th century, and there is no reredos.

Stained Glass

Mid-19th-century coloured glass appears in the margins of the north and south windows, and mid-19th-century patterned stained glass fills the west window. The east window has clear glass.

Monuments

A large early 17th-century monument to Sir Thomas Harris, dated 1611, stands in a recess on the south side of the chancel. Constructed of Beer stone, the chest has large brackets with two kneeling figures. Above the chest are two recumbent effigies in contemporary costume, with Corinthian columns supporting an entablature featuring a strapwork frieze, modillion cornice, and a pediment with volutes and pilasters flanking a cartouche with an inscription. To the right is a slate monument to Lucy Sperway, died 1687, and another to Frances Newton, died 1744.

On the south wall of the chancel is a slate and marble monument to Thomas Trist, died 1742, and a Gothic monument to John F P Phillips, died 1865. At the east end of the north aisle is a monument to Rickman, died 1685, featuring a wreath around the inscription, pilasters, and a round pediment with arcs and a skull below. In the chancel south chapel is a large marble wall monument to John Seale, died 1777, with fluted Corinthian columns and vases above, signed by W. Pinder of London. On the north wall of the north aisle is an alabaster First World War memorial.

Bells and Clock

The Church Good Commissioners reported three bells in the tower. The six existing bells were cast in 1781 by John Christopher Pennington. The interior of the tower was not inspected, but it is said to contain a late 18th-century clock (Church Guide).