Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

Parish church built 1878-80 by J L Pearson, incorporating reused material from the medieval church that was demolished in 1873. The church is constructed of snecked grey limestone ashlar with Bathstone dressings and slate roofs. It comprises a nave with north and south aisles and chancel under one roof, a west tower, a south porch with chamber over, and a vestry on the north side of the chancel in the angle with the north aisle. The design is in Perpendicular style throughout.

Exterior

The north and south aisles feature embattled parapets with reused granite moulded coping and buttresses with set-offs. Large four-light Perpendicular style two-centred arch windows light the aisles. The three-light window at the east end of the south aisle has reused late 14th-century decorated star tracery. Both aisles have octagonal rood stair turrets with battlements and short crocheted spires.

The south aisle contains a two-storey porch with diagonal buttresses and a moulded doorway with quatrefoils and mouchettes in the spandrels; the jambs and parts of the hoodmould are reused material. A two-light lancet window lights the chamber above. A polygonal stair turret with battlements stands in the angle on the west side of the porch, leading to the chamber.

The chancel has taller panelled parapets with crocheted pinnacles at the east gable end rising from set-back buttresses. The east gable apex contains a canopied niche with short pinnacles and a cross above, housing a figure of the Virgin Mary and Christ. Gargoyles stand at the corners of the chancel. A five-light Perpendicular style traceried east window and four-light Perpendicular traceried windows on the north and south sides of the chancel provide light; the south window has reused 15th-century panel tracery. The low vestry on the north side of the chancel has a flat roof and straight-headed traceried windows.

The west tower stands in two storeys with diagonal buttresses and a panelled frieze with quatrefoils at the first stage level. Large bell openings have reticulared tracery quatrefoil louvres and pinnacled ogee arches. The tall panelled embattled parapet carries large crocheted pinnacles and gargoyles at the corners, with pinnacles on each side. A niche on the side contains a statue by Hems of Exeter. A four-light Perpendicular style west window and a polygonal stair turret on the north side of the tower with panelled battlements complete the tower design; the stair turret rises only to the belfry. The tower has a deep moulded plinth, the base moulding of which continues around the aisles, porch and chancel, though at the chancel it reverts to a deeper plinth.

Interior

The south porch retains a 15th-century star vault from the medieval church, with moulded tiercerons and ribs springing from angel corbels and bearing carved bosses at the intersections. The south doorway features a reused moulded arch and reused door with carved cover moulds and traces of colour. Internal walls are rendered.

Five-bay north and south arcades feature deeply moulded tall two-centred arches on piers with clustered shafts, moulded capitals and bases. A tall tower arch with deep mouldings is supported by respond shaft with keel moulding. The nave roof extends over the chancel and incorporates windbraces and hammerbeams on stone corbels; the hammerbeam truss over the rood screen is coupled to form a ceilure. The aisle roofs are lean-tos with arched bracing on corbels.

The piscina and sedilia are built into the low cill of the south window of the chancel. The moulded doorways to the rood stairs are probably reused from the medieval church. A fine 15th-century rood screen from the medieval church was substantially rebuilt in 1913 by Hems of Exeter. An octagonal carved wooden pulpit was re-erected from the old church. Seating is entirely late 19th or early 20th-century, with panelled bench ends; the choir stalls have carved leaf ends.

The altar from the old church was installed in 1838 by Archdeacon Froude and is made from timber from Dartington Hall's hall roof. Wrought iron altar rails and a reredos date to 1909. The font is probably 15th-century with an octagonal Beerstone stem with panelled sides and a later plain octagonal granite bowl. The tower screen dates to circa 1911-1913 but incorporates 18th-century wooden balusters. The bells were cast in 1880 and the clock was erected in 1893. The stained glass east window is by Clayton and Bell.