Tower Of Collegiate Chantry Of St Mary

SLAPTON SLAPTON SX8245 Tower of Collegiate 11/115 Chantry of St Mary 26.1.67 GV I

West tower of collegiate chantry church. Circa 1372 or 3. Dressed and coursed slate rubble. Tall square tower about 80ft high in 3 stages with stringcourses, diagonal buttresses with set-offs at the corners and a polygonal stair turret on the south west corner with a corbel table and a very small stone spire. The main tower also has corbels but the parapet above is missing. Lancets at the ringing stage and slightly larger pointed arch openings to the bell stage above. The large west window below has been converted into an archway and blocked later. The tall arch on the east side to the former nave has a dressed stone 2-centred arch and weathering above where the nave roof joined. The stair turret has small window slits. All the dressed and moulded stone from the windows has been removed but inside the moulded rib springing of the vault to the first stage survives. The roof is missing. Historical note: In 1373 Sir Guy de Brian, standard-bearer to Edward III at the Battle of Crecy and lord of the manor, founded a collegiate chantry here with an endowment of 6 priests, 1 rector, 5 fellows and 4 clerks. After the foundation of the college the tithes of the parish church were appropriated to the chantry one of whose priests was appointed Minister to the church. The last rector of the chantry was Nicholas Morton. At the Dissolution the chantries revenues were granted to Thomas Arundel. It remained in the possession of the Arundels until the C17 when it passed to the Page family. Now all that survives above ground is the west tower of the chantry church. There might be some early fabric in the adjacent house known as The Chantry qv. Sources: B F Cresswell, Notes on Devon Churches, Deanery of Woodleigh, 1923, W G Hoskins, Devon.

Listing NGR: SX8216345061