Church Of St Michael

Church of St Michael, Doddiscombsleigh

This is a parish church of 15th-century date, substantially rebuilt and restored in the late 1870s. The church reopened in 1879 following restoration work by the architect Edward Ashworth of Exeter. The building is constructed of stone rubble with polychromatic detail to the 1870s north wall, the bottom stage of the tower being of dressed granite. Volcanic, freestone and granite dressings are used throughout, with a slate roof fitted with crested ridge tiles.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, a 5-bay north aisle, and a south porch. The medieval work is of Perpendicular character, though the tower contains some idiosyncratic detail. Ashworth's restoration involved rebuilding the chancel and nave walls, re-roofing the chancel and nave, repairing the aisle roof, windows and arcade, re-dressing the tower arch, and renewing the porch. Re-seating was carried out by Harbottle (date not recorded).

The exterior features a 3-light 19th-century intersecting traceried east window to the chancel with polychromatic banding to the east wall. The east wall of the aisle is flush with the chancel and has a 3-light Perpendicular east window. On the south side, the nave and chancel division is marked by a 19th-century buttress. A shouldered moulded stone priest's doorway to the chancel is flanked by two 2-light 19th-century windows with Y tracery and a 2-light 19th-century Perpendicular window to the nave. The south wall is constructed of mixed colour masonry with limestone voussoirs to the windows and a similar relieving arch over the priest's door.

The north aisle has four 3-light Perpendicular windows with considerable 19th-century replacement of stonework, a single lancet to the west, and a 2-light west window with two chamfered lancets. The 3-stage battlemented west tower has obelisk pinnacles and unusually positioned buttresses in the centre of the north and south faces. A small 1-light opening exists at the bellringers' stage in the east face, with 2-light arched chamfered openings to the belfry on all four faces. The west doorway is a shallow-moulded arched granite opening, flanked by a medieval 3-light granite Perpendicular west window. The largely 19th-century south porch has a cross on the gable, a double-chamfered outer doorway, a chamfered granite inner doorway with pyramid stops, and a 19th-century door with strap hinges. The porch is covered with a 19th-century moulded stopped arched brace roof.

The interior is remarkable for its surviving 15th-century stained glass in the north aisle, which represents the most complete scheme of medieval stained glass in Devon outside the Cathedral. The walls are plastered and a slender timber chancel arch is present. A double-chamfered granite tower arch rests on large corbels. A painted, richly-moulded 5-bay Perpendicular arcade of Beerstone is distinguished by carved foliage capitals.

The nave is covered with a late 1870s moulded unceiled wagon with carved foliage bosses. The chancel has a contemporary boarded wagon, while the aisle retains its 15th-century keeled boarded wagon. The chancel contains a 20th-century timber reredos by Wippell and Co of Exeter, a 1917 timber altar, and a trefoil-headed aumbry. The nave contains an 18th-century cut-down timber drum pulpit and an octagonal stone bowl to the font with an open traceried cover of 1901. The font bowl rests on what may be a 12th-century font with cable moulding. 16th-century bench ends with blank quatrefoils above rounded blank arches survive, some fixed to later benches.

The chancel east window contains stained glass by Morris Drake from 1912. Two chancel windows on the south side are probably by Frederick Drake. The outstanding survival of late 15th-century stained glass in the north aisle was produced by the Doddiscombsleigh atelier, probably based in Exeter where they provided glass for the Cathedral. The scheme includes remains of text and armorial bearings suggesting it celebrates a Chudleigh Dodscombe marriage. The four windows on the south side have single figures to each light, with the highest quality glass appearing in the iconographically interesting seven sacraments east window. The central figure of Christ was supplied by Clayton and Bell, the original figure probably having been standing. Stylized streams of blood from Christ's wounds link the central figure to lively scenes of the seven sacraments, notable for their domestic and costume detail. Clayton and Bell also restored the four windows on the south side.

A wall monument in the aisle commemorates John Bibb, who died in 1647.