Parish Church Of St. Ida

The parish church of St. Ida dates to the 15th century for its tower, with the rest of the church rebuilt in 1833 by Hooper and Cornish. It is constructed of volcanic trap brought to course for the tower, with the remainder rendered in cement and covered by a slate roof. The church comprises a tower, nave, shallow chancel, a north-west vestry, and a south porch.

The Perpendicular-style tower is of the 15th century; the remainder of the church was entirely rebuilt in 1833 using a simple rectangular plan with uninspired archaeological Gothic detailing. The chancel was refurbished in 1909, and the nave was partially re-seated in the early 20th century, adding detail to an otherwise plain interior. The four-bay nave features tall, three-light windows with Perpendicular tracery. There is a shallow chancel with a similar four-light east window and a battlemented gable. A flat-roofed north-west vestry and a battlemented south-west porch with an arched outer doorway are also present. The west tower, which lacks pinnacles, includes a four-sided stair turret to the south-east, with two-light traceried belfry openings on all four faces and a single-light chamfered opening at the bellringer's stage on the south side. The west face of the tower was not treated sympathetically in 1833; an arched doorway cuts into the remains of a three-light Perpendicular west window, which retains volcanic trap tracery.

Inside, the walls are plastered, and the ceiling has a segmental profile with no chancel arch. A west gallery is supported by moulded iron columns. Surviving fittings from 1833 include panelled box pews against the north and south walls, some Gothick panelling in the chancel, and a small font with an octagonal bowl. The early 20th-century furnishings by Herbert Read include a thirteen-bay chancel screen with square-headed openings, similar parcloses, a reredos, choir furnishings, and a large timber drum pulpit with a wineglass stem, carved figures, and traceried niches. There is attractive early 20th-century stained glass with Art Nouveau influence. A wall monument from 1721 commemorates Joseph Tothill, featuring a broken pediment and an achievement. An unusual coffin waggon, likely dating to the mid to late 19th century, remains in the nave. Although architecturally unremarkable, the church is historically significant as an example of a local architect and builder’s treatment of a medieval building in the decade preceding the Gothic Revival in the Diocese of Exeter.