Church Of St Pancras

Church of St Pancras

An Anglican parish church with a chancel partly from the 13th century, substantially rebuilt and enlarged in the 15th century. It was restored between 1894 and 1898, largely reroofed at that time, with further restoration around 1927. The building is constructed of squared and coursed local stone with granite dressings and slate roofs with coped verges.

The church comprises an undivided chancel and nave, a north transept (now used as a vestry), a five-bay south aisle with porch, and a west tower. The crenellated three-stage tower features crocketed pinnacles, two-light trefoil-headed louvred bell-openings, and a square-headed opening on the second stage south face. Stairlight openings pierce the north-east corner. A three-light uncusped west window and round-headed west door with continuous hoodmould and moulded plinth complete the tower elevation.

The south aisle has an unlit west gable end with four uncusped three-light windows. A gabled porch with depressed Tudor-arch head sits between the first and second bays on the left, featuring a slate floor laid in chequerboard pattern and enriched ribs to a ceiled barrel vault roof. The porch contains a depressed Tudor arch head doorway with a 19th-century door. A priest's door with segmental head sits between the first and second bays on the right. At the east end of the aisle is a four-light cinquefoil-headed window, with a similar three-light window to the east. A rood stair projection marks the junction with the north transept. The transept's east face bears a three-light square-headed mullioned window, and its west gable end has a similar hollow-chamfered window under a hoodmould. The north front of the nave has a small square-headed north door, probably rebuilt.

Interior walls are rendered. The chancel walls retain 19th-century stencilled decoration of fleur-de-lys and oak leaf motifs, renewed in the 20th century. The tower interior displays exposed squared and coursed masonry. The chancel arch and tower arch are both tall and narrow, chamfered in two orders and dying into unmoulded imposts. The arcade comprises five bays with four-centred arches and clustered capitals; a similar arch with different capitals serves the north transept.

A depressed segmental-headed hagioscope connects the north transept and chancel. The roodloft door opens into the exterior wall, but the stairs have been removed; a square-headed roodloft door remains above. Jambs of a blocked opening are visible in the north chancel wall, filled to accommodate the hagioscope and roodscreen. A square-headed aumbry recess sits in the north chancel wall. The hoodmould to the rere arch of the east window has faces as stops.

The chancel roof is a ceiled barrel vault with enriched ribs and angels projecting from the wallplate; the south aisle has a similar vault without angels. The nave roof has moulded ribs.

Fittings include an octagonal Norman font. A pulpit incorporates early 17th-century panels with sunflowers and guilloche bands. Most other fittings, including choir stalls with handsomely carved finials, lectern, altar rails, chancel panelling, altar table, and Perpendicular-style screens between the chancel and south aisle and between the nave and vestry, date from around 1900. Remains of early 16th-century bench ends are preserved.

The east window contains 15th-century stained glass that originally formed part of a window at Muchelney Abbey, Somerset, from which it was removed around 1860. An inscription within the window records that this glass was incorporated during restoration in 1927. The church also possesses a silver processional cross, possibly of 16th-century Spanish origin, presented in 1927 by the Wickett family. Eighteenth-century slate tomb slabs with good lettering line the nave, with 17th-century slabs in the vestry.

The living was originally a chapelry of Bradworthy and had fallen into very poor repair by the end of the 19th century.