Church of St Helen

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 06/03/2019

SS14SW 1938-0/2/1

LUNDY Church of St Helen

(Formerly listed as Church of St Helena)

20/07/90

GV II Parish church. 1896 by J. Norton for H.G. Heaven, the owner of Lundy Island. Granite ashlar. Slate roofs with crested ridge tiles and stone coped gable ends.

Plan: nave with porch under tower of west end of north side of nave, chancel with transept vestry on north side. Northwest-southeast orientation. Victorian Gothic Early English.

Exterior: nave has two-light plate tracery windows on north and south sides and two lancet west window with rose window above, its tracery blocked off. Transept vestry has two-light window in gable and with plate tracery and lean-to porch in north east angle with shouldered head doorway. Large three-stage unbuttressed north west tower with battlements, square stair turret with battlements in angle with nave, gargoyles at corners and large two-light lancet bell-openings with trefoil heads and slate louvres. Clock face at first stage above niche containing figure of St Helena which is above the deeply chamfered two-centred arch doorway to the porch, with wooden gates; the inner doorway has arch of four arches.

Interior: polychrome brick walls, red brick with black and white bands and diapering. Moulded stone chancel arch with dogtooth decoration and colonnettes on corbels supporting the capitals. Boarded roof, the principals on stone corbles. Furnishings by Hermes of Exeter. Reredos with three cusped arches on Purbeck marble colonnettes and with alabaster carving, the centre depicts the Last Supper. Piscina and sedilia. Altar rail with wrought iron standards. Low stone screen, carved stone pulpit and square font. The benches are complete including choir stalls. Carved wooden eagle lectern. Organ on south side of chancel.

Circa late C19 stained glass east window, the tracery missing and stained glass in rose window at west end, one was designed and donated by Rev. H. Fleming St. John. Ornate wrought-iron lamp brackets on north and south walls of nave. Five bells from tower, now in porch, dated 1897.

Listing NGR: SS1378443951