Church of St Peter

Church of St Peter, North Tawton

This is a parish church of the 13th and 15th centuries with early 16th-century additions. It was restored in 1832 and/or 1842. The walls are built of stone rubble and granite ashlar, with a gable-ended slate roof and a wood shingle roof covering the broach spire. The church comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a south porch, and a west tower.

The tower is the earliest part of the church, dating from the 13th century. The nave and north aisle date from the 15th century, while the south aisle and porch were added in approximately the early 16th century. The chancel was rebuilt and enlarged in the 19th century—either 1832 or 1842, with sources differing on the exact date. In 1832, general restoration work was carried out including the repair of window tracery. In 1834, a fire that spread through the town also reached the church spire, which was considerably damaged and subsequently rebuilt at a lower height. In 1900, a single-storey battlemented vestry was added in the angle between the tower and the north aisle.

The exterior features a squat unbuttressed west tower with a broach spire. On the south side of the tower are four small lancets with pointed arch beads. A large granite west doorway with a four-centred head and plain chamfer, probably a later insertion, provides access. The restored three-light Perpendicular west window sits above. A single arched lancet serves as the belfry opening.

The north aisle is constructed of ashlar with buttresses positioned between the windows. Five three-light Perpendicular windows, all with renewed mullions, pierce the north wall. Between the two westerly windows is a north doorway of moulded granite with a four-centred head and an arched hoodmould. A pointed-head image niche is positioned above. At the east end of the aisle stands a large three-light restored Perpendicular window. The rebuilt chancel is also of granite ashlar and features a large four-light Perpendicular-style east window. The south aisle, also of ashlar, has five early 16th-century three-light windows with granite mullions, depressed four-centred arch lights, and straight heads with square hoodmoulds. Buttresses are placed between the windows. A small ogee-headed granite priests' doorway is located below the eastern window of the aisle. The gabled south porch has a one-storey height and contains a granite doorway with a four-centred head, moulded on both inside and out.

Internally, the porch retains its wagon roof, partly restored, with moulded ribs, carved bosses, and wall-plates. The granite south doorway features a four-centred head, roll and hollow moulding, and deeply incised scroll stops. A probably contemporary heavy plank door hangs from this doorway. Two six-bay granite arcades, one to each aisle, feature four-centred arches and Pevsner A-type piers, with capitals that differ slightly between arcades. Neither tower nor chancel arches are present. Internal walls are plastered. Late 15th- or early 16th-century open wagon roofs with moulded ribs, carved bosses, and wall-plates cover the nave and aisles. Several late medieval carved bench ends survive in the nave; one bears the arms of the Champernowne family. A gallery at the west end is reached by 18th-century stairs and retains some 18th-century panelling at the side, though its front has been refronted. One late 18th-century wall memorial on the north wall commemorates members of the Kellend family who died between 1781 and 1785; it consists of a white marble plaque with a black marble surround and an urn above. The only surviving medieval stained glass is found in the head of the central north window and depicts various angels holding coats of arms.