Church Of St Nonna

Church of St Nonna

This is a parish church with origins dating to around the 12th century, when the nave, south door and chancel were probably constructed. The 13th century saw the addition of tracery in the south wall of the chancel, possibly contemporary with the church's dedication by Bishop Brondescombe in 1261. During the 15th century, the nave and chancel were heightened, a north aisle was added, and a west tower was constructed.

The church is built of stone rubble for the nave and chancel, with the east wall of the chancel partly rebuilt. The north aisle, west tower and south porch are constructed of ashlar. A moulded plinth runs along the north aisle and west tower. The roofs are of ragslate, with the nave and chancel under one roof.

The west tower rises in three stages and features a battlemented parapet with octagonal, crenellated turrets decorated with heavy crocketted pinnacles. It is surmounted by three stone crosses, with a fourth cross positioned in the south porch. Angle buttresses support the corners. The west door has a 4-centred arch with hood moulding, above which is a 3-light Perpendicular window in a 4-centred arch with hood. The belfry openings on all four faces are 2-light with cusped heads and slate tracery incorporating ventilation holes.

The south side of the church features a lancet window with cusped head and rectangular hood. The north aisle contains 3-light Perpendicular tracery windows beneath 4-centred arches with hoodmoulds in the west window, two north aisle windows, and the east north aisle window. A blocked north door with segmental arch shows incised triangles in its spandrels and a rectangular hood.

The east wall of the chancel contains a 3-light Perpendicular window with cusped heads. The south wall of the chancel retains two 13th-century single cusped lancet windows in earlier round rear arches visible from the interior, separated by a low buttress. A larger stepped buttress to the west supports a Perpendicular 3-light window beneath a segmental arch, probably dating from when the south nave and chancel walls were raised.

The gabled south porch features a moulded 2-centred arch. The inner south door is set in a taller, partly blocked Norman arch with simply moulded surround and tall thin engaged round columns once decorated with stylized cushion capitals. Inside the porch is a 2-centred moulded arch.

The interior retains a 15th-century waggon roof to the nave, sealed with moulded ribs and carved bosses, though the chancel roof has been renewed with partly renewed bosses. The north aisle has a 15th-century waggon roof with moulded ribs, carved bosses and carved wall plate, with the arcade plate renewed. One boss bears a carved datestone reading 1718, possibly marking a restoration. The south porch waggon roof is partly renewed, with remains of an earlier roof possibly lying outside against the south nave wall. The porch roof retains remains of earlier wall plate, moulded ribs and some carved bosses, including a central boss with a well-carved figure head.

The north aisle is a 4-bay arcade with Cornish type A granite moulded piers (following Pevsner's classification), featuring moulded bases and capitals with castellated abacci.

Furnishings of 19th-century date include a circa 13th-century octagonal font with round bowl. A simple Holy water stoup on the south wall of the nave comprises three pieces of thin blue limestone laid in a triangle with a square bowl, possibly dating to the 12th century. A carved head, also possibly 12th century, appears on the south wall between the two lancet windows. Remains of a rood loft stair survive on the north wall.

The church contains six bells. Five were recast in 1827, with the sixth added in 1928. Several reset slate lids to tombchests are positioned on the exterior of the south porch and nave, including those to John Cumbe (1604), Robert Coumbe (1743) and Anna (1750). A watercolour by Reverend Thomas Johnes from around 1825 depicts the church interior before restoration and shows that several bench ends were decorated with 15th-century carvings. The painting also shows a tall pulpit, a font with tall cover, and a rood screen surmounted by Royal Arms, the Creed and the Lord's Prayer.