Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a parish church that appears to be a complete 15th-century rebuild of an earlier church, with Church Wardens' Accounts recording work on the Lady Chapel in 1482. The building underwent major renovation around 1888, followed by a series of lesser works between 1888 and 1925, including a vestry by J.W. Rowell and Son of Newton Abbot in 1891 and tower restoration in 1915. The roofs were repaired around 1960. The church is constructed throughout of coursed granite ashlar blocks with granite ashlar detailing and one window of limestone ashlar. The roofs are slate.

Plan and Orientation

The church is actually set on a north-east to south-west axis but is described here as if it had a conventional east-west orientation. It comprises a nave and chancel under a continuous roof with full-length north and south aisles, both with east end chapels. The south aisle has the former Lady Chapel, now a Chapel of Remembrance to the dead of the World Wars, and the 1891 vestry at the east end. At the east end of the north aisle, St Katherine's Chapel was converted to the organ chamber and the aisle was extended by an extra bay. There is a 15th-century south porch and a large 15th-century west tower. The architecture is Perpendicular style throughout, with renovation work carried out in the same style.

Exterior: The Tower

The tall west tower has three stages with an internal stair turret in the south-west corner. It features a chamfered plinth, setback buttresses and an embattled parapet without corner pinnacles. The belfry has double lancets on each side and a single lancet on the north side to the ringing loft. On the west side, the doorway has a two-centred arch with double chamfered surround and contains a good quality oak door carved with blind cusped arcades, inscribed with a Latin quotation and dated 1914. Directly above is a three-light window with a pointed arch containing simple intersecting tracery and a hoodmould. This window was possibly reused in the 15th century from the earlier church. Above this window, two small arch-headed niches contain a 20th-century carved figure of St Michael, and above that is a painted clockface installed in 1867. Tiny slit windows on the south side light the newel stair.

Exterior: Nave and Aisles

The nave and aisles are similar in style. Their roofs are gable-ended with 19th-century shaped kneelers, coping and moulded finials (the west end of the north aisle has no finial). The roof is continuous over nave and chancel, but the division is marked by an old ridge tile surmounted by a crude beast, possibly a pig. The aisles have soffit-chamfered eaves cornices and the south aisle has a chamfered plinth. Both have setback buttresses on their corners and buttresses between the windows, all with weathered offsets. The west ends of the aisles are blind, although both contain blocked features. The south aisle is roughcast but inside a tall two-centred arch shows. The north aisle contains a blocked doorway with a two-centred arch with double roll moulded surround, and above that is a presumably 19th-century segmental-headed window embrasure. All the original windows have original Perpendicular tracery with plain hoodmoulds.

Exterior: South Aisle and Porch

The porch projects left of centre and has setback buttresses and an embattled parapet. The two-centred outer arch has a moulded surround and broach stops, and contains early 20th-century timber gates with a row of open quatrefoils containing rosettes along the top. There is a late 17th or 18th-century slate sundial with a brass pointer, shaped corners, and borders enriched with scrolled foliage and garlands. The porch occupies one of the five bays on this side. The others contain three-light windows, with another at the east end. In the angle of the south aisle and chancel is the low 1981 vestry built of neater ashlar than the original church. It has a flat roof and embattled parapet over a soffit-moulded dripcourse. Each side contains a square-headed two-light window with cinquefoil heads, and the south side contains a segmental-headed doorway with ovolo surround. Above the vestry is a window built of limestone with Decorated tracery and hoodmould with carved labels. The east end of the chancel has a large and impressive five-light window with Perpendicular tracery, moulded reveals with carved capitals and hoodmould.

Exterior: North Aisle

The north aisle has six bays. The east end bay is a late 19th-century addition and contains another limestone two-light window with Decorated tracery, hoodmould and block labels. There is a contemporary granite Tudor arch doorway in the east end. The rest are original three-light windows similar to those on the south side. The division between aisle and organ chamber (former chapel) is marked by a projecting rood stair turret.

Interior: Porch

The porch has a good interior with a stone-flagged floor and benches along each side. It has a stone vaulted two-bay roof with ribs springing from half-engaged piers and good carved bosses. The piers are granite and although the rest is painted, the detail suggests a softer stone, possibly Beerstone. The south doorway is a granite two-centred arch with double chamfered surround and pyramid stops. It contains an ancient folding plank door with studded coverstrips, its original ferramenta and a massive oak lock housing.

Interior: Roofs

The roof was repaired around 1960 but is essentially original. Nave and chancel have continuous wagon roofs with moulded purlins and ribs, good carved oak bosses and a moulded wallplate enriched with four-leaf bosses. The break between nave and chancel is now marked by the chancel only being ceiled, and the timberwork there is painted. Both aisles have similar smaller wagon roofs and must be contemporary with the nave and chancel roof. Both are now open and the south chapel timbers have traces of ancient colour. The bosses are noteworthy, some featuring the spiral symbol of the Gorges family and others the tinners' mark of three rabbits.

Interior: Church Fabric

The tall tower arch has a narrow chamfered surround and soffit-chamfered imposts. Inside the tower is a small two-centred arch doorway to newel stairs, but the floor to the ringing loft was replaced in 1915. Either side of the tower arch are the blocked apertures described above. Each aisle has an identical five-bay arcade with one bay overlapping into the chancel. The arches have double chamfered arch rings. The octagonal granite piers are made from single pieces of granite and have soffit-chamfered caps and chamfered bases, now on pedestals since the floor has been lowered. The floor is of stone slabs and includes some grave slabs in the chancel. The walls are of exposed granite ashlar. In the south aisle, close to the chancel screen, there is an arch-headed blocked opening for the rood stair.

Interior: Furniture and Fittings

In the chancel, the reredos dates from 1888 along with the rest of the sanctuary decoration. It is a painted and gilded triptych; Christ in majesty is flanked by panels containing the Evangelists and the wings contain saints. The wall behind is lined with good polychrome tiles of 1888. The oak stalls, dating from 1913, are in a Tudor Gothic style with blind arcading across the front and carved angel finials. The sedilia dates from 1894.

The chancel screen is a fine piece of work erected in 1925 in memory of the young flying officer Noel Hayter-Hames. It is an expert recreation of a 15th-century Perpendicular oak chancel screen with blind tracery on the wainscotting, Perpendicular tracery to the windows, Gothic cusped coving and a frieze of delicately undercut bands of foliage. The parclose screens are painted and may actually be 15th century; built of oak and simpler versions of the main screen.

The pulpit, dated 1928, is also built of oak and in the same Perpendicular style. It has an octagonal drum with nodding ogee arches on the sides and undercut foliage on the corners, base and frieze. In the former St Katherine's Chapel, the late 19th-century organ has been restored to its original painted scheme. The former Lady Chapel was lined with panelled wainscotting when converted to a Chapel of Remembrance around 1925. The contemporary figures on the riddel posts are the patron saints of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The brass lecturn is dated 1871. The benches are also Gothic in style; the bench ends have tracery patterns framed with wreathed foliage. They probably date from the reseating of 1864 and most have been dedicated to members of the congregation who died in the 20th century.

The granite Perpendicular style octagonal font was carved by a local mason, John Aggett, and dedicated to the memory of Katherine Hayter-Hames who died less than a year old in 1856. The oak coved canopy is richly carved in Gothic style.

Memorials

The oldest and best memorial in the church is the table tomb in the sanctuary in memory of Sir John Whiddon (died 1575). It is remarkable for its early Renaissance decoration. The tomb base has three bays divided by pilasters carved with foliage and with a frieze of wreathed foliage. Each bay contains a frame of formal foliage. The central bay contains a heraldic achievement and the flanking bays have Renaissance vases with cherubs and grotesques. The marble lid has a black letter inscription around the edge. Any effigy is now missing. A two-bay arcade above has round arches enriched by scrolled cusping and supported on baluster columns. The arches and spandrels are richly carved with Renaissance ornament. A moulded frieze above and moulded entablature with carved crestwork is supported by carved scroll consoles. The back of the arcade is also richly carved with heraldic achievements surrounded by a dense pattern of expertly carved ornament featuring mermen, grotesques and foliage.

Nearby, on the sanctuary steps, is a grave slab in memory of Mary Whiddon who died on her wedding day in 1641.

The south aisle contains a good mural monument in memory of Sir John Prouz (died 1664). Built mostly of Beerstone, it contains an inscribed rectangular marble plaque flanked by free-standing marble columns with Corinthian capitals and entablature with modillion frieze, surmounted by a cartouche containing the Prouz arms flanked by other heraldic cartouches. The soffit-moulded sill is supported by scroll brackets carved as grotesque lions' heads and with an apron between enriched with strapwork and containing a carved oak heraldic achievement. Above the monument is suspended a helmet bearing the Prouz crest. All the paintwork is 20th century.

To the south of the sanctuary is a granite recess with double ogee arch in memory of Constance Hayter-Hames (died 1890) and several 19th-century mural monuments to other members of the same family. The best monument from this period is a mural plaque in memory of Captain John Evans who died aged 23 in 1861 after an active service life. The plaque is a white marble scroll with a symbol of liberty at the top. It is carved as if the scroll is pinned to the end of a chest tomb on which lies his sword and an open Bible, and over this is his regimental arms. The black ground has a pointed arch and a moulded limestone frame. It is signed Bedford Sc. 256 Oxford Street, London.

Over the south door, a board is painted with the arms of Charles II (much restored). To the right is a painted Benefaction board dated 1791 over an inscribed Beerstone tablet recording the benefactions of the Reverend John Hayter and John Hooper in 1790.

Glass

The window of the north chapel contains fragments of 15th-century glass: St Andrew and some heraldic achievements. The rest of the stained glass is 19th century and most are memorials to members of the Hayter-Hames family.

Summary

This is a good 15th-century granite church, although the interior is largely the result of the several late 19th and early 20th-century renovations. The best feature is the remarkable Whiddon table tomb.