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Summary

The parish church of St. Andrew dates from the earlier 15th century, with the south aisle being rebuilt in the 16th century.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (I) 1170749: CHURCH OF ST ANDREW

Other References/Statuses

• Church of England HER: 5250
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS42SW/4
• Old Listed Building Ref (I): 91354

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PARISH CHURCH (XV to XIX - 1401 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

National Monuments Record, SS42SW13 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV341022.

Watkin, H. R., 1918 - 1919, Sepulchral Slabs with Crosses in Devon Churches, 74 (Article in Serial). SDV7614.

The inscription gives the date 1513.

Cresswell, B. F., 1918-1919, Sepulchral Slabs with Crosses in Devon Churches, 3 (Article in Serial). SDV7613.

There is a coffin-shaped stone near the font bearing a Latin inscription in memory of George Dyell.

Watkin, H. R., 1930 - 1934, Seven Hundred Years Ago. AD 1232, 212 (Article in Serial). SDV81790.

Inscription on coffin-shaped stone possibly added to stone carved for the family of a member of the VI Crusade.

Messenger, A. W. B., 1938 - 1939, Heraldry in Alwington, 324-327 (Article in Serial). SDV7615.

Coats of Arms in windows and on wall monuments described.

Pevsner, N., 1952, The Buildings of England: North Devon, 39 (Monograph). SDV336196.

West tower with diagonal buttresses and pinnacles, five-bay arcade between nave and aisle, and ceiled wagon-roofs. Interesting jumble of re-utilised woodwork in pulpit and reredos. Other church fittings mentioned are font, tiles, bench-ends, stained glass, church plate and monuments.

Hoskins, W. G., 1954, A New Survey of England: Devon, 319 (Monograph). SDV17562.

St. Andrew's church almost entirely 15th century. South aisle and porch rebuilt in 17th century. Nave arcade built of Lundy granite. Portledge pew made up from former minstrels' gallery at Portledge, and reredos from bench-ends formerly in Parkham church. Pulpit made up from bench-ends from Alwington church itself.

Keen, L., 1969, A Series of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Lead-Glazed Relief Tiles from North Devon, 144-170 (Article in Serial). SDV15342.

Keen records occurrence of relief tiles from North Devon potteries in the nave. Other details: Figs., Plates.

Department of Environment, 1987, Alwington, 33 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV7617.

Anglican parish church. 15th century; south aisle rebuilt in 17th century, some restoration in 1883. Granite ashlar; coursed slatestone rubble to north walls; late 19th century gabled and stone-coped slate roof with 15th century head carvings to kneelers of chancel and south aisle. Plan of chancel with north vestry, nave with north transept; continuous south aisle with south porch; west tower. See List for full details. Other details: LBS number 91354.

Cherry, B. + Pevsner, N., 1989, The Buildings of England: Devon, 126 (Monograph). SDV325629.

2002, Tree ring date lists 2002 (Article in Serial). SDV361610.

Tree ring dates noted for the church (citing A. J. Arnold and R. E. Howard, St Andrew’s Church, Alwington, Devon: tree-ring analysis of timbers from the south aisle and nave roofs, EH Res Dep Rep Ser 42/2009. 50 pp).

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2007, Alwington (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV341018.

Church of St. Andrew
Anglican parish church. 15th century; south aisle rebuilt in 17th century; some restoration in 1883. Granite ashlar; coursed slatestone rubble to north walls; late19th century gabled and stone-coped slate roof with 15th century head carvings to kneelers of chancel and south aisle. Plan of chancel with north vestry, nave with north transept; continuous south aisle with south porch; west tower. Chancel has hoodmould with head stops over 3-light Perpendicular east window with cinquefoiled heads and panel tracery; late 15th century two-light square headed window to south; vestry to north has 15th century iron grille set in square window with chamfered head and jamb, abovelabel mould over 15th century two-light square-headed window with cinquefoiled heads; label mould over 15th century three-light cinquefoil-headed window in north chancel. South aisle: hood moulds with square stops over Perpendicular-style three-light windows with panel tracery in east and west gables; 4-bay south wall has label moulds over 17th century three-light mullioned windows; 17th century panelled and studded door with chamfered wood architrave with similar crosses carved in spandrels. South porch: hood mould over 15th century basket-arched moulded doorway; similar architrave surrounds mid. 19th century panelled door with 15th century traceried head, 15th century sanctuary knocker, 17th century clasping ring on heart-shaped back plate and heart-shaped lock surround, and 15th century barrel lock and framing to rear left. North transept has blocked window to east, and hood mould over 15th century three-light Perpendicular window with panel tracery; north window had mullions and jambs replaced in 1862. North wall of nave has two 15th century three-light square-headed windows with cinquefoiled heads and 19th century sills. Fine 3-stage tower has offset and full-height setback corner buttresses, and string courses: hood mould over 3-light Perpendicular window with panel tracery above hood mould over moulded basket-arched doorway; slit lights to north-east stair turret; hood moulds over cinquefoiled second-stage lights with stone louvres; to belfry are hood moulds over 2-light Y-tracery windows with trefoiled heads; crouching gargoyles at corners of crenellated parapet, which has crocketed finials to pinnacles.
Interior: plaster scraped off walls in 1883. Reredos of circa 1805 has painted panels of SS. Peter and Andrew and much reused 16th century and 17th century carved panelling, said to have been brought from Parkham Church. Late 15th century waggon roofs to nave and chancel, with moulded ribs and foliate-carved bosses. 5-bay 15th century nave arcade has depressed arches set on the usual quatrefoil piers of monolithic granite with stepped cornices. North transept has late 18th century crocketed hood mould with head stops above north window and 15th century square relief showing mermaid.
Fittings: Gothic-style altar rail of circa 1790; choir stalls and reading desk installed 1904-5; eagle lectern installed 1903. 16th century benches (a rare survival) with carved tracery etc and one dated 1580; two bench fronts are carved with late 16th century arabesques. The local wood-carver Reuben Arnold made, between 1906 and 1927, the lectern, tower screen, choir stalls, and pews carved with Old and New Testament Scenes. 19th century bier in north transept. Font has 15th century octagonal top set on 13th century stem. South aisle has two rows of late 18th century box pews next to the pulpit, made in 1792 from reused 16th century carved bench ends; slim Perpendicular-style columns support the sounding board which has carved sides and crocketed pinnacles. King's Arms placed in 1814 on west wall of south aisle. 19th century Pine-Coffin family pew at east end of south aisle is made from Jacobean balusters, cartouche panels, caryatids, strapwork tops and other wood carvings brought from Portledge Hall.
Monuments: Chancel has lozenge-shaped tablet to George Blake, d.1763, 19th century marble tablets and late 19/th-/early 20th century brasses to Pine-Coffin family (of Portledge House). North transept has obelisk-shaped monument to Charlotte Morrison, d. 1791, her daughter and husband; monument to Rev. Thomas Hooper Morrison, d. 1824, has rectangular mon-axial tablet with palm fronds and heraldic shield flanked by scrolled brackets with carved festoons; plain tablets to Eleanor Morrison, d. 1841, and Dora Hammett, d. 1885. South aisle has memorial to John Meddon, d. 1775, with draped urn and inscription panels set on oval mount; monument to Richard Coffin, d. 1617, and his wife, d. 1651, was erected by their sole surviving son, James, in 1651: it has an heraldic achievement set in a broken segmental pediment above two coloured demi-figures in relief and holding hands, above 15 children and slate inscription. 17th-/18th century ledger stones and Barnstaple tiles on aisle floors. Stained glass: east window dated 1863; north transept window dated 1861; north chancel window dated 1868; fine Resurrection window dated 1871 to west window. South aisle has fragments of 16th century armorial glass in heads of east window, and old leaded cames with diamond-shaped leaded lights to central windows. Other details: LBS Number 91354.

Arnold, A. + Howard, R., 2009, St Andrew's Church, Alwington, Devon. Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from the South Aisle and Nave Roofs (Report - Scientific). SDV343149.

Tree-ring dating of the south aisle, nave and south porch roofs undertaken during recent repair works to the church. The south roof timbers were, however, found to be relatively modern, probably of 19th century date and were, therefore, not sampled. Prior to sampling the nave roof had been stylistically dated to the 15th century, whereas the south aisle was known to have undergone rebuilding in the 16th or 17th century. Tree-ring dating showed that the nave roof contained timbers felled 1401-26, making it likely that the roof was constructed in the first quarter of the 15th century. The south aisle roof, on the other hand, although of similar construction, contains timber felled 1499-1524, suggesting that the rebuilding took place in the 16th rather than 17th century.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4552 - Tree-Ring Analysis of Roof Timbers at St. Andrews Church, Alwington

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