Details
FRITHELSTOCK
SS41NE
11/89 Church of St. Mary
4.10.60 and St. Gregory
GV. I
Anglican Parish Church. C13 north wall; chancel rebuilt and
south aisle built in early C14; c. 1500 south-east chapel and
roofs, and west tower rebuilt in C15. Coursed slatestone rubble;
squared and coursed stone to tower; ashlar dressings.
Stone-gabled and gabled slate roofs. Plan: Chancel with south
chapel, nave with south aisle and west tower. Chancel has fine
early C14 east window, of 3-lights with cinquefoiled lights and
circular upper light with 3 spheric triangles. Three-bay north
wall of nave has hood moulds over early C14 two-light Decorated
windows, with rectilinear-tracery windows flanking curvilinear-
tracery centre window. South-east chapel has mid C19 buttresses
and mid C19 Decorated-style .3-light east window, which replaced
C15 Perpendicular window; 2-bay south wall has C16 plank and
studded priest' s door set in chamfered pointed arch and label
moulds over c. 1500 three-light round-arched windows with
hollow-moulded mullions and casement-moulded architrave. Two-bay
south wall of nave has hood moulds over late C15 three-light
Perpendicular windows, and Perpendicular-style window dated 1884
in west gable. Late C15 south porch has crenellated parapet with
openwork frieze pierced with quatrefoils; sundial dated 1741
above pointed-arched hollow-moulded doorway with Perpendicular
capitals to engaged columns; reset C12 stoup adjoins early C14
pointed-arched moulded doorway to inner door, which is a late C18
panelled door with a C14 sanctuary knocker. C15 four-stage tower
has offset diagonal buttresses and string courses; 3-light
Perpendicular window, partly restored in C19, above studded door
dated 1676 set in C15 pointed-arched moulded doorway; label
moulds over 2-light cinquefoiled windows, with slate louvres to
belfry; crenellated parapet with C18 pinnacles. Interior: late
C15 waggon roofs throughout with moulded ribs and floral-carved
bosses. 5-bay south arcade: two-bays to south-east chapel are of
c. 1500 and have hollow-chamfered capitals and piers; three early
C14 bays to west, between nave and south aisle, have similar
piers with more pronounced wave-moulding, crocketed canopies over
image niches, and foliate-carved capitals including Green Man and
vine trail. Early C14 moulded and pointed arched doorway to rood
stairs. Royal Arms to north nave wall, of fine plasterwork framed
by Corinthian columns, by John Abbot, 1677. Fittings: late C15
and early C16 bench ends and fronts in choir and south east
chapel; are carved with tracery patterns, foliate ribs, heraldry,
which include the arms of Hartland Abbey (owner of Frithelstock
Priory) and crowned double-rose of Henry VII, Instruments of the
Passion, Tudor rose and figures including man with liripipe; some
bench ends are made of roughly-adzed oak. Late C17 pulpit has
reeded pilasters framing blind arches with egg and dart carving
to architraves, reset on late Cl9 base. Late C17 parish chest
with guilloche carving. C13 quatrefoil-shaped font with cabled
herringbone decoration to stem; reset on late C19 base. Late C18
west screen has 3 pointed-arched doorways and panelled doors. C17
Barnstaple tiles and late medieval inlaid tiles on nave and choir
floors. Monuments: C17/18 slate ledger stones, including
memorials to Gay family of Cloister Hall Farm (q.v.). Tablet
dated 1794 in south east chapel. Stained glass: mid C19. The
church adjoins the C13 ruins of an Augustinian Priory. (q.v).
(Buildings of England: North Devon, pp. 88-9; National Monuments
Record; C.A. Ralegh, Radford, "Frithelstock Priory and the Parish
Church", Proceedings of the Devon Archaelogical Exploration
Society, Vol. 2, (Part One), 1933, pp. 26-7).
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
91405
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
End of official list entry
