Details
MODBURY CHURCH LANE
SX 6451-6551
(north side)
7/117
Church of St George
26.1.67
I
Anglican parish church, formerly a dependency of Modbury Priory. Mainly early
C14, but refenestration in C15; spire of C14 struck by lightning in 1621 but
rebuilt in original form. Coursed rubble, granite dressings, slate roofs, stone
spire. Nave, west tower and spire, north and south aisles, north and south
transepts, south chantry chapel, chancel with undercroft, 2-storey south porch.
Square and lofty tower of severe design, buttressed to 3 offsets, but
terminating at 1/4 height; corresponding offsets in west and north walls. West
face has renewed 4-light uncusped without hood mould, and small cusped single
light with louvres to each face of ringing chamber. Small door north side;
clock face to east. Tall broach spire with small lucarne to each face, rises
direct from tower without parapet or transitional feature. South side has porch
with battlements and attached octagonal stair turret. 2-light window to square
head with dripmould over arched opening with flush voussoirs to outer plank
doors; inner door has moulded surround to C19 door. Segmental pointed ribbed
barrel roof to porch, which has no intermediate floor. To right are three
4-light Perpendicular windows, the easternmost brought lower than the others,
divided by simple buttresses; corbel table to eaves. Transept has 4-light
uncusped window set high, to thin hoodmould. To right is wall of chantry chapel
with two 4-light windows set high, uncusped except in spandrel openings.
Battlements square buttress with 2 offsets, to pinnacle bases (not carried above
parapet) and diagonal corner buttress. Narrow door in C16 basket-handle arch
below a flat pointed arch above horizontal dripmould. East end of chapel has
5-light uncusped window in four-centred arch. South side of chancel has 3-light
similar uncusped above C19 2-light in square stopped hood. Main east window is
C14 design 5-light cusped above a C16 2-light with square stopped hood, and
north side of chancel plan, with small embattled vestry and door. North wall
has two 4-light uncusped, then rood-stair turret under swept-down roof in corner
to transept which has 3-light Perpendicular window. Priest's door to
basket-handle head with recessed mould between windows of north chancel chapel,
and to right of transept window a richly carved C16 door surround with Tudor
head but with a Jacobean frieze and some egg and dart enrichment. Below the
window a projecting tomb recess with quatrefoil light. Right of transept a
4-light uncusped in brought forward wall section, then north aisle wall with a
4-light Perpendicular and 4-light round arched uncusped, with 2 buttresses with
2 offsets. West return has blocked doorway between buttresses and a small
segmental-headed C14 2-light adjacent to tower. Interior: nave has 3 broad
pointed bays to crude chamfered arches on plain square cavetto caps to octagonal
piers without bases, plain bay before tower with attached pilaster to double
chamfered arch, the outer chamfer carried down to pyramid stop; at tower end
raised 3 steps. Stone flag floor, some concrete, ribbed barrel roof, continuous
through crossing bay. North aisle has ribbed barrel roof same height as nave,
bay 3 sets out c.l m. South aisle with ribbed barrel as nave but slightly
lower, rere-arches to high-set windows, plain wall beyond arcade at west end
containing C19 baptistery. At the east end a moulded granite arch carried on a
corbel respond on the south side. The crossing has 3 arches with wave and
hollow mould carried on trumpet capitals, decorated on the east side. South
transept opens to aisle and east chapel, has two early C14 tomb niches with
double cusping; one contains C15 alabaster effigy. North transept has vestry
screen and organ; basket-handle arch door in east wall. Very rich C14 tomb
recess with damaged figures, north wall. Chancel 2-bay 4-centred wave and
hollow mould arches to 4 hollows and shafts columns with decorated capitals;
plain walls to sanctuary, multi-ribbed barrel ceiling in 42 compartments.
Chantry chapels both have ribbed barrel ceilings. Fittings: C19 font on 8
colonnettes; pulpit made up from panels of C15 screen, on tapered octagonal
base; reading desk a very fine carved memorial to the 1914-18 war, and opposite
this a simplified version of 1952 to Reuben Mears; good Eagle lectern. No glass
of significance. Monuments: see transepts; also in naves, high on south side,
coloured 1639 tablet, with 5 children, in north aisle several tablets, the best
of these of 1690 to John de Train, in classical design; upright against south
wall of south chantry, to Philip Champernown, 1684. A fine incised slab, with a
signature (7) OELIVIO.
(Pevsner, N, South Devon, 1952, Slader, J M, Churches of Devon, 1968).
Listing NGR: SX6560451548
