Details
BRAMPFORD SPEKE
SX 99 NW
3/20 The Parish Church of St Peter
30.6.61
- I
Parish church. C15 west tower, the remainder, 1852-3 by Butcher, consisting of
nave, north aisle, south porch, south transept, north-east organ chamber and
vestry. Ashlar. Impressive west tower, slender proportions, 2 stages. Diagonal
buttresses with 3 offsets plus C17 corner obelisks serving as pinnacles. North-
west half-octagonal stair turret. Heavy base moulding which forms the hood mould
of west door. Doorway with concave moulded jambs. 4-light Perpendicular west
window. 2-light square-headed belfry openings, with shallow-chamfered lights.
Small north window, hood formed by string course. The 1852 church is a fine,
balanced composition. Exterior: all windows decorated. South-front: wide
transept with 3-light south window above a lean-to lit by small punched sextafoil
(marking an internal recess). 1 flush 2-light window to nave, 2 to chancel with
hood-moulds. 3-light east window with large sextafoil in head. Strong double set-
off buttresses; vestry east front with bold asymmetrical fenestration. North side
with flush 2-light windows. Interior: mediaeval work: tower arch responds with
wave moulding. C16 tower ceiling. Cusped, original tomb recess in south transept,
with 4 heads facing downwards, of good quality. The font, possibly C15, recut,
octagonal with traceried panels, wanting its plinth. 1852 rebuild: 3-bay north
arcade, Decorated octagonal piers. Double-chamfered chancel arch with moulded
capitals. Good roofs : arch-brace and collars to chancel and nave, scissor-braces
to south transept. Minton tiling in chancel. Contemporary wooden commandment
board: now in tower. Large, assertive, wooden pulpit. Monuments: of historical
interest (see below) wall monument to Rev. G C Gorham, d. 1865, by Hale of London
(south transept, east wall); mural monument to J Sheppard, 1865 by Stephens of
Exeter (south transept, west wall). Glass: good heraldic glass in south transept,
south window and north aisle. West and 2 north window, dated 1852. Historic
interest: in 1847 the Bishop of Exeter, suspecting the Rev. G C Gorham's orthodoxy
on baptismal regeneration, refused to institute him to Brampford Speke. Gorham
appealed to the Privy Council and won. The Gorham Judgement forced many (including
Wilberforce and Manning) to secede to Rome.
Source: Devon C19 Churches Project.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
86080
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
