Details
ILSINGTON ILSINGTON
SX 77 NE
3/111 Church of St Michael
23.8.55
GV I
Parish church. Late C13 or early C14, enlarged and partly rebuilt in C15 or early
C16. The chancel and transepts appear to belong to the first period; the south
transept, which is set at a marked angle to the rest of the cnurch, may be still
earlier. Body of church restored in 1856 and 1884, the tower in 1908. Built of
stone covered mostly with roughcast; the exposed south porch and west ends of the
aisles are of granite and slatestone rubble, the tower of coursed granite rubble.
Slated roofs. Nave, chancel, north and south aisles, north and south transepts,
north and south chancel chapels, south porch, west tower. The south aisle and
chancel chapel have similar Perpendicular granite windows with 2-centred arches,
only the mullions appearing to be restorations. The north aisle and chancel chapel
have a matching set of quite different Perpendicular granite windows with 4-centred
arches, the centre light in each window slightly taller than the other two. The
aisles and chancel chapels on both sides have battlemented parapets. The south side
has clasping buttresses while the north side has buttresses between the aisle
windows and an angle buttress on the chancel chapel. At the north-west corner of
the north aisle is a 5-sided stair turret with a single slit window. The south
transept hasa single-light lancet window of limestone in its west wall; in the
south wall is a large Perpendicular granite window with a round arch, and in the
east wall a similar window with a pointed arch, the tracery and mullions restored in
limestone. The north transept has Decorated limestone windows, all of them
apparently C19 restorations; in the west wall, partly blocked by the north aisle,
is the outline of a former doorway with pointed arch. The chancel has Decorated
limestone windows largely, if not wholly restored; the east window has 3 lights,
the north and south windows 2 lights. At the west end of the south wall of the
chancel, extending into a recess cut into the transept wall, is a 2-light granite
window of the late C16 or C17; it is flat-headed with hollow-moulded mullions.
Beneath it, splayed across the angle between chancel and transept, is a plain
granite doorway with an elliptical arch. The south porch is 2-storeyed with
clasping buttresses and battlemented parapet. In the front is a large heavily-
moulded doorway with a straight hood-mould; the inner arch has a 4-centred head
with quatrefoils in the spandrels. Above it in the second storey is a pair of
segmental-headed recesses with carved spandrels; each has a straight hood-mould with
square terminals, those on the left-hand recess bearing letters believed to be SA
for St Anne. Above these, centrally placed, is a similar recess with richly carved
hood-mould; it contains a C20 statue of the Virgin and Child, brought from Bruges.
Beneath the group of recesses is a copper or bronze sundial. There is only one
window in the upper storey; this is in the west wall, of 1 light and segmental-
arched like the recesses. Fixed to the south-west angle,of the porch is a carved
slate headstone of the late C18 having a winged cherub-head at the top. The
interior of the porch has stone benches at either side. The moulded upper-floor
beams, wholly restored, intersect; within the panels are the original moulded
joists with bar-stops. The doorway into the church is of granite with a 2-centred
arch; it has a three-quarter-round moulding flanked by 2 hollows with asymmetrical
pyramid-stops at the foot. On the floor in front of the doorway is a granite tomb-
slab of 1672 with 4 lines of verse carved in the centre. The 3-stage tower has a
battlemented parapet and a 5-sided stair turret with slit windows on the south face.
in the west face is a chamfered granite doorway with a 2-centred arch. Above it,
still in the lowest stage, is a Perpendicular window of 3 lights; this has old
granite jambs, but the mullions and tracery are of limestone and probably a
restoration. The ringing chamber has a single-light window with a pointed arch in
the east face. The bellchamber has a 2-light opening in each face except for that
on the south, which has a single-light opening at each side of the stair-turret; the
lights have pointed arches.
Interior: nave has an arcade of 5 granite arches at either side, the fourth arch
from the west forming a bridge over the transept crossing while the fifth arch
extends into the chancel, opening into the chancel chapel. The almost rounded
arches are carried on piers with heavily moulded capitals and 4 attached shafts
having hollow mouldings between them. Plain tower arch with chamfered imposts.
Tower staircase has upper and lower stone doorways with chamfered 2-centred arches
having diagonal-cut stops. In the south wall of south transept is a piscina with a
chamfered 2-centred arch. In south wall of south chancel chapel is a stone
staircase to former rood loft, the lower doorway (the only one visible) round-arched
and with rebates for a door opening outwards. Small stone staircase to room over
porch has a plain doorway, set well above floor level, with a 4-centred arch; the
room itself is featureless, with a C19 or C20 roof. Nave, transepts and chancel
have wagon roofs. Those of the nave and transepts appear to be C15 or early c16,
the nave roof having fine carved bosses. Over the crossing is a particularly fine
ribbed wooden vault of the same date, the ribs springing from shaped granite
corbels. At the base of each rib is a niche with cinquefoiled head and containing a
carved figure; halfway up is an angel with wings unfurled and at the apex a large
carved boss. Until C19 the ribs are said to have been painted blue and the bosses
red. The north aisle and chancel chapel have flat roofs with moulded intersecting
beams; the corresponding roofs on the south are simpler C19 imitations. Fragment
of tooth-moulding re-used in north chancel chapel.
Fittings. Medieval octagonal font of granite, with plain plinth, shaft and bowl.
Traceried oak rood screen across nave and aisles, considerably restored and with
barely a trace of colour left. Traceried parclose screens, better preserved but
also without colour. In front of rood screen a clergy stall made up of carved
medieval bench-ends with poppy-head finials. In the chancel 2 seats made up from
simpler bench-ends. On the chancel floor a mosaic of fragments of medieval glazed
tiles. East window of north chancel chapel has fragments of medieval coloured
glass. South window of south transept has stained glass window of 1888 described by
Pevsner as "in a Crane-Arts-and-Crafts style".
Monuments. In north transept, in a recess with C19 Gothic canopy, mutilated
limestone effigy of a recumbent woman, believed to be C14. Several good carved
granite and slate tomb-slabs of C17. One good C16 tomb-slab, probably of limestone,
in chancel. At south end of nave a carved paving-stone, possibly part of a medieval
tomb-slab.
Bells. 4th, 5th and tenor bells cast by Thomas Bilbie, 1797. Cast-iron bell-frame.
Sources Church guide, N Pevsner, South Devon, 1952, p.185.
Rev. J D H Patch, History of Parish of Ilsington, n.d. Kelly's Directory of
Devonshire, 1910.
Listing NGR: SX7853676143
