Summary
Parish church, now redundant; largely rebuilt, except for the C15 tower and reusing some C14 fabric, between 1878 and 1880 by JF Gould.
Reasons for Designation
The Church of St Petroc, Petrockstowe which was largely rebuilt between 1878 and 1880 by JF Gould, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* the church retains C15 fabric in its tower and restored north and south aisle windows, and C14 fabric internally;
* the C19 rebuilding of the church, executed by a notable local architect, is sensitive to the earlier fabric;
* the church has many significant early fittings, including a Norman pedestal piscina and font, C16 font cover and C17 pulpit;
* the C19 carving by Harry Hems and the stained-glass windows by Kempe are also of good quality craftsmanship and design.
Historic interest:
* as a good example of a church established as a station to St Petroc, and the settlement which developed around it;
* for its early patronage from notable local families including the Rolles and Yeos, and in the C19 the Barons Clinton.
History
St Petroc established a monastery and school at Lanwethinoc in Cornwall in the C6, which then became Pedroc-stowe and is now Padstow. Further churches were later established as stations (or ‘stowes’) to venerate the saint, with the principal shrine being at the Church of St Petroc in Bodmin, Cornwall.
Petrockstowe in Devon is recorded in the Domesday Book as a small settlement owned by the Abbot of Buckfastleigh. A small church building existed here from the early C12; Henry de Hamptesfort was registered as vicar in 1270, on the resignation of Sir William de Sancta Martina, and until the Reformation the parish priest was chosen by the Abbot of Buckfast. A phase of building at the church occurred in the C14, and the tower was built in the C15, both incorporating Norman fabric. After 1549 the patronage passed to the Denys family, Sir Thomas Wise, and the Rolle family.
In 1815 the patronage passed to the Barons Clinton, who had purchased the manor of Heanton Satchville in 1812, which was previously owned by the Yeo and Rolle families. In the C19 various fittings were added to the church: five bells were cast in 1806 by John Pennington of Stoke Climsland, Cornwall; the west window was inserted in around 1855; and a Father Willis organ was installed in 1872 at a cost of £129.
Through the benefaction of the then patron, Lord Clinton, between 1878 and 1880 the church was rebuilt, except for the west tower, by JF Gould (1840-1881) of Barnstaple. The builders were Medland & Grant of Torrington. The architect’s plan, dated 1877, shows the parts of the earlier fabric that were retained, restored and rebuilt, including one south aisle window, the north aisle windows, the north aisle arcade, and the outer arch of the south porch. New building work included the extension of the chancel by 12 feet, and its refitting including metalwork - possibly by Hardman & Co, and floor tiling - possibly by Mintons. A vestry was also added at the east end of the north aisle, incorporating a C15 stained-glass window from the Lady Chapel. During the restoration work, a Norman pedestal piscina was discovered embedded in the Lady Chapel wall and was relocated to the south side of the chancel. The church was re-consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter on 13 October 1879. The rebuilding had cost around £2,000.
A reredos carved by Harry Hems was installed in the late 1880s in memory of Kate Lainson, the mother of the Reverend Ernest Walter Field who was the priest here in 1884. The east window by Cox, Sons, Buckley & Co of London, and two memorial windows by Kempe studios in the south aisle were also added in the late 1880s and 1890s.
The tower was re-roofed and repaired in 1887 under the direction of Mr Hooper of Hatherleigh. In 1913 the bell frame was rebuilt by Henry Stokes. At this time a treble bell was also added, the tenor recast and the other four bells quarter-turned by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The tower clock, manufactured by William Potts of Leeds, was added in 1923, as a gift to the parish from John Duffy, a churchwarden.
Details
Parish church, now redundant; largely rebuilt, except for the C15 tower and reusing some C14 fabric, between 1878 and 1880 by JF Gould.
MATERIALS: snecked and rubble slate-stone walls with Hatherleigh-stone quoins to buttresses and granite quoins and parapet to the tower. Granite, limestone, sandstone and Hatherleigh-stone dressings. Delabole slate roofs with terracotta ridge tiles.
PLAN: nave and chancel, north and south aisles, south porch and west tower.
EXTERIOR: C15 west tower with diagonal buttresses at the angles, rises in three tapering stages to a crenelated parapet with four obelisk pinnacles. The west doorway is a granite four-centred arch with roll and hollow moulding and carved swirled stops at the base and a hood mould above. Above this is a C15 three-light window, and the belfry has paired segmental-arched openings with louvres. On the south elevation is a gabled porch set in the angle between the nave and the west end of the south aisle; the external four-centred chamfered arch re-uses C14 fabric, and on the west side are two C19 cusped lancets. The porch gable coping terminates in a cross finial with a niche and two carved quatrefoils below. The south elevation has a restored C15 square-headed window to the left, then C19 Decorated-style windows of three lights, a lancet, a two-light window on the eastern return, and two-light window to the chancel. The chancel is an extension of the nave and has a dentilled cornice and cross finial on the east gable. The east window is again C19 Decorated-style with three lights, and there are further buttresses below and to the corners. On the north side of the chancel is a lean-to C19 vestry with a two-light shouldered-head window on the east wall and a shouldered-head doorway on the north wall; the timber door has wrought-iron decorative hinges. The north aisle has a two-light C19 Decorated-style window and two restored C15 windows of four multi-foiled lights separated by a mullion, with a three-light C19 Perpendicular-style window at the west end. The bays to the two aisles are defined by buttresses.
INTERIOR: the oak wagon-style roofs to the nave, aisles and chancel are C19 with carved bosses by Harry Hems. The floor of the church is laid with coloured quarry tiles, and the pews are pitch pine; both are standard mid-C19 designs. Only the walls to the aisles and chancel are plastered and painted.
The arcade to the north aisle is C14, rebuilt in the C19, and has octagonal piers with tall, pointed double-chamfered arches springing from chamfered capitals. On the north wall the restored C15 and C19 windows have clear, leaded glazing. Mounted between the windows are two late-C16 coffin brasses to Henry Rolle and his wife Margaret, depicted with their nineteen children. At the east end of the north aisle is a C19 pointed arch to the organ chamber containing the 1872 organ. The organ obscures a niche on the east wall, above which is a C19 window with clear, leaded glazing. Through an oak door from the organ chamber is a C19 vestry with a relocated C15 stained-glass window to the east featuring Yeo family heraldic crests. The south arcade is a C19 imitation of the north arcade but without capitals. At the east end of the south aisle is the Lady Chapel which has an embossed Russian-leather reredos and mid-C16 oak communion rail. The two windows in the Lady Chapel have C19 surrounds. The east window commemorates Samuel and Rebecca Bonifant, who died in the 1930s; Samuel set-up a charity for the relief of the poor of Petrockstowe in his will. The window on the south wall is a memorial to Charles and Lydia Moase of Petrockstowe who died in New Jersey in 1871 and 1881 respectively. The stained glass in the two south aisle windows is by Kempe studios. That to the east has three lights depicting Dorcas, the Virgin, and Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha; it is dedicated on a brass plaque beneath to Louis Woolcombe, rector of the parish 1845-1888 (d.1889). That to the west is within a restored C15 surround, and depicts St Bartholomew, St Andrew, St Barnabas, and St Stephen; it is dedicated on a brass plaque beneath to Reverend Woolcombe’s wife and daughter, Augusta (d.1892) and Elaia (d.1893). Between the windows is a marble memorial tablet to Samuel Bonifant (d.1855), his wife Elisabeth (d.1851), and their son Samuel (d.1836).
At the east end of the nave, on the south side, is a five-sided oak pulpit with panels containing carved strapwork and brackets at the top; it bears a carved date plaque of 1631. The C19 ogee base and steps are of Hatherleigh stone. At the west end of the nave, on the south side by the tower, is a square Norman font of about 1170 with a C16 pyramidal ornately-carved and crocketed oak font cover. The font has carved arcading and flowerhead decoration on its east and west sides, and wheel panelling on the north side. It is on a C19 base of Hatherleigh stone with a central column and four corner shafts. The west tower arch has a four-centred double-chamfered head and rubble piers. On the north wall of the tower is a substantial C15 granite pointed-arch to the tower stairs, and the west door is set within a taller opening with a basket-head arch. Three wall tablets in the tower commemorate Robert Rolle (d.1633) and his wife (d.1634); Stephen Venton (d.1784); and Catherine Mallet, wife of John (d.1810). The west tower window depicting St Peter and St Paul is a mid-C19 memorial to Joseph Risden and his wife Sarah, set in a C15 surround.
At the end of the north arcade is a C19 arch set with an oak parclose screen which divides the chancel from organ chamber; this is replicated on the south side to the Lady Chapel. In front of the screens, the choir stalls are C19, oak with pierced tracery and rosettes. The chancel was rebuilt and fitted-out in the C19. The chancel floor is laid with encaustic tiles. There are three red Devon marble steps up to the altar, which is on a red Devon marble plinth, set with C19 tessellated tiles beneath the altar. The oak reredos is late C19 and depicts the evangelists flanking the entombment, surmounted by angels, and with a dedication below. It is flanked by two pointed-head carved stone pilasters and rests on a row of stone corbels. The C19 east window depicts the Crucifixion, flanked by St Petroc holding a church and St John the Baptist. A C19 window on the south wall has clear, leaded glazing. Against the south wall of the chancel is a pedestal piscina hollowed from a Norman cushion capital, set on a cylindrical stone shaft. Above the piscina is a credence with a sedilia below. The altar rails are C19, brass and wrought-iron set with coloured glass beads. There is various other contemporary metalwork, including two wall-brackets for candles.
