Ashcombe Church of St Nectan Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St Nectan
Church Hill
Ashcombe
Dawlish
EX7 0QD
Geographical coordinates
50°36’20.2″N 3°32’18.5″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
Ashcombe Church is beautifully positioned, sitting alone near the head of a valley that runs for four miles down to the sea at Dawlish.
It is also a very rare example of a 13th century church in Devon, with some additions. A 16th century north aisle, and restoration work in the 19th, but the whole escaped The Great Rebuilding of Devon’s churches back in the 15/16th century.
The interior is very gracious, a quiet elegant white with splashes of brown, reds and golds. Very nice indeed.
In the nave there are some stunning bench ends from the 16th century in a style unknown anywhere else in Devon; deeply carved angels and demons along the top edges which are just full of life and imagination.
There is a high quality eagle lectern from the 18th century.
The elegant sanctuary has some quality 17th century Flemish stained glass in the East window, a superb 20th century altar back and some medieval roof bosses up top. There is a very good 17th century carved and inlaid chair from Lombard in Italy sitting quietly also.
The pillar capitals in the nave have some lovely foliage carving and good coats of arms, as well as a little Devil up to his tricks.
All in all, a lovely church with a very special atmosphere.
Outline
PLAN
- C13 cruciform plan
- West tower
- Nave
- South transept
- North aisle
- Chancel
- South porch
AGE
- Fabric probably largely C13
- Most of the lancet windows are restored
- May be copies of the Early English originals
- North aisle added in the C15
Restoration and some rebuilding by Salvin in the 1820s - With Gothick interior details.
- Interior refurbished 1885
- Plaque in church
BUILT FROM
- Stone rubble
- Slate roofs
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- 3-stage tapering battlemented
- Unbuttressed
- Internal north west stair turret
- West face has a C19 door to left of centre
- Ground floor window with C19 Y tracery
- 3-light C19 window above
- Depressed arch
TRANSEPTS
- Set back buttresses
- South transept with single lancets to the east and west walls
- C19 Perpendicular window to the south wall
- North transept with triple lancet east window
- C19 Perpendicular north window
SOUTH PORCH
- C19
- Diagonal buttresses
- Chamfered arched outer doorway below a niche
- Early C19 inner doorway
- Good early C19 Gothick door
- Blind tracery
- Ceiled wagon roof with plaster moulded ribs
- Small bosses
NORTH AISLE
- 2 3-light cusped windows
- Depressed arches
- Similar windows to the nave
CHANCEL
- Set-back buttresses
- Probable C19 Perpendicular east window
- Lancet window on the north side
- Lancet window on the south side
- One Y tracery early C19 window on the south side
Interior
VARIOUS
- 4 bay granite arcade to north aisle
- Pevsner A-type piers with moulded capitals
- Double chamfered depressed 4-centred arches
- Similar arch to transept corbelled out from wall
- Tall 4 centred tower arch with columns
- Restored plaster chancel arch
- Roofs all circa early C20
- Wagon roof over chancel
- Plain pews are late C19
- Other fittings are generally C20
- Font is C15 or C16
- Octagonal with carved panels
- North wall of the chancel is a good wall memorial of 1722
- To Revd. Thomas Pocock, rector of the parish
- 2 sections of panelling from the rood screens are preserved
- Hung on the west wall of the nave
- 2 sections of a carved pew-front are preserved in the transept
- Dating from the early-mid C16
- Judging from the Renaissance motifs used in the carving
Other information
A rare example for Devon of a largely C13 church.
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