Cheriton Fitzpaine Church of St Matthew Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St Matthew
Cheriton Fitzpaine
Crediton
EX17 4JB
Geographical coordinates
550°50’38.5″N 3°36’36.3″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
A mightily well-cared for red-stone church with a huge sundial stuck onto its 15th century porch.
Inside the 2-storey porch there is a good stone vaulted ceiling, with original, and so very characterful, angel corbels and stone roof bosses worth a long look.
There are two good 20th century screens in the church. The 1926 chancel screen is very Arts and Crafts and the 1912 tower arch screen is beautiful Neo-Gothic.
The stone altar back has some lovely Victorian carvings of the Four Evangelist symbols, floor tiles from the same era and some more cracking medieval angels.
Plenty of fine medieval roof bosses in this church too.
Topped up with some delightful stained glass and good oak victorian pews (cut down from the 18th century box pews), this is a real nice place to spend time in.
Outline
PLAN
- Nave
- Chancel
- Full length aisles and eastern chapels
- Under parallel roofs
- West tower
- 2-storey south porch
- Perpendicular throughout
AGE
- C14 nave and chancel
- C15 aisles, porch and tower,
- Restored 1883-5 by James Crocker of Exeter
BUILT FROM
- Snecked volcanic and new red sandstone
- With mostly Beer stone detail
- But some volcanic ashlar
- Slate roofs
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- 2 stages
- Low offset buttresses
- Embattled parapet with corner pinnacles
- Most of the tower is roughcast and has been so since 1706
- According to the churchwarden’s account
- Original volcanic 2-light belfry windows
- Cinquefoil heads
- Except the west side which has round heads
- West side has original Beer stone arched doorway
- Moulded surround
- 4-leaf enrichment
- Below a 3-light Perpendicular window
- Replacement Beer stone tracery under an arched hoodmould
- On the south side a projecting demi-hexagonal stair turret
- Finishes below belfry level with a pyramidal roof
SOUTH AISLE
- West end has a low-pitch stepped gable
- Beer stone coping
- Contains a 3-light C19 replacement window
- 4-window south front interrupted by 2-storey porch
- Stair turret in corner of porch and aisle rises above parapet
- With embattled parapet
- All windows are Beer stone
- Arch-headed 3-lights
- Hoodmoulds
- That to right of porch appears to retain some original tracery
- There are buttresses between the windows
- Towards right end is the restored volcanic stone priests door,
- Arch-headed with ovolo surround
- 3 C18 lead drainpipes on this side
- Mounts and rainwater heads displaying a series of initials and dates from the 1740s
EAST FRONT
- 3-gabled
- Diagonal buttresses either side
- Buttresses under each valley.
North and south aisles have similar partly-restored 3-light arch-headed windows - Ogee heads and cusped tracery
- Chancel has a larger 4-light version
- With a transom and lower tier
- Cusped trefoil heads
- Hoodmould has human head labels
- Gable above
- Surmounted by stone cross
NORTH AISLE
- 5-window north front
- Partly-restored 3-light windows
- Similar to those of south aisle
- Intermediate buttresses and end diagonal buttresses
- Left of centre is rood stair turret
- Projecting square and right of centre window
- Now blocked by C20 vestry
- Another restored 3-light window on west end
PORCH
- Low-pitch stepped gable
- Moulded coping
- Embattled side parapets
- It has an almost-rounded moulded archway
- A small and ornate Beer stone niche above
- Niche has flanking pilasters and richly carved pinnacled canopy
- Contains the figure of St Matthew
- A gift to the church in 1885 by the Rev. George Dowty.
- Square-headed 2-light Beer stone window with trefoil-headed lights above
- Partly restored
- On the gable a large lead sundial with iron arm
- Apparently erected in 1720 and remodelled in 1741
Interior
NAVE & AISLES
- Plain high tower arch
- Soffit chamfered imposts
- C14 moulded volcanic chancel arch
- Pevsner’s B Type
- Caps to half-engaged columns
- Wave is carried continuously through.
- There is a single corbel projecting into the nave
- Superior 5-bay Beer stone arcade on both sides
- 3 arches to nave and 2 to chancel
- Clustered column shafts
- Carved foliage capitals
- In the chancel, demi-figures of angels
- Bearing shields above pier capitals
- The style is thought to emulate Exeter Cathedral
- Hollow-chamfered rear arches to windows
- Floor includes many grave slabs of notable quality
- From late C16 and C17
- Some in black or white marble
- Blocked C15 arch-headed volcanic stone doorway
- To former rood stair in north wall
- Font of 1874
- Possibly C15 plain arched piscina to right of reredos
- Also niche in north chapel for aumbry or piscina
PORCH
- Beer stone ribbed vault
- Springing from angel corbels
- Over half-engaged columns in each corner
- Features a series of bosses carved to represent the stigmata
- And other symbols of the Passion
- Moulded, almost round-headed arch
- Containing a C19 door
SCREENS
- Very elaborate square-framed chancel screen
- Erected in 1926
- In memory of Arthur George May
- Of Durban, South Africa
- A former Cheriton resident.
- Made by Caroe and Passmore
- Another framed screen of circa 1912 across tower arch
ROOFS
- Both aisles, nave and chancel have wagon roofs
- South aisle roof appears to be 1883 work
- Using old timbers to make a low-pitch curve of plain chamfered ribs
- With more slender members over Lady Chapel at east end
- Nave has C16 ceiled wagon roof
- Moulded ribs
- Intricately carved flat bosses
- Finials on the corners
- The wall plate has bosses
- Including several sun motifs
- The lower chancel roof is similar to the nave
- Missing the wall plate enrichment
- In north aisle and chapel very high quality C15 ceiled wagon roof
- Moulded ribs
- Enriched with 4-leaf decoration
- And carved oak bosses
FROM 1885 RESTORATION
- Maw’s encaustic tile floor to chancel
- Beer stone Gothick reredos
- Featuring carved emblems of the Evangelists
- And polychrome mosaic
- Stalls, pews,
- Including much reused C18 oak
- Stained glass
- Altar rail
MONUMENTS
- North chapel
- Graves and memorials of families who lived at Upcott Barton
- In north-east corner
- Good marble wall monument of 1691 to John Moore
- Comprising an oval plaque
- Nut husk garland architecturally framed
- Flanking Corinthian columns
- Moulded entablature
- Open pediment with ascanthus and egg-and-dart cornice
- Crowned by heraldic cartouches
- The whole carried by a moulded sill on fluted brackets
- Which frame a later panel in memory of John’s wife (died 1700).
- Preserves traces of ancient colour
- In south-west of chancel
- Good grey marble mural monument
- To Nicholas Hickes (died 1704) and Elizabeth his wife (died 1718)
- Carved drapery with swags
- Include an oval tablet with bolection-moulded frame
- An heraldic cartouche with flanking cherubs heads
- At the bottom, a skull with wings
- To left of reredos and partly obscured
- Early C19 mural monument to Reverend John Arundel;
- White marble tablet
- Surmounted by a Grecian vase and crossed torches
- On a shaped black marble base
- Over south door
- Painted arms of Charles II dated 1665
- Naively restored in 1971
Other information
Two C16 or C17 oak chests. One crudely inscribed RM 1611
Tower has ring of 6 bells, the oldest was cast by John Pennington of Exeter in 1665, in a frame of 1893. Late C19 clock by Smith’s of Derby.
Church was dedicated to St Mary before 1850 and known as All Saints in C14.
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
