Hittisleigh Church of St Andrew Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St Andrew
Eastchurch Lane
Hittisleigh
Exeter
EX6 6LF
Geographical coordinates
50°44’41.2″N 3°47’46.4″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
To call this little church totally magical would be underselling it, and that is saying something in a county full of magic. Hittisleigh church is a one off.
It sits behind some houses, next to the old manor, reached through an intricate web of gorgeous lanes. Travelling here is a joy in itself.
The path up to the porch is a charm, the graveyard as well, peaceful even for Devon.
The stonework of the building is just wonderful, from granite to volcanic to local rubblestone, with the thirteenth century priest’s door’s arch made from a single block of that granite.
And right next to a well-weathered thirteenth century window; this time age truly does bring beauty.
Inside is gently simple, benches, pews, thick Norman walls on the southside, some sixteenth century roof bosses above, the feeling is of peace and care; not a bad set of feelings to have indeed.
There is a stained glass East Window by the Hubert Blanchford of Exeter, a Norman font wrinkled by the centuries, and still that lovely atmosphere.
Oh, and the oldest box pew in Devon, which is a find in itself.
A gentle hour or two spent here feeling the wonder, the history, and the parish faith wafting around this sweetheart is time well spent truly so
Outline
PLAN
- Nave and chancel under continuous roof
- North aisle and chapel under a parallel roof
- West tower
- Small south porch
AGE
- Norman origins
- Late C13 nave and chancel
- Late C15 tower
- Early C16 north aisle
- Refurbishment of nave, chancel, nave roof and south porch possibly late C16
- Restoration in 1914
- Refurnished in 1926
- Restoration 1967
BUILT FROM
- Nave, chancel and north aisle of Drewsteignton rubble
- Including some granite, volcanic and red sandstone
- Granite dressings and tracery
- Restored with Beer stone
- South porch of volcanic and granite ashlar
- Tower of large coursed blocks of volcanic and granite ashlar
- Slate roofs
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- Relatively large and little restored
- 2 stages
- Diagonal buttresses
- Offsets to ground and first stage
- Embattled parapet and crocketted pinnacles
- 2-light belfry windows on each face with elliptical heads
- In west face, a round-headed door with hoodmould
- 3-light Perpendicular window above
- Granite tracery
- Hoodmould
- Lower drip mould is carried round top of window
- North side has series of tiny slit windows to newel stair
NAVE
- Irregular fenestration to left of porch early C16 2-light window
- To right of porch C20 restored Beerstone 2-light window
- Cinquefoil heads and hoodmould
- Early C16 windows, 1-and 2-lights, further right
- Square-headed granite windows
- Round-headed lights
- Hollow-chamfered surrounds and sunk spandrels
SOUTH PORCH
- Small
- Rounded arch
- Kneelers with coping to gable end
- Ceiled roof with moulded ridge and wall plates
- Stone seats each side
NORTH AISLE
- 3-window early C16 granite
- 3-light with hoodmoulds
NORTH CHAPEL
- East window arch-headed
- Simple Perpendicular tracery
- 2 granite mullions with round heads to outer lights
- Hoodmould over
CHANCEL
- Small priest’s door to chancel
- Round head
- Made from single slab of granite
- At right (east) end, a primitive 2-light early Decorated window
- Plate-like granite tracery
- Punched through wall surface
- South wall of nave/chancel raised up
- See quoins at east end
- East corner has massive granite quoins.
- East chancel window early C16
- 3-light
- Red sandstone hoodmould
- Relieving arch over
- C20 restored gable with sandstone kneelers
- Coping and finial with cross fleuree
Interior
VARIOUS
- South door
- Plain chamfered, almost rounded, arch
- Early C20 door
- Tall plain tower arch
- Double-chamfered arch ring
- Late C16-early C17 belfry floor
- Moulded intersecting beams
- Painted arms of George III dated 1819 in north aisle
- Box pews replaced 1926
- But 2 are retained in north chapel
- Relatively plain oak-panelled sides
- Inscribed ‘This was built at the cost of Thomas Furse of Eastchurch, Gent, 1610’
OTHER FURNISHINGS
- Late C19-early C20
- Including mahogany handrail on wrought iron posts
- Brass lectern
FLOOR
- Flagged floor in nave and aisle
- Includes several C16 and C17 grave slabs
- One dated 1568
- A slab with inscribed cross is set in centre of chancel floor
- In front of altar rail
- Depicts a type of cross Botonee in crude perspective
- Flanked by gravestones of John Pulton (died 1601)
- And his son Samuel Pulton (died 1654)
- Both former rectors
ROOFS
- Continuous ceiled wagon roofs over north aisle and north chapel, nave and chancel
- North aisle/chapel
- Early C16 with moulded ribs to aisle
- Carved ribs to chapel
- Break between marked by a more ornately curved truss
- Carved oak bosses through
- Wall plates carved as fern leaves
- Nave/chancel
- Probably late C16
- Ovolo-moulded ribs with straight cut stops
- The only carved bosses mark break between nave and chancel
- Northern wall plate rests awkwardly on series of corbels
- And roof is lower than tower arch
- Suggesting that it replaced a medieval roof
FONT
- Black basalt
- Positioned in rear arch of arcade
- Square step
- Thin square base
- Shallow ring mouldings of almost water-holding section
- Plain drum shaft of 3 blocks
- Square top
- Large single incised zig-zags on its outward- sloping faces
- Circular lead-lined tub hollowed out
NORTH AISLE
- 4-bay granite arcade to north aisle
- Fourth arch between chancel and north chapel
- Slender moulded piers
- Pevsner’s Cornish A type
- Undecorated capitals
Other information
Some early Decorated work but most late Perpendicular.
According to the late John Betjeman it “was restored late and lovingly” and is “an adorable little church”.
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
