Instow Church of St John the Baptist Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St John the Baptist
Rectory Lane
Instow
bideford
EX39 4LU
Geographical coordinates
51°03’29.1″N 4°10’14.6″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
Instow church is in a beautiful postion overlooking the estuary of the Rivers Taw and Torridge. Its age probably goes back to Pre-Saxon times, especially as its original patron saint was a Celtic one called John. The John the Baptist dedication came later, due to misunderstandings and cultural change.
There is a very nice south door, with delicious swooping, delicate hinges. Very nice indeed.
Inside, the north aisle is a very late build, 1547 to be exact. We know this because the donors’ name are carved into the pillar capitals, a very rare thing.
The aisle also has Renaissance influenced roof bosses, another rarity. The faces are a delight.
There is an early twentieth century chancel screen, and some good furnishings from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The seventeenth century wall memorial to John Downe is another delight, showing the lad’s full of character; probably a real portrait. There are more good monuments too.
Some goodly stained glass rounds off this nice little church.
Outline
PLAN
- West tower
- Nave
- Chancel
- South transept
- South porch
- North aisle
AGE
- Late C13/early C14 fabric to chancel
- Perpendicular nave, west tower, south transept and north aisle
- The latter added in 1547
- Restored 1872-3 by William White
BUILT FROM
- Stone rubble with ashlar dressings
- Slate roofs
- Coped gable ends
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- 3 stages
- Short diagonal buttresses
- Embattled parapet
- Tall rectangular stair turret on south-east side
- Single light bell-openings with louvres
- Cusped-headed to top stage
- Ogee-headed to 2nd stage on north and south sides
- The latter with straight-headed single light window to base
- Perpendicular 4-light window to west side
- Human head corbels to pointed arched hoodmould
- Perpendicular doorway
- Hollow moulded surround
NORTH AISLE
- 4 straight-headed early C16 Perpendicular windows
- With gentle ogee heads to the lights
- Slightly projecting rood loft stair turret
- Segmental arched doorway.
- 2 buttresses towards west end
- 3-light C19 window at west end
CHANCEL
- South side has 2 cusped-headed light window with Y bars to left
- Tall single light lancet renewed in C19
- To right of cusped headed priests doorway
- 2 C19 straight-headed windows to east end of chancel and north aisle
NAVE
- South side has 2 straight-headed windows
- That to left of 2 cusped-headed lights,
- That to right of 3 rounded-arched lights
- Both with hoodmoulds
- Flanking south porch
SOUTH TRANSEPT
- Window of 3 trefoil-headed stepped lights
- Pointed arched hoodmould
- 2-light window on east side
- Quatrefoil tracery to head of 2 ogee-headed lights
PORCH
- Gabled
- C19 pointed arched doorway
- Door of 2 boarded leaves
- Upper part glazed with stained glass leaded lights
- Plain chamfered pointed arched inner doorway
- Unceiled porch waggon roof without mouldings
Interior
VARIOUS
- Unmoulded semi-circular headed tower arch
- Lead-lined bowl to Norman font
- Block-capital shape on round stem
- Section of probably reused C17 communion rail to west end tower gallery
- Turned balusters and moulded handrail
- C20 nave furniture
- Timber screen of 1906-11 across nave and north aisle
CHANCEL
- C19 sedilia and piscina
- Chancel floor retains patterns of Barnstaple tiles
- C19 chancel furniture
ARCADE
- Continuous north arcade
- 4 bays with Pevsner ‘A’ type piers
- Foliated capitals to chancel pier and respond
- Capitals to nave piers record erection of north aisle
- By “Rycharde Waterman (and) Emma His Wyf” in 1547 Porch
- Plank door with large false strap hinges
ROOFS
- Ceiled waggon roof to north aisle
- Carved bosses at each intersection of the moulded ribs and longitudinal members
- Carved timber wall plates
- Similar roof to south transept
- With single moulded rib
- Crenellated timber wall plates
- Carved decoration
- C19 chancel roof
- Some reused timbers to arch-braced nave roof
MONUMENTS
- 2 C17 wall monuments in south transept
- East and west walls
- To Downe family, father and son respectively
- East side, square tablet with Ionic colonettes and skull in base
- West side, swan-necked pediment with central shield
- Above medallion with bust of male figure in bold relief
- Leaning on skull and clasping book
- Verse plaque below
- North wall of north aisle
- Wall monument by J Kendall of Exeter
- To Humphrey Sibthorp, botanist, d.1797
- East end of north aisle
- Tablet with moulded stone surround to Rebecca Prince d.1685
- Oval tablet above to Frederick Holmes d.1822
STAINED GLASS
- North aisle and chancel east windows
- Chancel lancet to H Hinchcliff d.1906
- South transept east side by Myer and Co. to James Edward Allen (1886)
- South side to Richard White and Wife (d. 1884 and 1906)
- South side of nave to Thomas Lock (d.1860) and Captain Leonard Slater (d.1914)
Other information
Set in a beautiful position overlooking the estuary
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