Kelly Church of St Mary Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St Mary
Kelly
Lifton
PL16 0HH
Geographical coordinates
50°36’36.8″N 4°16’10.4″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
Kelly church lies deep in rural West Devon with a parish name stretching back to the Celtic culture that lived here so long ago.
It is a beautiful structure of many eras, a 15th century core, an 18th century rebuilt chancel, and Victorian additions as well.
It has a fine medieval Three Hares roof boss amongst a few others, and interesting 18th century bosses.
The sanctuary has some goodly carvings by Violet Pinwill.
There is some marvellous medieval stained glass here, some fascinating angels and whole window, somewhat repaired, showing the Crucifixion with Edward the Confessor alongside.
There is also some very fine Victorian stained glass, including a delightfully coloured window.
This is a beautiful stone church, deeply rural even for Devon, and well worth a wander down the lanes.
Outline
PLAN
- Nave
- Chancel
- North aisle
- West tower
- South porch
- South vestry
AGE
- Chancel partly C14
- Restored 1760
- Nave and north aisle circa late C15
- Porch and vestry 1865
- West tower rebuilt 1885
BUILT FROM
- Nave dressed stone brought to course
- Vestry and porch dressed stone
- Tower, aisle and chancel ashlar
- Scantle slate roof to vestry and north aisle
- Asbestos slate roofs to nave, chancel and porch
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- Large 3-stage
- Battlemented
- Rebuilt in 1885
- Set back buttresses with set-offs
- Crocketted corner pinnacles
- Octagonal shafts
- Plinth and moulded strings marking stages
- Internal north west stair turret
- Arched moulded granite west doorway
- Decorative carving
- Below square-headed hoodmould
- Trefoils carved in spandrels
- Deeply recessed 3-light west window
- Geometric tracery
- Hoodmould
- West face has 4-centred arched moulded opening at bellringers’ stage
- Moulded rectangular architrave
- 2-light arched belfry openings on all 4 faces
- Unusual run-out stops below the battlementing
PORCH AND VESTRY
- Irregular
- 1865
- Asymmetrical coped gable
- Vestry has a 2-light Decorated C19 window
- Stone chimney carried on corbels
- 2 quatrefoil lights to east wall of porch
- Arched moulded outer doorway to porch
- Blind trefoil in gable
- C19 collar rafter porch roof
- Granite arched inner doorway
CHANCEL
- Masonry ashlar on chamfered rubble plinth
- Granite dressings
- Plaque in east gable reads “Done by John Bollon, 1710”.
- On the south side two 4-light arched untraceried granite windows
- “R E 17 10” on the label stops
- For Richard Edgecumbe, rector 1702-1769
- Coped east gable
- 5-light C19 Perpendicular east window
- Hoodmould
- 1-light pulpit window
- Square-headed hoodmould
NORTH AISLE
- Buttresses with set-offs
- Angle buttresses to east and west ends
- Coped east gable
- Plinth differs from chancel
- Good 4-light C15 Perpendicular chancel east window
- Deeply recessed in a moulded architrave
- Hoodmould and label stops
- Mullions replaced
- 4 C15 Perpendicular windows to aisle
- Hoodmoulds and label stops
- Westernmost bay of aisle has arched moulded doorway
- Square hoodmould with carved label stops
- Spandrels also carved
- 3-light Perpendicular west window
- Hoodmould and label stops
Interior
VARIOUS
- C19 unceiled waggon roofs with carved bosses
- C19 rectangular bench ends
- Blind tracery decoration
- Rectangular late C19 pulpit
- Blind tracery.
- Plain octagonal font on shaft and base
- Probably C15
- Recut in the C19
PILLARS AND ARCHES
- Moulded south respond of chancel arch probably C14
- Capital including carved heads (q.v. Lifton)
- Moulded chancel arch
- Carried on granite corbel on spandrel of north arcade
- Chancel arch presumably rebuilt
- When north aisle was added
- Similar arch carried on corbels between north aisle and north chancel chapel (q.v.
Lifton)- Which may have been a chantry
- Piers of north arcade Pevsner ‘A’ type
- Some variations and replacement to carved capitals
- Segmental pointed tower arch
- Carried on moulded responds with capitals
MONUMENTS
- East wall of the north aisle
- 3 slate memorials to the Kelly family
- 1514 to Oliver Kelly
- 1605 to Thomas Kelly
- 1627 to William Kelly
- South wall of chancel
- Wall monument to Richard Edgcumbe
- Died 1710
- 2 columns support an entablature
- Segmental pediment
- Oval inscription table below
STAINED GLASS
- East window of the north aisle
- Some important late C15 glass
- Was in the east window in a fragmentary condition before 1879
- Restored by Baillie and Son of Wardour St
- Who repainted parts of the medieval glass
- Added some C19 glass
- Re-designed the window as single figures
- Edward the Confessor, the Virgin Mary, re-crucifixion and St John
- Angels in the head tracery
- The glass was originally given by Mr Tremayne of Collacombe
- On occasion of a Tremayne-Kelly marriage
- West window of the north aisle
- Commemorating Admiral Benedictions Kelly
- Died 1867
Other information
C14 build probably nave and chancel of which one respond survives
North aisle and north chancel chapel added circa late C15 when the nave may have been rebuilt
C16 fenestration to nave
Major restoration of chancel in 1760
South porch and adjoining south west vestry 1865
Largely Perpendicular church
5-bay north aisle
2 bays to the chancel
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