Mortehoe Church of St Mary Magdalene Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St Mary Magdalene
Mortehoe
Ilfracombe
EX34 7DT
Geographical coordinates
51°11’06.2″N 4°12’33.2″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
A very fine church here, built from the striking local silver-grey stone. Parts of it go back to the 12th century, the tower and chancel 13th.
The location itself is a delight, in a very pretty village on one of the most dangerous parts of the North Devon coast.
Inside it just gets better. There is a marvellous early 20th century mosaic above the chancel arch, a beautiful work of art and worth the trip alone.
Then there are some equally good 16th century bench ends, with some expert Victorian copies too. Difficult to tell the difference sometimes and that is a good thing.
Then there is some brilliant stained glass, in the two east windows especially, and some Selwyn Image ones in the south transept; other windows too, this is a good church for glass.
In the south transept is a 14th century tomb, which seems a bit of marriage and might even contain major parts of the original transept altar with a crucifixion scene and St Catherine and St Mary Magdalene. The top is a stone for a 14th century priest.
Amongst more delights is a fine early 18th century Baroque memorial on the nave wall.
All in all, a very good church intensified by its place on the wild North Devon coast.
Outline
PLAN
- Chancel
- Nave
- North aisle
- North tower
- South transept
- South porch
- Vestry
AGE
- C12 fabric to nave
- Probably largely rebuilt and extended in C13
- Chancel and north tower added C13
- Early C14 south transept
- In C16 nave heightened and reroofed
- And north aisle added
- Possibly replacing north transept in earlier cruciform plan.
- South porch and vestry probably also added C16.
- Restored and almost entirely refenestrated 1860 by R D Gould
BUILT FROM
- Morte slates with ashlar dressings
- Slate roofs with coped gable ends to nave
- Chancel with apex crosses
- Rubble and ashlar gabletted stack to vestry
Exterior
NORTH TOWER
- 2 stages
- Embattled parapet
- Bell openings with louvres
- On four faces
- 2 light to north and east
- East face also with pointed-arched hoodmould
- Single light to west and south
- Pointed north door
- Rough voussoirs
- Ventilation slit above.
- Buttress with offsets to west wall
NAVE
- 2 single light windows to each side of porch
- 3-light west window
CHANCEL
- 2 cavetto moulded lancet windows to north wall
- Shoulder-headed priests door on south side
- Flanked by 2-light trefoil-headed windows
PORCH
- Doorway with plain-moulded segmental arch
- Latticed framing
- Ledging to C19 inner plank door
- Unmoulded round-arched doorway
- Barrel roof
- Moulded wooden spine
- Supported on carved and canellated wooden wall plates
SOUTH TRANSEPT
- Single light trefoil-headed window on east Side
- 2-light window on south side
- Label stops
- Short engaged columns
- Capitals to the inner face
- Floriated corbels
- 4-light window with renewed tracery
- With 2-lights on each side
- Splaying outwards from the angle of the south transept and nave
NORTH AISLE
- Two 2-light windows to north
- Single trefoil-headed 2-light window at east end
- 3-light pointed arched east window
- Human head corbels
Interior
NAVE & AISLE
- Pointed arched doorway
- Rounded inner arch to tower
- Which has 2 blocked square-headed splayed windows on east side
- 2-bay arcade to north transept
- Plain chamfered four-centred arches
- Single octagonal pier
- Arcade to south transept of 1½ bays
- With four-centred arches
- Supported on octagonal pier
- Moulded capital
- Larger bay has blind trefoiled panelling to the intrados
- Wooden moulded lintel above
- Smaller bay is created by the diagonal vaulted connection between transept and nave wall
- Perhaps to form a hagioscope to the south transept
- Plain moulded pointed chancel arch
- Striking mosaic by Selwyn Image
- 1903
- Ascending angels
- Flanking representation of Lamb and Cross in central medallion
- Wineglass stone pulpit
- Double cusped-headed panels to each facet
- Ball flower ornamentation between
- Fleurons above and below
- Fine set of 17 pairs of C16 richly carved bench ends and benches
- Moulded rails
- Octagonal bowl to font
- On shaft
- Lipped capital and square base
ROOD SCREEN
- Important
- 8-bay
- C15
- Coving an early C20 replacement
- Incorporating some medieval carving
- The paintings are probably the best in the county
- Conventional dado paintings on the west side
- Exceptionally fine large demi-figures on the east side and parclose
- Parclose has 6 square-headed traceried bays
- 2-centred granite doorway to rood loft
- rebated for a door
ROOFS
- Unceiled waggon roof to nave
- Moulded spine
- Clerestory window above north aisle arcade
- 3 lights with ferramentia
- Ceiled wagon roofs to north aisle
- South transept with carved bosses
- At the intersections of the ribs
CHANCEL
- C19 piscina on north wall
- Stone carved reredos
- Pointed arched niches on each side
- Cusped headed inner arches
- Supported on colonettes
- C19 wooden altar table
- Altar frontals embroidered to Image’s designs
MONUMENTS
- South transept middle
- Tomb-chest
- Probably to William de Tracey
- Early C14
- Incised figure of priest with chalice on lid
- 7 bays of blend arches with Decorated style tracery to south side
- With floriated spandrels
- Carved panel of crucifixion at west end
- North side has from left to right
- 6 smaller cusped headed arches with 3 shields above
- Then 2 arches similar to south side
- Then 2 arches containing figures in low relief in the niches
- South transept west wall
- Wall monument by Harry Hems of Exeter
- To Mary Heddon,
- Died 1889
- Outer and inner colonnettes flank cartouche of 3 female figures
- South transept south wall
- C19 marble wall monument
- By R Scamp of Ilfracombe.
- Nave north Wall
- Wall monument with original painted decoration
- To Mary and Thos Newel
- Early C18
- Oval medallion
- Large scallop above
- Putti each side in the swags
- Cherubs bust below on small consoles
Other information
A beautiful church beautifully situated
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