Swimbridge Church of St James Basics
Listed building grade 1
Regularly open
Address
Church of St James
Swimbridge
Barnstaple
EX32 0PR
Geographical coordinates
551°03’09.6″N 3°58’11.5″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
Swimbridge church is awesome, a deep magnificence of ancient art, the stone and wood carving caressing the heart for long after a visit.
The outside is grand sight too, with a 13th tower and 14th century spire, and mighty pretty with it, sitting in a very pretty village too.
Inside there is a near original 16th century rood screen covered in Renaissance and Transitional-Gothic detailing. This alone is worth coming back for again and again.
Then there are some very lovely roof bosses, one showing a monk biffing a demon in the hooter; apart from the dynamism of the design it is pure, simple fun as well.
Still more, there is a 15th century stone pulpit, deliciously carved with a touch of the original colour remaining. Yet another magnificence.
Medieval bench ends join the party as well, along with Victorian copies that are equally good.
The star though surely has to be the 16th century font cover, possibly unique in the country, covered with Renaissance carving and standing over three meters high. It seriously rocks.
Combine all this with some fine Victorian stained glass and a variety of goodly wall memorials, plus more, this church so cries to be visited and revisited like an old and deeply fascinating friend.
Outline
PLAN
- West tower
- Nave
- North and south aisles
- Chancel
- North and south chancel chapels
AGE
- West tower probably C13
- Broach spire added in C14
- Remainder of church rebuilt in C15 and C16
- Restored 1880
BUILT FROM
- South aisle and south porch of dressed stone
- Remainder of stone rubble
- Slate roofs with coped gable ends
- Apex crosses
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- Battered plinth
- Unbuttressed
- Patterned lead broach spire
- Releaded 1892 by J Smyth.
- Medieval roof structure of spire intact
- Pointed arches to the lucernes on each face
- Small single light window on south side
- Large clock face on west side
SOUTH AISLE
- Pointed arched west window
- 3 trefoil-headed lights
- Hoodmould
- Embattled parapet to south aisle and porch
- Sundial dated 1755 towards west end of south side
- C19 straight-headed 3-light window to left of porch
- To right of porch, 2 straight-headed C19 windows
- 3-lights flanking ashlar buttress
- With offsets
- Priest’s doorway
- C19 door
- Moulded surround
- Large stone voussoirs
- East window of 3 cinquefoil-headed lights
- Pointed arched hoodmould
CHANCEL
- 4-light east window
- Perpendicular tracery
- Corbel to right side of hoodmould
- Priest’s chamber has first floor window
- Hollow-chamfered surround
- Iron stanchions and saddle bars
- Hoodmould with returned ends
- Pointed head to stone tablet to daughter of Tristram Chichester
- Iron stanchions and saddle bars
- Ashlar stack with offsets to right side
PORCH
- C16 pointed arched doorway
- Pevsner ‘A’ type moulding to the surround
- Lipped capitals to the shafts and hoodmould
- Ceiled waggon roof
- Variously carved bosses
- At the intersections of the moulded ribs and longitudinal members
- 4-centred arch to inner doorway
- Hollow ogee roll moulded surround and jambs
- Horns stops to the base of the jambs
- C19 plank door of 2 leaves
NORTH AISLE
- East end pointed arched window
- Perpendicular style
- 5 lights with hoodmould
- 4 buttresses with offsets to north wall
- 3 tall straight-headed windows
- Three 4-centred arched lights
- With fillet and cavetto mullions
- All with iron stanchions and saddle bars
- West end Pointed arched window
- Perpendicular style
- 3 lights with hoodmould
NORTH TRANSEPT
- North side
- Large 4-light window
- Perpendicular style
- Flanked by 2 buttresses
Interior
VARIOUS
- Spectacular rich interior fittings and furnishings
- Unmoulded pointed tower arch
- Round headed timber nave chancel arch
- Cusped-headed panelling
- 5 pairs of pews to each side of rear of nave
retain some timber from C16 bench ends- Otherwise C19 bench ends
- With Renaissance style carvings
- C17 chest to nave
- 3 panelled front with lunettes to the head rail
- Small pointed arched piscina to east wall of north chapel
ROOFS
- Continuous waggon roof to south aisle
- Every fourth rib moulded with carved bosses
- At the intersections of the ribs and purlins
- Which are colour painted
- The east end section is ceiled with 4 panels
- Foliated centre
- Corner bosses to the crossed ribs
- Wagon roof to nave
- Every third rib moulded
- Carved bosses at the intersections of 3 tiers of purlins and ridge purlin
- Ribs supported on carved wall plates
- Which retain some original painted decoration
- Demi-angel corbels to the main ribs
- 4 sections at east end are ceiled
- Crossed ribs spanning 2 sections
- With 2 foliated stars in each section
- Ceilure continues into the raking roof of the clerestory
- 3-light timber mullioned window
- North aisle waggon roof repeats that of the south aisle
- But ends at chapel arch
- Richly carved leaf decoration to the wall plates
Painted decoration survives to the main ribs and purlins - Unceiled chancel roof has no purlins
- Without decoration
- On south side the wall plate is carried on short corbelled out wall posts
- Moulded soffits to the braces
- Quatrefoil tracery to the spandrels
- Trabeated ceiling to north chancel chapel
Painted decorations to the main beams - Large richly carved bosses to the intersections
- And at the ends of the cross members
CHANCEL
- On south side
- Combined C19 piscina, 1/2-sedilia and double 4-centred arched sedilia
- C19 choir seating with poppy head bench ends
- Altar back (reredos)
- Enriched C19 marble and stone carved reredos
- By Hems and Son of Exer
- To memory of Smyth family
- Kneeling angels in ogee-headed recesses
- Flame finials to blind traceried pilasters
- Outside saints figures in niche
- Slender marble colonnettes
- Supporting triple trefoil-headed arched canopies
- Central crucifixion scene
- 2 figures each side of Christ
- Has similar enlarged triple-arched canopy
- Enriched foliated cornice and cresting
FONT
- Remarkable
- An enriched canopy
- 2 angels bearing shields at the corners
- Foliated cornice
- Crossed ribs to the soffit of the canopy
- Continuing down the coving
- Carved emblems to each section
- Sides of the canopy splay inwards
- Cable moulded muntins, each side 3 panels high
- Rich Renaissance carvings on each panel
- Font is of 3 tiers with 7-facets
- Bottom panels are plain
- Except one to rear which has C16 scrolling design
- 2nd tier is carved with Renaissance details in all panels
- Front 2 panels to left and 3 panels are hinged
- Open in the manner of cupboard doors to reveal lead-lined bowl
- Top tier has plain panels
- Separated by balustered pilasters
- Crocketted finials and turned pinnacles
- Canted canopy
- Small round arches to each ca’t
- Crown cover with open trusses
- Cable moulded central shaft
ARCADES
- South and north arcades of 3 bays
- Pevsner ‘B’ type mouldings
- South arcade has lipped capitals only to the main shafts
- North arcade has standard leaf capitals
- Chancel arcade on south side has ‘A’ type responds
- With small capitals
- Deep sunk chamfer to the soffit of the arch
- Blind trefoil headed tracery to west side of chancel/nave pier
- North chancel arcade is similar to north nave arcade
- But with a deeper arch
- The pier from which the chancel and nave arcades
- And also the north chancel chapel arch
- Which is pointed with Pevsner ‘B’ type mouldings
- And with crowned human head corbel on the north side
- All spring
- Have leaf capitals to north-east side
- 2 demi-angels clutching shields and small figure to east side
- Blind trefoil-headed panels to west and south sides
- Eastern respond of north chancel arcade has leaf capitals
- With additional short bay
- Partially infilled with a small pointed arch on west side
- Vestry doorway across the angle
- Moulded surround
ROOD SCREEN
- Fine square-framed chancel screen across length of church
- Restored 1880
- 11 bays with half end bays
Openings to centre and a 2nd bay in from each side - The 3rd and 4th bays are cut through with rectangular openings
- That to north side said to be site of Altar of St Katherine
- Right side inserted in 1880 for sake of uniformity
- Heavily carved cornice
- Crested with brattishing below
- 4 large and small alternating bands of carving
- Each bay of 4 lights with slender muntins
- Cable mouldings to the central stiles
- Richly carved outer stiles carry the ribbed vaulting beneath the loft
- Panelled base
- Each panel with various naturalistic carvings to the ogee-headed lights
PULPIT
- Fine stone late C15
- 5 facets to drum
- Standing on slender octagonal stem
- Blind cusped panels to the head of each facet
- Foliated capitals
- Demi-angels to the base of each muntin
- Crocketted finials
- Figures of Saints Paul, Peter, Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome
- On each of five facets
- With ogee canopies, leaf crockets and Tudor ornament to the head
- C19 winder stone steps
- Wrought iron stick balusters
- Moulded hand rail
- Thin band of ogee-headed pierced tracery between the balusters
MONUMENT
- Chancel north side
- Marble tablet to John Nott Esq d.1856
- North chancel chapel, east wall
- Pedimented plaque dated 1793 above pedimented wall tablet
- With anthemion acroteria
- To John Nott of Tordown d.1809
- Wall monument to Charles Cutcliffe and Christina his sister d.1721
- Oil painting of bust in oval medallion
With small shields each side and putti above - Resting on Ionic pilastered tablet with scrolled wings
- Skull in base
- Marble wall monument below this
- By Stephens of Exeter
- Oval plaque with Classical urn to one side on plinth
- To William and Elizabeth Hole d.1819 and 1822
- North wall of chancel chapel
- Classical urn to elliptical wall tablet
- To Priscilla Thorne of Bristol d.1783 and daughter
- By T Paty and Sons of Bristol
- West wall
- Wedge-shaped metal plaque
- Fluted pilasters supporting semi-circular arch
- Inscription 1674 above
- HL inside the arch
- WS above HY to left
- CG above AR outsid
- WARDEN below
- North wall north aisle
- Large wall monument with small urns flanking achievement
- Above shouldered surround
- With puttis to each side
- Winged skull below
- To Lewis Rosier d.1676
- With original painted decoration
- Oval medallion with enriched scrolling surround
- To Henry Chichester of Hall d.1736
- Skull below 2 putti
- Achievement above
- At west end
- 6 clappers from old bells on wooden plaque 1928
- South aisle from west end
- 3 pedimented marble wall tablets to members of Joce family, and Elizabeth Cowell
- Mid C19
- Pedimented wall tablet with obelisk to centre of pediment
- And flanking figures
- Roundel with skull above Ionic pilasters
- With scrolled wings with shields to each side
- Below with cherubs heads
- To John Rosier d.1658
- Wall monument to Tristram Chichester d.1654
- Large achievement with broken scrolled pediment above
Ionic pilasters with shields to sides and below - Oval medallion with cherubs heads to the spandrels
- Containing bust of male figure leaning on hand
- Scrolled surround to epitaph below
STAINED GLASS
- C19 stained glass east window
- And east window of south
Other information
A remarkable survival of high quality Late Medieval carving in a beautiful village.
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
