DevonChurchLand Logo
  • Home
  • Church guides
    • All Devon regions
    •  
    • North Devon
    • East Devon
    • Mid Devon
    • South Devon
    • West Devon
    • Alphabetical list
    • Map of All Churches in Devon
  • Search
    • Article search
    • Image search
    • View images by tag
  • About
    • About me
    • Contact
    • Donate to DevonChurchLand
    • Newsletter sign-up
  • Blog
    • All blog posts
    • Church Details
    • Friends
    • Meanings
  •  
    • DevonChurchLand on Instagram
    • DevonChurchLand on Facebook
    • DevonChurchLand on Twitter
Home / Basics / Woolfardisworthy Church of All Hallows Basics

Woolfardisworthy Church of All Hallows Basics

Description
Gallery
Basics
Church Interior South Transept Twilight Window Woolfardisworthy

Listed building grade 1

Regularly open

Address
Old Market Drive
Woolfardisworthy
Bideford
EX39 5TY

Geographical coordinates

50°57’53.8″N 4°22’35.0″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)

Click here for more directions and church information

Devonchurchland says…

Way up near the north-west coast, Woolfardisworthy is a strongly built church with a powerful tower, more similar to church towers way down in South Devon than to most local churches.

There is an astounding survivor of a Norman south door, with beakheads and chevrons, and finely carved capitals to its embracing columns. A real stunner.

Inside the first thing is the light; minimal stained glass means the place is flooded, and the simplicity of the space underlines this.

An advantage here, for the centrepiece of the nave has to be the medieval benchends, with Instruments of the Passion, figures and sigils all carved on them. The highlight is a crucified Christ, terribly moving to see here. It is one of only about two or three that have survived on Devon benchends.

Coming close behind as a must see in the nave is the Norman font, a primeval creation, looking as if it was dragged from the nearby sea-pounded rocks at the dawn of creation.

The chancel is a place of peace and simplicity, and the East Window of 1925 is a nice slow burn. What seems at first glance like a good Crucifixion scene turns into something with much more depth on closer inspection.

The Richard Cole monument of 1610 is a beauty with a lot of its original colour remaining and a fine reclining figure in armour.

All in all, a fine church in some very pretty countryside.

Outline

PLAN

  • Nave
  • Chancel
  • North aisle
  • South transept
  • South nave porch
  • West tower

AGE

  • Built 1851 to replace an earlier churcNorman origin
  • Mid C15 tower,
  • C14 nave and transept
  • C16 aisle, porch
  • Vestry C19 incorporating some earlier roof
  • Restored in 1872

BUILT FROM

  • Coursed local rubble
  • Slate roofs
  • Stone coped verges

Exterior

WEST TOWER

  • Stage tower
    • Offsets between the stages
  • Central 5-sided crenellated stair-turret
    • Trefoiled and quatrefoiled openings on the south facade
  • Rising above the body of the tower
  • Embattled parapet with corner pinnacles
    • Probably of C18 or early C19
  • 2-light bell-chamber windows
    • 2 of them C15 with tracery,
  • Square-headed window, probably of similar date, to west
  • Large square corner buttresses on bottom stage of the tower
  • 3-light west window
    • Tracery replaced in the C19.
  • West doorway in a simple surround of 2 orders
    • Replaced C19

NAVE

  • 2-bay
  • 2 windows with virtually semi-circular heads
    • One of 2-lights, one of 4-lights
  • Openings and reveals ancient
  • Windows C19 Perpendicular style

SOUTH DOORWAY

  • Norman semi-circular head of 3 orders
  • Chevron and beak-head ornament
  • Carved cushion caps and hook shafts
  • Door probably C18

PORCH

  • Gable C19
  • Floor of C17 reused monument slabs

SOUTH TRANSEPT

  • Large 4-light window to the south
    • C19 tracery
  • 3-light basket-arch headed window to west
    • Also C19

NORTH AISLE

  • 5 bays
  • Chamfered stone cornice,
  • 3-light windows
  • 2 to east with original C16 tracery and jambs
  • One with tracery renewed in C19
  • One window blocked, probably in the C17
    • When a monument was introduced in the aisle
  • North wall with 2 C18 memorial slabs
    • Good incised lettering and emblems of mortality
  • North doorway
    • Simple chamfered stone 4-centred arch
  • Restored C19 east and west windows

CHANCEL

  • 2 late C16 windows to the south
    • 2-lights with square heads
    • Stopped labels
    • Cinquefoil at the head of each light
  • Between these a doorway with simple chamfered stone surround
    • Door possibly C18
  • 3-light east window
    • C19 Perpendicular tracery
    • Opening and reveals certainly earlier

VESTRY

  • Small C19 vestry at east end of north aisle
  • Chimney with projecting rubble breast
    • Brick shaft
  • 2-light C16 or C17 window reused to the east
  • Doorways in the aisle and chancel with C19 wrought-iron dog gates

Interior

NAVE

  • No chancel arch
  • Rubble tower arch possibly rebuilt
  • Internal walls retain much early plaster
  • Plaster barrel ceilings of C17 with large bold cornices
  • Probably covering medieval roofs

FLOORS

  • Flagstone floors
  • Replaced in chancel and part of nave with concrete slabs

AISLE

  • With what is believed to be an early altar
  • 5-bay arcade
    • Depressed 4-centred arches to aisle
    • With 4-clustered shafts
    • 2 with carved initials to caps

FONT

  • C13
  • Square bowl on central shaft of clustered columns
    • 4 angle shafts
  • Remains of ancient colour

FURNISHINGS

  • 2 C17 tables
  • C19 reading pulpit, altar rails and chains.
  • Good Perpendicular C15 or C16 carved bench ends in nave and north aisle
    • With various religious devices
  • Other C19 benches

STAINED GLASS

  • C19
  • East window of north aisle 1870
  • Main east window 1925 by Drake and Sons of Exeter
  •  

MONUMENT

  • Chancel
    • White marble oval wall tablet with urn above
      • To Mary Hammer died 1793
    • White marble Neo-Classical Tablet
      • To Bartholomew Prust of 1862
      • By Baker
  • North aisle
    • Good large early C17 or late C16  to a member of the Cole family
        • Ancient colour survives throughout
      • Trophy reliefs supporting round-arched recess
        • Framing reclining figure in armour
      • With inscription panel (faint) in strapwork cartouche
    • Flanking Corinthian columns support pulvinated frieze and attic storey
      • With 3 armorials in strapwork frames between 2 obelisks
    • Limestone grey marble wall tablet
      • To John Whitlake dated 1750
      • With Roman Doric frame to inscription
      • Urn above
      • Secondary cartouche in apron below
      • To Mary Whitlake (d.175 )
    • Plain rectangular white marble tablet
      • Inscribed to John Robbins
      • “who was thrown from his horse and perished in a deep snow on 11th Feb 1784”
    • Adjoining above is the apron of a missing C17 limestone monument
      • Skull wings, fronds and cherubim
      • Retaining ancient colour and gold
    • Tablet to Rev Joseph Prust Neo-Classical
      • White and grey marble
      • First half of C19 by Baker

Other information

This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

Woolfardisworthy Church of All Hallows Description Woolfardisworthy Church of All Hallows Gallery

Related Posts

Stained Glass Lamb Of God Victorian 19th Century Hawill

Basics, West Devon

Halwill Church of St Peter and St James Basics

Stained Glass Saint Andrew Medieval 15th Century East Allington

Basics, South Devon

East Allington Church of St Andrew Basics

Stained Glass Faith Hope Love Victorian 19th Century West Dow

Galleries, North Devon

West Down Church of St Calixtus Gallery

Recent articles

  • Halwill Church of St Peter and St James Description
  • East Allington Church of St Andrew Description
  • West Down Church of St Calixtus Description
  • Stoodleigh Church of St Margaret Description
  • Modbury Church of St George Description
  • Coldridge Church of St Matthew Description

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
New churches, new treasures, new beauties… keeping you up-to-date

Donate to DevonChurchLand
Please support DevonChurchLand, a non-commercial project.

The Devon Historic Churches TrustThe Devon Historic Churches Trust, caring for all the churches in Devon for nearly fifty years.

© DevonChurchLand 2020
The archive of churches in Devon UK

Terms, Privacy, Cookies, Accessibility. E&OE.

By browsing this website you agree to our use of Cookies and to our Terms. E&OE. If you do not agree then please close this website.

This website is finely crafted and designed in Devon by Rees Kenyon Design