Church of St Mary the Virgin, Pilton
The Church of St Mary the Virgin in
History and exterior
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a large parish church and formerly formed part of the
The tower and South aisle date from the time of the Priory and on the church's North side the roof-line of the adjoining monastic buildings can still be seen, the cloister having run along the nave (hence the high sills of the North aisle windows) and traces of other taller buildings can be seen butting against the North tower. The church has a peal of eight bells some of which date from 1712.[3] The tower is described as `rebuilt' according to an inscription on the porch by Robert Nutting in 1696 as a result of damage during the Civil War; the church has later rebuilding from 1845 to 1850.[1][2]
Interior of the church
The North aisle has plain glass in its windows but some fragments of Medieval coloured glass can be seen in the
The
The rood screen that separates the chancel and Raleigh Chapel from the nave and South aisle has lost its coving and cresting while the spandrels have been filled with a variety of remnants from the missing pieces. The panels in the lower section once depicted the Apostles some of which have been restored to something like their original appearance. These images were added to the screen at the expense of Thomas Martyn who, when he died in 1510, left a legacy in his will for this purpose. Sometime later the images were obliterated with lime wash and red and green paint, while in Victorian times they were over-stained in brown. The expensive restoration process has been discontinued at present owing to cost but the aim is to restore further panels in the future.[7]
A plaque is located above a very narrow moulded doorway in the chancel which originally lead to an East end chapel with an adjoining cell which was inhabited by a recluse in 1329. The
Monuments
The church possesses some very notable monuments[2] including a standing sandstone wall monument to Sir John Chichester (d.1569) at the West end of the South East chapel with columns and strapwork cartouches. On the North wall of the chancel can be found a fine monument with original colour to Sir Robert Chichester (d.1627) with two rows of life-size kneeling figures, including children facing a double prie-dieu. The South aisle has a large wall monument to Christopher Lethbridge (d.1713) with elaborate achievements and putto heads.[1][2][8]
References
- ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Pilton (1385316)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: North Devon, Penguin Books (1952) pgs 135-136
- ^ a b c A Brief Guide to the Ancient Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Pilton (N.D.) pg 1
- ^ a b Guide, pg2
- ^ Guide, pg4
- ^ a b c Guide, pg3
- ^ Guide, pg5
- ^ Church of St Mary the Virgin, Pilton - Church Monuments Society database