Description

SX 6493-6593 SOUTH TAWTON SOUTH ZEAL

8/234 Chapel of St Mary including
22.2.67 boundary walls adjoining to north-
west
GV II*

Chapel of Ease. Dated 1713 but probably C15 or C15 origins, thoroughly renovated in
1877. Coursed blocks of granite ashlar on granite boulder footings, granite ashlar
detail; slate roof.
Plan: small chapel built on a north-west south-east axis. Simple unaisled
structure, rectangular in plan with a bellcote over the north-west gable.
Exterior: doorway in centre of north-west end wall; a 2-centred, almost round-
headed, arch with chamfered surround. Directly above a painted C19 olockface. On
the gable here is the pretty bellcote, the only feature left which suggests a date
earlier than 1713. Built of granite ashlar it has a crenellated parapet with corner
pinnacles. Each side is a 2-bay arcade of low segmental arches and the corners are
carved like minature set back buttresses with weathered coping. Both gable ends
have shaped kneelers and coping. Both sides have 2-window fronts of C19 replacement
2-light windows; flat-topped, pointed arch heads and sunken spandrels. Taller 3-
light version on south-east end is original. Above it a plaque dated 1713 and above
that another dated 1877.
Interior is wholly the result of the C19 refurbishment; arch-braced truss roof and
plain pine fittings and furniture.
A narrow plot of ground at the north-west end is enclosed by C19 low rubble walls
with rusticated granite coping with iron railings and twisted standards set into the
top. Gateway has granite ashlar posts.
Some of the larger boulders in the footings are said to be a type of granite not
found locally and therefore some religious, even pre-Christian, significance has been attributed to them. According to the parish churchwardens accounts the place
was used as a school in 1773. The chapel occupies a prominent central position in
South Zeal which is a special settlement being one of the few medieval boroughs in
Devon where a significant number of its late-medieval houses survive to a greater or
lesser extent.
Source: Devon SMR

Listing NGR: SX6508093580

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17537583

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey