Description

SS 21 SE KILKHAMPTON KILKHAMPTON

4/17 Church of St James,
29.9.61 Kilkhampton

- I

Parish church. C12 inner south door, late C15/early C nave, aisles, roofs,
west tower, vestry. 1567 porch built for John Grenville, east end rebuilt 1860 by
Sir G G Scott. Inner south door freestone, tower slatestone ashlar brought to
course, chancel and aisle walls largely slatestone ashlar with granite dressings,
slate roofs. Fine Romanesque inner south door, church otherwise Perpendicular.
Tall, 3 stage, battlemented tower with setback buttresses with offsets; moulded
granite strings and crocketted pinnacles. West door arch moulded and recessed
beneath square-headed architrave with hoodmould and label stops, quatrefoils in
roundels carved in spandrels. West window with Perpendicular tracery has hood
mould and label stops. South side of tower has 4-centred arched opening in
rectangular architrave at second stage. 3-light belfry openings with slate louvres
under blind tracery. Uncusped 4-light north and south aisle windows under
hoodmoulds with label stops, west windows to north and south aisles 2-light, C19
with hoodmoulds truncated by tower buttresses. Small, segmental arched south door
into the Grenville chapel has hoodmould with label stops and stone carved with the
Grenville arms. Above the door is a cusped ogival statue niche flanked by armorial
reliefs including the Grenville arms, probably recut. Lean-to vestry on north side
has granite coping, 2-light uncusped window and narrow square-headed door with
replaced lintel. Circa C17 4-plank vestry door retains strap hinges terminating in
fleur de lys finials, Suffolk latch with iron loop drop and cruciform backplate,
key escutcheon. Shallow rectangular rood stair turret on north side. North door
has pointed, moulded arch and C12 beakhead incorporated into stone relieving arch
above. East end has C19 clasping buttresses to aisles and buttresses on either
side of east window. Good 5-light 1860 east window, deeply recessed with moulded
architrave, hoodmould and label stops.
East windows of aisles similarly recessed and moulded with 1860 rectilinear
tracery. South porch has square headed architrave and hoodmould with carved label
stops. 4-centred outer door is carried on engaged shafts with cylindrical, roll-
moulded capitals. Above the arch is carved "Porta cell 1567". Porch has arched
brace C19 roof and slatestone, oak-topped benches which stop short of the inner
door. Inner door has 4 orders of carving carried on colonettes with waterleaf
feet. The soffit of each order is also carved. Inner order has beakheads holding
a roll moulding, zig-zags on soffit; second order has zig-zag and further zig-zags
on soffit forming unusual design (q.v. Morwenstow); third order is similar but has
lozenges carved on corner between soffit and order; outer order has zig-zags with
roll moulding on soffit. Variety of capitals to colonettes, including heads and
pine cones.
Interior, tall 7-bay conventional granite Perpendicular arcades, each with 2
bays to the chancel. Tall tower arch springing high up from moulded piers.
Unceiled waggon roofs throughout, with carved ribs and bosses, probably partly
renewed. Chancel waggon slightly lower with angels carved at wall plate level.
Fine set of C16 benches with carved rectangular ends and moulded rails. 22
benches, each with 1 carved end in south aisle, 19 similar in north aisle. 16
benches each with 2 carved ends in south nave, 15 similar in north nave. Carvings
include symbols of the Passion, armorial bearings and Renaissance arabesques, many
with unconventional borders (q.v.Launcells). Those benches facing the chancel have
carved frontals with some fine profile heads. C16 granite font with octagonal
bowl has puzzling inscription in inverted Lombardic letters. Continuous frieze
runs below inscription, armorial panels carved below frieze, blind panels on stem.
North and south doors circa C16, west door similar, refronted on exterior. Organ
rebuilt 1958 retains C19 pipes and some good C19 carving. Numerous wall monuments
attributed to Michael Chuke of Kilkhampton (q.v. Churchyard Memorial), said to have
been a pupil of Grinling Gibbons. All but 2 recently repainted, those retaining
earlier colouring are monument above vestry door to the Rev. John Coryndon, d.1711:
Corinthian columns support a moulded cornice and segmental pediment, drapery
knotted round columns, carved decoration of swags, skull corbels, kneeling angels.
On south wall of Grenville Chapel, monument to Sir Bevill Grenville, erected 1711
has Corinthian columns supporting a cornice and is flanked by panels carved with
military trophies. The large Royal Arms of George II on the north wall, and the
fine Grenville Arms above the rood screen are also attributed to Chuke. Wall
monument in Grenville chapel to Algernon Cartaret Thynne, died 1917 signed W
Goscombe John, R.A.Marble tablet with bronze reliefs of Palestine and a bronze
statue of horse and rider above. Many examples of good C19 glass, mostly by
Clayton and Bell, including a fine east window and some important glass by the firm
made in 1860. Churchyard contains numerous late C18 and early C19 good slate
headstones with inscribed verses. James Harvey, visiting Kilkhampton in the early
C18 was inspired by the "dumb monitors" as he described the memorials, to write his
extraordinary "Meditations Among the Tombs". Meditations and Contemplations, 1745-
46.

Listing NGR: SS2525611340

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17529187

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.

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