Church of St Mary and St Benedict, Buckland Brewer facts for kids
St Mary and St Benedict is a special church in the village of Buckland Brewer near Bideford in North Devon. It's a Church of England parish church, meaning it serves the local community. This church is part of a larger group of churches called the Hartland Coast Team Ministry. It has been around for a very long time, starting in the 14th century, with parts added in the 15th century. Some parts are even older, from around 1100! The building was fixed up a lot in the 1800s and is now a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historical site.
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A Long History of the Church
The church you see today is actually the third one built on this spot! The very first church was probably built around the year 1100. We know that the first priest, Sir Walter de Denetone, started working here in 1279.
Sadly, the first church was destroyed by a fire around 1390. But guess what? A beautiful, carved Norman arched doorway survived the fire! This old doorway is still used as the main entrance to the church today.
The church was rebuilt around 1399. For a while, it belonged to a place called Torre Abbey. But in 1539, King Henry VIII took it over, and ever since then, the ruling king or queen has been in charge of choosing the priest.
Bad luck struck again in 1769 when lightning hit the church, causing another big fire. You can still see fire damage on some pillars inside! Later, in 1877, severe storms caused more damage. This led to a big restoration project from 1878 to 1880, which helped make the church strong again.
What the Church Looks Like
The church we see now was started around 1399. It's made from strong, squared slate stone. The main parts of the church, like the nave (the main seating area), the south aisle (a side section), and the chancel (the area around the altar), were all greatly repaired by an architect named Samuel Hooper between 1878 and 1880.
Next to the chancel is a special area called the "Orleigh Chapel." This is one of the oldest parts of the church, along with the tower. It has some interesting wall monuments.
The church also has a unique 16th-century stone door, called the priest's door. It's carved with designs of leaves and shields. This door was actually damaged on purpose during the English Civil War! It leads to a passage that connects to the old 15th-century parish schoolroom. This room was fixed up in 1880 and is now used as a parish hall. Most of the church's windows were added during the Victorian restoration in the late 1800s.
Inside the chancel, you'll find two special basins called piscinae, which were used for washing sacred vessels. The one on the right has a piece from the 14th century. The beautiful carved screen behind the altar, called the reredos, is from the late Victorian period. The roofs of the chancel, nave, and south aisle are also from the 1800s.
The nave has a row of arches on its south side from the 15th century. You'll also see 19th-century choir stalls, benches, a pulpit (where the sermon is given), a lectern (where readings are done), and a screen near the tower. The pulpit has eight old oak panels from an even older pulpit. The font, which is used for baptisms, is shaped like an urn and was carved from local stone in 1771.
The south aisle has five sections leading to the nave. The gabled porch, which is the covered entrance, is from the 15th century. Above the 15th-century doorway, there's an 18th-century sundial. Inside the porch, to the right, you can find a 14th-century stoup (a basin for holy water). Above the Norman doorway, there's a small niche for a statue, dating to about 1200. This doorway is decorated with cool carvings of beakhead and chevron patterns.
The church tower, which is at the west end of the building, is 76 feet tall! Both the tower and its large window are from the 15th century. The church has a set of six bells. They were remade in the village in 1825 and again in 1899 by a famous bell-making company called John Taylor & Co from Loughborough. The founder of this company was actually born in Buckland Brewer, and there's a brass plaque in the church to remember him.
The Churchyard
The churchyard is the area around the church where people are buried. It's the resting place for local Anglicans and Methodists, and used to be for Bible Christians too. You can also find three graves here from World War II, marked with special headstones from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Special Monuments Inside
Inside the Orleigh Chapel, there's a fancy wall monument for John Davie (1640-1710). He was an important person in Bideford and even took statements during the Bideford witch trial in 1682. The monument also remembers his wife, Mary, and their daughter-in-law, Juliana Davie, who died from smallpox. John Davie bought a nearby estate called Orleigh Court in 1684.
Close by is another monument for Anthony Dennis (who died in 1641) and his second wife, Gertrude Grenville. It has Ionic columns on the sides. Below them, you can see figures of their eleven children. Eight of them are kneeling, and three are lying down, which shows they died when they were very young. This monument was put up in 1643.
Between these two monuments, there's a unique memorial for Phillip Vening, who died in 1658 when he was just six years old. It's made of colored marble with black slate inscriptions. It shows him leaning his head on his hand, with his elbow resting on a skull.
You can also find monuments for other important people, like John Taylor (1827-1906), the famous Loughborough bellfounder who was born in the village. In the south aisle, there's a stone tablet for Midshipman William Radford Caddy, who drowned in 1823 while trying to save a friend on a ship called HMS Windsor Castle. Above that, there's another monument for his father, John Caddy (who died in 1822). In the church's south-east corner, there are memorials to the brave men from the village who died during World War I and World War II.
Gallery
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Memorial to John William Taylor, bellfounder of Loughborough
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The baptismal font dates to 1771
