St Brannock's Church is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

church in

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There a ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. According to legend it was founded by

Saint Brannock Brannoc of Braunton or Saint Brannock was a Christian saint associated with the village of Braunton in the English county of Devon. His feast is 7 January. Life The history of St Brannoc is confused – some sources conflate him with Saint Br ...

, a 6th-century Christian saint. It became a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on 25 February 1965.

History

The present church dates from the thirteenth century and stands on the foundations of its Saxon predecessor,Billing, Joanna, p.75, ''The Hidden Places of Devon''
Retrieved May 2012 though Christian worship on the site may date back to as early as the 6th century.Official Leaflet St Brannock was an early Christian saint who is believed to have migrated from

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

to establish a monastery at Braunton in the 6th century.

Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

states that St Brannoc was "almost certainly" buried beneath the high altar.Betjeman, Sir John, ''Betjeman’s Best British Churches''
Retrieved May 2012 Local tradition suggests that St Brannock originally built his church on a hill overlooking Braunton, but that the church collapsed. Following this setback, in a dream, the Saint was told to look for "a sow and piglets", and that this would be the site to build his new church. This story is commemorated in one of the stained glass windows and also in a roof

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

of the church, which features a sow feeding her litter. The church was seriously damaged as a result of an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attack in July 2003. The fire completely destroyed the gallery housing the organ pipes, which dated to the 16th century, as well as damaging pews and an antique Bible. As a result of this, services were temporarily moved to nearby Brannock Rooms while restoration work went ahead. Following the attack, posters were placed around Braunton, threatening the perpetrators with revenge. At a trial in December, three pre-teen boys were found guilty of starting the fire and given 12-month supervision orders.

Architecture and fittings

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

described the church as "one of the most interesting, and also one of the most puzzling in North Devon", mentioning its massive, apparently Norman, south tower; its lead-covered

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

, similar to that at St Peter and St Paul at

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

; and the nave which despite being 34 ft wide, has no

aisles Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...

. Betjeman describes the church as "not very prepossessing but well worth visiting", and as having "a remarkably wide

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

covered by a fine roof enriched with fifteenth century bosses". It also boasts an early Norman font, a Jacobean pulpit, and fourteenth-century carved wooden pews, which are listed. A series of 16th-century chestnut pew ends are of carved woodwork; one has a likeness of St Brannoc with a cow, testament to a tale surrounding him that a neighbour stole his cow, slaughtered it, put it into a stewing pot, and upon shouting the cow's name, Brannoc brought his cow back to life, reassembling it on the spot. The tower of St Brannock's Church is over 700 years old and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

which has an arch and three lancets is about the same age. The 15th-century south chapel has a brass

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid skin an ...

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

that has been re-used), hinged so that both sides are visible. The church is reportedly haunted. The earliest surviving feature is a Saxon burial stone. There is a chest that may have come to England with the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

. The church's war memorial was dedicated on 2 November 1921 in memory of soldiers from the village who died during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Constructed of stone from

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, it was restored in 2009.

Events

St Brannock's Church frequently holds musical events, including a performance by folk singer

Julie Felix Julie Ann Felix (June 14, 1938 – March 22, 2020) was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on h ...

. It has also held exhibitions of local culture and history. St.Brannock's church nave - geograph.org.uk - 879788.jpg, 13th-century nave with 16th-century pews St Brannock's church, Braunton - geograph.org.uk - 744072.jpg, Exterior view from the northwest St.Brannock's church - geograph.org.uk - 878461.jpg, Exterior view from the south

References

Betjeman, Sir John, ''Betjeman’s Best British Churches''
Retrieved May 2012 *St Brannock's church official leaflet

Notes

External links

St.Brannock's church official site
Retrieved May 2012
St Brannock's Holy Well, Braunton
Retrieved May 2012

Retrieved May 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Braunton, Saint Brannock 14th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Devon Grade I listed churches in Devon St Brannock's Church