St Peter's Church is a

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 Britai ...

parish church in

Noss Mayo Noss Mayo is a village in the civil parish of Newton and Noss in the South Hams district of South West Devon, England, about south-east of Plymouth. It lies about inland, on the southern bank of Newton Creek, an arm of the estuary of the Rive ...

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. Devo ...

, England. It was constructed in 1880–82 and designed by the London architect

James Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicara ...

. St Peter's has been Grade II* listed since 1960.

History

St Peter's was built to replace the Church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman as parish church of Revelstoke. The existing church had become dilapidated and was at an inconvenient distance for many residents of Noss Mayo. Furthermore the chapel of ease of 1839 in the village was deemed too small to adequately serve the population as a parish church. Edward Baring, who purchased the estate of

Membland Membland is an historic estate in the parish of Newton and Noss, Devon, situated about 8 miles south-east of the centre of Plymouth. The estate was purchased in about 1877 by Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (1828–1897), senior partner of B ...

in 1877, offered to construct a new church at his expense. The foundation stone was laid on 10 September 1880 by Mrs. Edward Baring in the presence of a large crowd of spectators. Some of the clergy members present included the rector of Revelstoke, Rev. H. Farwell Roe, Rev. Duke Yonge of

Newton Ferrers Newton Ferrers is a village and former manor and ecclesiastical parish in the English county of Devon; it is now in the civil parish of Newton and Noss. It is situated on a creek of the River Yealm estuary, about south-east of the City of Plym ...

and the Archdeacon of Totnes, Ven.

Alfred Earle Air Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Earle, (11 December 1907 – 27 March 1990) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War who later served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (1964–66), and Director General of British ...

. No contractor was sought for the construction of the church; local tradesmen carried out the work under the estate

Clerk of works A clerk of works or clerk of the works (CoW) is employed by an architect or a client on a construction site. The role is primarily to represent the interests of the client in regard to ensuring that the quality of both materials and workmanship are ...

, Mr. G. W. Crosbie. Construction work had reached roof level by October 1881, and the church nearly completed when it was consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter,

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life ...

, on 6 September 1882.

Architecture

St Peter's is built in the

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

and designed to accommodate 250 persons. It cost approximately £14,000 to build. The church is built of local stone with dressings in

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

granite, slate roofs and woodwork in English oak. The inside is made up of a nave, north and south aisles, chancel, west tower, south-west porch and vestry. Owing to the steep site, the vestry was constructed beneath the north aisle and accessed by stairs under an apse. The embattled tower, approximately 70 feet high, contains eight bells and chiming apparatus supplied by Messrs.

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...

. The four clock faces installed below each belfry window were made by Mr. Jump of London. Much of the interior's carved woodwork was undertaken by Mr.

Harry Hems Harry Hems (12 June 1842 – 5 January 1916) was an English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor who was particularly inspired by Gothic architecture and a practitioner of Gothic Revival. He founded and ran a large workshop in Exeter, Devon ...

of Exeter and the organ supplied by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd of London. Decoration of the church's interior continued throughout the decade, with much of the paintwork and stained glass being carried out to the design and under the supervision of Mr. J. T. Fouracre of Stonehouse. The ongoing work was described in 1886 by the ''Totnes Times and Devon News'' as "making the interior as elegant as the graceful lines of the edifice itself". A window memorial to Lady Revelstoke, following her death in 1892, was installed in 1893 and also supplied by Fouracre and Son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Church, Noss Mayo Churches in Devon Grade II* listed churches in Devon Churches completed in 1882 Gothic Revival church buildings in England