Dodbrooke Devon
Church of St. Thomas à Becket. Dodbrooke Devon,
The village of Dodbrooke could have derived its name from a Saxon thane called Dodda. Under Saxon law, no man could hold this office unless there was a place of worship on his land. This did not need to be a church: it was sometimes a wayside cross round which Christians gathered. The base of Dodbrooke's ancient wayside cross still exists, forming the base of the war memorial on the right of the church gateway.
If there was a Saxon church on this site, no trace of it remains.
The present building ,constructed of rubble stone with ashlar dressings under slate roofs, was built in the 15c, replacing an earlier Norman church.
There is reason to believe that this earlier church dedicated to Thomas A Becket, martyred in 1170, was built by one of his murderers William de Tracy, who owned land stretching from about a mile up the Totnes road to a little south of where the present church stands. Certainly the surviving Norman font is of this date www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/z53601S7GB
The present church is Perpendicular in style, and consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and embattled west tower with six bells. The 14c tower was once topped by a spire, but this was removed in 1785.
The nave and south aisle date from c 1450 although the pillars and window tracery are simpler than some elsewhere because of the hardness of the granite from which they are carved. Each pillar in the southern arcade is a monolith and is said to have been brought from Hay Tor on Dartmoor.
The capitals of the pillars in the chancel are more ornate than those in the nave, and may be later, but their remarkable decoration reminds us that splendour increases as one approaches the altar. One of these capitals shows the Lacy Knot, the token of Bishop Lacy of Exeter who died in 1455, and thus gives a clue to the date of this part of the church. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6115qKSk69
The north aisle was once owned & maintained by the Champernownes of Dartington who were Lords of the Manor for many years. In the 17c the family allowed the aisle to fall into disrepair and eventually it had to be pulled down. The rest of the building was however well restored .
in 1886 / 1887 the people of Dodbrooke seized the opportunity to rebuild the north aisle and luckily for them, the church of South Huish, near Malborough, had fallen into disuse and ruin and its pillars and arches were brought here to form the northern arcade. Although it fits in well, one can see that this arcade is different from that in the south. At about the same time the west window was brought from South Pool. The chancel was also rebuilt The ceiling of the south aisle was taken down at the same time, exposing the oak roof, which has some fine carving and bosses.
The 15c porch probably replaced one from the earlier church. The inner doorway is earlier, and may be that of the original. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6DggxL9Xac
The late 15c / early 16c rood screen survives though partly destroyed in 16c , the central portion having been restored in 1897 by Harry Hems with the addition of a finely carved oak cornice, and a cross between angels over the central doorway. At the same time the north aisle portion was added. The cornice was copied from that in Combe-in-Teignhead church, and the angels from two on the reredos of St. Alban's Cathedral On the shields on the screens are recorded the names of all the incumbents of the parish from 1327 to modern times. . The groining is gone. There are paintings of saints on the lower panels, these have been repainted, but some of them are copies of the old. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/s6wp1873wt
An organ was built in 1874 at a cost of £210, defrayed by subscription, &c.
A window in the aisle is filled with stained glass, representing the Adoration of the Magi, in memory of two members of the Pearse family; the north-west window is in memory of the Harris and Phillipps families.
The registers date: baptisms, 1725; marriages, 1727; burials,
1727.
The poor have £265. a year from Sir J. Acland's charity, and 20s. left by John Peter, out of the tithes of Cornworthy. The parish lands vested in 1640, for the reparation of the church, &c., comprise twelve tenements.
Dodbrooke Devon
Church of St. Thomas à Becket. Dodbrooke Devon,
The village of Dodbrooke could have derived its name from a Saxon thane called Dodda. Under Saxon law, no man could hold this office unless there was a place of worship on his land. This did not need to be a church: it was sometimes a wayside cross round which Christians gathered. The base of Dodbrooke's ancient wayside cross still exists, forming the base of the war memorial on the right of the church gateway.
If there was a Saxon church on this site, no trace of it remains.
The present building ,constructed of rubble stone with ashlar dressings under slate roofs, was built in the 15c, replacing an earlier Norman church.
There is reason to believe that this earlier church dedicated to Thomas A Becket, martyred in 1170, was built by one of his murderers William de Tracy, who owned land stretching from about a mile up the Totnes road to a little south of where the present church stands. Certainly the surviving Norman font is of this date www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/z53601S7GB
The present church is Perpendicular in style, and consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and embattled west tower with six bells. The 14c tower was once topped by a spire, but this was removed in 1785.
The nave and south aisle date from c 1450 although the pillars and window tracery are simpler than some elsewhere because of the hardness of the granite from which they are carved. Each pillar in the southern arcade is a monolith and is said to have been brought from Hay Tor on Dartmoor.
The capitals of the pillars in the chancel are more ornate than those in the nave, and may be later, but their remarkable decoration reminds us that splendour increases as one approaches the altar. One of these capitals shows the Lacy Knot, the token of Bishop Lacy of Exeter who died in 1455, and thus gives a clue to the date of this part of the church. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6115qKSk69
The north aisle was once owned & maintained by the Champernownes of Dartington who were Lords of the Manor for many years. In the 17c the family allowed the aisle to fall into disrepair and eventually it had to be pulled down. The rest of the building was however well restored .
in 1886 / 1887 the people of Dodbrooke seized the opportunity to rebuild the north aisle and luckily for them, the church of South Huish, near Malborough, had fallen into disuse and ruin and its pillars and arches were brought here to form the northern arcade. Although it fits in well, one can see that this arcade is different from that in the south. At about the same time the west window was brought from South Pool. The chancel was also rebuilt The ceiling of the south aisle was taken down at the same time, exposing the oak roof, which has some fine carving and bosses.
The 15c porch probably replaced one from the earlier church. The inner doorway is earlier, and may be that of the original. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6DggxL9Xac
The late 15c / early 16c rood screen survives though partly destroyed in 16c , the central portion having been restored in 1897 by Harry Hems with the addition of a finely carved oak cornice, and a cross between angels over the central doorway. At the same time the north aisle portion was added. The cornice was copied from that in Combe-in-Teignhead church, and the angels from two on the reredos of St. Alban's Cathedral On the shields on the screens are recorded the names of all the incumbents of the parish from 1327 to modern times. . The groining is gone. There are paintings of saints on the lower panels, these have been repainted, but some of them are copies of the old. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/s6wp1873wt
An organ was built in 1874 at a cost of £210, defrayed by subscription, &c.
A window in the aisle is filled with stained glass, representing the Adoration of the Magi, in memory of two members of the Pearse family; the north-west window is in memory of the Harris and Phillipps families.
The registers date: baptisms, 1725; marriages, 1727; burials,
1727.
The poor have £265. a year from Sir J. Acland's charity, and 20s. left by John Peter, out of the tithes of Cornworthy. The parish lands vested in 1640, for the reparation of the church, &c., comprise twelve tenements.