Tuesday 29 May 2012

Some Exeter Ambling – St Michael and All Angels, Pinhoe.


 
I have previously mentioned my walk to this church and its peaceful surroundings while staying in Exeter. The most rural of the churches in Exeter, this attractive little church is set in a neat church yard with a fine view over Exeter. 

There would have been a wooden Saxon church on this site in the tenth century.  It was was burnt during the invasion by the Danes in AD1001.  The village of Pinhoe was raided that year by a band of Vikings and the vicar rode to Exeter by donkey for more arrows for the defenders. Although it was to no avail – church and village were burned to the ground - the priest was awarded an annual payment of 16 shillings for his bravery.  It is said that this sum was still paid to the Vicar of Pinhoe in Victorian times.


The main body of the present church was constructed of Heavitree stone (a local red sandstone) and Thorverton stone in the early part of the fifteenth century.
  

 It is in the Perpendicular style.  


The north aisle was probably added in the sixteenth century.





I understand there is a typical Devon fifteenth century wagon roof with carved bosses and a fifteenth century screen and pulpit. The font is the oldest feature in the church with a Saxon base and would probably have been in the earlier wooden building.    


But sadly the porch door was locked.  

  
I find it really aggravating when rural churches are locked. 


Not only does it deny one the opportunity for a period of quiet reflection but it also stops one seeing the interior – no matter how far one has travelled to do so.   

The register dates from 1561.

In the nineteenth century the church was in a very poor state and restoration work was started. The chancel was rebuilt, the nave, aisle and tower restored.  There was new flooring, roof repairs, a vestry and porch. Stairs to the rood were discovered.  This work was completed in 1880.

Apart from one small area all the stained glass is modern but other than this little  piece in the porch I was unable to see any of it. 


I found this most evocative headstone in the churchyard.  It has no carving, no mason’s work, ‘just’ a piece of stone and yet it somehow moved me more than any of the traditional ones.


Some of the old headstones were covered in lichens and mosses.




One of my favourite features was the 17th-century, thatched lychgate.  It's wonderul to think that people were walking through here at the time of the English Civil War.



19 comments:

  1. Wow! I agree with the frustration of doors being locked :/ Wonderful sharing of it all, as you could get to it. Odd roofing on the little hut.

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  2. I agree that it's really sad that churches have to be locked, but the fear of vandalism and theft is very real. Ancient stone statues, stained glass windows, even old oak pews are much prized by (unscrupulous) purveyors of garden ornaments and statuary. In fact, it needn't be a church -- my niece had a lovely stone bench stolen out of her front garden in Solihull in the midst of a dinner party. When they walked out the front door to see their guests off, the bench was gone, and even though the police were called, the expensive bench was never recovered.

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    1. A lock isn't going to stop a serious thief, Carol, and they tend to operate by night when I would have no objection to the church being locked. Strangely, all of the urbasn churches in Exeter appear to be unlocked - the opposite of the situation on Merseyside.

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  3. I didn't realize the Vikings got so far south in England. I'll have to brush up on my history.

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  4. Such a lovely tour. Thanks so much for allowing us to tag along. I love to see church interiors and exteriors as well. I visited St. Patrick's cathedral in Manhattan and it is awesome.

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  5. Sorry you couldn't get inside, but the photos of the outside are splendiferous! Hopefully, since the weather was good, you had a nice rest on an outside bench someplace.

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  6. Beautiful pictures, and although you could not go inside, the weather was perfect on your visit! The tower looks to be of different building material than the rest of the church. Was it added later, or restored?
    And maybe there would have been the possibility to borrow the key somewhere close by?

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    1. No, Meike, I searched in the porch - where there were details of the services and there wasn't even a phone number for the vicar let alone a contact for the key.

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    2. I've always assumed that the vicar lives in the house next to the Church (that could be why there's no phone number if they expect people to knock).

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  7. It's very sad (and, of course, very irritating) when one can't get inside churches. It would be a good idea though if churches had a contact person from whom a key could be borrowed (they could ask for a deposit for its safe return). I suspect that the average thief isn't going to borrow a key and the serious burglar doesn't need one. Perhaps we could try when we are down in July.

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  8. I think that looking round old churches is one of my favourite occupations. Sometimes there is so much to see, as in this one. It's almost like a story book of the community's history.

    This makes it particularly sad when they are locked. My own little response to this, is to always give money to a church which is left UNlocked for visitors. Sometimes people do not just want to look around, they need to go somewhere quiet and spiritual.

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    1. That's exactly my response, Jenny. Even if it's the briefest of visits I make a contribution and it actually occurred to me while I was there that they must lose a lot of money by keeping it locked.

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  9. Enjoyed this tour through your photos and words. Many of the rural country churches here {rural Minnesota} have been abandoned and the stained glass windows have been broken.

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  10. What glorious weather you had, makes for some great pics. I have never seen a headstone that was so obviously a stone, I agree it seems more poignant than an conventional headstone.

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  11. The curch I serve in Washtucna Washington was always unlocked until the sheriffs told us that they would stop inspecting our building unless we locked the doors. So we locked them but the back door has a combination lock with little push buttons for the number, and the numbers to get in are:1,2,3,4. If one does not know the combination, it is written on the eaves above the door along with instructions to follow, in case the combination doesn't work the first time. We have the oldest church for many miles around (it was built in 1904 AD) long after any Vikings passed through the area.

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  12. What a lovely old church. I understand your disappointment at not being able to get in. I think most churches here now are only open when there is someone around (staff or volonteers) to keep an eye on things. And sadly I have to say I understand it; there is too big a risk of vandalism otherwise. In my town I think our oldest church is usually open for a couple of hours at noon all year round - but not all day. Many churches are open more in the summer, for travelling tourists. (Our main tourist season here is July to mid August.) Some of these are designated as "road churches" which means they do not only keep the church open for a certain number of hours per week during that period, but also provide public toilets, guide/someone to talk to, and usually also the possibility to buy a cup of coffee.

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  13. No church should ever be locked in my opinion. We are not religious at all so I am not sure why I feel so strongly about it. When we bought our house here in rural Wales seven years ago I at least was in part influenced by the fact that the church in Caerwys (a beautiful and ancient one) was open. Yes, there is vandalism and thievery but to live our lives as if that matters more than openness and generosity is to lose more than things. Gets down off soapbox, a little shamefacedly (still thinks she is right though).

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  14. I agree, Elizabeth, one cannot give in to crime and live one's life in the shadow of it. Do all one can to protect valuables (i.e. don't leave the 'church plate' on show) but accept that there msy be a price to psy - if you happen to be one of the few unlucky ones. One of the problems with all crime is that one snexational story can hide millions of quiet lives.
    (Now also needs handing down from soapbox!)

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  15. Great pictures. I would be interested to know how many churches are called St. Michael and All Angels. I have come across lots.My daughter was even married in one.

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