Church Heritage Record 639321

West tower, 4-bay nave and north aisle and 2-bay chancel, south-west porch.

Nave approx 10m (35 ft) x 6m (19’6ft).

The dedication to St Pinnock seems to be unique. It is probably a corruption, perhaps of St Winnoc, traditionally considered a 7th/8th-century British saint, with a few churches in the South-West, Wales, and Scotland dedicated after him, the nearest being Lostwithiel St Winnoc.  The church building was a Norman foundation, originally a cruciform building.  Given the rounded shape of the enclosure it is not impossible that there was a pre-conquest chapel here, a “llan” as described above. 

The west tower was rebuilt in the late 14th century, the nave in the 15th century.  In the latter half of the 15th century the north transept was demolished and the south aisle with 4-bay arcade erected. The porch was added in the 16th century. The church is in the immediate area of the Battle of Bradoc Down in 1643, a Royalist victory, the main part of the site being in the care of English Heritage. 

The church was heavily restored in 1881-2 by Hine and Odgers of Plymouth, whereby the south transept and parts of the east end were rebuilt. Almost all the furnishings and fittings were replaced including screens and pulpit by Hems of Exeter.  Chancel panelled in 1943-4.

The building and site are of very high archaeological significance.

The architectural style is Perpendicular throughout, followed in the 19th-century restoration.  In general the church has a strong Victorian rather than medieval feel.  It provides the focus of a nice ensemble with the old school nearby, and the raised churchyard within its weathered curving walls is undeniably atmospheric.

The battlemented west tower is of three stages with corner pinnacles with crocketted finials surmounted by iron crosses. Angle buttresses set back on north and south faces. West door with wide 2-centred arch, partly recarved with chamfered jambs and a pyramid stop to the right-hand jamb, a hoodmould and plain drips. The projecting staircase turret on the north face is a major feature, with three canted sides. 3-light belfry openings on all four faces with cusped heads beneath rectangular hood moulds and drips under pointed relieving arches. The tower has a moulded plinth, with a simple plinth to the north aisle and nave interrupted by the rebuilt south transept. It dies out to the east of the priest’s door where the chancel was apparently rebuilt. 

The nave and chancel are under one continuous roof, the 4-bay north aisle has its own gable and is not quite the full length of the nave. There are cross finials to most gables, several fallen ones are piled in the tower space.

The west window of north aisle has 19th-century tracery of three lights under a 4-centred arch. To nave, to east of porch, is a 3-light 19th-century Perpendicular window with hoods in original opening. 19th-century lancet in west window of south transept. 19th-century 4-light Perpendicular window under 4-centred arch with some reused tracery to south and 19th-century 3-light window to east of south transept. South aisle with four 3-light Perpendicular windows with hoods and plain drips under wide 2-centred arches, the tracery partly restored.

The south porch is gabled with a rounded arched opening with cavetto-moulded jambs, beneath Victorian barge-boards.  External iron gate and bird screen.  The doorway within has a granite basket arch with voussoirs and a Cavetto-moulded frame with plain stops. The roof has a similar profile with carved wall-plates and bosses, with floral and leaf motifs. Stone benches.

There is a 3-light 19th-century window under a 4-centred arch in the south wall of the chancel, adjacent to an apparently reset priest’s door with 2-centred chamfered arch.  The north wall is pierced by a 4-light Perpendicular window in a wide 2-centred arch with hood and carved drips.  The east window is a 4-light with Perpendicular 19th-century tracery and reused jambs, under a 4-centred arch with hoods and 19th-century carved drips.

The outer walls are plastered, the aisle arcade bare stone.  Looking west first, there is a tall tower arch, 2-centred with chamfered jambs, with a glazed wooden screen.    The west doorway is blocked up, and there is a narrow pointed-arched doorway to the tower stair in the north wall. The old west doors are stacked against the wall adjacent to this.

Looking east, the 4-bay arcade is carried on granite piers with carved caps of Pentewan stone; some of these have green mould growing on them, especially at the west end, which spreads down the wall and across the font, clearly indicative of a serious damp problem here. The pews are of pine, carved square ends with blind tracery.

There are fine waggon roofs to the nave and chancel (no chancel arch or other partition) and the north aisle with moulded ribs and moulded stone wall plate. They are clearly partly restored with new bosses, apparently carved by Mr Moutrie of Tavistock.  The roofs would appear to date originally to the 16th century.

The broad south transept arch is plastered over, a glazed wooden screen separates it from the nave. Above the screen a grille for the heating unit behind is clearly visible, and the latter is very obvious when one enters the transept, a huge metal contraption.  There is a piscina with ogee head in the east end of the south wall. There is another at the east end of the north aisle with a basket head.

The floors are paved with Maw and Co tiles, increasing in ornamentation towards the east end. Chancel step of marble. The chancel is panelled with tracery in the cornice, but otherwise quite plain, with two rows of choir stalls with tracery fronts and nicely carved ends with poppyheads, probably by Hems. An open tracery oak screen delineates the organ chamber north of the chancel