Church Heritage Record 615086

West tower. Aisled nave with chapel in north aisle, north porch and south-west vestry. North and south transepts. Chancel with south chapel and north organ chamber.

[Approximate] Nave 7m (23ft) x 17m (56ft), chancel 11m (36ft) x 6m (20ft), aisles 4m (13ft) wide

Exeter was settled early and was a successful Roman town - parts of the walls remain evident. There are many records on the Exeter Historic Environment Records which should be studied further ahead of any works to the building. A sample of these shows archaeological evidence within 500m of St Thomas including Bronze Age barrows, a rope works to the north-east and the site of a wool mill c 1899 to the north.

St Thomas is the largest of the ancient city churches of Exeter. Until the 16th century it was known as St Thomas the Martyr. The current church is the third, though the second on this site.

In 1160 a small priory was established west of the river by the Benedictine order from Bec Abbey in France. They built a chapel at the west side of the Exe bridge in 1261 as an alternative place of worship to the priory church of St Andrew. Only a few spans of the bridge remain visible on the east bank of the river today. The chapel was destroyed by floods in 1403. Land for a new church was given by John de Bourgeauyll, less than half a mile away, where today’s church stands. It was consecrated in 1412. The area, which had been called Cowick, soon became known as St Thomas.

Following a fire during the Civil War in 1645, in 1657 the church was largely rebuilt at a cost of £578 including £40 given by Lady Carew for the Carew or Barley aisle. The tower may still date to 1412, with newer elements, and the south aisle could be earlier with later windows. In 1683 a west gallery was inserted. The north aisle and north porch were built in 1821. Records show that an ICBS grant application for enlargement was rejected that year.

The next major phase of work was in 1828-9 when a new larger chancel and galleried transepts were constructed to the east end, designed by Andrew Patey. The interior was refitted in 1842. The west gallery was removed and new pews were installed in 1869. The church was restored again by John Hayward in 1871.

Rev J H Prince became vicar in 1902. He considered that the church was beyond repair and launched an appeal to build a new one. His idea was well supported but ultimately considered too ambitious and abandoned. Instead, in 1909 the south-west vestry was added, the organ moved, galleries removed from the transepts and some new fittings introduced.                                    

In 1984 a restoration programme was undertaken. The church was reordered in 1987-9 with a new altar brought down into the body of the church and carpet laid at the east end. At the same time a crypt was discovered beneath the organ chamber and underpinned.

The churchyard, which was extended in 1830, contains trees which are recognised within the Conservation Area Appraisal as making a positive townscape feature, as well as the churchyard gates and views of the church and churchyard. The church is recognised within the appraisal as one of the most significant buildings in the conservation area.

The archaeological potential of the site is considerable. There has been a church on the site since the early 1400s and burials have been made beneath the church. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot, though it contains mature trees and is located within a conservation area so proposals affecting trees must be notified to the Local Authority.

St Thomas is a long church which stretches along Cowick Road, with emphasis to either end formed by a tall west tower and a higher, more modern, east end with gabled transepts and perpendicular tracery throughout.

The tall west tower has a crenellated parapet and stone corner buttresses which terminate with crocketed finials (later) at each corner, and clock faces on the north and east sides positioned beneath two-light louvred openings which appear on each facet. An octagonal turret rises in the north-east corner. At ground level a pointed doorway, beneath a three-light window, provides access into the base of the tower.

Attached to the east of the tower is a low nave with aisles under separate roofs. The north wall has three-light pointed windows, and at the west end a three-light window with intersecting tracery. The elevation is interrupted by a small projecting north porch with crenallated parapet. A crenelated parapet also runs along the length of the elevation. On the south side, the aisle has three-light square-headed windows. The three-light pointed west window is obscured by a later flat-roofed vestry to the south of the tower. SPAB-style tile repairs are in great evidence.

The east end contrasts with the west. It was added at a later date and rises higher than the nave. Original render was removed in the 19th century leading to deterioration of stonework. The exposed elevations caused by the change in height between the rooflines, is tile-hung. A circular window pierces the central gable above the nave, facing west above the chancel crossing. Crenelated parapets continue around each side and tall, rendered buttresses with high plinths terminate in crocketed finials at each corner. Gabled transepts project to either side. The north and south elevations are composed with ornate rose windows above a three-light pointed window.

The chancel has a three-light south window and the south-east chapel a three-light square-headed window in the east wall. A five-light window pierces the east elevation.

The interior can be accessed through the base of the tower from the west, beneath a balcony that reaches across the high pointed tower arch, through glazed wood doors. Alternative access can be made through the north porch whose modern glazed internal door projects into the north aisle. It was installed in the 1990s but is kept locked. A fine monument is situated above it.

The nave has aisles either side of pointed 7-bay arcades carried on octagonal piers. The walls are plastered and painted white, with a wood panelled dado. There are many wall monuments. A keel shape vault forms the ceiling to the nave, which is repeated above the aisles. The floors are formed of clay encaustic tiles with inlaid ledger stones, mostly of 18th century date. Seating is provided by pine (?) pews with curved seats and carved ends. The original numbers are still visible painted on the ends, accompanied either by the word ‘free’ or a name. The pews are fixed to raised wood platforms.

A screen at the west end of the south aisle forms a vestry area with access to the choir vestry beyond. East of the porch in the north aisle is a family chapel erected by the Graves-Sawle family in 1838 and known as the ‘Barley pew’. It is raised by a step on each side and has a private north door. The space is panelled and has a fine, painted, cross-vaulted ceiling, with carved painted heads, armorials, a plain altar table to the east and carved oak stalls dated 1909. An arch opens into the north transept.

The chancel and transepts rise to a great height at the east end. Columns are gypsum coated iron (?). Seating is provided within both transepts. The transept to the south is in particularly poor condition. A Lady Chapel extends to its east with a large gaudy modern altarpiece depicting the Nativity on the east wall. The sanctuary and choir is raised by three steps from the nave. The floors are carpeted and the ceilings formed by painted and gilded ribs. An organ chamber is positioned to the north with pipes along the east wall of the north transept as well as the north chancel wall. It has a crypt beneath it. Good, carved oak choir stalls (in memory of Thomas Snow, 1902) are positioned to the north and south sides. The sanctuary is raised by a step and the three walls beneath the window cill is panelled with stone ogee shaped tracery panels with gilded and painted elements. Integrated into the panelling is a tomb on the north side, the reredos and a small door to the south.