Weight: 644 lbs Diameter: 31.75" Bell 1 of 3
Founded by John I [T] Pennington 1668
Dove Bell ID: 1801 Tower ID: 17376 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Cookbury: St John the Baptist & the Seven Maccabees
Diocese of Exeter
Church, 615244
http://www.black-torrington-benefice.org.ukOverview
Grid reference: SS 407 60
Norman origins; remodelled in C14; ‘has escaped extensive C19 restoration’
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave with west bell-turret ; north aisle, south transept and south porch; chancel with small north vestry.
Footprint of Church buildings: 237 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The nave and chancel of the church are Norman, although a note in the porch ascribes the nave to the suspiciously precise date of c.1272. The north aisle was added in c.1500 in a simple Perpendicular style and the south transept probably followed later in the same century. The church was restored in c.1870 when all the roofs were renewed, and again in 1959.
Exterior Description
The lower part of the tower is of interesting construction since it is supported on the east side by a diaphragm wall pierced by an arch across the west end of the nave. On the west side the belfry projects a little beyond the line of the west nave wall and is pierced by a pair of small round-headed lights. Throughout the church where these lights with round heads occur it may be doubted whether they are in fact Norman as Pevsner surmised or whether they represent a seventeenth-century restoration. The latter theory is supported by this particular pair since they have a moulded label above with returned onds. The belfry has small rectangular openings with slate louvros in the north and south walls above the nave roof slope, and the pyramidal cap is surmounted by a weathercock (which may be of considerable age) set on a tall pole.
There are no buttresses on the walls of the church save towards the west end of the north and south nave walls to abut the arch supporting the tower. Otherwise the nave has a round-headed lancet in the north wall to the west of the aisle, and two more in the south wall, one on each side of the porch. The porch itself has a simply chamfered outer arch and a floor paved with a saltire cross of small pebbles set on edge.
The north aisle has a square window in the west wall composed of three rectangular lights with chamfered surrounds, and there are two more windows of similar design but larger dimensions in the north wall. Here also there is a small Perpendiculardoorway, close to the west end, with a shallow four-centred arch and recessed spandrels under a moulded label with returned ends. The east window of the aisle is of two rectangular lights.
The south transept is cross-gabled and has a two-light window high in the south gabled wall with simple tracery of two trefoiled panels, and one of two trefoiled lights under a moulded label with returned ends in the east wall. The west wall is blind.
The chancel is only very slightly lower than the nave and has a lancet in the south wall close to the abutment with the nave, and then further east a rectangular light with chamfered surround. The east window of c.1300 has three cusped lights within a two-centred arch, the middle light with a trefoiled head and the outer pair cinquefoiled. There is a further lancet in the north wall, and the vestry in the angle with the aisle is a poor nineteenth-century addition. None of the chancel windows have hoods or labels.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
In the east window is The Cross in a vesica with The Symbols of the Evangelists is roundels in the outer lights; these are by Beer and Company, as doubtless are the sequence of roundels in other windows: The Pelican and Agnus Dei in the east window of the north aisle, The Crossed Swords for St. Paul and The Crossed Keys for St. Peter in the north windows and The Seltire Cross for St. Andrew in the west window; in the nave two lancets have The Symbols of The Passion End The Sacred Monogram IHS.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the church is two steps below the level of the path leading to the south doorway, and has red tiles with buff diamonds set at the intersectionson the floor. There are wooden boards under the pews. The walls are plastered and yellow-washed, save in the south transept and the adjoining nave wall where the plaster has been removed, and on the inner wall supporting the west tower. The removal of the plaster from the south transept (presumably in 1959) has revealed two squints, one on each side of the arch opening from the nave; that through the west respond gives a view of the site of the transept altar from the nave and that in the east respond a view of the main altar from the transept. There are no carved details and the squints are therefore impossible to date. The arch itself is also without any carved detail and is, in fact, rather crudely constructed, suggesting that it was always meant to be hidden by plaster. There is also a small square recess in the south-east corner which may have been an aumbry.
The north arcade on the contrary is of considerable interest. It is of three bays (the easternmost of which is much narrower than the others) with monolithic granite shafts with semicircular shafts in the principal directions and wave-mouldings between. These have moulded capitals, although that ti the east respond is undecorated. The capital of the western pillar and the western respond both have vestigical shields at the angles. The arches are four-centred with double chamfer s separated by wave-mouldings. The east and west windows are set within semi-circular rere-arches.
The tower arch at the west end of the nave is unmoulded and pointed, and may perhaps have been inserted later (the masonry which is exposed is more regular than that elsewhere in the building, and has been harshly repointed). The walls within the tower space appear to retain old plastered surfaces (admittedly rather the worse for wear) and the two-light west window is set within a deep reveal with a steeply sloping sill. The fact that this reveal is pointed londs more support to the theory that these windows are later insertions in place of a window with a pointed head.
The chancel is enclosed by a Victorian screen but apart from two corbels at cornice level there is no suggestion of a chancel arch. The roof, like all the others in the church, is entirely nineteenth-century and of the same pattern as that in the nave. The floor is paved with reset medicaeval tiles and the windows have plain reveals. A small doorway on the north side opens into the little vestry, which is provided with a corner fireplace. There is one step at the chancel screen and a further two steps at the communion rails. The altar stands on an elm footpace.
Fixtures and fittings
Bell Frame
C17
Maker
Pickford
6.A curved braces
Date
C17
Visit
JGMS 10/81
Description
OFJ
Jurisdiction
Number of Bells
Material
oak
Altar
The altar is made up of Perpendicular woodwork, possibly from the former screen, and has a front of two bays with moulded uprights decorated with a scroll moulding; at the base of each panel are two pierced quatrefoils within squares and above those are paired cinquefoiled ogee arches. The ends have linenfold panels.
Reredos
The reredos takes the "English" form of riddel posts and curtains, relatively modern in pale yellow oak.
Pulpit
c.1830
The pulpit is Jacobean and came from Launceston church (restored in 1852) ; it is hexagonal with blind panels in the lower tier and open gothic panels above; these replace the four original panels with flat round arches and two designs of stylised flowers which were saved and incorporated in the front desk on the south transept. The pulpit stands on a stone base and is approached by a flight of stone steps with an oak rail supported on an iron shaft decorated with acanthus, all very much like a staircase of c.1830.
Lectern
The lectern is also an interesting piece, being in the form of an unusually large carved wooden eagle set on a low base which may incorporate earlier work. The eagle itself seems to be nineteenth century.
Font (object)
c.13th Century
The font has a square bowl on a low square shaft set diagonally and with four colonettes, one at each corner; the base and the underside of the bowl have incised mouldings to form bases and capitals for the colonettes, and the three different colours of stone used for the various parts give the font a certain distinction.
Organ (object)
The organ is a Farfisa electronic instrument.
Bells
Diameter: 26.5" Bell 2 of 3
Founded by John I Birdall
Dove Bell ID: 48297 Tower ID: 17376 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Diameter: 28.75" Bell 3 of 3
Founded by W K 1626
Dove Bell ID: 48298 Tower ID: 17376 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: SS 407 60
Burial and War Grave Information
The church/building is consecrated.
The churchyard has been used for burial.
The churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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