Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Combe Martin

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

[[File:Church of St Peter, Combe Martin.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Church of St Peter ad Vincula in [[Combe Martin]]]]

[[File:Church of St Peter, Combe Martin.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Church of St Peter ad Vincula in [[Combe Martin]]]]

The '''Church of St Peter ad Vincula''' is the [[Church of England parish church]] for the village of [[Combe Martin]] in [[North Devon]] in the UK. Possibly built on the site of a Saxon church, construction of the present building began in the 13th-century with additions in the 15th-century and later. It has been a [[Listed building|Grade I]] listed building since 1965.<ref name=EHLB>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101106799-church-of-st-peter-ad-vincula-combe-martin#.WeHn02GWyP8 Church of St Peter Ad Vincula: A Grade I Listed Building in Combe Martin, Devon] – [[English Heritage]] Listed Buildings website</ref> The church comes under the [[Diocese of Exeter]].<ref>[https://www.achurchnearyou.com/combe-martin-st-peter/ St Peter, Combe Martin] – the [[Church of England]] website</ref> [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner]] describes the church as "One of the best in the neighbourhood."<ref name=Pevsner>[[Nikolaus Pevsner]], ''The Buildings of England: North Devon'', [[Penguin Books]] (1952) pg 76</ref> The church is one of only 15 in England dedicated to [[Liberation of Saint Peter|St Peter ad Vincula]] (''"St Peter in Chains"''), after the [[basilica]] of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome.

The '''Church of St Peter ad Vincula''' is the [[Church of England parish church]] for the village of [[Combe Martin]] in [[North Devon]] in the UK. Possibly built on the site of a Saxon church, construction of the present building began in the 13th century, with additions in the 15th century and later. It has been a [[Listed building|Grade I]] listed building since 1965.<ref name=EHLB>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101106799-church-of-st-peter-ad-vincula-combe-martin#.WeHn02GWyP8 Church of St Peter Ad Vincula: A Grade I Listed Building in Combe Martin, Devon] – [[English Heritage]] Listed Buildings website</ref> The church comes under the [[Diocese of Exeter]].<ref>[https://www.achurchnearyou.com/combe-martin-st-peter/ St Peter, Combe Martin] – the [[Church of England]] website</ref> [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner]] describes the church as "One of the best in the neighbourhood."<ref name=Pevsner>[[Nikolaus Pevsner]], ''The Buildings of England: North Devon'', [[Penguin Books]] (1952) pg 76</ref> The church is one of only 15 in England dedicated to [[Liberation of Saint Peter|St Peter ad Vincula]] (''"St Peter in Chains"''), after the [[basilica]] of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome.

==Exterior features==

==Exterior features==

[[File:St Peters Church Combe Martin.jpg|thumb|right|Church of St Peter ad Vincula]]

[[File:St Peters Church Combe Martin.jpg|thumb|right|Church of St Peter ad Vincula]]

A large [[parish church]] for the size of the village owing to the time when silver was mined in the area, the church is dedicated to [[Liberation of Saint Peter|St. Peter ad Vincula]] (''"St. Peter in Chains"'') and is derived from the ancient [[Basilica]] of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome. Built with stone rubble with [[ashlar]] dressings and with a dressed stone façade to the south porch, the structure was constructed in the [[English_Gothic_architecture#Early_English_Gothic|Early English]] style with 13th-century materials surviving in the south [[transept]] and on the south side of the [[chancel]] and [[nave]]. In the early 15th-century the north aisle and north chancel chapel, north porch and west tower were added, and in the late 15th or early 16th-century a north transept. The south porch was rebuilt in 1725,<ref name=Pevsner/> while the church was restored in 1858 and again in 1881.

A large [[parish church]] for the size of the village owing to the time when silver was mined in the area, the church is dedicated to [[Liberation of Saint Peter|St. Peter ad Vincula]] (''"St. Peter in Chains"'') and is derived from the ancient [[Basilica]] of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome. Built with stone rubble with [[ashlar]] dressings and with a dressed stone façade to the south porch, the structure was constructed in the [[English_Gothic_architecture#Early_English_Gothic|Early English]] style with 13th-century materials surviving in the south [[transept]] and on the south side of the [[chancel]] and [[nave]]. In the early 15th century the north aisle and north chancel chapel, north porch and west tower were added, and in the late 15th or early 16th-century a north transept. The south porch was rebuilt in 1725,<ref name=Pevsner/> while the church was restored in 1858 and again in 1881.

The slate roofs have coped [[Gable|gable end]]s and apex crosses, while there are [[Battlement|embattled]] [[parapet]]s to the west tower, [[Sacristy|vestry]], north transept and north porch. The tall west tower is 99 feet in height with tall and thin crocketed pinnacles.<ref name=Pevsner/> It is of four stages with embattled parapets and setback [[buttress]]es with two tiers of [[gargoyle]]s and [[trefoil]]-headed [[Niche (architecture)|niche]]s to the north and south buttresses holding now weathered statues. The tower has large three-light [[English_Gothic_architecture#Perpendicular_Gothic|Perpendicular]] bell-openings on each face and a cusped niche holding a carved figure of Christ.<ref name=EHLB/> The tower contains a clock and eight bells, recast by Taylor of Oxford in 1827 and by [[Whitechapel Bell Foundry|Mears and Stainbank]] of London in 1922.<ref name=Combe>[https://ukga.org/england/Devon/towns/CombeMartin.html Combe Martin, Devon: Historical Description – UK Genealogy Archives]</ref>

The slate roofs have coped [[Gable|gable end]]s and apex crosses, while there are [[Battlement|embattled]] [[parapet]]s to the west tower, [[Sacristy|vestry]], north transept and north porch. The tall west tower is 99 feet in height with tall and thin crocketed pinnacles.<ref name=Pevsner/> It is of four stages with embattled parapets and setback [[buttress]]es with two tiers of [[gargoyle]]s and [[trefoil]]-headed [[Niche (architecture)|niche]]s to the north and south buttresses holding now weathered statues. The tower has large three-light [[English_Gothic_architecture#Perpendicular_Gothic|Perpendicular]] bell-openings on each face and a cusped niche holding a carved figure of Christ.<ref name=EHLB/> The tower contains a clock and eight bells, recast by Taylor of Oxford in 1827 and by [[Whitechapel Bell Foundry|Mears and Stainbank]] of London in 1922.<ref name=Combe>[https://ukga.org/england/Devon/towns/CombeMartin.html Combe Martin, Devon: Historical Description – UK Genealogy Archives]</ref>