page_title: Church of St Mary and St Benedict, Buckland Brewer
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Church of St Mary and St Benedict, Buckland Brewer / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: View from the nave towards the chancel with the Orleigh Chapel in the corner in the church of St Mary and St Benedict in Buckland Brewer
context_page_description: St Mary and St Benedict is the Church of England parish church for the village of Buckland Brewer near Bideford in North Devon. It is part of the benefice of the Hartland Coast Team Ministry. This falls within Hartland Deanery, in the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple in the Diocese of Exeter. Begun in the 14th-century with 15th-century additions and retaining several architectural features from the first church of about 1100, the building was much restored in the 19th-century and has been a Grade II* listed building on the Register of Historic England since 1958.
context_section_description: The present church was begun in about 1399 and is built of squared and coursed slatestone with ashlar to the tower. The nave, south aisle and chancel were extensively restored by architect Samuel Hooper of Hatherleigh in 1878-80. Beside the chancel is the north chapel (the "Orleigh Chapel" - one of the oldest surviving parts of the church along with the tower) featuring several interesting wall monuments while the nave has a south aisle and porch. The east end of the south aisle is connected via a 16th-century moulded stone priest's door carved with decoration of leaves, branches and shields (partially deliberately damaged during the English Civil War) leading to a late 19th-century passageway with a crenellated wall. At the end of this passage is located the former 15th-century parish schoolroom (said by some to have been a chapel dedicated to St. Stephen) restored in 1880 and used today as a parish hall. This large room is fitted with a Perpendicular-style east window dating to the restoration of 1880 and a two-bay south front with a pointed-arched doorway of 1880 and two 15th-century two-light cinquefoiled windows. The rest of the church has windows dating to the Victorian restoration of 1878-80. 
  In the chancel are two 19th-century piscinae, that on the right being fitted with part of a 14th-century cusped head; the nearby panelled reredos is late Victorian, as are the boarded waggon roof to the chancel and the arch-braced roofs to the nave and the south aisle. The chancel has a two-bay arcade to the north leading to the Orleigh Chapel dating to the 14th-century while the chancel arch is of the 19th-century. The nave has a 15th-century five-bay arcade on its south side. In the chancel are 19th-century choir stalls, benches, pulpit, lectern and tower screen. The pulpit contains eight oak panels from a previous three-decker pulpit in the church. The unusual urn-shaped font is carved from local stone with gadrooning and dates to 1771.
  The south aisle has five bays to the nave and is fitted with Decorated-style windows with the string course continuing above the 16th-century stone chamfered and carved pointed-arched priest's door. The gabled porch dates to the 15th-century  while an 18th-century sundial is fitted above the 15th-century doorway. Inside the porch a 14th-century stoup can be found to the right while an image niche above the Norman doorway dates to about 1200. This doorway is decorated with a round arch of three orders with carved beakhead and chevron ornamentation.
  The three-stage church tower to the west of the building is 76 feet high and it and the  three-light Perpendicular window are 15th-century. The peal of six bells were recast in the village in 1825 and again in 1899 by John Taylor of Loughborough, the founder of which was born in the village and who is commemorated by a brass plaque in the church.
caption: View from the nave towards the chancel with the Orleigh Chapel in the corner
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