Church of St Michael Compton Pauncefoot, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

COMPTON PAUNCEFOOT CP ST62NE BLACKFORD 5/22 Church of St Michael 24.3.61 GV II* Anglican parish church. C11 or C12 in origin, reshaped in C14 and C15, some C19 restoration. Cary stone cut and squared, Doulting ashlar dressings: stone slate roof to chancel, Welsh slate roof to nave and porch, all with stepped coped gables with cross finial to chancel and ball finial to porch. Two-cell plan of 2-bay chancel and 3-bay nave, with south porch and west tower. Chancel has double plinth, angled corner buttresses; east window 3-light C14 traceried in hollow-chamfered pointed arched reveal, with arched label having curl stops; matching 2-light windows on south and north sides, one only to latter; between windows on south side a blocked former pointed arched doorway. Nave has double plinth, no buttreses; on north side a projection for rood staircase, then a cusped 2-light flat headed window without label, a blocked elliptical arched doorway and a narrow 2-light early Perpendicular window under square label: south wall has two 2-light windows matching chancel sidelights, but with shallower reveals and square stops to arched labels. Porch in centre bay of nave, simple with chamfered pointed outer arch; inside bench seats and a C11/C12 inner arch with chevron and lozenge decorated outer arch, and possibly C15/C16 cambered sub-arch, with door of about same date; the side shafts have scallop capitals, with chevrons to one shaft and twist mould to other; small semi-circular arched stoup to right, and nearby two scratch dials. Tower in two stages, the lower occupying 3/4 total height: no plinth, but string courses and battlemented parapets with simple carved corner pinnacles, angled corner buttresses to half or lower stage: west doorway possibly C13, a chamfered pointed arched doorway with simple moulded label and figurehead over, door early; above simple C14 traceried 2-light window under plain arched label: north side plain this stage, south side has small cusped arched recess at low level and small plain lancet at high level: second stage has cusped 2-light flat headed windows without labels to each face, with stone louvres: those to north and east faces have no tracery. inside there is work of all periods. Chancel has arched timber rib and boarded panel vault with bossesi a C14 or C15 chancel arch; internal ferramenta to windows and early C20 wall panelling and fittings, including well-detailed rood screen which is set on nave side of chancel arch and makes use of original stairs. Nave has similar ceiling, and narrow tower arch with carved head corbels under capitals; windows have simple rere-arches, those in north wall being elliptical: pews probably C19, formerly box pews: pulpit C17, timber with carved panels; font a simple C11 bowl. Some medieval heraldic stained glass in north windows, and east window may contain further fragments. Memorials mostly C20, but three good incised C17 Keinton slab memorials in nave floor; in a case on the north wall two fragments of C14/C15 carved alabaster figurines, possibly representing St Michael and a Crucified Christ and perhaps from a former reredos. (Pevsner, Buildings of England, South and West Somerset, 1958).

Listing NGR: ST6579826160