alan frost photography

Churches Project no. 1 – St Andrew, Sutcombe, Devon

By alan frost on July 11, 2015

This is the very first entry of my new ‘Churches Project’ and the honour goes to The Church of St Andrew, Sutcombe in Devon. It has Norman origins but is principally a 15th Century granite structure which was restored in 1876. It forms part of a small and quite remote village about 5.5 miles north of the town of Holsworthy.

For me the church interior offers greater appeal than its exterior. As you enter the south facing entrance porch, look up and you will see the medieval wagon roof; the age and character of the building becomes immediately apparent.

 

 

Inside the church itself, one of the first things you notice are the superbly carved bench ends dating back to the early 16th Century, many of which depict heraldic devices of local families. These complement the rood screen which separates the nave and the chancel and can be seen in the first image at the top of this post. Is it any wonder St Andrew’s has a Grade II* listing.

 

 

In contrast to the carved bench ends, there are a collection of more modern pew chairs with a cross back, which from a photographic point of view are just as appealing.

 

 

This is certainly true when some rays of sunshine highlight one of the chairs hidden in the rear corner of the church which has a broken rear leg and woodworm is also evident.

 

 

The exterior shot of the church was captured using a 28mm lens. I could only just get far enough away to include all of the building which has made me think a wider angle, perhaps a 21mm would be useful  in the future.

 

 

To see a larger version of the featured image click on the thumbnail below, or click on any of the images and they will open in a new window.

More information about my ‘Churches Project’ can be found here.