St Nicholas Church History
The church is very much the centrepiece of the village and in older times would have been the focal point of the community, with most activities being governed by the Vestry Committee.
The precise period when the church was initially built is not known. Most of the current church dates to the 15th century, but there are parts which are known to be 14th century. However, there is a list of Rectors which dates to 1260 AD, so it could have originated as far back as the 13th century, when it would probably have been constructed out of wood, wattle and daub, with a thatched roof; (in fact the current church had a thatched roof until 1780, when it was replaced by 14,700 slates). In those early days it would almost certainly have been an open building with an earth floor and benches around the walls and at the base of its pillars.
During a recent storm a carved stone head was revealed inside the 15th century wall, which it is believed could be either late Saxon or early Norman in origin. If indeed true this could also indicate a much earlier church having been constructed on the site.
The church’s name, dedicated to St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Turkey, goes back many centuries, possibly as far as the 13th century, but some ancient records suggest that the patron saint of the church may in fact have been St. Erasmus. (William Denys had a chapel named after St. Mary and St. Erasmus built in the church early in its history). However, the church was repaired whilst Charles Band was Rector (1827-1878) and during the renovations a (headless) statue of St. Peter was found in the wall, giving rise to a belief that the church could originally have been dedicated to him, rather than St. Nicholas. There was evidence of mediaeval paint in the folds of the mantle, which dates it to very early in the church’s history. Band repaired the statue and stood it in a niche above the pulpit, but it was again lost and only rediscovered when the staircase to the rood loft was recently excavated.
The current church comprises a bell tower, chancel, nave and wide north aisle. It was built from a mixture of local materials, with the nave piers and arcade being of white Beer stone, and the walls of dressed ‘chert’, which is a compact, flinty type of stone. The present south aisle and chancel were built in the 15th century, along with a new north aisle, which was also added by William Denys, who is a notable figure in the history of the village. Old records suggest that ‘there is nothing deserving particular notice in this building; it seems, indeed, rather too large for the extent of the parish’ but visitors today would note that it has a number of unusual features, including the stairway and stair turret, which are attached in what is described as a ‘bold’ manner, and a very old south door, which is formed of two leaves that are hinged in the middle. The stair turret door is 14th century, made of oak, and still houses the original lock and key. The font and piscina (which is a basin into which water for washing sacred vessels was emptied) are both 15th century. There used to be a 14th century window in the south wall of the Sanctuary, but this is now blocked up and concealed by the rafters of the vestry roof.
The tower itself, which was most recently restored in 1912, is the oldest part of the church, dating back to the 14th century. It is known to have once contained a musicians gallery, but this was removed during major restoration that started in 1859. The tower houses 3 bells, one which dates back to c. 1430, made by Robert Norton of Exeter, the second to 1758 (possibly made by Samuel Dunn) and a third which was added in 1863. The earliest bell is inscribed in latin with the phrase ‘People rejoice as often as they hear me’ and they are all now regularly sounded by a team of local bell ringers. The clock on the tower has a face on ‘X’ sides and appears to date from around 1870, although church records show it has been wound since at least 1837, so it could be earlier in origin. The vestry was built in 1827.
In 1536 Richard Lucas was presented as the Rector of the church by one Sir John Moore, which coincides with the start of the reign of Henry VIII, suggesting it may have been a political appointment. However Rev. Lucas sold the church silver in 1552 in order to avoid having to surrender it to the state, presumably to swell the King’s war coffers. Nevertheless he still had to pay out the profits on the sale in lieu. The church displays the coat of arms of Charles II. The practice of displaying the royal coat of arms in churches dates back to the Reformation, when England broke away from the Catholic church. However, during Cromwell’s reign these were removed and remained in storage until Charles II was returned to the throne and reinstated the practice. Our own coat of arms dates to 1661 and is a good example of the elaborate work of the period. It was originally fixed to the south wall of the tower, but now resides over the south porch door. It was taken down for cleaning and repair in 1963 and found to be in exceptional condition, although there was evidence of previous repair or repainting, one of the six boards on which the arms is painted having been replaced.
The current organ was installed in 1886, completing the major restoration from 1859, and was itself restored in 1961, with an electric blower being added in 1973. The stained glass windows were mainly installed in the mid 19th The lych gate is a relatively recent addition, having been built in 1909 by a very local builder, James Arberry, who lived at the Newtons in the village. Despite its recent construction it is nevertheless Grade II listed. In 1934 the early 15th century rood loft doorway and staircase were uncovered. The church boasts several notable accoutrements, including two elbow chairs dating back to the 16th century that were given to the church by the Drewe family. They were part of a suite of six, the other four now residing in the church at Broadhembury. There is also a very old chest, typical of those made in the 12th century. This could be an example of a ‘parish chest’, which were ordered by Henry II (1154-1189) to be placed in every church so that the faithful could deposit their alms towards the prosecution of a crusade. The chest, which had three keys retained separately by the Bishop, Priest and a layman, later became the means by which the Parish / Church Registers could be kept secure. The Parish Registers were ordered to be initiated in 1538 to record all weddings, christenings and burials, and those for Combe Raleigh are now kept at the Devon Records Office.
Glebe House and Fiddlers Cottage, which date back to at least 1596, comprise the original Church house. This building has a ‘stack with brick shaft’, which was almost certainly used for brewing the church ale and baking the church bread. Fiddlers Cottage is believed to have been so named as it housed the musicians for the church. Early 19th century church accounts provide an interesting insight into how music was provided; they show entries for items such as base viol strings and reeds, repairs to a flute and funding for a new clarionete, conjuring up visions of a small church ‘orchestra’. The accounts suggest that a church organ was installed around 1850, possibly some form of portable instrument, and this would have been the death knell of the band of musicians, in a similar fashion to the account in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. It is probable that the church would have had its own Dog Whipper, It was common practice for sheepdogs and ‘turnspits’ (dogs used to turn a roasting spit) to be taken to church by their owners, and it was the Dog Whipper’s duty to remove ‘such dogs as did not behave themselves well’, using a pair of wooden tongs to grip the offending dog by the neck. He would also have chastised any children who were misbehaving.The Rector lived in the Rectory, which is now known as Worfield House, and which had over 40 acres attached to it. This was a grand residence and the Rector throughout the years was able to hire several servants. Other houses related to the church would have been the Chantry, Glebe Cottage and Fiddlers Cottage, and Sextons Cottage, where the keeper of the church silver/gravedigger/bell ringer would have lived.
There are a number of memorials, both in the church and the churchyard, including several to members of families who were Lords of the Manor, including the Band and Bernard families, and the Bonville and Denys families who set up the Chantry; indeed the Band family is commemorated in the 1848 west window of the aisle. But the strangest is that in the name of John Sheldon. His tomb was a mystery until 1983, as there was no record of his burial, but in that year the Rector received a request for information from someone who was researching his family. Born in 1752, John Sheldon apparently married Rebecca Palmer, the daughter of William Palmer, who was the Rector of this parish from 1726, hence making the connection with Combe Raleigh. He was a remarkable character, who lectured in anatomy and in 1782 became Professor of Anatomy to the Royal Academy. In 1784 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. One of the areas in which he had a particular interest was embalming and it is reported in an academic paper that, “when his mistress, whom he had picked up in Oxford Street, died of phthisis, he embalmed her and kept her in his bedroom until the lady he afterwards married turned her out.” But that was not the end for his mistress, as she was stowed away in a back room of the Royal College of Surgeons until 1941, when she was destroyed by a bomb which hit the college during the Blitz. Sheldon was also the first Englishman ever to make an ascent in a balloon and devised a method of catching whales with a poisoned harpoon, which he went to Greenland to test. He died in 1808 and his headstone, which is Grade II listed along with 5 chest tombs, is in the churchyard.
One Rector of interest was Samuel Knott, who was in post between 1635 and 1647, and 1660 to 1683, his years of absence being due to the Civil War. The Diocesan records show that he was charged with several offences, including having taken prayers at undue and unreasonable hours, which occasioned the absence of divers of his parishioners. He told them he had other business to look after. He was also accused of ‘wearing an old, torn, furred cap which was a very uncomely sight and made him look both ugly and ridiculous, thereby causing very much laughter in the congregation, it being a thing fitter to be worn by a player upon the stage than by a minister in the church …’ Additionally he was said to have given opprobrious words both before and after service in the church and churchyard and spent too much time in the alehouse near the church, often having to be called out of the alehouse to attend the church to read prayers and prevent the peoples’ departure. They had such an ill opinion of him that many would not receive the sacrament at his hands or send their children to be instructed by him. He was accused of ‘officiating with such slightness of spirit as ill becomes a minister in such holy duties’. He also kept being reported to the Bishop for not repairing the Parsonage and it was such a bad state in the 1670’s that he could not afford to repair it.
Samuel Knott also took two of his married parishioners, Edward and Eleanor Willsey, to court for slander, alleging they had put about a story that he had ‘attempted Eleanor’s chastity’, the story being that he had overtaken them on horseback and tried to put his hand up Eleanor’s skirt. Fortunately he was able to show that he was elsewhere at the time, and the suspicion is that Edward Willsey was encouraged to speak against Knott by other parishioners. Samuel Knott was not a popular man it would seem. St. Nicholas was the bishop of Myra in Turkey, who built a reputation for generosity and kindness, giving rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. As a result he became the patron saint of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants and pawnbrokers. The tradition of St. Nicholas was upheld by the Dutch, whose variant of his name was ‘Sinterklass’, which was then converted into Santa Claus by English-speaking people. His legend of a kindly old man was connected with old Nordic tales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents, hence the image we now have of Santa Claus at Christmas.