St Mary’s Parish Church

St. Mary’s Church in Morchard Bishop is a historic parish church with origins dating back to the medieval period, and it stands as a key landmark in the village. The present structure, predominantly built in the 15th century, reflects the Perpendicular Gothic architectural style typical of that era, though there are elements of earlier construction.

The History of St Mary’s

Morchard Bishop is the largest of eleven parishes in the North Creedy group, part of the Crediton Boniface. It is served at present by team vicars and lay ministry. The church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, stands on the highest ground in the village with spectacular views North to Exmoor and South to Dartmoor. It is the Midway point of the Two Moors Way, the long – distance footpath across Devon.

Historical Origins

The name Morchard Bishop has evolved from the Celtic MORCHET, meaning Great Wood. In 739 King Aethelred gave the Bishop of Sherbourne a large tract of land in mid-Devon (including Morchet) with instructions to build a Minster. The Minster was built in Crediton, and the western boundary included part of Morchet. By 1086 Morchet had been split into 3 Manors, one of which belonged to the King. In 1165 Henry II sold it to the Bishop of Exeter for 100 marcs (£66). Early in the 13th Century the Manor was known as Morchard Episcopi. By the 14th Century the Manor was known as Bishop’s Morchard, or Bishop’s Wood. The parish belonged to the Bishop until 1548, when Bishop Veysey was forced by the policies of Henry VIII, to surrender it to Sir Thomas D’Arcy. In 1572, Henry Beecher “citizen and haberdasher” of London, became the Lord of the Manor and Patron of the Living. There is a list in the church of patronage from then; it is now shared by the Diocesan Board and the Lord Chancellor.

Early Worship and Church Development

There has probably been a building for worship on this site since Saxon times. Services have been held here since 1207; the first recorded Rector being Nicolas, installed in 1258 under Bishop Branscombe’s patronage. During the 14th Century, the episcopal register states “certain commonfolk, with great daring and evil intent were causing trouble in Morchard and elsewhere” – probably due to poverty and low moral attitudes.

In 1451 Bishop Lacy offered “forty daye indulgence”, to all those who contributed to the rebuilding and furnishing of the church. The present structure dates from the 15th Century with major alterations and rebuilding in the 18th and 19th C.

The Church Tower and Bells

The magnificent tower stands 95 feet high with a stair turret in the NE corner leading to the roof. The door leading into the stone stairs at the bottom of the tower is the original 15thC oak and has seen a few centuries of service. In 1952 a meteorite struck the tower, causing much damage to the masonry. The event was widely reported both locally and nationally and the church has fragments of the meteorite on display. Along with the newspaper reports of the day and lists of donors who paid for the tower repair. The tower has 6 bells, the largest being the Tenor weighing 15cwt, cast by Mears and Stainbank in the Whitechapel Foundry in 1724. The peal is rung regularly, using Devon Change Ringing; and the team competes in the Cadbury Deanery league.

Interior and Architectural Features

The body of the church comprises the central nave, separated from the tower by a wooden screen and a North and South aisle, in a standard medieval pattern. As evidenced by the presence of a rood loft door (intact, on the north wall) there was undoubtedly a Rood screen, erected in the 16th C but later removed during renovations and left to decay.

The present screen is a restoration of the original, paid for by a legacy from Lord Portsmouth, erected and dedicated in the 1930s as a memorial to the daughter of Mr Comyns Tucker. The work was expertly done by Herbert Read of Exeter and revealed some of the original paintings, especially the carved roundels. The chancel was rebuilt in the 1700s with an Ionic oak reredos and wall panelling and a very distinctive East window with sunflowers and calendula in the Jacobean glass.

Charities

In common with many parishes from 1600-1800, money was left to the church by wealthier landowners, to provide relief for the poor of the community. This was known as “Poor’s Money” and was administered by a small group of trustees.

These are shown on the boards in the tower and in 1781 totalled some £137. It was usual to provide bread or clothes, as specified in the bequest. In 1822 this money was invested as a lump sum and then distributed annually in November as cash to elderly parishioners.

The School

The charity of Mrs Thomasine Tucker in 1733 included “ a sum of £6 a year to some understanding and well disposed man, able to teach and keep an English school for teaching 8 boys and 8 girls of such poor people’s children…”. Also to provide blue clothe caps and coats for boys and blue gownes for the girls. This became known as the “Blue School”. By 1866 it had increased in number and was held in the Drill Room with a Mr Zeal as Headmaster.

The present school was established in 1872 on part of the Glebe land. In recent years the building has been enlarged twice and is now a flourishing Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, with over hundred pupils and a thriving Preschool with very good ratings. A window in the S aisle commemorates the work of headmaster Mr David Tipper, dedicated in 1970.

Church Warden’s Accounts

St Mary’s is fortunate in having completed more than 250 years of church accounts (the vellum book is now in the Devon Record Office)

These accounts, written in flowing script, also give insight into 18th and 19th C church life. Income was mainly from the church rate ie rent from Glebeland “for making the church rate and dividing the same 1s6d, drawing a copy of the register 1s6d. The upkeep of the church building and provision of services took up a large proportion of the rate. As follows:

1751

46 shindles and laying of 325 13s 3d
Robert Edwards pointing the tower 2l 13s 3d
Bell ropes 9s 6d
Robert Quick glaziers(repairs) 12s 8d
A new Common Prayer book 19s 0d
Mending pulpit clothe 1s 0d
A napkin for Communion Service 8s 6d
A new Register book 12s 0d
New surplice 2l 5s 0d

Some more unusual expenses include : to John Pike for lent of 3 sheets used by Mary Tucker, Mary Way and Frances Gollock in doing penance 0s 6d, in 1754 Ringing the bells on 5th November 7s 6d, and in 1857 – 2 orders for setting forth how the Royal family ought to be expressed in the church service 2s 0d.

Non Conformity

The earliest record of non-conformity in Morchard was in 1811, when the house of Agnes Greenslade was licensed as a meeting place for Wesleyans. In 1838, a chapel was built and shared by Wesleyans and Independents. In 1846 the Emmanuel Chapel (Methodist) was built by the Bible Christians, where in 1850 some 70 worshippers attended morning service and 150 in the evening. A Sunday school formed in 1928 is still flourishing today and includes other youth activities.

The most noteworthy family attending were the Way family and James Way left Morchard in 1850 to establish Bible Christian work in South Australia. His son, Samuel, followed him and later became Chief Justice of S Australia. He founded a small settlement in the province and named it Morchard, which has a link with our WI (the WI in Morchard founded in 1927).

The Congregationalists built a chapel near the top of the village, which was in use from 1860 to 1935, it has now been converted into a dwelling.