View source for St Winifred's Church, Branscombe

{{Short description|Church in Branscombe, Devon, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Coord|50.691|-3.140|display=title|region:GB_scale:5000}}
[[File:Branscombe Church - geograph.org.uk - 1963.jpg|Branscombe Church|thumb]]
'''St Winifred's Church''' is a [[Church of England]] church in [[Branscombe]] in [[Devon]], [[England]].
The church is dedicated to [[Winefride|Saint Winifred]], a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] saint. It is among the oldest and most architecturally significant parish churches of Devon.
It probably dates back as far as about 995, but extant records on the vicars only go back to the thirteenth century.
==History==
There is some archaeological evidence to suggest that an earlier [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] church may have occupied the site.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041213091430/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2155/church.html A Guide to the Church of Saint Winifred Branscombe]</ref> Characteristic Saxon chiselling on stones hidden in the turret staircase suggest the probability of an earlier, 10th century, church on the site.<ref>[https://holyford.org/churches/branscombe/ "The Parish Church of St Winifred, Branscombe", Holyford Mission Community]</ref> The building has a traditional west―east alignment. It is built on a levelled area that can not be seen from the coast. The choice of location may have been for protection of the original Saxon church from [[Vikings|Viking]] raiders. Alternatively, the church may have been placed on an earlier pre-Christian holy site. Occupying such a [[Paganism|pagan]] site would have allowed the Church to both challenge paganism and benefit from any positive religious feelings associated with the site.
Records suggest that the church held [[Brannoc of Braunton|St Brannoc's]] arm as a relic, though it was taken to [[Milton Abbey School#History|Milton Abbey]] in [[Dorset]] in 933 on the orders of [[Æthelstan|King Athelstan]]. St. Winifred's was owned by the monks of [[Exeter Cathedral]].<ref name=nct>[https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-winifred-branscombe "St Winifred, Branscombe", National Churches Trust]</ref>
== Interior ==
The church building is partly Norman and partly later medieval. The tower is central and the transepts, which are later, stand unusually to the west of the tower. The nave is Norman, the transepts perhaps mid–13th-century. The chancel is probably 14th-century, though the east window was replaced in the time of Bishop Neville (1458–1464). Interesting features include the font, which is 15th-century, and the pulpit, which is a three-decker pulpit and as such almost unique in Devon. Other woodwork includes the Jacobean screen and west gallery and the altar rails of c. 1700.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Nikolaus|title=South Devon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhfqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA61|series=The Buildings of England|volume=5|year=1952|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Harmondsworth|pages=61–62}}</ref>
=== Memorial to Joan Tregarthin ===
[[File:JoanTregarthinMonument BranscombeChurch Devon.PNG|thumb|Mural monument to Joan Tregarthin]]
[[File:WadhamImpalingTregarthin BranscombeChurch Devon.PNG|thumb|Heraldic escutcheon from memorial showing the arms of Wadham, of nine quarters, impaling Tregarthin, of six quarters]]
A mural was erected in the north transept in memory of Joan Tregarthin some time after her death in 1583. She was the daughter and co-heiress of John Tregarthin of Cornwall,<ref>[[John Prince (biographer)|Prince, John]], (1643–1723) ''The Worthies of Devon'', 1810 edition, p. 749</ref> and widow of a John Kelleway of [[Collumpton]], by whom she had fourteen children; and then of John Wadham of [[Merryfield, Ilton|Merryfield]] and [[Edge, Branscombe|Edge]],<ref>{{cite book|title = The Visitations of the County of Somerset, in the years 1531 and 1573, together with additional pedigrees, chiefly from the Visitation of 1591|editor = Frederic William Weaver|location = Exeter|year = 1885|url = https://archive.org/details/visitationsofcou00beno |access-date = 23 December 2022|page =84}}</ref> son of Sir [[Nicholas Wadham (died 1542)|Nicholas I Wadham]], with whom she had six children,<ref name=nct/> including [[Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609)|Nicholas II Wadham]], co-founder of [[Wadham College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Davies|first=C.S.L.|title=A Woman in the Public Sphere; Dorothy Wadham and the Foundation of Wadham College, Oxford|journal=The English Historical Review|date=Sep 2003|volume=118|issue=478|pages=883–911|jstor=3491127|doi=10.1093/ehr/118.478.883}}</ref> After her husband's death in 1578, she moved into her [[dower house]] at Edge.
The memorial has suffered much neglect, and been whitewashed several times. Little colouring remains, which makes identification of the armorials difficult. The relief sculpture is well executed and clear.<ref>{{cite book|title=Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries|url=https://archive.org/details/devonnotesquerie04amer|volume=4|year=1907|publisher=J.G. Commin|pages=[https://archive.org/details/devonnotesquerie04amer/page/105 105]–106}}</ref> The small kneeling effigy of Joan appears twice on the monument, kneeling behind each husband. According to the local historian Ronald Branscombe, this is "a double appearance thought to be unique in British memorial art of this period".<ref>{{cite web | last=Branscombe | first=Ronald | title=The Tombs and Gravestones Within the Church | website=branscombe.net | url=http://www.branscombe.net/Branscombe%20parish/Branscombe%20Church%20-%20The%20Tombs%20and%20Gravestones%20Within%20the%20Church.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903080724/http://www.branscombe.net/Branscombe%20parish/Branscombe%20Church%20-%20The%20Tombs%20and%20Gravestones%20Within%20the%20Church.htm | archive-date=2014-09-03 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-09-23}}</ref>
A large slate tablet below the figures is inscribed:
:Here lieth intomb'd the body of a virtuous & antient gentlewoman descended of the antient [[house of Plantagenet]]s sometime of [[Earl of Cornwall|Cornwall]] namely JOAN, one of the daughters & heirs unto John Tregarthin in the County of Cornwall, Esq.<ref name=nct/> She was first married unto John Kelleway, Esq., who had by her much issue. After his death she was married to John Wadham of Meryfield in the County of Somerset, Esq., & by him had several children. She lived a virtuous and godly life & died in an honourable age, ...''(date never inscribed)''... September in the year of Christ 1583
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==== Escutcheon ====
[[File:WadhamImpalingTregarthin BranscombeChurch Devon.PNG|thumb|Heraldic escutcheon from mural monument]]
The [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] escutcheon on the monument shows the arms of Wadham, of nine quarters, impaling Tregarthin, of six quarters.
The quarters of the '''Wadham arms''' — largely the same as those depicted on the monument of Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, her son and daughter-in-law, in the north transept of the [[Church of St Mary, Ilminster]]<ref>[http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Devon_Cornwall_Notes_Queries_1907_v4_1000369357/341  Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries, 1907 (Vol. 4). London, pp. 341–2, Article 59 by "Senex", Branscombe Monument]</ref><ref>"The Wadham family has been treated of at large in Prince's Worthies and in subsequent books such as that of Mr. T. G. Jackson, R.A., on Wadham College"</ref> — are:<ref>Blazons in part from information sheet in Ilminster Church; several relate to successive heiresses of manor of West Dean, Hampshire, see [http://www.celtic-casimir.com/webtree/19/38281.htm]</ref>
*1st: ''Gules, a chevron between three roses argent'' [Wadham]
*2nd: ''Or, on a chevron gules three [[martlet]]s or'' [Chiseldon of [[Holcombe Rogus]],<ref>Pole, p.478</ref> referring to the heiress Margaret Chiseldon, wife of William Wadham (died 1452), John Wadham's great-great-grandfather]
*3rd: ''Argent, on a chief gules two stag's heads cabosed or'' [Popham, referring to the heiress Elizabeth Popham, daughter of Sir [[Stephen Popham (English MP)|Stephen Popham]] (died 1444), MP, of [[Popham, Hampshire]], wife of Sir John III Wadham, John Wadham's great-grandfather]
*4th: ''Gules, a chevron argent between nine bezants 3,2,1 and 2,1'' [South?<ref>Rogers, p.153</ref> or Stourton?<ref>http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/stourton-john-i-1438 {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2022}}</ref>]
*5th ''Sable, six lioncels or'' [St Martin of [[West Dean, Wiltshire|West Dean]] and  Steeple Langford, Hampshire, of Alvington in Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight, Hampshire and of [[Littlecote House|Littlecote]], Wiltshire. Sir Stephen Popham's paternal grandmother was the heiress Sibyl St Martin<ref>Rogers, p.153; [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56872 Victoria County History, Vol.4: Hampshire, 1911, pp. 519–524, Parishes: West Tytherley with Buckholt, Manors: West Dean]</ref>]
*6th: ''Argent, a chief indented vert'' (alias ''per fess indented vert and argent'') ''over-all a bend gules'' [Neville of West Dean, an heiress of St Martin]<ref>Rogers, p.153;  Victoria County History, Vol.4: Hampshire, West Dean</ref>
*7th ''Barry of six or and azure, an eagle displayed gules'' [Waleran of West Dean (13th century), an heiress of Neville]<ref>Rogers, p.153;  Victoria County History, Vol.4: Hampshire, West Dean; not to be confused with Walrond of [[Bradfield, Uffculme]], Devon and of Sea, [[Ilminster]], Somerset</ref>
*8th: ''Per pale (wavy) azure and argent a lion rampant or and gules'' [Lorty of Axford, an heiress of St Martin]<ref>Rogers, p.153; referring to Sibyl Lorty (died 1349), wife of Laurence St Martin (died 1318) and daughter and heiress of John Lorty of Axford</ref>
*9th: ''Gules a bend fusilly ermine'' [Redege alias Riedde of Devon].<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=lBkNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=gules+a+bend+fusilly+ermine&source=bl&ots=rYICM9g87S&sig=oyyYln293lI4BnEG92Oa7_jvc-M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ELrHVIHYG4SvyQSnzoL4DQ&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=gules%20a%20bend%20fusilly%20ermine&f=false ''An Armory of the Western Counties (Devon and Cornwall).: From the Unpublished Manuscripts of the XVI Century.'' By Sabine Baring-Gould, Robert Twigge. Published by J. G. Commin, 1898; page 40. Note: A (later?) relation's arms are blazoned, ''Gules, five fusils in bend ermine a bordure sable'' (Reade of Pole-Anthony, Tiverton, Devon, an heiress of Popham); see Rogers, p. 153; Pole, pp. 213–4, 499</ref>
The quarters of the '''Tregarthin arms''' are:
*1st: ''Argent, two lobster's claws in saltire gules'' [Tregarthick]<ref>It has not been explained why the arms of Tregarthin do not appear in the 1st quarter as might be expected. D&C N&Q: "There is but scanty evidence of this family, presumably of Cornish origin, and known as Tregarthick or Tregarthyke. Papworth (p. 963) sets out the Tregarthicks (of Cornwall and Devon) as carrying 2 lobster claws (dexter over sinister) in saltire gules. Tregarthick. " In Harley MS., 1404 (which is a blazon of Ordinaries), fol. 160, Tregarthick is blazoned as 2 lobsters' claws in saltire gu., and the field is apparently argent. In C. S. Gilbert's Cornwall, ii., 348, Tregarthick is said to carry crabs' claws. But there does not seem any evidence of a connection between Tregarthin and Tregarthick to account for the 1st quartering, on the Tregarthin (half of the escutcheon) of Tregarthick. It does not appear that any other family ever carried lobsters' or crabs' claws; and a suggestion that this coat was recorded as an ancient (even then in the i6th century) cognizance of Tregarthin, does not seem supported by any actual evidence; but rather to be a surmise to explain the difficulty felt as to the quarterings on the (Tregarthin alf of the escutcheon)"</ref>
*2nd: ''Argent, a chevron between three escallops sable'' [Tregarthin].<ref>D&C N&Q: "The arms of Tregarthin (quite well known) are: Argent a chevron between 3 escallops sable. About this there is no doubt, but other families used the same or a similar coat. (See Papworth, p. 416, for the Tregarthin coat)"; see also [[Tristram Risdon]]'s Notebook</ref>
*3rd: ''Semee of escallops, a lion rampant'' [Hendower]
*4th: ''A lion rampant in chief a label of three points a bordure engrailed bezantee'' <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall]], with [[Difference (heraldry)|difference]] of a bordure engrailed. She was lineally descended "by his concubine Joan de Valletort, window of Sir Alexander Oakeston"<ref>Davies, Vol. 2, pp. 109–110, adding ref to his articles on "St Stephens in Branell"and "St Stephens in Saltash"</ref>]
*5th: ''On a bend 5 (or six) roundels'' [Chamberlayne]
*6th: ''On a chevron three fleurs-de-lys'' [Pever]
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite web | title=Lute Concert at Branscombe Church a Big Success! | website=[[Amnesty International]] | date=May 24, 2016 | url=https://www.amnesty.org.uk/groups/east-devon/lute-concert-branscombe-church-big-success | ref={{sfnref | Amnesty International UK | 2016}} | accessdate=June 19, 2016}}
== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline}}
* [http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/devon/churches/branscombe.htm St Winifred's Church, Branscombe, Devon]. Britain Express.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branscombe, Saint Winifred's Church}}
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in Devon]]
[[Category:English churches with Norman architecture]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in Devon]]