Ayshford Court, Devon
c1500 Ayshford Court and its chapel once owned by the Ayshford lords of the manor of Burlescombe who built the chapel in the 15c at a time when it was fashionable in the west country for manor houses to have a private chapel for daily worship -  their parish church at Burlescombe situated 3 miles away, being used for major festivals, rites of passage and their burial place.

Ayshford is first mentioned in a charter of AD 958 and later in the 1086 Doomsday Book as Aiseforda

The chapel is built of limestone from the Westleigh quarry and 
laid as rubble. The putlog holes, where wooden scaffolding 
was built into the walls as work progressed, remain visible on the outside. (Once the scaffolding was removed, the holes were infilled with small decorative Beerstone panels of quatrefoils).   Externally the chapel is a single rectangle 
with Perpendicular windows. The slate roof was renewed in the 19c after the opening of the Grand Western Canal at the bottom of its land made it easy to transport Welsh slate via the Bristol Channel. 
Inside the nave &amp; chancel are under a continuous 15c wagon roof featuring re-used medieval timbers and carved bosses (mostly foliate, one featuring a cryptic rebus)   The 15c chancel screen decorated with stenciled green and red stars and rosettes, was repainted in the 19c though some original colour survives .  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/77by5yspc8">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/77by5yspc8</a>   The remainder of the furniture, consisting of utilitarian oak pews, dates from the 19c. The chapel is floored with red and black glazed tiles,  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/40D484TJtG">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/40D484TJtG</a>
The single bell in the turret dates from 1657 and is inscribed ‘The Bell is Henry Ayshford’s’   
In the chancel is a chest tomb to the infant Henry Ayshford,  a ‘spotless child’, who died in 1666 (famously a plague year) aged 1 year and 9 months, carrying an inscription on the top and a rhyme on the side.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1cRQ8X8556">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1cRQ8X8556</a>
In front of the altar is the worn ledgerstone to Henry Ayshford, 
1649 carved in very soft yellow sandstone. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/RH8kAc235H">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/RH8kAc235H</a>
On the north nave wall is an elaborate memorial to John Ashford 1689 +++ the last of his male line 1688  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Y02y5oVN59">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Y02y5oVN59</a>
The stained glass is of special interest. In the bottom of several windows are the intertwined initials JT (and in one the date 1848). This is the mark of John Toms of Wellington a stained-glass designer for many local  churches. The ribbon text motif was used by many national studios, but here Toms has put his own slant on it to great effect.  John Sanford 1711 son of Henry Sanford &amp; Mary Ayshford, succeeded his cousing John Ayshford +++  - they employed John Toms at many of the churches in their patronage. The nave windows represent the twelve apostles, although it is difficult to identify each one. St John the Evangelist with his chalice and St Peter with his keys are both on the south side. On the north are St James the Less carrying a saw next to St Andrew and St Matthew with his moneybag next to St Thomas holding a set square. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/D95T291A25">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/D95T291A25</a>
Above the west door are two stone fragments from an 18c monument. One figure holds a skull, whilst the other holds an hourglass. Both are much weathered possibly having spent some time outside and must have come from a very grand monument <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/24u41nYV05">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/24u41nYV05</a>
Since it was declared redundant, the chapel, a grade l listed building, is now maintained by the charity, the Friends of Friendless Churches, who hold a 125 year lease with effect from 1 February 2000.   In 2001–02 the charity undertook major conservation work. This included restoring the salmon-pink limewash in the interior, and repairing the stained glass.

The manor house is now split into two residences. The main historic house was built by the Ashford / Ayshford family c 1500 with major additions in the 16c &amp; 17c . The parlour wing was probably built by Roger Ayshford who died in 1611 and kneels on his monument in BURLESCOMBE Church..  The plasterwork was probably commissioned by Arthur Ayshford (1600 – 1642/7), his eldest son, who died without surviving male issue , his heir being his brother John 1654.
A transcript of a 1689 inventory showed the great wealth of the Ayshford family at that time which mentions a &quot;painted chamber&quot;. 
The Ayshford estates passed to the Sanford family of Nynehead Court, Somerset, by the marriage of the heiress Mary (1607–1662), daughter of Henry Ayshford, to Henry Sanford (1612–1644).   They have a monument in NYNEHEAD Church.


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Picture with thanks - copyright David Smith CCL <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chapel_at_Ayshford_-_geograph.org.uk_-_227829.jpg" rel="noreferrer nofollow">commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chapel_at_Ayshford_-_...</a>
ayshford court chapel burlescombe devon