Buckland Monachorum, Devon
Church of St Andrew, Buckland Monachorum Devon, (Monachorum  Latin &quot;of the monks&quot;)  was dedicated by the monks from Buckland Abbey
The 1086 Domesday Survey records the village as Bocheland  having 46 households, land for 15 ploughs, a salt pan and a fishery.    After the Conquest It was in the possession of William de Poilley,  Nearby is Buckland Abbey, home of Sir Francis Drake during the Elizabethan era. 

The first being a wooden church was built c 900 - later in 1342 its chancel was noted by the visiting Archdeacon as &quot;too dark&quot;  Also the sum of forty shillings and two quarters of oats were given to the new Vicar for the ‘defects to the Vicarage,  The first recorded rector was  Odo de Arundelle in 1271 

c 1350 this was replaced by a stone cruciform building 

The present church built c1490 of stone rubble walls with granite dressing salvaged from its predecessor and examples can still be seen in the tower today.

It consists of a three stage west tower, nave with carved figures of angels playing musical instruments on the roof. chancel, north and south aisles, very shallow transepts and south porch with oak roof and carved bosses,      The north &amp; south chapels are probably late 16c
To the east of the north chapel is a vestry added probably in the 17c .
The tower originally had 3 bells, but when 3 more were added in 1723 by Christopher and John Pennington,  the tower was seriously weakened and required urgent repair.  -The bells were restored and re-hung and the new clock placed in position by parishioners and friends in recognition of the completion of 50 years of faithful service as vicar of the parish of the Rev. Richard James Hayne, 1855 to 1905.   In 1947 the bells were re-cast and re-hung, with two trebles being added to make a ring of eight. 

The Norman granite tub font is the only recognisable survivor from the earlier church.  It has a simply moulded girdle, and was discovered in the ground beneath the church in 1857; 
This must have been replaced in the 16c by the octagonal font in present use which is granite  and carved with panels on a  decorated pedestal. it has carved foliage below the bowl and its sides are decorated with quatrefoils and shields one of which displays the initial &quot;T&quot; which reputedly refers to John Toker the last Abbot of Buckland Abbey in 1539 who became the parish priest here 17 years later 

By 1753 music was provided by singers and a ‘church band’ consisting of a violin, cello, flute and bassoon.  In 1785 it was decided to hire a professional music teacher,  organist and composers,   William Bennet, was paid 6s a day for ‘teaching the singing’. One month’s board and lodging for him and his horse cost the parish 2 guineas.   In 1802 A musicians gallery was added to the west end of the church.

 In the belfry are the Ringers' Rules as follow:—
&quot;We ring the Quick to Church, the Dead to Grave
 Good is our use, such usage let us have.
 Who swears, curseth, or in a choleric mood
 Quarrels and strikes, altho he draws no blood;
 Who wears his hat, or spurs, or turns a bell,
 Or by unskilful handling mars a peal;
 Let him pay sixpence for each single crime
 Souls truly noble and like thine divine
 Twill make him cautious gainst another time;
 Now round let's go and when we've done let's sing
 God bless our Holy Church, God save the King.&quot;
(In 1815 taking a barrel of beer with them, the bell-ringers broke into the church one Saturday and rang through the night.  For this “mutinous and riotous” behaviour they were dismissed and banned from both ringing and singing in the church forever! )

In the porch there is a short shaft and recess for a holy water stoup. The lead pipes outside are dated 1735.   On the wall  is a tombstone of a vicar whose tenure spanned the Civil War, the Commonwealth and the next 4  royal reigns. :— &quot;Here lyeth buried the body of Joseph Rowe who was vicar of this parish sixty three years, he died on ye 3rd day of April in ye year of our Lord God 1708, ætatis suae 98&quot;

There are curious epitaphs in the churchyard worth mentioning, one to a blacksmith:—
&quot;My Sledge and hammer both declined
 My bellows too have lost their wind
 My fires extinct my forge decayed
 And in the dust my vice is laid
 My coal is spent my irons gone
 My nails are drove — my work is done.&quot;

The other 
&quot;Farewell vain world I've seen enough of thee
 And now am careless what thou sayst of me
 Thy smiles I count not nor thy frowns I fear
 My cares are past my head rests quiet here
 What thou see'st in me take care to shun
 And look at home, enough there's to be done
 Whether I go or stay it matters not
 To who related or by whom begot
 I was, now am not, ask no more of me
 It's all I am and all that thou can'st be.&quot;

The registers date: baptisms, 1552; marriages, 1540; burials, 1538.

A restoration was undertaken in 1868-69 by architect H. Elliott of Plymouth. The west end gallery was removed. The roof was restored.   The old pews were replaced with new pews of oak. The medieval bench ends were preserved where possible and new ones carved in a similar style.  The walls were plastered, and the windows were re-glazed with plain cathedral glass.  A stained glass window by Heaton and Butler was installed at the east end with a representation of the Good Shepherd.  
 The church reopened for worship on Thursday 8 July 1869.


Copyright Michael Garlick CCL <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6879526" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6879526</a>
buckland monachorum devon cburch