Aylesbeare Devon
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Aylesbeare Devon 
The font is late 14c, the date the chancel was begun.   The tower &amp; north aisle were added in 15c and survive in an unaltered state.
The church was restored / rebuilt in late 15c / early 16c.   There is no chancel arch, but the rood turret projecting outwards externally between the nave &amp; chancel &amp; is lit by a tiny round-headed lancet made from a single block of stone, gives the site of a now lost screen .
The south side of the chancel is roughcast and contains a narrow priests door with 2-centred head which was repaired in the 19c.   To left is an early 16c Beerstone square-headed 2-light window.  To right is another similar but this is entirely 19c Bathstone. 

The tall two stage west tower is unusual having opposing north and south doorways, apparently this was needed to provide a way through since the west end was formerly on the churchyard boundary.  It has a semi-octagonal stair turret with tiny plain slit windows which rises above the main tower with its own embattled parapet. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/192GN7Y0wq">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/192GN7Y0wq</a> Carved Beerstone gargoyle water spouts survive on 3 corners.  Its south door is a studded plank door with moulded cover strips and large plain strap hinges which may be 17c of 18c  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Ng4u2XWbkX">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Ng4u2XWbkX</a>
The chancel was restored again c 1840 with new benches and fittings;  New roofs were also erected.
Major renovation of nave too place in 1896-7 by E H Harbottle, when the south wall was rebuilt &amp; new windows inserted.  The porch was also rebuilt reusing some medieval material.  It has a cobbled floot and is gabled with the Bathstone apex block bearing the initials BVM (twice) and AE. 

Both nave and aisle have plain ceiled barrel-vaulted roofs with 19c wall plates.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/L5d0M52f6e">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/L5d0M52f6e</a>
The flag floor includes some 17c &amp; 18c well worn grave slabs 
The 19c oak reredos is carved in Gothic style.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/3yJ70737Xq">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/3yJ70737Xq</a>  The pulpit is a 19c refurbishment of an 18c octagonal drum pulpit 

The mural monuments to the Stoke of Minchin Court, Kenyon, Marker,  Bruton, Pitt &amp; Bennet families are all late 18c &amp; 19c 
A memorial to 25 year old Ruth Loram who died in 1919 says   &quot; she gave her youth, health and life as a nurse to the sick and wounded&quot;  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/7Po753R7Uk">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/7Po753R7Uk</a>
The tower was restored in 1924 by Harbottle-Reed.
Recently the tower has be re-rendered after the original lime render  had almost completely disappeared allowing erosion of the underlying Heavitree stone.   An anonymous local donor gave money for a new gargoyle, the original having been lost .  The new one was designed to mark the appointment of the first woman Bishop in the South west, and the fourth in the country as a whole. It takes the form of a mitre with symbols carved into it reflecting the Bishop’s previous career as a nurse and her honour as Dame Commander of the British Empire for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2c22ri502n">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2c22ri502n</a>


Picture with thanks - copyright Derek Harper CCL <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3087942" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3087942</a>
<a href="https://www.abacusstoneconservation.co.uk/aylesbeare-church-devon/nggallery/page/1" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.abacusstoneconservation.co.uk/aylesbeare-church-devon...</a>
aylesbeare church devon