Cookbury Devon
Chapel of St John the Baptist &amp; the Seven Maccabees, Cookbury Devon  (this possibly unique dedication is to 7 brothers who were martyred around 167 BC for their faith which led to the preservation of Jewish culture and land )
Preserving some of its original Norman fabric, it consists of a c1272 chancel &amp; nave, 1500 north aisle separated by 3 arches resting on granite monoliths, 1535 south transept, and 13c west tower with 3 bells.    Originally cruciform and consecrated with 3 altars,. It was re-modelled probably pre 1315 when it was rededicated by Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter from 1307 until his death in 1326, who was born in the parish at Stapledon now a farmhouse but once the mansion of the family.   Later the north aisle was added probably c1500 
The very low narrow unbuttressed west tower with pyramidal roof and no west doorway, along with the south porch may also date from the early 14c.    A puzzling feature at the west end however is the way the narrow tower has a small addition to north and south both of which are closed towards the nave - almost resembling a dwarfed west transept.
Restored in 19c  when a very small lean-to vestry was built against end of the aisle and the roofs over the nave, chancel &amp; transept were renewed. 
The altar has some old carved oak work believed to incorporate parts of the original carved rood screen <a href="https://devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-john-the-baptist-and-the-seven-maccabees-description/#Altar Medieval Rood Screen Wood Carving Plain Cookbury" rel="noreferrer nofollow">devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-j...</a> replaced in late 19c / early 20c by a massive oak screen. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/4pANLc04Gt">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/4pANLc04Gt</a>  
Just inside the communion rails are 4 rows of old Barnstaple encaustic tiles with designs of the rose, lion, fleur-de-lis, three being of a female figure.   The space in front of the rails is also paved with old tiles.  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Sy3k16e359">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Sy3k16e359</a>
The large oak eagle lectern is a finely carved   <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6PtMeS1Eak">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6PtMeS1Eak</a> The reading desk has a carved side, and there is some good carving on the front of a seat in the transept known as the Dursland pew  <a href="https://devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-john-the-baptist-and-the-seven-maccabees-description/#Wood Carving Plain Plant Fruit Jacobean 17th Century Cookbury" rel="noreferrer nofollow">devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-j...</a> with arcading and Renaissance designs. This carving has probably been removed from the 17c pulpit (said to have been brought from Launceston), and the spaces thus left there have been filled in to match the screen   <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/c79uq33Kb0">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/c79uq33Kb0</a>
The square 13c font has a rectangular basin on a renewed square central shaft amid 4 smaller shafts.

On top of the tower stands a large cockerel weathervane placed on many churches after Pope Nicholas I (AD 858-867) decreed that this symbol of St Peter should be displayed in some way on every church as a symbol of the saint's repentance <a href="https://devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-john-the-baptist-and-the-seven-maccabees-description/#Weather Vane Cockerel Rooster Copper Metalwork Cookbury" rel="noreferrer nofollow">devonchurchland.co.uk/description/cookbury-church-of-st-j...</a>

The registers date: baptisms, 1746; marriages, 1750; burials, 1746.
The church was declared redundant in 1982 and reopened as chapel of ease in 1987.  It was restored in 1992 and united with the neighbouring parish of Bradford.

Although this is a fairly simple church its importance lies in its early date and relatively unaltered state.

Janice Dennis <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2726523/st-john-the-baptist-and-the-seven-maccabees" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2726523/st-john-the-baptist-a...</a>
cookbury church devon