Axmouth Devon
Church of St Michael, Axmouth Devon <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/544v68h1Y5">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/544v68h1Y5</a>
The village &quot;Alsemude&quot; is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, then owned by the king.  Later it was given by the Earl of Devon, Richard de Redvers, to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary at Montbourg in Normandy, of which Loders Priory (near Bridport in Dorset) was a cell.  The Abbey had been founded in 1090 by the Earl’s brother, and it is probable that, prior to the gift, Richard rebuilt the church here c 1140 - 1150 of which survives the finely-carved north doorway <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/3Qe682ww91">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/3Qe682ww91</a>  and also the lower parts of the main walls of the nave and chancel. The south aisle was also built, either at this time, or maybe a few years later c 1200.  The tower of that time is thought to have been on the south east corner next to the chancel &amp; the roofs much lower than now. 
Under an arch in the chancel wall, lies the figure of a priest of c 700 years ago, his hands clasped, his feet on a dog <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6a43mhT4uf">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6a43mhT4uf</a>
The c1240 Bindon chantry chapel south of the chancel, with its piscina, the small window in the north wall of the chancel behind the Vicar’s stall, and the doorway in the same wall, which was later moved to form the outside entrance to the Vestry, all date from the Early English period.  The angle of the  squint piercing the massive pillar separating the nave from the chantry <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1pL005qyuZ">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1pL005qyuZ</a> clearly indicates the location of an altar  which in pre-Reformation times was situated beneath the fine east window of the chantry 
Soon after 1300, the late Norman round pillars began to incline outwards and fresh building work was required:   The south aisle was rebuilt, new pointed arches were provided for the arcade, and buttressed by semi-circular arches across the aisle and strengthened walls.
More extensive alterations, made c 1490, reflect the lofty Perpendicular style: the east, west, and north nave windows, with the tower now at the west end, and commanding a view of the River Axe, and new higher roof levels for both chancel and nave.  A new east window replaced a lancet window in the chancel.  The north porch was added giving protection to the Norman door, particularly so when bricked up from the outside and used as a vestry. ( It was reopened as a main entrance in 1887).
In 1889 major restoration took place designed by the architects Hayward Sons and Tait of Exeter, and Harry Hems , which provided a substantial robing vestry, situated at the north-east corner of the building.   The c1715 west gallery was demolished and a new font was also made by a local stonemason replaced and earlier one which has now vanished.  
The total cost was said to have been c £1750, funded by the vicar,  public subscription and fund-raising events, particularly a Bazaar held over 2 days in August 1887 at the New Assembly Rooms in Seaton, which raised over £200.  
The church was closed for 6 months, worship being conducted in the adjacent schoolroom.  
Re-opened on 1st October 1889, when several worship services were held, followed by tea for about 400 people served in a large marquee in the Vicarage grounds. 

The tower which rises to about 56 feet (17 metres) and  topped by a  small turret on its north side, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/aC0i8Y46H5">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/aC0i8Y46H5</a> has  3 bells dated 1612, 1661, and 1755.   The clock installed to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, is by Gillett &amp; Johnson of Croydon. To reduce stress on the tower structure, the bells are nowadays chimed, not rung, and an apparatus for this purpose was given in 1953.

During the 1889 restoration, medieval wall paintings on the nave pillars were discovered under layers of limewash.,   <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2842iWivx7">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2842iWivx7</a> Various dates, from 1300 to 1500, have been ascribed to them by different scholars.  

A public electricity supply reached the church in 1955, when an organ blower motor was installed, to be followed late the following year by replacement of the old oil lamps by electric lighting.  A heating stove had been placed in the nave in 1865, as a pre-condition for the gift of the organ, and a ducted warm-air system, fed from a stove in the vestry, followed in 1889.  The first central heating scheme dates from 1915, converted to oil-firing in 1969, upgraded in 1992 and the boiler replaced as a gift to the church in 2021.  Piped water arrived at the vestry in 1989, enabling the installation of a sink unit and modest catering facilities.
The Binden chapel has been rearranged to provide a comfortable meeting room <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/SZ1ki2F17a">www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/SZ1ki2F17a</a>

Picture with thanks - copyright <a href="https://www.axmouthcommunity.org/history/introduction/photos/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.axmouthcommunity.org/history/introduction/photos/</a>
axmouth church devon