Origins

Chistianity was first brought to West Devon by Celtic Missionaries and by 650AD was firmly established throughout the County.

Holsworthy probably became a Parish sometime between 1086 and 1130. The first positive record of the church was in 1268 when Bishop Bronscombe visited the Parish and it is likely the first church to be built on this site was in 1130.

The original Norman Church was small and occupied the site of the present nave. This Romanesque building gave place to one of the Early English style in about 1250. Additions and alterations were made in 1366. There is evidence of this in the South Porch with the two Door Posts on each side with their capitals and bases in the Romanesque style. Notice the Pilgrim crosses on the right hand column.

In the 14th Century a Chantry Chapel was established at Trewyn, about half a mile from the Chruch. The founder and patron of the Chantry was Walter le Deneis (the Danish Man). The Deneis or "Dennis" family held the manors of Pancrasweek, Manworthy and Trewyn and endowed the priests of the Chantry for two hundred years. The principal duty of a Chantry priest was to say Mass daily for the repose of the souls of the founder family. The Chantry was transferred to, and incorporated in, the Parish Chruch in 1450 and probably occupied what is now the South Aisle of the Church. Chantries were dissolved in 1536 and the last appointment of a Chantry Priest to St Mary's Chantry as the Trewyn Chantry was called, was in 1524.

Dedication
The Holsworthy Parish Church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul who were martyred in Rome about 62AD. At the Reformation an attempt was made to name only the Apostle Peter but this has reverted by usage over the last centaury to the two saints.
The ecclesiastical parish is united with the parishes of Hollacombe and Milton Damerel. The living of Hollacombe has been held in plurality for much of the last two hundred years but the benefice was officially united with Holsworthy on May 1st 1974. It's dedication is to St Petroc. The benefice of Milton Damerel was incorporated into the United Benefice under the present incumbent in 1986/7. It is situated some eight miles in the direction of Bideford just of the main road by Town Farm. The village of Milton Damerel mostly disappeared during the 15th century but is now well established with it's Parish Church, Holy Trinity, within the rural deanery of Holsworthy, the Archdeaconry of Totnes and the Diocese of Exeter.

The Churchyard
Churchyards were often the sites of ancient village meeting places or market places. It is almost certain that in Holsworthy, a fair was held and took place in what is now the churchyard, even before the first church was built.
In the course of time it became the practice to hold the Fair on the Feast Day of the Saint to whom the Church was dedicated so Holsworthy Fair became known as St Peter's Fair. The present annual Fair is known by this name, although, ever since the Gregorian calendar was altered in 1752 by the omission of eleven days, the Fair has been held eleven days after St Peter's Day.
In 1285 the Statute of Winchester ordered fairs to be moved out of churchyards. From that date Holsworthy Fair moved to the nearest available public ground, which was a field to the north of the churchyard still known as Fair Park. This is behind the houses on North Road just before the old Primary School.
The last trading Fair to be moved was the Horse Fair, which was held in the road alongside the Church wall. The rings for the horse tethers are still there in one or two places. Some elderly residents can still remember horses tethered the entire length of the churchyard wall and along North Road as far as the old Primary School. Horses were trotted to and fro while noisy and excited buying and selling went on in the road. Sometimes horses jumped over the wall into the churchyard. To prevent this, railings were fixed inside the wall making the present very useful footpath. At one time the churchyard was level with the road but frequent burials over the centuries have caused the level to rise, while the road outside has become compacted to take the ever-increasing traffic.
The War Memorial stands outside near the South entrance and is made of granite in the form of a Cornish Cross. The names of the men of Holsworthy who were killed in the two World Wars are engraved on the plinth stones to their memory.

The Rectory
At the lower corner of the Churchyard there is a flight of steps that lead down to Church Lane and to a former Rectory, now known as No 1, 2 and 3 Church Cottages. Later a small house was bought for the Rectory on the opposite side of the main road at the north side of the Square. This property has been enlarged twice, the latest addition having been carried our by the Reverend George Wright Thornton when large rooms in the front were added and the Portico built. There were extensive grounds comprising an unusual Labyrinth or Maze, a walled fruit and vegetable garden, lawns and tennis court. The Rector employed a coachman, two gardeners and three domestic servants. This became too much to keep up and in 1947 the Holsworthy Urban District Council bought the house and grounds. Most of the garden is now used for a car park. Part was used for road widening and also provided the site for the Memorial Hall. The house is now known as the Manor Office and is used mainly as offices and provides a room for the Holsworthy Museum.
The present Rectory, a large and imposing limestone building, stands at the end of Bodmin Street, which is the road to Derriton. A bungalow for the assistant Priest was built at West View in 1968, which is now let at the discretion of the Parish County Council (PCC).

The Church

The Porch
The jambs of the inner doorway of the Porch are Norman. On both sides there are interesting carvings thought to have come from the remains of the original Oratory and to have been incorporated into the walls of the Porch. One is a carving of a lamb beneath a cross and under which is a bracket and a lily. The other seems to be worked in a different stone and is a bracket with carved work over it.

The South Aisle
The South Aisle has five massive octagonal columns with pointed arches dating from the fourteenth century. The bases are of ashlar granite and the rest of sandstone.
The font was erected at a cost of £30 in 1884. It replaced an earlier much more interesting one of Norman origin.
Some of the pews were removed from the east of the aisle in 1961 and an oak alter was placed there as a memorial by the family of Mr and Mrs W T Kivell. Above the alter is a crucifix carved by a German who was detained in Holsworthy Prisoner of War (POW) camp during the Second World War. The crucifix was given to the Church on his repatriation. The stained glass window is a memorial to John Cory, a mercer, who died in 1675. Beside this window there is an old slate slab in the wall over the tomb of Theophilus Dennis 1691. It shows clearly the Dennis coat of arms of three Danish battle-axes. He was a descendant of Walter le Dennis, the founder of the Trewyn Chantry. There is an interesting tablet on the south wall of Benedictus Marwood Kelly 1836 a lawyer and the last of the private bankers in Holsworthy and to his wife Mary (formally Coham). It reads, "He left to his family a rich inheritance in example of a life of industry unremitting of probity unsullied an piety most sincere". It was his wealthy son, Admiral B M Kelly, who founded and endowed Kelly College Tavistock.

The Nave
The Nave is 16.3 meters long and 5.8 meters wide. At the west end, on each side of the belfry, massive stone walls jut out into the Church and these may be the original end of the Norman building. It is also probable that there was a Gallery here. The arch above is a fine example of Early Gothic. A new large plate glass screen, with oak doors, separates the belfry from the Nave. This was a gift from Mr and Mrs Norman Clark in 1973.
Hung either side of the Belfry door are two hand painted glass windows depicting the nativity and the annunciation they were made by extracting dyes from vegetable matter and clothing by Italian prisoners of war around 1942, who were detained in the POW camp No 42 near Holsworthy. The site of Stanhope Close today. The windows were removed from the hut that served as the Roman Catholic Chapel for Italians and later for German POWs by Mr Whapham, a one time Church Warden, and kept in a garage for many years.
Then given to the Church for public display in 1994.
Turning towards the Alter, the Book of Remembrance is kept in an oak glass-topped table near the Lectern. It contains the names, photographs and the short biographies of all the Holsworthy men killed in the two World Wars. Both the book and the casket are the work of local craftsmen. The book was compiled and presented to the Town in 1960 by Mr Stanley J Roland.
Visitors who wish to see a particular entry may obtain the keys from any of the Church officials.

The North Aisle and Lady Chapel
The North Aisle was added in 1884. When a wall was pulled down in order to make room for the addition a human skeleton was found. This may have been a grim relic of the original Norman building "on the foundation of life, ie the walling in of a living person.
The whole of this aisle was transformed into a Lady Chapel soon after the Second World War. The large window over the Alter was given in 1970 by the Misses England of Chilsworthy. It represents the enthroned Virgin and was designed and made by Mr James Paterson, ARCA, at the Bideford School of Art. In the Tracery above are the cock, sword and keys, symbols of the two patron saints, St Peter and St Paul. There is an Ambry near the altar where the Sacrament is reserved for the sick.
At the back above the choir vestry is a window made by John Bell of London in memory of Francis Honey Thorne (1876) who was churchwarden for many years at the time of the Revd Roger Kingdon. This window shows eight events in the life of Christ from the Nativity to the Ascension. The lights above show the Holy Ghost, the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary.
The pulpit is beautifully carved in oak and the Revd Edward Royle writing in the Parish Magazine of 1949 reported "The Revd W H Rogers writes to me from Mortimer End Vicarage at Reading to give me the sad news that his wife, remembered by us as Ethel Mary Aspinall, passed away suddenly on 6th December last". She always took a great interest in her old parish and received the magazine. It was she who carved the panels of the pulpit and she and her sister gave our reredos. Many will remember this old Holsworthy family with affection.

The Chancel
The Chancel was completely rebuilt in 1884 by the Revd G W Thornton at his own expense. The roof is of very fine oak with carved bosses and the corbels are carved with angels. This carving was done by John Northcott of Ashwater who also carved the choir stalls.
The reredos is of oak, carved by Herbert Read of Exeter, and given by the Misses Aspinall of Waterloo House in 1926. The reredos and the roof, the bosses, corbels and angels were all cleaned, gilded and painted in 1968.
The painting and gilding of the reredos has made the figures stand out clearly. It can be seen that St Peter with the keys and figures carry shields embossed with details of the Passion Story as follows; 1 Hammer and Pliers; 2 Wounds of the heart, hands and feet; 3 Cloak and Dice; 4 Ladder sponge and spear; 5 Nails and crown of thorns; 6 Pillar and two scourges; 7 Bag of tribute money; 8 Sword and Malchus's ear.
Above the Altar is a large five-light window showing the resurrection with the twelve apostles and the three women who came to empty the tomb.
There are smaller windows on either side. The one to the right is in memory of Thomas Thornton (1867), father of The Revd G W Thornton, and of Thomas Hardman (1852) Patron of the Living. This window represents St Peter and St Paul and shows fine enamel painting of their faces. The quatrefoil light above shows two quills, which symbolise their writings.
The window on the left is a one-light lancet window depicting the Virgin Mary.
Another window in the Chancel, above the choir stalls, shows the parable of the Good Samaritan and in the quatrefoil light above there is a "Pelican in her piety" symbolising redemption by the blood of Christ. This window is in memory of Samuel Fry and his wife Eliza Fry. The latter was the daughter of the Revd. Roger Kingdon, Rector of the Parish for thirty-eight years in the early 19th century.
The brass sanctuary lamp hanging above the Altar was made by hand by Mr Russel Luxton and given to the Church in 1970.
On the north wall of the Chancel the oval tablet with the coat of arms above is in memory of the Revd Humphrey Saunders (1670) who was deprived of the living of Holsworthy after thirty years as Rector because he refused to sign the Declaration of Conformity.
Behind the Altar is the Cory vault inscribed with the names of nine members of the family.
During the incumbency of Revd Edward Royle a brass altar rail was replaced with an oak one, which was moved back to a lower step giving more space in the Sanctuary. The choir stalls were also moved as far as possible towards the nave.

The Organ
The handsome organ is claimed to be the work of Renatus Harris. It was originally for the parish church of All Saints in Chelsea in 1645. Efforts to confirm this have failed as the church in Chelsea was bombed during the Second World War and all records were destroyed. The Bideford Corporation bought the organ in 1723 and presented it to their Parish Church. Then, in 1865 the parishioners of Holsworthy bought it for £300. The pipe work of the Great and Choir Organ is unique because it includes some spotted metal flue work.

The Tower
The Tower, built in 1450, is the most noteworthy part of the Church. It is a very fine perpendicular structure about 21.5 metres high and made of granite. It has a square battlemented parapet carrying four pinnacles. The pinnacles have been struck twice by lightening. The most recent occasion being on 14th February 1914 at four o'clock in the afternoon when the South West pinnacle fell into the road. Large pieces of stone damaged the shop premises and the cottages, which were opposite the church at that time, but no one was hurt. The Tower is now fitted with four lightening conductors.
There are two very old doors in the Tower, which must have been put there when it was built. They are made from solid oak, heavily studded with hand made iron nails and have large iron Hinges. The lower door in the belfry has been covered with a new panel of wood.
The large Victorian stained glass window in the belfry was erected to the memory of Miss Jane Meyrick. She was the daughter of the Revd Owen Meyrick, Rector of Holsworthy for fifty-three years. The window depicts four well-known bible stories from the life of Christ.
A spiral stairway of ninety-two granite steps provides access to the top of the tower in three stages. The first flight of steps leads to a room that houses the workings of the clock and the electric tune-playing machine for the Carillon. A clock was first mentioned in the Churchwarden's accounts in 1690. The present clock was erected in 1869 and the part to chime the Westminster quarters was added in 1873 by Gillet and Bland, Steam Clock Factory, Croydon. The clock used to be wound by hand every day by three separate movements: 1 the hours, 2 the minutes, 3 the chimes, but is now electrically wound.
The second stage in the Tower is where the bells are hung. Sockets can be seen where the old oak framework was set into the walls. This has now been replaced with a freestanding steel framework.
The third flight of steps leads to the roof by means of a doorway, which is only about four feet high and is made of four large pieces of granite set in a rectangle.

The Bells
The bells have been added gradually over the years. In 1553 there were three, in 1727 there were five and in 1836 Thomas Mears of London made eight new bells. In 1949 the eight bells were recast with increased weight and re-hung with new fittings and a steel framework. At the same time a new Carillon was installed. The whole of this work was re-dedicated by the then Bishop of Exeter, Dr Robert Mortimer, one of his first engagements as Diocesan Bishop. This event occurred five hundred years after the Tower was built. Generous donations for this work came from far and wide and particularly from the townspeople of Holsworthy regardless of their denomination. The following inscriptions from the old bells were cast on the new bells with increased weight and all the bells have "Gillette & Johnson Croydon 1949" inscribed around the top band.

(Insert table)

The Carillon
There have two Carillons, the first being installed in 1872 at a cost of £400. The framework for the Carillon and the present clock was made in 1869 by a Holsworthy tradesman, Mr S L Manning and lasted thirty-eight years. This Carillon had two large drums of seven tunes each which were entitled: 'Hanover,' 'Life let us cherish,' 'My lodging is on the cold ground,' 'Blue bells of Scotland,' 'The last rose of summer,' 'German chorale,' 'Home sweet home,' 'O rest the Lord,' 'Holsworthy bells No 1,' 'Morning Glory,' 'Holsworthy bells No 2,' 'The return,' 'The pilgrim,' and 'Trinity Church New York.' This apparatus continued to function, albeit spasmodically, until 1910 when a replacement was considered. Under guidance of the Portreeve, Dr Linnington Aish, and a fund for the repair raised £100 by 1912.
The old apparatus was dismantled and dispatched for Germany for a complete overhaul but the First World War intervened and it was never heard of again.
The present Carillon, manufactured by Gillette & Johnson, was installed at the same time as the new ring of bells in 1949. The mechanism is a 'one-off' designed for Holsworthy Church and operates on an electrical micro switch/compressed air principle. There are a total of thirteen tunes (listed below) on individual drums and played at three hourly intervals during the day from 9 am to 9 pm.
The strife is o'er, the battle done
The First Noel
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Brahms Cradle Song
Ye watchers and ye holy ones
We love this place O God
Home Sweet Home
Through the night of doubt and sorrow
Gentle Jesus meek and mild
God that makest earth and heaven
Fight the good fight
The king of love my Shepard is
Holsworthy Church Bells
The music for Holsworthy Church Bells is known and loved worldwide and is reputed to have been written beneath the large beech trees on the southern side of Badock Gardens by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (a distant relative of brothers Charles and John). He was at the time organist at Exeter Cathedral and wrote the piece as a tribute to the Holsworthy bells. He gave the first rendering of his composition at the dedication of Holsworthy Church organ in 1865. The words were written later by the Rector's Warden, F J Sluman.

The Pretty Maids' Charity
This unique gift is worth mentioning. It was contained in the Will of a Revd Thomas Merryck of Carta Martha, near Launceston, who died 27th May 1841. He was the brother of the Revd Owen Merryck one time Rector of Holsworthy.
Under the terms of the Will, the income from a legacy is to be paid annually "to the young single woman resident in Holsworthy under 30 years of age who is generally esteemed by the young as:
The most deserving
The most handsome
The most noted for her quietness and attendance at church."
The Will states that the donations were made to maintain peace on earth and goodwill amongst men and adds "may this well meant example lead rulers to see and know that subjects are better directed and led by harmless amusement and by judicious reward, than by the fear of punishment."
The Pretty Maids' Charity is administered by a sub-committee of three from Specotts Charity from which a larger committee distributes to the poor the income from other sources. It has been distributed to the poor each year since 1841 and the annual presentation is made from the Belfry doorway at 12 o'clock noon on the first day of St Peter's Fair. The identity of the chosen young lady is kept a close secret until she emerges through the doorway at the first stroke of the church clock and confronts an ever increasing crowd of people anxious to view this unique ceremony.

©Virworthy Wharf 2000

(Further history items to be added in the coming months)