East Allington

from

Some Old Devon Churches

By J. Stabb

London: Simpkin et al (1908-16)

Page 93

Transcribed and edited by Dr Roger Peters

Full text available at

https://www.wissensdrang.com/dstabb.htm

Prepared by Michael Steer

Between 1908 and 1916, John Stabb, an ecclesiologist and photographer who lived in Torquay, published three volumes of Some Old Devon Churches and one of Devon Church Antiquities. A projected second volume of the latter, regarded by Stabb himself as a complement to the former, did not materialize because of his untimely death on August 2nd 1917, aged 52. Collectively, Stabb's four volumes present descriptions of 261 Devon churches and their antiquities.

EAST ALLINGTON. St. Andrew. The church [plate 93a], consisting of chancel, nave of five bays, north and south aisles, south porch with circular headed doorway and holy water stoup, and west tower with five bells, is a fine Perpendicular building. The rood screen is finely carved in very dark oak and bears the arms of the Fortescues and other families who intermarried with them. The groining is gone, and spandrel spaces are filled with the remains of the old carving. On one of the panels is the date of its erection, 1547. The tracery of the upper part is Perpendicular, but the panels below appear to be made up of miscellaneous pieces of carving, presumably old bench-ends. There are north and south parclose screens of good design. The alabaster reredos, the work of Mr. H. Hems of Exeter, is handsome, a former font also of alabaster was spoilt, the precaution not having been taken of lining it with lead, and the water soaked into the stone. The east window is in memory of Mrs. Fortescue of Fallapit. There is a handsome monument of the Fortescue family by Chantrey [1781-1841]. The baptistery and west window were presented by Mrs. Cubitt in 1892 as a memorial of her husband.

The pulpit of oak, octagonal in shape and elaborately carved [plate 93b], resembles in many respects the pulpit in the parish church at Dartmouth. The body bears Tudor characteristics; the billeted cornice round the top is Jacobean, and was probably added later. On the panels are carved the Prince of Wales' feathers, the harp, portcullis, rose, thistle, fleur-de-lis, unicorn and lion; there are also shields bearing the arms of the Fortescue family.

Some good brasses remain in the church, one represents two standing figures, with the hands closed in prayer, and bears the following inscription:- Here lyeth buried the bodies of John
Fortescue, and Owner, his wife, which
John deceased xxvth daie of December
ano 1595 beinge the age of - years.
And the said Owner deceased the - day
of - ano domini - beinge of the age
of - years.

The wife was buried on September 8th 1606, but the spaces have never been filled in.

A second brass represents a woman kneeling with hands clasped in prayer and wearing a wimple, this was probably Elizabeth wife of Lewis Fortescue, Baron of the Exchequer in the reign of Henry VIII [1509-1547].

There is a stone monument with two figures kneeling on cushions on either side of a low pedestal which supports a shield. The man is in armour, the woman in a loose gown. This monument is said to commemorate John Fortescue, who died in 1649, and his wife Sarah, daughter of Sir Edward Prideaux, who died 1628. There is a brass plate with inscription attached to the monument, but it does not belong to it, and for a long time it was lying loose in the church.

The registers date: baptisms, 1554; marriages, 1555; burials, 1554.