Devonshire's East Devon magazine September October 2018

church houses | South Tawton
It's always a delight when it's possible to see centuries-old
buildings, hardly changed from the day they were built.
South Tawton village houses such a gem, a remarkable
edifice of robust and granite construction.
South Tawton itself is a quiet, wellhidden
village just half a mile outside
of South Zeal, itself a fairly demure
Devonshire village of historic note.
The Church House is unavoidable as
it fairly dominates the village, with
the Church of St Andrew directly to
the rear.
What you cannot fail to appreciate
when you first glimpse the Church
House is how beautiful a building it
appears. It's such a structurally robust
edifice with a natural patina that
seems as if the the whole structure
has been dragged out of the ground
below, complete with grass atop!
There's no doubt that the quality
of workmanship employed and the
construction has enabled this building
to stand the test of time. The blocks
of stone used have all been accurately
hewn into large rectangular blocks
that were bonded in place with lime
mortar, not that it appears to need
this, because the construction is what
amounts to building with blocks, all
quite precisely shaped so that it's
naturally physically strong. As you
look at the gable (top), you can see
that large blocks have been used in
the lower courses, and as height is
gained, they reduce in size.
The external double-sided external
staircase is a lovely feature, as are the
mullioned windows. Inside it's fairly
stark, with not much interest apart
from the smoke blackened thatch on
the underside of the roof, indicating
that originally, dedicated chimneys
weren't built into the structure, but
added at a later stage.
This church house was built in 1490,
not long before the notorious Henry
VIII came to the throne. At the time,
church houses were being built to
detach the church from the drinking
of ales within. Additionally, church ales
were brewed to raise funds for the
church as well as for the poor of the
vicinity. Until 1547 special church ales
were sold to raise money for candles
as well as to fund the decoration
of altars dedicated to St Andrew, St
George, St Katherine and to the Virgin
Mary and Jesus.
At Whitsun, much merriment
occurred, with bear baiting, dancing,
juggling and plays, such as the
story of St George and the Dragon.
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