Church of St Morwenna and St John the Baptist, Morwenstow

Although the earliest fabric in the present church is Norman, it is believed that an earlier Saxon church stood on the site. At some time before 1291 the advowson was granted to St John's Hospital at Bridgwater by the Bishop of Exeter. In a document dated 1296, the church was referred to as an "old and well-known structure". Additions to the church were made in the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries. The church was restored in the 1850s under the direction of Parson Hawker when the box pews were removed and the wooden shingles on the roof were replaced. A further restoration took place in, or just after 1878, probably by J P St Aubyn. A vestry was added in 1887 and there were further…

Internally the westerly three bays of the north arcade are Norman and include zigzag carving and a carved ram's head. The two easterly arcades are Transitional. The south arcade is mainly Perpendicular in style. The pew ends are carved with Gothic tracery above Renaissance arabesques. One pew end is inscribed with "T.K.", for Rev Thomas Kempthorne, who was vicar from 1539 to 1594; another has the date of 1575. It contains a cartoon by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and three engravings by John-Baptist Jackson. In the south wall of the chancel is a piscina and on the north wall is a fragment of a mural painting dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. The painting depicts a female…