Feniton, St Andrew's

ringsThe Grade II* listed parish church of Feniton is located a few miles to the west of Honiton. It consists of nave and chancel (which includes the Patteson Chapel, so named after John Coleridge Patteson, the missionary bishop who died in Melanesia in 1871), the south aisle, which runs the full length of both of these, west tower, and north transept and vestry to the north of the chancel. There is a porch in the angle of the tower and south aisle. Although the church has its origins in the Norman period, parts are thought to date to the fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries and it is known to have undergone substantial renovations in 1877. This is believed to have included some work on the roofs of the nave and south aisle. The south aisle is of six bays and seven trusses, with each truss consisting of principal rafters, cranked tiebeams, and braces which rise from the tiebeam to the principals. The roof over the nave is of a type known as wagon roof. It consists of 28 pairs of rafters, upper and lower arch braces, and collars. This type of roof is a particular feature of the south-west and research undertaken by this Laboratory on roofs of this type has successfully dated timbers from a number of these to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, such as at St Veep, East Looe, Lansallos, and St Teath.