St Leonard

Plan and development: Although Halwell was one of the four burghs of Devon in the C10 it was surplanted by Totnes within a century and the returns of 1288 did not mention a church at Halwell.

The church described in 1536 must be the existing late C15 building.

The rood screen was removed in 1810.

This appears to have involved the rebuilding of the south wall of the nave, reusing the C15 windows.

The south porch is also C19 and has a reset medieval out doorframe similar to that of the west doorway of the tower.

These doorframes and the west window of the tower which has intersecting tracery must date from circa late C13 or C14.

Therefore a church may have been built here soon after the 1288 returns or these features may be reused from another church such as Harberton church (qv) to which Halwell was attached before it became an independant ecclesiastical parish at the beginning of the C19.

The south wall of the nave seems to have been rebuilt in C19 and the 4 large C15 4-ligh perpendicular windows are reset

they have panel tracery, 2-centred almost round arches with hood moulds, the easternmost (chancel) window seems to be a C16 replacement with round-headed lights in contrast to the ogee lights of the other windows.

The gabled south porch is late C19 but the moulded (double ogee) 2-centred arch doorway with cushion stops in red sandstone is medieval

The north aisle is shorter than the nave and chancel, it has buttresses with set offs which are diagonally set on the corners and which alternate with 5 C15 3-light Perpendicular windows similar to those on the south side of the nave

they are collar rafter structures with moulded transverse ribs, the roof over the east end of the chancel has longitudinal rubs as well and carved bosses at the intersections and shields on the wall plates.

The square wooden pulpit is late C19 and has cusped panels.

Early C20 carved oak altar and freestone reredos with cusped ogees and C20 altar rail.

The plain octagonal granite font is C20 or late C19

The hatchment on the north wall of the aisle appears to be C20.

The 4 bell of 1553 were recast as 6 bells in 1763 by Pennington

Monuments: Slate mural tablet in chancel to John Elford of Longstone who was a decendant of Thomas Elford, Sheriff of Cornwall 1301.

A mural monument to John Edmonds of Ashprington died 1754 and his wife Elizabeth died 1764, an oval slate cartouche without a surround and with an angel head below the inscription and crudely carved head above, situated on the north wall of the aisle.

The other monuments on the north wall are C19 classical marble plaques.

There is a ledger stone between the nave and chancel dated 1625.