St Mary And St Peter

13th-century N arcade arches, S aisle (W window), and possibly S arcade , Perpendicular W tower and extension W of the N aisle.

The chancel has a blocked S doorway displaying traces of Norman work and also has two renewed cusped lancets on the N and S sides and a renewed three-light E window with one intersection and cusping in the tracery.

W of it is a very unusual feature - a two-storey building, probably of 15th-century origin, now a vestry but perhaps serving originally as a priest's house, at least on the upper storey, although its precise purpose is not documented.

Capital-less piers occasionally date back to the 13th-century and the arcade may relate to the aisle W lancet and a recorded consecration date of 1259.

Traces of indistinct wall-painting survive over the chancel arch.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: The octagonal font on a round base is a plain medieval piece: it has a Jacobean ogee-shaped font cover.

The pulpit is of the 18th century and has plain panelling: Also 18th-century is the tower screen.

The reredos dates from 2000 and is a very individual engraved glass triptych designed by Sir Laurence Whistler: the centre panels depict the Crucifixion.

There are fragments of 15th-century stained glass in a N window.

An interesting monument is the slate tablet to Joanna Avant which has an inscription in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English.

HISTORY: The church has a structural history which can be traced back visually to Norman times.

Of particular interest is the late-medieval two-storey structure W of the N aisle: its original purpose is uncertain but it may have housed a priest's dwelling.

The Buildings of England: Devon, 1989, p 710.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of St Mary and St Peter, Salcombe Regis, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * It is of special interest as a medieval parish church displaying work that stretches back to Norman times, seen in the N arcade and the blocked chancel door.

It displays structural evolution during subsequent medieval centuries and has a highly interesting late medieval extension W of the N aisle and whose precise function is a matter of speculation. * It has a number of fixtures of interest including medieval work in the font and items of 17th- and 18th-century woodwork. * The 19th- and early 20th-century restoration work was low-key with that in the 1920s in the body of the church being undertaken by William Weir who is noted for his sensitive work on churches.