St Petrock

The north part, what was probably the original church with tower, nave and chancel, remains in religious use with its original orientation and is divided off from the rest by a timber and glass screen.

There is an arch between the nave and chancel with a moulded head and responds: large angel busts, holding shields, form the capitals.

The details of this arch and its capitals are repeated in the piers to the arcades and to the pier supporting the south west angle of the tower: this unusual pier and arch design is derived from work at the cathedral but the angels would seem to be of the 1820s scheme.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: The principal items are a series of wall monuments of the late 17th and the 18th centuries: the most notable and Mary Hooper) are catalogued in Cherry and Pevsner.

Within the tower is a notable relief of the Last Judgment by John Weston of Exeter: a fragment of a larger (signed) monument formerly in the demolished church of St Kerrian, Exeter, it is one of a number of such panels carved by Weston.

There is a small 18th century royal arms north of the chancel arch.

The font is a conventional octagonal piece with a traceried bowl and is probably 15th century.

The walls of the church carry 32 mid-Victorian polychromatic tile memorials.

There is 1840s glass by Beer of Exeter in the chancel and, in the 19th century chancel, work by the Drake, also of Exeter.

St Petrock's is possibly an ancient foundation but documentary evidence only begins in the 12th century.

Extensions took place from the early 15th century to the late 19th.

A south aisle was added in the early 15th century and an outer one in 1573.

A further enlargement took place south in 1587 and south west in 1828 when there was a radical remodelling by the architect Charles Hedgeland who provided the distinctive roofing with a clerestory and skylight.

The post-medieval part of the church, now entered from the Cathedral Yard, provides premises for a charity for the homeless and socially deprived.

Medieval church surrounded by modern shops.

© David Smith

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of St Petrock, Exeter, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * It is of special interest as one of the surviving parish churches of medieval Exeter.

The detailing of the internal arches is most unusual. * The early 19th century work including its use of a skylight arrangement and, probably, the embellishment of the piers, is from a period where such extensive work was uncommon and is therefore of interest. * It retains a number of fixtures of interest, particularly the series of 17th and 18th century wall monuments, among which Weston's Last Judgment scene is pre-eminent.