The principal entrance to the Church was in the centre of the West End. The present doorway has a hollow moulding and stoop of the 14th Century and replaces an original narrower door of which the relieving remains. The Western gable has three lofty widely splayed lancet windows centre one of which has a trefoil head and relieving arch.

The Church was divided into three parts. At the West End an open space extends for 33ft beyond which a rise of 1ft 4ins indicates the position of the two steps leading to the choir. Beyond these steps the choir extends for 30ft and beyond this a further rise of 1ft 4ins marks the sanctuary. The west window on the north side has a long opening but the others are set high in the wall to clear the now absent pent roofs; the line of these is marked by the weathering on the outer face of the walls.

It is believed that an aisled Church was planned but never completed. The lofty pointed arch on the south wall is apparently an original feature. The South West corner is embedded in the parish church wall – the site of the tower of the Priory is attributed to the 14th Century. No trace has been found of the high altar, which would have stood clear of the east wall in the centre of the sanctuary.

The Lady Chapel later added to the East End of the sanctuary is also built of local stone but the dressings are of a yellow oolite from the area around Bath. This would have been brought by water carriage, the most convenient form of transport in the Middle Ages.

Note: – the base of the recess for the sedilia (a group of three seats on the south side of the sanctuary where the celebrant and ministers sit during High Mass) at the East End with traces of the original seating. The Altar stands in the middle of the east wall on which rested a mensa or slab about 3ins thick. The remains of the coarse white plaster, which covered the inner face of the walls, can still be seen. The great court of the monastery was to the west of the Church and the Canons cemetery was east of the present Churchyard.

Parish Church of St Mary and St Gregory from information written by Fr Leonard Budge the last resident Vicar of Frithelstock

The ruins at the north-eastern corner of the Church are all that is left of the Priory founded by Sir Robert de Bello Campo about the year 1220 and endowed for a small community of Augustinian Canons. His purpose was that there should be someone to pray for the repose of his soul forever after his death. Bishop Walter de Stapledon who was born at Annery, the great house near Monkleigh, increased the endowments and is considered a co-founder with Sir Robert. The church building that still stands was probably built for the families of the Priory retainers and the inhabitants of the village, which grew up nearby.

Over the porch there is a sundial with the message ‘Umbra Sumus’ – ‘we are shadows’. In the porch there is a fine stone holy water stoup. The handle in the middle of the Church door, like a knocker, is thought to be a Sanctuary Ring. In ancient times we are told that any criminal fleeing from the law was safe if he could grasp it.

The font just inside the door is of unusual design and very old. Its date is unknown but may be Norman or early English. The tiled base is of course Victorian. There are however, many fine mediaeval tiles in various places in the floor of the Church. These were made in Barnstaple.

Just opposite the south door you will see the wall which is the oldest part of the Church. It is thought that it dates from the thirteenth century but it could be older that that. On this wall there is a fine plaster Royal Coat of Arms of Charles II who restored freedom to the English people after the grim days of the Commonwealth when no one was allowed to dance or make merry, the Prayer Book was forbidden and even Christmas was done away with. No wonder they welcomed the Merry Monarch when he came back. This monument shows us what Frithelstock people thought about it. John Abbott of the Manor of Culleigh in this parish did the plasterwork and was paid £13.

Half way down the church a small door with a flight of steps leads up to an opening above the pulpit. This was the entrance to the Rood Screen, which once went right across the Church at this point. A small piece of carved wood in the front pew may be the only remaining part of what must have been a wonderful screen.

The pews at this end of the Church are ancient, probably of the fifteenth century. The ends are beautifully carved with different symbols notably the Instruments of the Passion, the Crown of Thorns, the whip, the reed etc. There is also the figure of a hart, which recalls our connection with Hartland Abbey, and the two heads of ecclesiastics facing each other with their tongues out. This is probably an allusion to a dispute between the Bishop of Exeter and the Prior of Frithelstock in the Middle Ages.

The pulpit is Jacobean and may have been brought here from another church. The organ, although it has only a single manual, has a very sweet tone. Behind the organ in the part of the aisle curtained off as a vestry there are memorials to the Gay family. These are thought to be connections of John Gay of ‘Beggar’s Opera’ fame. This is the newest part of the Church and was probably only just completed before the dissolution of the priory in 1536.

There is no fine stained glass in the Church. That in the west window, a memorial to the Carwithian family, is pleasant Victorian glass but the colours of the east window are too violent for comfort.

In the magnificent tower there are six bells, two of which are mediaeval. One is dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The bells are extremely heavy and have a very fine tone but are difficult to ring, owing to the old fashioned and worn bearings on which they are hung. The sixth bell, which is a treble, was dedicated by the Dean of Exeter, Dr Gamble, in May 1924. The bell weighs six and a half hundred weight and bears the inscription ‘Glory to God’. The cost of the new bell, having the other five bells retuned, and installation cost £125 and was completed by Messrs Stokes & Son, Church Bell Hangers, Woodbury. The largest bell is the tenor, which weighs 17cwt and is inscribed ‘IU Abbott ne pigres 1656’.

The Green men found in many churches have pagan origins and differ widely. The one in St Mary and St Gregory can be seen at the rear of the Church by the tower opening and facing towards the altar. This apparently is not a common position for him to be found.

Extract from Frithelstock Past and Present, reproduced with the kind permission of the Frithelstock Book Group

Old Priory – A Walk Back in Time (1885)

It is 1885, and you are standing looking at the old Priory ruins at the back of the Church, with the Church on your right and Cloister Hall Farm on the left. If you follow the suggested route and the map you should be able to look at some of the older properties and perhaps imagine the living conditions and life style of some of the people living there in the 1880s.

Cloister Hall is a 400 acre farm owned by James Mallet and is one of the largest and oldest in the Parish, on which he employs seven men.

The walk starts now by going through the small gate to the front porch of the Church and up the path to the church gate. On the right is the Parsonage of the Rev. Brine, the Vicar who lives there with his sister Caroline. Almost opposite the church gate is the village green behind which is the Clinton Arms where Robert Sandford, landlord and brewer can be found. Going up the hill there is a smallholding called Pool Parks where George Hearn and his family live. A bit further up there is a long house called Pencleave, the farm of Richard Bond, who employs four men on the 200 acres. Towards Torrington and a couple of hundred yards down the hill we look down on, and into the bedroom windows of Culliver Cottages the homes of Mr Mallet’s workmen, the Morrish, Tanton and Hancock families. Further on down the hill past the turn for Monkleigh on the left are the cottages at Rakeham; these are the cottages of farm workers and railway workers and where John Gay the painter lives. The families of Edmund Palmer and James Marley also live here. The Gatehouse is next, the home of Sergeant Thomas Reaney and his South African wife Sarah. Tolls are no longer collected here. Towards the River Torridge the lane on the right leads to Drummets Mill (or Water Cleave). Mr Thomas Ford employs six men in the mill and on his 100 acre farm. Looking towards Torrington you can see the splendid wooden railway bridge.

Go back up the hill and then turn right towards Monkleigh and then left at Plumpers Bridge. There are two cottages here on the left at the bottom of the hill, Thomas Abbott lives in one and the other is empty. Towards Buckland Brewer we pass Beare Haine, the farm of Mr Lewis and then on to Higher Culleigh the 140 acre farm of Edward Abbot where two men and two boys are employed. On the left is Lower Culleigh where Mr and Mrs Cory live. The next property is at Catsborough Cross, a farm workers cottage occupied by the Hearn family and across the road a terrace of three cottages housing the Short, Collings and Squire families.

On the road to Buckland Brewer we pass Mill Lane Cottage and Lower Coombe then down the steep hill to The Glen. William Hooper a groom lives in the lodge and retired Civil Servant Mr Milford lives in the house, both properties being Frithelstock side of the River Duntz, which parts Frithelstock from Buckland Brewer.

Returning up the road we take Mill Lane, opposite Mill Lane Cottage, as a short cut to Horwood Barton. This is the largest farm in the Parish being 500 acres and farmed by John Norman employing ten men, two boys and two women. Continuing along Mill Lane and then towards Ash is the farm of Mr Fisher with 200 acres. At West Ash there are workmen’s cottages occupied by the Gerry and Colwill families.

A short walk across the field behind West Ash there is Smythacott farmed by Mr John Johns who came from Parkham. Behind the farm there is a public right of way to Knaworthy farm, the home of Jessie Dunn. The footpath continues from here to the two Hollamore farms of William May and Richard Bromell. Leaving Hollamore on the road to Stibb Cross, the first lane on the left leads to Bibbear Farm. Mr Robert Millman farms the 100 acres with one man and the help of some of his ten children. Going through the farm to the back road, go left to Southcott, passing Beara and turning left again and up to the two farms there of Mr Smale, with 260 acres who employs three men, and William Hookway, farmer and butcher. James Knight a thatcher, and James and Mary Hutchings also live in cottages here at Southcott. Carry on up the hill to Ebberdown on the right, where Mrs Oake a washerwoman and her family live. Half a mile further on, a lane on the right leads to Stretchacott Farm where Mr William Ashton is Bailiff for Mr Philbrick of Littleham, a brewer by profession. He also owns other holdings nearby including Coombe Farm which can be seen across the valley, in total about 350 acres. James Mills lives in the cottage nearby.

Coming out the lane from Stretchacott and then down towards Stone which is about a mile away, you may see some of the nine children of John Gill at Furzepole. There is also John Knight a thatcher and a washerwoman Elizabeth Hedger living in houses next door. At the group of houses at Old Pound there’s a retired cooper John Ball and his wife Mary Ball. At Stone on the right is the farm of James and Mary Ball and on the corner a cottage, which use to be a Baptist Chapel.

The un-named or numbered cottages at Stone and Church Lane are the homes of many of the trades’ people of Frithelstock. There is George Walter carpenter and grocer with William Brice the Baptist Minister as a lodger. John Short the boot and shoemaker, Richard Southcombe carpenter whose daughter Lucy is a dressmaker: Samuel Perkin a retired cordwainer. Many of the wives here do outwork for the glove factory at Torrington and Annie Glover is a well known stocking knitter. There are two blacksmiths, Thomas Stapleton and William Morrish with two apprentices. The New Inn public House is now closed and it appears that Elizabeth Galsworthy has a clothes shop in its place. You will pass the recently built Baptist Chapel at Stone built in 1872, and the Bible Christian Chapel built in 1852.

Up the road to Bideford are cottages at Huskhill belonging to Horwood farm and a bit further on is the school which was built about 12 years ago and is big enough for about 80 children. Mr William Nash is the headmaster and his wife the infant teacher. Back up to Huskhill Cross and down Back Lane, Usk Cottage is on the right and half a mile on is Broad Park on the left, where shepherd James Moase lives. The next property on the road is School House where Sarah Sillifant is a national schoolmistress and her son is a pupil teacher. Her husband William is a mason employing four men. A short distance on is a footpath to the right by Six Acre Cottage leading to Preston Farm (about a mile away via a footbridge) where Francis Squire farms 47 acres and James Moase next door at Hill Farm has 55 Acres. Three cottages nearby are for James Hutchings’s family and William Newcombe who works for James Moase. Following the lane out to the council road, a turn left will take you down the hill to Clements Hill where John Goad lives and farms.

A steep lane behind the house leads down through the woods to the railway and Watergate Halt. If you wait here you should be able to get a ride to Torrington Station on a clay wagon from Peters Marland. On the way to the station you can see Tucking Mill on the left and a few hundred yards further down still on the left you will see Drummets Mill, then cross the wooden viaduct and bridge across the Torridge to the station. On leaving the train, go back across the river by the Rothern Bridge. On the main road beware of pony and traps being driven erratically. Go back up past the Gate House and Rakeham Cottages then up the hill to the village of Frithelstock and by then you will be just ready for a pint of homebrew at the Clinton Arms.

Should you really need something to bring you back down to earth, when you have finished your drink, take a stroll around the Church yard. Many of the headstones there, near the church gate bear the names of the people you may well have encountered on a walk around the parish 140 years ago.

Extract from Frithelstock Past and Present, reproduced with the kind permission of the Frithelstock Book Group