March 739 A.D. Crediton Monastery, Crediton, Devon, UK—Founded by Monks, 739; Secular Diocesan Cathedral, 909; Transferred to Exeter
March 739 A.D. Crediton
Monastery, Crediton, Devon, UK—Founded by Monks, 739; Secular Diocesan
Cathedral, 909; Transferred to Exeter, 1050; Dissolved 1548; Diocese of
Exeter; 196 Miles from London, About
1900 as the Crow Flies
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Crediton Parish
Church
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Crediton Parish Church
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Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who hung thereon
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Crediton Parish Church
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Location
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Crediton, Devon
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Country
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Website
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History
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Former name(s)
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Minster Church of St Mary
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Architecture
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Status
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Administration
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Exeter
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Clergy
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The Revd Preb. Nigel Guthrie MA ARCO
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The Revd Catherine Carlyon RN BTh
The Revd Dominic Doble The Revd Paul Fillery |
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The
Revd Canon Michael Hall
The Revd David Francis The Revd Jenny Francis The Revd Sue Martin The Revd Donald Reeves The Revd David Robottom The Revd Andrew Rowe
The Revd Brian Shillingford
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Laity
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Isolde Summers
Dr Jack Shelly |
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Steven Martin MA PhD LRSM
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Parish administrator
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Gill Lee
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Servers' guild
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Bill Rimmer
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The Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who hung thereon (or Crediton Parish Church) is a prominent building and worshipping community in
the Devon town of Crediton. The church was the cathedral of the Lord Bishop of Crediton in the former diocese until 1050 when the See was transferred to Exeter. A
College of Canons remained at Crediton, administering the buildings and life of
the collegiate church. At the Reformation the church was
surrendered to Henry VIII in 1545 and the college dispersed. The church
buildings were bought by the Crediton Town Corporation who still administer the
fabric today. Now a parish church, the life of the church is administered by the Parochial Church
Council (PCC), although many still refer to the church as the Collegiate Church
of the Holy Cross.
The Church is held in trust by
the Governors of Crediton for the people of the parish, but its life and
worship are planned by the clergy and Parochial Church Council (PCC).
Contents
History
Crediton Church has a history
which is as long as that of any church in Devon, including Exeter Cathedral. In
the early 10th century Crediton was chosen as the site for the cathedral for
Devon and Cornwall and a cathedral was built there c.910 A.D. by Eadwulf of Crediton.
In 1046 Leofric was appointed to both the sees, and moved the Devon see to
Exeter. The cathedra, the bishop's throne, was moved to Exeter in 1050, where
it was placed in a Saxon minster until a purpose-built cathedral could be
constructed which did not happen for many years.
Crediton had lost the see, but
the Bishop of Exeter retained his palace there (a little to the north-east of
Holy Cross) and his lands around the town. The church survived, though not in
its original building. The construction of a Norman church on the present site
was started—building work was in progress in the 1130s—and a collegiate church
(based on the old cathedral and initially staffed by 18 canons with 18 vicars)
was established, although lack of funds meant that the number of canons was
soon reduced to 12.
The collegiate church was
always completely secular: none of the canons or vicars lived the communal life
of monks, their work being funded by income from tithes on the extensive lands
of the parish (which were shared with the bishop).
The early dedication of the
church was to St Mary, but the present dedication—-the Church of the Holy Cross
and the Mother of Him Who Hung Thereon—came into use only after the 1230s. The
church was extended in the late 13th century by the addition of the Lady Chapel
and the Chapter House.
John de Grandisson, Bishop of
Exeter (1327–1369), attempted to ensure that at least the chief officers of the
college, the precentor and the treasurer, were resident in the immediate area
of the church. Grandisson had enormous influence on the church in Crediton in
another way. This was by introducing—or reviving—the cult of St Boniface (the
cult of the saints was in full swing at this time) and firmly established
Crediton as his birthplace. A new statue of St Boniface was created in the
1970s by the sculptor Witold Gracjan Kawalec.
In a medieval will it was
stated that the Norman nave of the church was being "now nearly levelled
to the ground." The bequest of that testator, and others of around the
same time, brought enough money for a complete rebuilding of the nave and
chancel areas, which started in the early years of the fifteenth century. Great
church building depended on generous funding being available. The Perpendicular
Gothic rebuilding of Crediton Collegiate Church created a church which though
impressive in scale is architecturally fairly modest.
The collegiate churches were
dissolved between 1545 and 1549 and Crediton's was "surrendered" to
Henry VIII in May 1545. Shortly afterwards the parishioners of Crediton entered
into successful negotiations with the Crown for the purchase of the collegiate
church which was then threatened with demolition. These were completed in the
spring of 1547, when the town paid the sum of £200 to the king. In April 1547
Edward VI signed a charter which created a new organisation for the governance
of the church. This was a corporation of 12 governors to administer the Parish
Church and its endowments. A vicar of Crediton was appointed together with two
chaplains, one of which ministered to Sandford (the adjoining parish).
The twelve governors of the
Crediton Church Corporation[1] still own and administer the church buildings. Only
two other parish churches in England, Ottery St Mary in Devon and Wimborne Minster in Dorset have a similar form of governance.
Popular sayings
"That’s Exter, as the old
woman said when she saw Kerton" is a Devonshire saying, meaning, I thought
my work was done, but I find much still remains before it is completed.[2]
Monuments
The principal monuments within
the church include:
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Monument
with effigy of Sir William Peryam (1534-1604), of Little Fulford (now Shobrooke Park) Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. North side of chancel.
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Tuckfield
Monument, north side of chancel, adjacent to the west side of the Peryam
monument. Monument with seated effigy of Elizabeth Tuckfield (1593-1630). This
family was resident at Little Fulford which they inherited from descendants of
Peryam.
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Heraldic
window c.1924, south wall of south transept, bequeathed by Rev. W.M.
Smith-Dorrien (d.1924), Vicar of Crediton. Shows arms of many historic families
associated with the parish.
·
De
Sully effigies of Sir John de Sully (1282-1388), KG, and his wife Isobel. East
end of south choir aisle. Sully was lord of the manor of Iddesleigh, but was said by Westcote to have had his seat at "Rookesford",
i.e. Ruxford, in the parish ofSandford about 1/2 mile north-west of Crediton. He held
Ruxford of John de Raleigh of Raleigh in the parish of Pilton, as is evidenced in the latter's deed of 1362 now held
in the North Devon Record Office.[3]
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Memorial
to General Sir Redvers Buller VC (1839-1908), of Downes House, lord of the manor of Crediton, west side of tower
arch.
Organ and organists
The War Memorial Organ was
designed based on plans drawn by the church's organist Lieutenant Harold Organ
FRCO in 1915. Organ was killed in action in 1917 but the plans were continued
by Cyril Church. The organ was built by Harrison and Harrison of Durham, and
first used in 1921. The organ was restored and put in a new case in 2001. Details of the organ from the
National Pipe Organ Register
Organists
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1838 William Hayes
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1851 Fred. Dean
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1870 Birch (later St. Saviour's, Eastbourne)
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1870 Kempton ('of Wales')
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1871 H. J. Stone (previously Assistant, Worcester
Cathedral)
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188? Edwin Stone?
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c. 1896 C. W. Clark (for a time conductor of the 'revived
Crediton Music Society')
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1915 Lt. Harold Organ FRCO (previously Sub-Organist at
Gloucester Cathedral, articled to Herbert Brewer)
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1917 Cyril Church
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unknown Marjorie Jaco
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unknown A Finch
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unknown John Wood
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1965 Dorothy Sheppard
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unknown Phyllis Dence
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unknown Ron Smith
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unknown Donald James
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1986 Simon Honeyball
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1990-2007 Neil A. Page
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2007-2008 Andrew Cantrill FRCO
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2008-2013 Dr Steven Martin
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The interior of the
church
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Assistant organists
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unknown Dr Meads
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unknown Henry Brinkworth
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unknown Alec Hone
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1982 Piers Howell
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unknown Aubrey Maybin ARCO
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unknown Nicholas Brown
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unknown - 2005 Steven Martin
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2005–2007 Christopher Burton
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2008–2010 Kate Macpherson
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2010–2011 Tim Matthews
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2012-present Richard Stephens MMus ARCO
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Sub organists
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Piers Howell
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Organ Scholars[edit]
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1986-1988 Richard Morgan
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unknown Luke Wynell-Mayow
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1997-1999 Jamie John Hutchings
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unknown Nicholas Watkins
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unknown Steven Martin
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unknown Shaun Brown
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2004–2005 Christopher Burton
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2005–2007 Alexander Hobbs
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2007 Mark James
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2007–2008 Kate Macpherson
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2008–2009 Tom Salmon
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Services
Sunday
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8
am: Holy Communion (BCP) at the High Altar
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9.30 am:
Parish Eucharist in the Nave (1st Sunday: Family Communion in the Boniface Centre)
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6
pm:
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Choral
Evensong with Sermon in the Nave (1st Sunday)
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Evensong at St. Lawrence's Chapel (2nd Sunday)
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Evening
Worship at Holy Cross(3rd Sunday)
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Talkback at the Boniface Centre (4th Sunday)
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Taize
Vespers at St
Lawrence's Chapel (5th Sunday)
Tuesday
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8.15 am:
Holy Communion
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4.45 pm:
Evening Prayer
Wednesday
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9.15 am:
Morning Prayer
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12
noon: Holy Communion at St Lawrence's Chapel
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4.45 pm:
Evening Prayer
Thursday
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8.15 am:
Holy Communion
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4.45 pm:
Evening Prayer
Friday
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8.15 am:
Morning Prayer
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10
am: Holy Communion (BCP)
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4.45 pm:
Evening Prayer
See also
Churches and chapels of the
United Benefice:
References
1.
Jump up^ http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1051555&SubsidiaryNumber=0
2.
Jump up^ Brewer, E. Cobham. "Exter". Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898). Retrieved 20 June 2010.
3.
Jump up^ See:"File:JohnDeRaleighDeed1362.JPG": Archives
of the Chichester family of Arlington Court, North Devon Record Office: PILTON,
ARLINGTON, LOXHORE, CHALLACOMBE, SANDFORD?, WEST DOWN, all in Devon BAGGEARN
HUISH, DUNWEAR, in Somerset 50/11/1/1 31 Jan. 1362 36 Edward III [1]
External links
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