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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CHURCH OF SAINT BUDEAUX or SAINT BUDOC, BISHOP OF DOL.
The Ancient Parish Church of Saint Budeaux or Saint Budoc, Bishop of Dol, in Brittany, is situated alongside Victoria Road, Higher Saint Budeaux.
The Ancient Parish Church of Saint Budeaux, Plymouth. In the Beginning Legend has it that in about 480 AD a band of monks from Brittany were sent out by Bishop Budoc and crossed the English Channel to the heathen land beyond. They sailed up the Hamoaze and lower Tamar until they found shelter in Tamerton or Ernesettle Creek. There they landed and as was traditional set up a small place of worship. Probably it was when Bishop Budoc died in around 500 AD that they dedicated their small church to his memory. [1] It is said that this first church was located in a circular field which on the parish tithe map of 1842 had the name of "Church Yard". Lower Ernesettle Farm was built close to the south-east side of the site in circa 1860. To the south-west of the site was a field called "Church Park" that ran down to the shore. [2] The evidence for the existence of that church seems to rest solely on the two field names. The earliest documentary evidence, by Leland, says: 'The creke goeth up to Mr Budoke's side, wher is his manor place and St Budok chirche'. This was written in probably 1542, some twenty years before the present Church was constructed and thus tells us that by then the Church was located alongside the manor house of a Mr Budoke. [2]
The Church of Saint Budeaux, Plymouth. Thus it would appear that the church, or more strictly, a chapelry, was a private one belonging to the lord of the manor and was probably used only by his family and tenants. There is no documentary evidence for this as the chapel does not appear to have been licensed separately by the Bishop of Exeter and may have been covered by any documents issued to the Vicar of Saint Andrew's. [2] Furthermore, it is suggested by the Reverend O J Reichel, quoted by Evans, that the dedication to Saint Budoc actually arose as a result of the name of the one-time owner of the manor, Alan de Budokshide, and was chosen by him as 'a suitable saint to appeal to'. He also points out that there was no evidence that the chapel was in ecclesiastical hands at the time of the Norman conquest. However, this view does ignore the fact that the surname "de Budokshide" must have come from somewhere in the first place and what better origin than the legend of Saint Budoc himself. [2] An Inconvenient Trudge
Baptisms and burials still had to
take place at he mother church of Saint Andrew's, a long and
inconvenient trudge of around five miles to the south, especially when
carrying a coffin. This eventually prompted the then lord of the
manor, Mr John Ernesettle, and 23 other local inhabitants, with the
The New Parish
On May 20th 1482, the Bishop of Exeter set his seal to the Ordinance
granting their wishes but on condition that the parishioners were to erect a
residence for the chaplain and lay out a plot of land as a cemetery. The
measurements of the house were set at thirty feet by sixteen feet and the
remains of a building of that size have been found adjacent to the old manor
house. [1]
Bishop Courtenay also laid down that the church should pay four pence a year
to the
Prior at Plympton
and a further forty shillings a year to the vicar of
Saint Andrew’s as compensation
for the loss of income by the removal of burials. [1]
Although the Church was small a Commission appointed in 1553 by HM King
Edward VI to make an inventory of all church plate, vestments and bells,
reported that Saint Budeaux Church had a tower containing three bells. [1]
A New Church
In 1563 the new church, the present one, was completed, probably at the
expense of the Lord of the Manor, Roger Budockshed of Budockshed. It is
known that he gave a piece of land to the churchwardens and 24 of the
parishioners and generously gave them a further parcel of land to the
north-east of the Church upon which “honest games” could be played, except
during Divine Service, of course. The gift was on condition that the
parishioners paid him one penny each year between one o’clock and three
o’clock in the afternoon on Christmas Day, at the south door of the Church.
[1]
Incidentally, the gift was for two thousand years making the total cost over
that lengthy period just £8. A real bargain!
Description
Saint Budeaux is the only Tudor period church in the City and was constructed,
so tradition says, using material from the original building. It is built
in the Perpendicular style. The nave and side aisles are of equal length
and are separated on each side by three arches resting on granite pillars.
There is no chancel, the Communion Table being raised on two steps at the
east end of the nave. This is because the altar table was not regarded with
any special sanctity when the Church was built, being as it was so close to
the Reformation of the Church of England. The roof is regarded as a good
example of a Devon “barrel roof”. [1]
In the north-east corner there used to be a doorway for the private use of
the Lord of the Manor but this was blocked up some time ago. In 1808 a
gallery was erected in the tower at a cost of £120 but it was later
removed. [1]
The Bells
There is an embattled tower at the western end. When the Church was built
the three bells from the old building were hung in the tower. A fourth bell
was added in 1637. Minor repair work was carried out in 1640, 1659 and
1663. The third bell, the present number 5, was recast in 1699 by Mordecai
Cockey of Totnes. The tenor bell was recast by Mr Thomas Bilbie in
1749 and the treble and second bells, the present numbers 3 and 4, were
recast in 1780 by Mr John Pennington. [3]
Two more bells were added in 1888 by Messrs Mears and Stainbank, who
overhauled the others while they were at it. In 1931 the fifth and sixth
bells were recast by Messrs John Taylor & Company and the whole peel were
re-hung in a new cast-iron frame. [3]
Monuments
There are monuments to the Budocksheds, Gorges, Trevilles, Fownes, Chard,
Fortescues and Stucleys, one of them restored at the expense of the
Historical Society and citizens of the State of Maine, USA and some of the
Gorges family in England in memory of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who in 1596
became the first Governor of Plymouth Fort, and later became the first
proprietor and governor of the province of Maine. [1]
Marriage of Francis Drake
The records include the marriage of
Francis Drake
and Mary Newman on July 4th 1569 and the burial of Mary Drake, wife of
Sir Francis Drake, Knight, in 1582. [4]
During the Civil War
During the Civil War the church was used as a Royalist garrison. On April
16th 1644 six hundred of Cromwell's musketeers under Lieutenant Colonel
Martin marched out of Plymouth, surprised the garrison and captured two
officers, forty-four other ranks, twenty horses and three barrels of powder
as well as over a hundred weapons. [1]
Later in the same year, on December 27th, after the Royalists had erected a
battery on the south side of the Church, there was once again a lengthy
battle and once again the Roundheads captured the Church and took twenty-one
officers and 100 men prisoner. Ten of the defenders and seven of the
attackers were killed. The Church was wrecked and not restored until 1655.
There were no entries in the parish registers over much of this period and
it is said that the parson had fled. [1]
Chapel-of-Ease
In 1843 a chapel-of-ease,
Holy Trinity
Chapel,
was erected at what was then Knacker's Knowle, the modern
Crownhill, which was at the far eastern reaches
of the parish of Saint Budeaux.
The church was restored in 1876 by Mr James Hine
of Plymouth. [5]
The parish records are held at the Plymouth & West Devon Records Office in
Clare Place, Sutton Road, Plymouth.
Sources:
[1] Barnes, I F, and Bevington, C R, “A Safe Stronghold: A Short
Historical Sketch and Guide to St Budeaux Parish Church”, St
Budeaux Church, Plymouth, 1963.
[2]
Evans, H Montagu, "St Budeaux: Its Manors and First Church",
Transactions of the Plymouth Institution, Plymouth, 1913.
[3]
Worth, F S, "Church Bells of Plymouth", Christmas Cheer 1956,
Plymouth Council of Social Service, Plymouth, 1956.
[4]
See [1] above but the date quoted for Lady Mary Drake’s death
is a century incorrect: it was January 1582 not 1682.
[5]
Pevsner, Nikolas, "The Buildings of England: Devon", 2nd edition
(revised by Bridget Cherry), Penguin Books, Harmondsworth,
1989. |
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