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STOKE DAMEREL PARISH CHURCH
The Ancient Parish Church of Stoke Damerel is situated in Paradise Road, Devonport.
The Ancient Parish Church of Stoke Damerel, Plymouth. It is the only Church in the Plymouth area to boast a rector as opposed to a vicar, which indicates that it was not founded as an off-shoot of Plympton Priory. This suggests that it was originally a chapel built for the private use of the lord of the manor. Slowly it would have been used by his tenants and eventually the villagers to save them the long trek to the Church of Saint Andrew's in Plymouth. His lordship would also have provided the rector with glebe land from which to provide for his salary. [1] The earliest surviving documentary evidence of the Church is in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV compiled between 1288 and 1291, which shows it as contributing £3 6s 8d compared to Plymouth's £5 6s 8d. [2] The only other parish churches in the area at that time were at Eggbuckland, Tamerton Foliot and Plymouth Saint Andrew's. The first rector we know of was Henry le Megre who was presented with the living by Sir Hugh de Courtenay, lord of the manor, in 1310. [1] Officially, Stoke Damerel Parish Church has no dedication. Because the entrance piers contained two rude granite heads said to represent Saint Andrew and the Virgin Mary, it has in the past been claimed that these refer to its dedication but there is no evidence to support the claim. [2] Worth states that around 1670 the Church consisted of just the chancel, nave and tower [2]. The embattled western tower, with its pinnacles, is said to date from the late 15th century and is reputedly the oldest building in Devonport [1] In 1553 the tower already had four bells at a time when Plymouth's Saint Andrew's Church still had none. [1] For a long time Stoke Damerel Church had only one aisle. A second aisle was added on the northern side in 1710 thanks to the generosity of an officer of the Royal Dockyard by the name of Mr Richard Young. [1] During 1750/51 a third aisle was constructed on the southern side and tradition says that it was built using old material from the Royal Navy's battleships because the Admiralty had no money to donate to the project. A south entrance was also added and a gallery was erected along the length of the western wall. At the same time box pews and a three-tier carved, wooden pulpit were installed. This extension resulted in the unusual fact that the Church was now wider than it was long. [1] During an inspection of the bells in 1778 it was discovered that three of them were cracked. At the end of that year the Bishop of Exeter granted a licence to have the existing four bells recast and increased to six bells by Mr Thomas Bilbie of Cullompton, Devon. The peel was hung on August 3rd 1789 [3] and rung for the first time that same year when HRH King George III passed by on his way to the Royal Dockyard. [1] The bells were subsequently re-hung by Mr William Aggett of Chagford. [4] A church clock was installed in 1811 and bears the inscription "Richard Rodd and George Snowdon, churchwardens". [2] The earliest published description of the Church is dated 1812 [4a]:
It went on to say that the officiating Curate was the Reverend John Hawker, who lived at the Rectory, and the Churchwardens were Mr Robert Rodd, of Saint Aubyn Street, and Mr George Snowden, of Chapel Street. [4a] A more detailed description of Stoke Damerel Church was published in 1823 [4b]:
As regards the Curate, the Reverend John Hawker, the author states: 'In discharging the sacred duties of so populous a parish, this gentleman has a most arduous task to fulfil.' After listing some of the monuments to be seen inside, the author goes on to describe the churchyard [4a]:
The chancel was rebuilt in 1868. [1]
The stone bore the inscription: 'To the glory of God this stone was laid on St Andrew's eve in the year 1902, being the year of the Coronation of King Edward VII., by Herbert Edward, Lord Bishop of Exeter.' The Bishop was presented with a silver trowel by the clergy and churchwardens of Stoke Damerel and a handsome mallet, adorned with the Bishop's arms, by the contractor. [5] Among the noted guests were the Mayor and Mayoress of Devonport, Mr & Mrs J C Tozer and the Mayor and Mayoress of Plymouth, Mr & Mrs H Hurrell. [5] When completed it would have accommodated 1,358 worshippers but in the event only the Lady Chapel was ever built. The chancel was shortened again in 1904 when this proposal was abandoned. [1] The Lady Chapel was demolished in 1967. [1] The parish records are held at the Plymouth & West Devon Records Office in Clare Place, Sutton Road, Plymouth. Sources:
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