MEM24819 - St Petrock's Churchyard, Churchtown, Parracombe (Building)

SS 6747 4495. St Peter's Church [TU]. [1] St. Peter's Church (Mortuary Chapel) was formerly called St. Helen's Church. [2,3] Formerly the parish church, until it was superceded by Christ Church nearer the village centre in 1878. [4] St. Petroc is a Cornish saint better known in the Bodmin and Padstow area. There is a tradition that St. Petroc built a small church of cob and wattle with a straw roof almost 1500 years ago. The structure has undergone many rebuildings. The siting of the 12th Century church and the primary school away from the village centre is probably a reflection of the fact that they each were built to serve a large parish. Their situation was thus considered more convenient than close to the valley bottom.[5,6] St Peter's Church marked the Ordnance Survey 6 inch map. [7] Chanter notes the early dedication to the Celtic saint, St. Petrock. [8] The former Parish Church of St. Petroc is a landmark building with a remarkable history. Some sources suggest it was founded by William of Falaise, a close relative of William the Conqueror. The graveyard was used for burials until 1971. [9] The churchyard has been mapped from data on the 2018 MasterMap. [11] The Historic England Archive holds several photographs of the churchyard. [12-18] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [19] A programme of archaeological monitoring and recording at Church Cottage (MDE1071) was carried out between July 2019 and February 2021, comprising the monitoring of drainage works within the churchyard and internal groundworks. The external excavations revealed that the building had been in part built into the existing graveyard, with six burials located in part underneath the foundations of the 17th Century house. A total of 12 burials were sealed underneath an extensive charnel soil containing both medieval and post-medieval finds, while four graves, including three with ledger stones, dated to the mid to late 19th Century. Fragments of medieval earthenware floor tiles, dating to 14th 16th Century, were recovered from the external excavations. This included a fragment of inlaid North Devon tile and a type from the Normandy region of France not previously identified at St Petrock’s Church. [20] The churchyard forms a semi public space in Parracombe Conservation Area. [21]