MSO8306 - St Petrock's Church, Timberscombe (Building)

[SS 9559 4205] St. Petrock's Church [NAT] [1] St. Petrock's Church, formerly St. Michael's is in normal use. There must have been an earlier church on the site of the present one, which is predominantly 15th century. The tower was rebuilt in 1708 and the main body of the building restored in the late 19th century. [2-5] Parish Church of St. Petrock, Grade I, Church Street (west side). 15th Century, tower 1708, with 19th Century roof. Chancel restored 1862, rest of church restored 1882. Vestry added early 20th Century. (For full description see list.) [6] Additional bibliography. [7] Two plaques within the church commemorate brothers Eric and Philip Battersby who were killed in 1914 and 1917 in WWI. The plaques have a decorative border. A rectangular plaque is dedicated to Clifford Merson who was killed in 1916 in WWI. An incised cross breaks the top line of the inscription. The church organ was given in memory of Robert Ryder who was killed in 1917. There is an associated plaque. A wooden wall mounted board records the names of 66 members of the parish who served in WWI and 11 that died. A small crucifix is above the inscription. [8] The building was visited in June 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [9] The unblocking of the southern door of the church was subject to archaeological recording in March / June 2019, in order to allow its reinstatement as an access route. The blocking was constructed of concrete block bonded with cement mortar, sealed by a roughcast cement render (coated with whitewash in the church's interior). The lowest courses of the blocking were laid on a lead tray; it is likely the original step was removed at the time of blocking. The 15th Century door jambs and four centred lintol were exposed, and were found to be intact and in good condition. [10] The Historic England Archive holds a postcard dating to the early 20th Century. [11] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [12] Monitoring of drainage and facilities in 2019 recorded probable medieval burials to the south of the church which cut through features apparently relating to earlier timber structure/s. Charcoal from the latest feature in the sequence dated to the mid 8th century indicating a Saxon or earlier origin. These structural remains in turn cut into earlier burials of a probable early medieval date