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St Stephen’s Church - a brief history
St Stephen's Church is a Grade II* listed building situated in
the very centre of Exeter. It is a modest building whose history
and present use are more interesting than its outward appearance
would suggest. Excavations show that it stands at the point
where the Roman road to London passed through the north-east
gate of the legionary fortress and adjacent civil settlement.
When the decayed Roman town was re-founded by the order of King
Alfred in the 880s this location was now mid-point of a broad
market street; and its place almost opposite the medieval
guildhall was to fit St Stephen’s for a significant role in the
community. In 1086, at the time recorded in the Domesday Book,
records show that the building belonged to the bishop of Exeter;
and William the Conqueror’s nephew, William Warelwast, believed
that it was his possession of the feudal benefice called St
Stephen’s ‘fee’ that allowed him and his successors a seat in
Parliament. |
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The only part of the building to survive from this period is the
crypt, last revealed during restoration work in 1826 and since
covered over. One notable medieval alteration was the addition
of an east-end chapel housed in a bow raised over the public
pathway. This was called the St John’s Chapel and was approached
by a flight of steps through a narrow arch, now blocked.
Externally to the south of the bow can be seen a former doorway,
the purpose of which is unknown.
During the Commonwealth (1649-1660) the number of churches in
Exeter was reduced and St Stephen’s was sold and the crypt used
as a stable. The building above fell into disrepair and the
tower was partly pulled down. The preservation of the disgraced
Charles I’s 1640 coat-of-arms was presumably due to a
parishioner hiding it during the Commonwealth period. In 1660
the parish was re-established and George Potter, a merchant and
alderman of the city, financed the restoration of the building.
Although experiencing an accidental fire during this
restoration, the work was finished by 1664. Fashionable box-pews
were provided ― their line marked by the panelled dado around
the walls. And at the back was built an organ-loft or gallery
(reached by stairs in the south-west corner) the sloping floor
of which remains over the entrance.
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Drawing of crypt entrance made in 1826
St Stephen
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Two centuries later the tower again required repairs, and the
building was mortgaged for £100 ― possibly a unique event in the
history of any church! Now contemporary taste introduced
neo-Gothic quatrefoil columns; and because houses then crowded
up against the south side making the interior gloomy, quatrefoil
skylights (now blocked but their form can be discerned in the
ceiling) were inserted. The octagonal neo-Gothic font appears to
date from this time. The organ was moved to the south east
corner of the church and the removal of the gallery took place a
century later. Significant changes have taken place in every
century it seems - and the 21st century is likely to be no
exception. |
