The Hartland Coast Mission Community
St Nectan Hartland (at Stoke) together with St John's in Hartland square
The Church is now open to visitors on a daily basis - usually from 10am to 5pm.
PLEASE NOTE
The church will not undergo extra cleaning, so please sanitise your hands on arrival, wear a face mask and refrain from touching surfaces and historic fabrics.
Donations
Please consider helping us financially by joining the Parish Giving Scheme to make a regular donation. Full details are in the linked form on the left-hand button below. The icons at the top right of the form on-screen show you how you can download and print it.
If you would prefer to make a one-off donation, please download, fill in and return a completed Gift Aid form to enable us to claim an extra 25p on every £1.00 at no additional cost to you or us. Thank you.
HARTLAND PCC (Lloyds Bank)
sort code 30-90-78
a/c number 00230405
The large, impressive church of St Nectan is dedicated to a 6th Century saint of Irish/Welsh extraction who lived by a holy well nearby until he was decapitated by a band of robbers. Being a good Celtic saint he picked up his head and walked back to his well. Everywhere his blood dripped, foxgloves sprang up. They can still be seen every year on many of the local roadsides.
After his death Nectan accumulated a reputation for saving people from deadly illnesses by his heavenly intervention. Pilgrimages were made to his well. The associated buildings (of which nothing is known) maintained a strong Christian presence in the locality until the current church was founded in the 11th Century. The building was 'worked up' for 500 years until its monastery was dissolved in 1539, the last to go under Henry VIII.
Traditionally the new church was founded in thanksgiving for the preservation of her husband's life in a storm at sea by Gytha, mother of King Harold killed at Hastings in 1066, and wife to Godwin, Earl of Wessex. Some prefer to say it was Godwin himself who started the building in the royal manor of Harton (Hartland) which he held.
Nothing is known of the earliest building nor whether it was rebuilt or enlarged when the early (collegiate) church was replaced by a house of Augustinian regulars at Hartland Abbey (in the valley below the church) in the twelfth century.
The current building, believed to date from 1360, replaced the earlier church on the site, of which only the 12th Century font still remains. The 128 ft tower, rising in four stages, is claimed to be the highest in Devon. For centuries it was a landmark to sailors at sea. It was built about sixty years after the rest of the church and contains a peal of six bells, last rehung in 1952, weighing practically 3 tons. The arch of the tower, open today, once housed a musicians' gallery where the 'church orchestra' of fiddles, double bass, flute and clarinet played for services.
The magnificent rood screen (the finest in north Devon), dates from 1450. It is a massive structure of eleven bays, 45 ft 6 in long, 12 ft 6 in high and 5 ft 10 in wide at the top. Earlier times saw both the organ and seating on top of the screen. Many touches of the medieval paintwork are still visible, particularly the 'barber's pole' uprights.
Other features of great interest include the fine Norman font, and the old wagon roofs. The monuments include an elaborate medieval tomb-chest, a small brass of 1610 and a metal-inlaid lid of a churchyard tomb of 1618.
The church contains a set of five windows by the glass painters Caroline Townshend and Joan Howson depicting the history of the parish. The main east window and the tower window are by Christopher Webb. There are at least two windows by Alfred Beer - south sanctuary and east chancel chapel - It is possible that the removed but retained glass from the south chancel chapel window is also by Beer.
The whole building is fitted out with a fine if plain set of pews most dating from the 16th and early 17th centuries (confirmed by dendrochronology). Many people find them somewhat uncomfortable and steps are being taken to equip them all with cushions, though this will not overcome the limitations of human geometry.
List of graves and memorials at St Nectan's Church, Stoke
Joy Cooper had the idea that a register of graves and memorials in the Church would be a valuable document and she was joined in this endeavour by Kay Greenish, a Churchwarden at the time. They compiled a list of the names and dates in the churchyard and inside the Church itself, and they recently updated it. It comprises getting-on for 2000 items in an Excel spreadsheet available under the button below.
If you are unable to visit and find an ancestor here, Kay will email a picture of the memorial if you wish - [email protected]
The earliest grave with an identifiable date is that of Charles Carter who died in 1738 at the age of 64. The most recent are those for 2020, and Kay will continue the update process as time permits.
If you click on the left-hand button below an outline map will display the major areas of the churchyard in relation to the church. These areas each have a single letter code which is the first character of the Grave reference shown in the Spreadsheet of Grave details. The middle button will show the Spreadsheet itself and the right-hand button will reveal a spreadsheet of the stones inside the building. These will be displayed immediately if you use the Chrome Browser with the Office Online extension. Otherwise it will be downloaded to your machine, where it can be viewed using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
If you find the list particularly valuable or interesting please consider making a donation to church funds. BACS donations should be sent to:
Sort Code: 30-90-78
A/C Number: 01158740
A/C Name: PCC Hartland
Reference: Memorials
The St. John’s Music and Art Centre is embarking on a new chapter in its history. The centre has been active and successful for the past 25 years, but following the loss of the chapel lease and dissolution of the board of trustees – it is time to find a different way
forwards. A new committee is being convened with representatives from the local artistic, musical and hospitality communities, under the umbrella of St. Nectan’s (which owns the chapel), to start the debate.
The committee remains committed to caring for the fabric of the beautiful and newly re-furbished chapel and to supporting the artistic and musical life of Hartland; but also has a vision for putting the centre more firmly on the national map. The desire is for St. John’s
to be the hub of a renewed and strengthened artistic community here in Hartland, that offers a wide range of courses and workshops, alongside activities that help people to connect with nature. This will draw more people to stay in Hartland and the surrounding
area, and help to regenerate the local economy. We believe that people will find much-needed refreshment in taking time out to be creative and to learn new skills; as well as making time for walks in our amazing countryside and along the stunning Hartland
peninsula coastline. This seems particularly important following the corona virus pandemic, and the detrimental effect this has had on people’s spirits and mental health.
We don’t have a clear ‘roadmap’ for the way forwards though, and very much welcome your thoughts and ideas about the project, and indeed your participation. To start the ball rolling we are holding a series of fund-raising events at the Anchor Inn. In June we had a very successful coffee morning that raised £680, which has enabled us to get the chapel porch re-painted; and in July we enjoyed an evening with Peter Owen-Jones speaking about his new book ‘Conversations with Nature.’ Peter is an Anglican priest, author and television presenter, and was a very engaging speaker, who both entertained and challenged us. A light supper and some wine were also served, and along with the raffle of a Merlyn Chesterman print and donations, £564 was raised. Our next planned event for September will be a wine tasting evening – date to be confirmed.
We are also applying for grant funding, with an application submitted to the Anchor Foundation at the end of July. If successful, we will use the funding towards the cost of a co-ordinator to help make the new vision a reality. The co-ordinator’s job will be to network with local artists, musicians, hoteliers and walk leaders; work with artists and musicians to develop the programme of courses and fringe activities; and undertake Centre publicity. We would love to hear from anyone interested in such a post. Please come along to our fund-raising events and support us, and if the vision excites you, do come and explore how you could be involved. In the meantime, if you wish
to make contact with the newly evolving committee, please contact Rev. Jane Skinner on 01237431622 or drop into St. John’s Chapel and speak to either Merlyn, or alternatively contact Ann on 01237 441414 or by email at [email protected].