Stoke Fleming Church, 22 September 1876, Devon

Pencil and wash of Stoke Fleming Church, 22 September 1876, Devon

Stoke Fleming Church

Stoke Fleming is a coastal village, situated high above Start Bay. The parish church, dedicated to St Peter, is thought to date from the 13th century. It was enlarged in the early 14th century, altered again in the 15th century and heavily restored by J.P. St. Aubyn between 1871 and 1872. George Parker Bidder (1806-1878), the child mathematical prodigy known as 'The Calculating Boy' is buried in St Peters churchyard.  This anonymous pencil and wash drawing shows the exterior of the church and is dated the 22^nd of September 1876, some four years after the major restoration.

John Piers St. Aubyn (1815-1895) was a London based architect who specialised in rebuilding and restoring churches. He worked on many churches in Devon and Cornwall, benefiting from his connection to the St. Aubyn family of Cornwall, who were large landowners in the area. J. P St. Aubyn was a controversial figure. His restorations often involved the wholesale or partial rebuilding of the churches and came to be seen as unnecessarily brutal by later generations. Sir John Betjeman and Nikolaus Pevsner were among his critics and W. G. Hoskins described Stoke Fleming Church as having been 'grossly restored in 1871'.

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Sketches of Devon churches