Sidbury Church, September 1880, Sidbury

Pencil and wash drawing of Sidbury Church,  September 1880, Sidbury

Sidbury Church

The Church of St Giles and St Peter stands at the centre of the village of Sidbury, where a church has stood since Saxon times, as evidenced by the crypt below the chancel. Parts of the present building date from the 11th century. Much restoration took place in the 19th century. In 1843 John Hayward was responsible for rebuilding the upper part of the tower and placing a pyramid spire on it. This was removed and the top of the tower altered during the 1880s restoration by J T Micklethwaite and Somers Clarke. Micklethwaite also worked on the chancel at the end of the 1890s. This pencil and wash drawing, by an unknown artist, is dated September 1880 and therefore shows the tower as it looked after being rebuilt by John Hayward in 1843. Joan Hickson, the actress best known for playing Miss Marple in the television series, is buried in the churchyard under her married name of Joan Bogle Butler.

John Hayward (1807-91) moved to Exeter in about 1834 and became one of the leading church architects in Devon in the mid-19th century. His was perhaps best known for designing the Royal Albert Museum in Exeter.

John Thomas Micklethwaite (1843-1906) was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire. He moved to London to attend King's College and in 1862 he became a pupil of the architect George Gilbert Scott. Micklethwaite set up his own architectural practice in 1869 and he worked in partnership with Somers Clarke between 1872 and 1892. From 1896-1906 he was the Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, where he is buried in the west cloister.

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Sketches of Devon churches