Church of Saint Nectan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Church of Saint Nectan |
|
| The Cathedral of North Devon | |
| Dedication | Saint Nectan |
|---|---|
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Tradition | Broad Church |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Hartland |
| Deanery | Hartland |
| Archdeaconry | Barnstaple |
| Diocese | Exeter |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar | Revd Shirley Henderson |
| Other | |
| Reader | Andrew Macwilliam |
The Church of Saint Nectan is the parish church of Hartland, Devon, and is often referred to as the Cathedral of North Devon.
Believed to date from 1360, it replaced an earlier church on the site of which only the font still remains and is thought to date from 1170.
The 128ft tower, rising in four stages, claimed to be the highest in Devon, has for centuries been a landmark to sailors at sea. It was built about sixty years after the main church and it 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, dating from 1450, is a massive structure of eleven bays, 45ft 6ins long, 12ft 6ins high and 5ft 10ins wide at the top. Earlier times saw both the organ and seating on top of the screen.
[edit] History
Saint Nectan was one of many Celtic hermits and missionaries associated with early Christian sites in south west Britain, South Wales and Ireland in the fifth and sixth centuries. A well 100 metres from the church is the reputed site of his hermitage.
The history of the area is obscure, however the first recorded building here was a collegiate church served by twelve secular canons found c. 1050 by Countess Gytha (mother of King Harold). Traditionally the church was founded in thanksgiving for the preservation of her husband's life in a storm at sea; a better tradition associates her husband Godwin, Earl of Wessex and holder of the royal manor of Harton, with the foundation.
Nothing is known of the earliest building nor whether it was rebuilt of enlarged when the collegiate church was replaced by a house of Augustine regulars at Hartland Abbey in the twelfth century.
[edit] Services
Sunday:
- 8 am Holy Communion (1st & 3rd Sundays)
- 11 am:
- Family Service (1st Sunday)
- Parish Eucharist (2nd & 4th Sundays)
- Matins (3rd Sunday)
Weekdays:
- 8 am Morning Prayer
[edit] References
B. H. Warmington, Guide to the Church of St. Nectan (1996)
T. Manley (Ed.), Hartland Times
