South Huish

St Andrew South Huish, in Devon, is the Friends only true set of ruins - everything is roofless - as it has been since 1866 when a window was blown in during divine service. But this doesn't stop this Grade II* church being used each Summer for an annual service held by local people.

We took ownership of the church in 1976, have arrested its decay and put back the collapsed tracery. The chancel and the tower date from the 13th - 15th century.

Fixtures and Fittings at Galmpton

The replacement for St Andrew's was built at Galmpton in 1869, and within two decades St Andrew's had been deliberately unroofed.  Galmpton houses the simple granite font with waterleaf base, a memorial to the Lydstone family, the four bells, and most importantly of all a remarkable assemblage of shattered remains from two fifteenth-century alabaster reredoses, representing sculptural scenes from the life of Our Lord.  These were found in the spring of 1857 within St Andrew's when the mid-sixteenth-century blocking of the lower part of the west window was dismantled.

A History of South Huish

A full history of South Huish church by Matthew Saunders, Director of the Friends is given in the Ancient Monuments Society Transactions Vol. 42, 1998. To order a copy please contact the office or follow this link to the Ancient Monuments Society Transactions page.