The original building on the site was a late Saxon (10th/11th C) minster, of which only the windowless North Wall (facing you as you enter) remains.
The nave (running from altar to bell tower) is 14th C. Spanning the nave, the intricately carved 15th C rood screen (one of the finest in North Devon) was later extended (16th C) to span the south aisle.
Above the screen there is a beautifully ornate ceiling which was painted by in the 18th century by the Reverend Lewis Southcomb and depicts a huge golden cross in a sky of clouds and stars. It was restored in the 1960s by the wife of the then rector, Mrs Marion Farmiloe. For more information, see below.
Above the chancel is a stunning ceiling painted in the 18th C by Rev. Lewis Southcombe, depicting a huge golden cross.
The entrance porch has a fine 15th C wagon roof, and a threshold step said to be the shaft of a Celtic cross, the base of which lies in the churchyard.
The origins of the bell tower go back to the 14th C, but it has been repaired and restored several times.
The bells were cast in 1724 (with the exception of the treble, which was added to the original five in 1902). They were all taken down, repaired, retuned and rehung in February 1997 after a four year fundraising campaign in the community.
The clappers were replaced in 2020, and they were rung just once before Covid silenced the bell tower for two years.
The spire was originally clad in oak shingles, and then with lead, but it was severely damaged in a storm in 1915, when it was taken down and replaced by what became known locally as `The Stump’.
It was finally rebuilt by public subscription in 1931 and was clad in copper at a cost of £600
Another fund raising drive in the village 2016 raised over £70,000 of the £150,000 needed to replace the old copper with new. You can see a documentary about the project here
The Chancel ceiling was restored by Marion Farmiloe, wife of the then incumbent rector Rev James Farmiloe. Their daughter Catherine remembers the process:
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I was born in 1961 (in London) and my parents didn't move to Kings Nympton until the end of 1962 (my father became Incumbent Rector on 14 Dec 1962).
I clearly remember my mother painting this so I'm guessing I was between 6 and 10 years old. I feel a date of the late 60s would be more accurate rather than the originally stated date of 1960.
I remember being quite scared and concerned when she was at the top of the rickety, old ladder. As a young child, I suppose it was a long way up! I would often be in the church with her, as it was the school holidays and it seemed to take the whole of one summer! It may have taken even longer because she probably continued when I had gone back to school.
As far as I remember, she just used ladders to access the ceiling but perhaps I only saw the sides of the ceiling being restored. I do remember that there were lots of conversations re how the central part would be accessed. I think access from the Rood Screen was possibly considered but there were concerns re the fragility and weakness of that.
It seems to ring a bell that two ladders were placed vertically with a ladder/plank or platform which was positioned horizontally across the two ladders. Perhaps the ladder that wasn't next to the wall was secured by the pews? It would be interesting to find out. However, I'd like to think that she only did this when there was another person around! Our Health & Safety of today is very much different from those times!!
