Church of St Morwenna and St John The Baptist, Morwenstow - Structure

Structure

The church is built in stone with 19th-century slate roofs. Most of the stone is rubble but some dressed stone is present. The arcades dating from the 12th and 13th centuries are made from local dunstone, the 15th-century arcade is constructed from polyphant, and the 16th-century piers and arches are in granite. The plan of the church consists of a west tower, a nave and chancel, five-bay north and south arcades, a south porch and a northeast vestry. The tower has three stages. It is built in rubble with granite for the long and short quoins, the string course, embattled parapet, and the tall corner pinnacles with crocketted finials. The doorway to the porch consists of the outer order of a Norman doorway which has been moved from elsewhere. It includes zigzag carving and flowers carved in heavy relief. The doorway to the church itself consists of the inner two orders of the Norman doorway with zigzag carving on both orders. On the capitals are carved birds and pine cones. Internally the westerly three bays of the north arcade are Norman and include zigzag carving and a carved ram's head. The two easterly arcades are Transitional. The south arcade is mainly Perpendicular in style.