St Pancras, Exeter, Devon

Incredibly, this lovely tiny church is set in the middle of the Guildhall Shopping Centre. On three sides of the courtyard there are modern shops screened by trees, and on the fourth is a row of medieval buildings which are now also shops. One of the buildings includes a millstone embedded into the wall and another has a gorgeous old door, seen below.

 

A Grade II* listed church, St Pancras was first recorded in 1191, although it is thought to have more ancient origins. It is also one of the smallest and is only 46 x 16ft; a two-cell structure comprising a small nave and lower chancel. Exeter was built upon a volcano plug and many of its older buildings were made from volcanic rock. St Pancras itself is built of Heavitree stone, a type of volcanic rock to be found in the Heavitree area of the city, along with limestone dressings and clay tile roof. 

A single light bellcote on the west gable contains a small bell founded in the 15th century, and is inscribed with the Latin 'sum parva temen audior ampla per arva', translated as 'I may be small, nevertheless I am heard over a wide distance'. The west wall is windowless. However, there is an arch of bricks which may show where one was blocked up during renovations, although this isn't mentioned in the British Listed Buildings history. The fabric is mainly C13th with further renewel during the 1880s by the church architect J L Pearson.

The windows are quite varied; the chancel (the lower section to the right, above) include a lancet window with Y-tracery, other tracery windows plus mullioned windows with round arches, whereas the nave windows are plain mullioned ones (below) and probably date from the 16th century.

Unfortunately, I only snuck inside for a few minutes so only have these two interior shots. Although tiny and fairly plain it's also a most attractive church; one that I'd love to revisit and take a lot more photos. I always meant to go back but I don't know when I'll be able to. If I do, I'll either add the photos to this article or make a new post, as there are quite a few interesting architectural details inside and more history to be had.