 The Church Tower "...the heart of the town."
Altar
Frontals - Link
Dedicated to St Martin and St Mary, the parish
church dates from the 13th century, with some evidence of a church on the site
even before that. It is a beautiful building, mainly built in a slightly rural,
not highly decorated, perpendicular style. There have been various additions and
restorations over the centuries, but the building has a feeling of unity and
harmony about it.
We are fortunate in being able to keep the church building open most of the time
during the day. Various people drop in for a moment of quiet and in the summer
Church Watch volunteers provide visitors with a welcome and a brief introduction
to the building.
The church is sited at one end of Fore Street,
the main shopping street. It may be exaggerating to say that the building is
right at the heart of the town, but it is immediately opposite one of the pubs,
a stone's throw from the ancient playpark, and a few paces from the post office.
 On
entering the church you would probably be struck by two things - an open, light
and airy feeling, and a lot of dark wood. The light and airiness comes from the
fact that the roof is high, and the nave and south aisle do not feel separated.
The arches are high and wide and supported by pillars of light coloured stone.
The windows of the side chapel and those towards the rear of the church are of
clear glass. The stained glass dates from 1850 to 1905 and provides examples of
the work of several of the finest craftsmen of the period.
The dark wood is almost everywhere - fine pews, some with 16th or 17th century
carving, a very fine 15th century rood screen, and the balustrade and seating of
the west gallery.
The open feeling to the church building means
that most people feel "part" of a service wherever they sit. The church has a
fine set of eight bells, some dating from the 18th century, and a skilled team
of ringers (all now dating from the 20th century). One of the gentle pleasures
of Chudleigh is to hear the bells resound off the hills on Sundays and on
Tuesday evenings, practice night. Another is to hear the church clock chime
every hour on the hour.
At the back of the church, beneath the gallery,
is the Fellowship Room, which is invaluable and very well used for meetings and
for the youngest members of the Sunday congregation. Sliding glass doors move
out of the way for the most popular services.
The church also has kitchen and toilet
facilities with disabled access. There are separate choir and vicar's vestries at the east end of the
church and a committee room/parish office on the gallery.
The future challenge is likely to be concerned
with capacity and versatility. Chudleigh continues to grow and we pray that the
church may continue, as it has in the past, to meet the ever changing
needs of the community.
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Altar Frontals
Celebration altar frontal from Chudleigh
Have you, when
attending a church service, or just visiting, wondered about the change of colours on the altar table? For twenty-eight weeks of the year it is green and
suddenly changes to white/gold for All Saints’ Day, and has a number of changes
from then on. These colours are not official, and never have been, although used
from the Middle Ages as a ‘visual aid’ or reminder of the changing season of the
Church. Apart from the altar frontal, you will see the same colour on the pulpit
desk and in clergy vestments. We follow tradition according to what we have: ie
gold/white; green; red; purple.
Gold
– usually for Christmas Day, Easter Day, and other occasions for
rejoicing and celebration;
White – symbolising joy, celebration, light, purity, used for the Sundays
after Christmas, after Epiphany and after Easter;
Green – symbolising the colour of grass, foliage, fruit, a time of growth.
Used for the 28 weeks of Sundays after Trinity and for Sundays between Epiphany
and Lent;
Red – symbolising fire and blood. Used at Pentecost (reminding us of the
tongues of fire descending on the apostles), Palm Sunday (Jesus’ triumphant
entry into Jerusalem), and the first 3 days of Holy Week, and between All Saints
and the Feast of Christ the King. On Good Friday, the altar is normally
stripped.
Purple
– Used in Lent and Advent seasons, to symbolise penitence and self-discipline.
[From an article by
Margaret Stack in What’s On in Trusham]
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