BRENDON CHURCHES
Church of England: Diocese of Exeter
Parish church of St Brendan
Brendon's parish church lies in an isolated position, 700 feet up on a steep hillside about a mile and a half from its village. The original parish church was even further away - about three miles - at Cheriton. Its dedication to the Irish St Brendan is unusual. This is the saint who is credited with sailing the Atlantic in a leather boat. Although he had a three year mission to Britain, there is no evidence to suggest that he ever came to Brendon. Presumably, followers of his set up a chapel at Cheriton. Little remains of it now and there is no evidence of its age, although the list of rectors begins in 1217. Being so far from the village, there was a chapel of ease in the village at the Staghunters' Inn. The church was moved closer in 1738, when a piece of ground became available. A stone tablet on the wall to the right of the porch commemorates the move. Some stone was brought over from the old church and some of the fittings, including the sundial over the porch, dated 1710, and the Norman font.
As with several remote churches in the area, there are stories of smuggled goods being hidden in the tower in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Despite its relatively recent building, the church has had several alterations. The tower was rebuilt in 1828 and the church restored in 1873. A north aisle and transept were added at this restoration. All of the stained glass dates fom the late 19th or early 20th centuries.
St Brendan's Church
Font from previous parish church at Cheriton
Sundial on church porch
Former Methodist Chapel
Methodist services were first held in the Brendon area in 1838, in the farmhouse of a Mr Chamberlain. An undemoninational non-conformist chapel was built soon after and later handed over to the Methodists, forming part of the Lynton circuit. It is situated between Rockford and Brendon village. The meeting room was reached by a flight of steps to one side and underneath was a boiler room. The chapel was sold in the 1990s and converted for an outdoor centre. It has since been sold again and converted to a private house.