The parish church of St John the Baptist is the most enduring monument to the history of Sampford Peverell. The manor was granted to William Peverell in the 12th century, and the family name was added to the settlement, giving the village its identity. The church was consecrated in 1259, and retains much of its 13th-century fabric in the nave and chancel, making it one of the rare Devon churches to preserve such extensive Early English work.
The church consists of a chancel with priest’s door, nave, south aisle, and an embattled west tower with six bells. The south aisle, separated from the nave by five arches, was added in 1498 at the expense of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of Henry VII. An inscription in the porch records her generosity, linking Sampford Peverell to the wider Tudor story. The porch and vestry form a continuation of the aisle, and the gable above is decorated with carved quatrefoils.
Over the west door is an inscription commemorating the rebuilding of the tower in 1815, replacing the original Early English spire of wood. The verse reads: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” The tower arch inside was later blocked, with the organ placed before it. The nave and aisle fell into decay by the mid-19th century, and were completely restored in 1863–64 under the Reverend George W. R. Ireland, who also reseated the church and rebuilt the north wall in conformity with the original. A lean-to vestry was added in 1870.
Within the chancel are a double piscina on the south side and a double arched recess on the north side. Inside the altar rails lies the mutilated effigy of a knight, traditionally identified as Sir Hugh Peverell, patron of the church in the 13th century. His legs below the knees are missing, but the cross-legged posture and armour remain visible. Antiquarian accounts note that Hugh and three other Peverells were buried within the church, their remains rediscovered during the 1863 restoration and reverently reinterred. A brass tablet near the pulpit records this discovery.
The monuments within the church reflect its layered history. On the north side of the east window is a mural brass commemorating Lady Margaret Poulett (d.1602), daughter of Anthony Harvey and widow of Sir Amias Poulett, ambassador to France and keeper of Mary Queen of Scots. Another tablet commemorates Mrs Margaret Collins (d.1655), granddaughter of Bishop Thomas Cotton of Exeter. Later memorials include Elizabeth Dawbney (d.1809), alongside painted royal arms of George I dated 1722 in the tower.
The furnishings include a restored Norman font with carved bands and cable moulding, a 17th-century oak chest, and pine benches that still retain brass candle holders. The stained glass windows, installed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, form a complete set rare in Devon, the finest at the east end of the aisle. The chancel also contains richly carved 17th-century oak chairs and a Gothic oak reredos depicting the Good Samaritan.
The churchyard adds its own stories: near the west door stands a hollow-trunked tree said to have been used for smuggling contraband in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Parish registers survive from 1672 for baptisms, 1674 for marriages, and 1674 for burials, offering a continuous record of community life.
St John the Baptist Church thus embodies the layered history of Sampford Peverell: Norman lords and medieval patrons, Tudor benefactors and Elizabethan courtiers, Victorian restorers and local families. At its heart lies the effigy of Sir Hugh Peverell, a stone reminder of the family whose name the village still bears.
