These talks will explore the architectural and woodwork history of St Matthew’s Church through the eyes of two leading specialists in historic buildings and conservation.

Hugh Harrison, master wood conservator and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, will focus on the church’s historic woodwork, placing it within the wider traditions of English craftsmanship. Drawing on decades of experience conserving nationally and internationally significant interiors — from cathedrals to royal chapels — he will explain how church woodwork was designed, made, altered and conserved, and what careful close-looking can reveal about age, use and meaning.

Jo Cox, partner at Keystone Historic Buildings Consultants, will set St Matthew’s within its architectural context, examining the fabric, materials and development of the building as a whole. With long experience surveying and recording historic structures ranging from medieval churches to major national monuments, she will explore how churches evolved over time, how materials were chosen and reused, and what the building itself can tell us about belief, craft and community.

There will be opportunity for Q&A with the experts after each talk.

Together, these talks offer a rare opportunity to understand St Matthew’s not just as a place of worship, but as a layered historic building — shaped by skilled hands, changing needs and centuries of local and national history.

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Master craftsman and conservator trained by the last generation of traditional woodcarvers at St Sidwell’s Art Works, Exeter, later leading the firm through its transition to museum-standard conservation in collaboration with the V&A and the Courtauld Institute.

National and international significance of work, including major carved and conservation projects at Washington National Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace (Wren reredos and Henry VIII ceiling), Southwark Cathedral, the Greek Cathedral in London, and Amiens Cathedral.

Widely recognised authority on historic woodwork, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, long-standing member of ICOMOS UK, contributor to international conservation missions, and winner of the John Betjeman Award for Conservation (2016).

https://hugh-harrison.co.uk/

Partner at Keystone Historic Buildings Consultants, co-founder of the practice in 1989, specialising in detailed building analysis, hand-drawn records and Conservation Management Plans across a wide range of historic structures.

Extensive field and survey experience, including work on the Accelerated Survey of Listed Buildings for the Department of the Environment and major projects such as Wells Bishop’s Palace, SS Great Britain, Glastonbury Abbey, Corfe Castle and Exeter Cathedral.

Recognised specialist in church architecture and historic materials, widely published, joint author of Devon Thatch (2001), with a career-long focus on careful observation, scholarship and collaborative learning.

https://keystone-historic-buildings.com/

Tea, coffee and cake will be available on arrival in the Village Hall from 10am.

A light lunch will be available in the Village Hall from 12.30-2pm.

Refreshments will also be available after the last talk, in the Church.

We are proud to say our food is as locally sourced and home-made as possible.

Card and cash accepted.

Pasty & beans £5
Quiche & salad £5

Assortment of Cakes £2.50 per slice

Tea £1.50, Filter Coffee £2, Hot Chocolate £2.50
Cold drinks available

Vegetarian options available

Made by a local craftsman, these pens are hand-turned from yew wood from the grounds of St Matthew's Church. Each pen is unique and in limited quantity.

£30

Last few remaining! Bottled to commemorate the rededication of the Edward V window, this amber-style ale, brewed five miles away, will be on sale for the less than Princely sum of

£5 per bottle.