Saint Winifred's Church, Branscombe, Devon
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Saint Winifred's Church is a Church of England church in Branscombe in Devon, England. The church is dedicated to Saint Winifred, a Welsh saint. It is among the oldest and most architecturally significant parishes of Devon. It probably dates back as far as about 995, but extant records on the vicars only go back to the thirteenth century.
The building has a traditional west-east alignment. It is built on a levelled area that can not be seen from the coast. The choice of location may have been for protection of the original Saxon church from Viking raiders. Alternatively, the church may have been placed on an earlier pre-Christian holy site. Occupying such a pagan site would have allowed the Church both challenged paganism and absorbed any positive religious feelings associated with the site.
