St Denys, 1 Victory Rd, North Tamerton, Holsworthy EX22 6RY

The Church of St Denys is situated on a hill close to a bridge across the Tamar, with views over West Devon. Denys was the first Bishop of Paris in 250 AD. The church is mentioned in late thirteenth century records but the patron saint is not recorded until 1334; it is possible that this was inspired by reference to dynas, the Cornish word for hill as at St Dennis in central Cornwall. John Wesley visited during his great tour of Cornwall; Stephen Hawker was curate of St Denys between 1830 and 1835 before becoming Vicar of Morwenstow.
The tower and the main body of the church date from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The tower is 72 feet high, being built of granite in three stages and unbuttressed. Around the base is a deep band of decoration consisting of plants, swords and a Star of David. The exterior of the south aisle has two decorative granite bands at window-sill and arch-springing level. The five bay aisle is typical of many Cornish churches, with a wagon roof. The Church was restored between 1880 and 1884 by Hooper of Hatherleigh, during the incumbency of the Reverend Richard Smith: the works included a new vestry, moving the old East window, its replacement and the rebuilding of the chancel for a total cost of £900. The church was elaborately painted and decorated with stencil work in 1886. The font dates from the twelfth century. The woodwork and carving throughout are especially striking; of particular note is the collection of sixteenth century carved bench ends, which were preserved during the restoration process. These include two prayer desks with the spear and sponge and a cross from the Passion of Christ and crouching beast finials.
North Tamerton tower in 1549 contained four bells, recast into a ring of five probably in the eighteenth century by the Cornish bellfounding family of Pennington and subsequently again recast in 1830 by J Taylor of Oxford into a ring of six with a tenor weighing 8 cwt.