St Odulph

The church was dedicated by Bishop Walter de Bronescombe on 16th October 1259. In church you will find two Royal Coats of Arms, both are painted in oil on wood boards. One has the coat of Arms of George II and is dated 1729. The other displays the arms of Charles II and is dated 1663. The church also has fragments of a sundial which is dated 1637 and a set of 17th century stocks.

On the night of Monday 21st January 2013 a thunderbolt struck one of the pinnacles on the tower of St Odulph in the centre of the village of Pillaton. The pinnacle exploded and pieces of masonry crashed through the roof of the church causing damage not only to pews but also to some windows (fortunately not the glass) and the tiled floor, as well as leaving gaping holes in the ceiling and roof.

Within days the church was shrouded in scaffolding and waterproof sheeting and it remained in a protective cocoon for many months before the plastering within the church was dry and cleaning and redecorating could begin. One of the damaged pews was painted with the word ‘Resurgam’ meaning ‘I shall rise again’ and was placed above the inside of the porch door.
The rebuilt pinnacle is now indistinguishable from the other three. Pillaton church was finally reopened in time for the Remembrance Day service in 2013, so you can again wander round and look at the fine 18th and 19th century marble tablets, several of which are to the memory of members of the Tillie family of Pentillie Castle.

In the south transept can be seen an exceptionally large squint. Many churches had a hole cut through the wall between a transept and the chancel so people in the transept could see what was taking place at the high altar, but in the case of Pillaton the squint is extra large. This may well represent the start of a south aisle that had to be aborted when pre Reformation Catholic processions around the church ended around 1548. 7The medieval wagon roofs still remain in the north aisle, south transept and porch. The stained glass in the east window of the chancel is a memorial to John Eva White, Rector, who died in 1878. The lectern has the following inscription ‘AMGD In memory of Flight Sub Lieutenant William Hocking RN, who died for his country on Good Friday 1916 aged 23 years. Given by his parents, brothers and sisters’.