Chivelstone

Even in Devon it would be hard to find anywhere farther away from the madding crowd than Chivelstone, an unassuming village hidden away in a maze of country lanes in the extreme southwest of the county and well worth seeking out. It’s the tranquil rural surroundings that make Chivelstone so appealing, but the village also has a fine parish church, the only one in England dedicated to the 4th-century pope, St Sylvester. Historically, Sylvester is a misty figure, but an old tradition claims that his saintly ministrations cured the Roman emperor, Constantine, of leprosy. Chivelstone church was built at a time (the 15th century) when this disfiguring disease was still common in England; it seems likely the parishioners hoped that by dedicating their church to him, St Sylvester would protect them from the ravages of a deeply feared illness, which, once contracted, imposed total social exclusion on its innocent victims.