Services A-Z
St Peter the Poor Fisherman, Stoke
From “The Spirit of the Yealm”
About one and a half miles from Noss Mayo, overlooking Stoke Bay, is the ancient church of the parish of Revelstoke dedicated to St Peter the Poor Fisherman. This mediaeval church, first mentioned in a charter of AD1225, has Saxon origins with portions being built in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The aisle and the porch still have their carved wagon roofs; however, the rest of the building is roofless.
It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 6 April 1971, and was vested in the Trust on 28 June 1972.
Holy Cross, Newton Ferrers
From the Combined Benefice website
People have worshipped on the site of Holy Cross for over 900 years.
A church on this site is first mentioned on the Saxon Geld Roll of 1084, when ‘St Mary of Newton’ was one of those lands held free from geld (tax). At that time the church is likely to have been a simple timber building, probably occupying what is now the west end.
The church was rebuilt by the Ferrers family early in the 12th century and around 1260 the family built a new church, naming it Holy Cross. It was less than half the size of the present building and in 1342 was enlarged by the then rector, Henry de Ferrers. (Henry also extended the parsonage – Parsonage Farm – probably the oldest house in the village). Further extensive alterations took place in 1460 creating the church we can recognise today. During 19th century restoration work, foundations of a Norman church building were discovered. The piscine in the sanctuary and the sedilia in the chancel are in the Early English style of the 14th century.
In 1460 the north and south aisles were added, as well as the tower which was originally topped by four 14 foot high granite pinnacles. A rood screen was erected in 1520 but removed during the reformation. In 1886 major restoration was completed to plans drawn by Architect, G Fellowes Prynne, including raised, re-slated roof, enlarged porch, tiled flooring and hot air heating. The church contains many fine stained glass windows and an 1840s pipe organ built by Deane of Taunton.
St Peter Revelstoke, Noss Mayo
From the Combined Benefice website
St Peter’s was built to replace the Church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman as parish church of Revelstoke. The existing church had become dilapidated and was at an inconvenient distance for many residents of Noss Mayo. Furthermore, the chapel of ease of 1839 in the village was deemed too small to adequately serve the population as a parish church. Edward Baring, who purchased the estate of Membland in 1877, offered to construct a new church at his expense.
The foundation stone was laid on 10 September 1880 by Mrs. Edward Baring in the presence of a large crowd of spectators. Some of the clergy members present included the rector of Revelstoke, Rev. H. Farwell Roe, Rev. Duke Yonge of Newton Ferrers and the Archdeacon of Totnes, Ven. Alfred Earle. No contractor was sought for the construction of the church; local tradesmen carried out the work under the estate Clerk of works, Mr. G. W. Crosbie. Construction work had reached roof level by October 1881, and the church nearly completed when it was consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter, Frederick Temple, on 6 September 1882.
St Peter’s is built in the Perpendicular style and designed to accommodate 250 persons. It cost approximately £30,000 to build. The church is built of local stone with dressings in Dartmoor granite, slate roofs and woodwork in English oak. The inside is made up of a nave, north and south aisles, chancel, west tower, south-west porch and vestry. Owing to the steep site, the vestry was constructed beneath the north aisle and accessed by stairs under an apse. The embattled tower, approximately 70 feet high, contains eight bells and chiming apparatus supplied by Messrs. John Warner & Sons. The four clock faces installed below each belfry window were made by Mr. Jump of London.
Much of the interior’s carved woodwork was undertaken by Mr. Harry Hems of Exeter and the organ supplied by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd of London. Decoration of the church’s interior continued throughout the decade, with much of the paintwork and stained glass being carried out to the design and under the supervision of Mr. J. T. Fouracre of Stonehouse. The ongoing work was described in 1886 by the Totnes Times and Devon News as “making the interior as elegant as the graceful lines of the edifice itself”. A window memorial to Lady Revelstoke, following her death in 1892, was installed in 1893 and also supplied by Fouracre and Son