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Churches of the British Isles

Gallery: Churches of Devon

by Peter Kessler, 13 October 2024

East Devon Part 6: Churches of Marsh Green to Sowton

St Andrew Marsh Green, Marsh Green, East Devon, Devon

The former St Andrew Marsh Green was (and still is) located on the south side of the main lane in this small village, with the war memorial on its western flank. It is shown here half hidden by the small war memorial and some of the greenery which is now on site. It was build as a chapel-of-ease in 1896 along with one at Rockbeare. It is shown on the OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914, and was still operational in the immediate post-war years. By 2020 it was a private residence.

Marsh Green Congregational Chapel, Marsh Green, East Devon, Devon

The former Marsh Green Congregational Chapel, or Marsh Green Independent Chapel, is on the south side of the main east-west lane in this hamlet, about a hundred metres east of the war memorial, at the main road junction. It was built in 1840 and is shown on maps of 1892-1914. It remained operational in the immediate post-war years but by 2020 it was a private residence. It is just visible here at the far end of the white cottage, and at an angle to it.

The Church of St Michael & All Angels, Clyst Honiton, East Devon, Devon

The Church of St Michael & All Angels, Clyst Honiton, is located on the northern side of the main road, about midway between Honiton Road and the bypass roundabout. The font dates from an earlier building of the twelfth century, but the present building's main structure appears to date from the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries. It was built of local materials, mostly mudstone, with rubble walling, and a medieval fabric with red conglomerate ashlar quoins and plinth.

The Church of St Michael & All Angels, Clyst Honiton, East Devon, Devon

The church was thoroughly restored in 1875 by W White, with new south chapel and south porch, rusticated volcanic ashlar quoins, and Hamstone plinth. After this the 'All Angels' part of the name may have been dropped. Only minor details of the 1400s survived the restoration, mainly in the north aisle. Unusually the chancel is taller than the nave. The Perpendicular style is used throughout, including the three-stage low tower with low set-back buttresses.

The Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, Sowton, East Devon, Devon

The Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, Sowton, is on the western side of the lane through the village, around 225 metres to the south-west of the corner of Sowton Lane. Early Perpendicular in style, it is built in coursed red sandstone with Beer stone dressing and a fishscale slate roof, with heavy coping to the gable walls, and crosses at the apexes. The west tower is in three stages, battlemented with corner pinnacles (which have since been partially dismantled).

The Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, Sowton, East Devon, Devon

The church originated in the 1500s, but much dates to 1844-1855. Rebuilding was carried out by John Hayward, and paid for by John Garratt. Hayward retained the original perpendicular north arcade but replaced the rest as a rare example of an early Victorian Tractarian village church. The stone sculptor at work here - John Thomas (1813-1862) - so impressed architect Sir Charles Barry that he was engaged to superintend the stone carving of the Houses of Parliament.

Photos on this page kindly contributed by Keltek Trust and Mike Yeats via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and four photos copyright © Roger Cornfoot, Derek Harper, and Rod Allday via Geograph, reused under a cc licence, with additional information from The Victorian Church: Architecture and Society, Andrew Saint (Manchester University Press, 1995), and from White's Devonshire Directory (1850).

 

 

     
Images and text copyright © all contributors mentioned on this page. An original feature for the History Files.
 

 

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