Churches of the British Isles

Colaton Raleigh Wesleyan Methodist Chapel can be found midway along the eastern side of Chapel Lane, just a short way to the south of Hawkerland Road and the direct connection into the village. Being built in 1893, the chapel is shown on the OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914, and is listed there as a Wesleyan chapel. The house (presumably the chapel's manse) is on its southern flank. The chapel remained active in the post-war period but was later closed.

The Church of St John the Baptist, Coleton Raleigh, sits between the village hall and the western side of Brook Lane, on the southern edge of the village. The lane alongside it leads to the River Otter. William Brewer (the younger) acquired part of the land here from Henry I at the end of the twelfth century. His uncle, William Brewer, would relatively soon become bishop of Exeter (1224-1244). This village church was quickly built up in the late 1100s and very early 1200s.

Features were added in the late 1400s/early 1500s, including the two-stage Perpendicular west tower with battlements. That was built using roughly-coursed dressed blocks of brownish-red local conglomerage sandstone with Beerstone detail. It has a ring of six bells which today are regularly rung along the 'Devon Call Change' style. The semi-hexagonal stair turret projects from the south-east corner, rising higher than the main tower and with its own embattled parapet.

The church building is generally in good condition, having almost entirely been rebuilt in the Early Decorated style in 1875 by West Country church architect R Medley Fulford as his first full commission. Interesting features of the old building were preserved, however, and the tower remained almost untouched. The main exterior generally dates to the rebuild, while the 'Transitional' north arcade and font are all that remain from the original building work of around 1200.

The lost Colaton Raleigh Baptist Chapel cannot even be located on a map, so this general shot of the village hall stands in for a precise location. The meeting was in existence in 1848 according to A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis (Seventh Edition) which was published in the same year. It was gone by 1894, and perhaps several years before that, which means that it was missing by the time late Victorian OS maps were published.

Photos on this page kindly contributed by Robert Slack, Roger Wasley, and Chris Adams, all via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, with three photos copyright © David Smith (two) and Derek Harper via Geograph, reused under a cc licence. Additional information from Kelly's Directory of Devon (1902), and The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5.