Churches of the British Isles

The existence of Holcombe Barton House Chapel is uncertain. The house sits midway between Holcombe Lane and Chineway Road, to the near east of Ottery St Mary. A medieval chapel of 'Hederland' is recorded as being attached to Ottery. Peter Orlando Hutchinson, who visited the area in 1851, believed it to be this location. White's 1850 has a chapel at 'a place called Hederland'. Bishop Brantyngham in 1388 granted a licence for a domestic chapel at Holcombe.

The Church of St Philip & St James is on the north edge of Fairmile, accessed via an arrow-straight lane which heads in the direction of the very-close A30 dual carriageway. The church originally was a chapel in the parish of Ottery St Mary (see 'related links'), erected in 1838 by Sir J Kennaway of the nearby Escot House, hence its alternative name of Escot Church. It was consecrated on 1 May 1840, with Revered P W Douglas MA being appointed as perpetual curate.

A district was assigned on 11 June 1844 out of Ottery St Mary and Talaton (see links), where the Kennaways of Escot House had previously worshipped. The incumbent became a vicar in 1868 and the parish retained its independence until 1958's duty mergers. The interior is classed as being plain, with a rib-vaulted chancel with leaf bosses at intersections and figurehead corbels. The reredos is immediately noticeable, with its Gothic pinnacles and mosaic inlay and symbols.

The lost St Anne's Chapel, Fenny Bridges, stood inside the green space at the corner of the junction between the main road and the Feniton road (at the left-hand edge of the field shown in this postcard). The old stone Fenny Bridge over the River Otter was formerly known as St Anne's Bridge. The medieval chapel most likely collected tolls to maintain it but, although the site is marked on old OS maps, no sign of the building remains. The present bridge was added in 1809.

Fenny Bridges Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the main road's north side, just a hundred metres east of the car sales lots at the western corner of the Feniton road junction. The chapel is dated 1850, potentially using material from the old St Anne's Chapel (above). It is shown on the OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914. Still operational in the inter-war years, it seemingly ceased after the end of the Second World War. Today it is a private residence called 'The Old Chapel'.

One photo on this page by P L Kessler & Janann Blanchard, two kindly contributed by Alison Day via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, two copyright © Shazz and Derek Harper via Geograph, reused under a cc licence, and one from the History Files collection.