Whipton Methodist Church stood on the
south-eastern side of Brookway, overlooking the Brook Close
cul-de-sac (from where this photo was taken in 1990). The church
was opened for this new neighbourhood in 1956. Having fulfilled its
function and now no longer required, its registration was cancelled
on 27 February 2008. It stood unused until at least 2012, but by
2019 it had been demolished and a four-unit terrace block had been
erected in its place.
St Boniface Parish Church occupies the
northern corner at the junction between Brookway and Lloyd's
Crescent. The church was built in the 1950s as part of the
development of council housing in the Brookway area. The tower
contains a single bell. In the snowy winter of 2018 the roof
received some attention, while in 2019 Devon County Council voted
in favour of adopting St Boniface as the patron saint of Devon. St
Boniface was born in Crediton about AD 680.
Pinhoe Tabernacle (Baptist and Congregational)
is on the east side of Old Pinn Lane, about eighty metres north of
the southernmost junction with the new Pinn Lane. It was already in
existence in 1887-1888, but by 1903 it had become Pinhoe
Tabernacle (Congregational), suggesting a concentration of its
doctrine. By 1933 it was more simply Pinhoe Congregational Church,
and following the union of 1972 it is now Pinhoe United Reformed
Church.
The Hall Church sits on the eastern side
of Main Road, about sixty metres south of the junction with Station
Road. The building provides an alternative venue for worship to the
distant St Michael's Church (see below), high on its lonely hill
overlooking Pinhoe. A school was erected in 1837 on the site of the
now-lost Pinhoe Church House. In 1850 two cottages were
converted into a school, and when that closed in 1887 it was taken
as the present Anglican mission church.
The Church of St Michael & All Angels
Pinhoe sits at the western end of Church Lane, in the open
countryside of Beacon Hill immediately to the north-west of modern
Pinhoe. Originally the village was clustered around the church,
safe from flooding in the marshy valley of the Pin Brook which
feeds into the Exe. As the marsh was cleared and dried, the
village gradually extended downhill, leaving the church alone.
Even the vestry is located amongst the shops of Pinhoe.
The first church on this site was Saxon, although
historical detail is lacking. It was certainly present in 1001 when
Danes attacked and destroyed much of the village, despite the priest
braving the enemy lines to restock the village's arrow supplies.
The present limestone building was erected in the late 1300s and
early 1400s, with a red stone west tower. The chancel was rebuilt
in 1879-1880 by Christian, and further restoration work was handled
by Fulford.
