Author: Dee Woods, OVA
There are eleven churches in the Otter Valley, a Methodist Temple, and a number of deconsecrated chapels, no longer in use for public worship. This is a very brief summary, but each church deserves a detailed visit to look at the wealth of interesting historical features that these buildings hold.
All Saints Church, East Budleigh
There is no record of when the church was built, but it has Saxon origins, and worked Saxon stone was found embedded within the wall on the North side of the chancel in 1859. The current church mostly dates from the 12th and 15th centuries. It is a Grade 1 listed building with many fine features and carvings. The north and south aisles were added around 1420, with impressive Beer stone columns. The wagon ceiling with decorated bosses over the chancel and nave are very fine. At this time the inside would have been brightly painted with frescoes, looking very different from today. There are 63 remarkable medieval carved bench ends, believed to have been carved by local craftsmen of varying skills. The subjects represented include the arms of local families; various local trades and a great many have ornamental designs including mythical creatures and foliage. Of course Sir Walter Raleigh’s family are closely associated with the church, as his father was a Church warden. The tomb of Johanne Raleigh is in the floor, close to the Raleigh pew, which is dated 1537.
The churchyard had many beautiful trees, including ancient yew trees, and wins awards for the way it looks after its wildlife.
Saint Mary’s Church, Bicton
The ruins of the former Early English church are adjacent to the present small church in a secluded spot surrounded by beech trees. All that now remains is a small tower and some graceful but ruined window tracery of 15th century origin. When the old church was demolished, Nicholas Pugin used it to design and construct a “Planned ruin” as a mausoleum at the south corner. This was for the tomb of the second Lord Rolle and a marble monument of Dennis Rolle Esq. The remains of an ancient cross (1066) are just outside the door of the mausoleum.
The present church was built in 1850, having been commissioned by Louisa, Lady Rolle. The church was designed by Hayward of Exeter in the Decorated style. The foundation stone was laid on 27 September 1848.
The walls of the church are of cut limestone from Chudleigh, with Bath and Portland stone dressings. The tower comprises three stories, the top being a belfry. Around the parapet of the roof are carvings of fabulous beasts and caricatures of human faces. The dripstones of the porch and window arches are carved to represent Kings and Queens of England. The stones of the North Porch bear the likenesses of Lord and Lady Rolle (strangely with Oliver Cromwell on the side). Those on the South Porch depict Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
St Michael and All the Angels Otterton
It is likely that there was a Saxon church on this site but the first official record of a Priory is 1161. The Saxon church was rebuilt by the monks, with a detached tower. After the Dissolution (1539) the parish church was rebuilt with the tower at the eastern end of the nave.
In 1869 Lady Louisa Rolle decided that the church was not good enough for the village and paid for the building of a large new church, by Benjamin Ferrey. It only took one year to erect, but the old tower was kept, and the new church was built to the west of it, which is most unusual. The exterior walls were built of limestone from Berry Head, and are bluish-grey in colour, with Ham Hill stone dressings. Beer limestone is used for all the interior walls.
One of the few relics of the old church is the 15th century font. There is a goodstained glass East window of the Crucifixion by Ward and Hughes. There are many fine listed chest tombs in the churchyard.
Churches in Budleigh Salterton
In 1812 Lord Rolle built a Chapel of Ease near the corner of Chapel Street with East Terrace. It remained in use until the after the consecration of St Peter’s Church in 1893, but was demolished in the 1900s.
The oldest church still standing is the Baptists Church at Little Knowle, which was built in 1844 by public subscription. It has a dignified pedimented front with black channelled corner pilasters and two emphatic rusticated doorways. It been beautifully restored.
The Methodist ‘Temple’ was erected in 1812 by a retired resident, Mr James Lackington. He moved to Budleigh from London, and was so struck by the “spiritual destitution of the place”. The original Temple was replaced in 1904-5 with money raised from public subscription.
St Peter
This was built in 1891-3 to replace the chapel of ease. It was designed by the Devon borne architect G H Fellowes Prynne and paid for by the Hon Mark Rolle. It is large and cruciform with a magnificent interior under a barrel vault roof. Only the lower part of the intended North West tower and spire were completed.
The exterior is of grey limestone with Doulton stone trim. The interior has clustered arcade piers of Doulton stone and marble. The pulpit is of sandstone with pierced panels of brass and iron, and was given by Lady Gertrude Rolle. The church was damaged in the Second World War by a German bomb, so the only stained glass of 1893 is in the baptistery.
St John the Baptist Colaton Raleigh
The church was built before 1226, originally of stone, probably from Beer. But it was largely rebuilt in 1875 by R Medley Fulford, who kept the 15th century West tower.
It has retained the transitional arcade of circa 1200, between the nave and the north aisle, the piscine by the high alter and the 13th century transitional font with cable moulding.
Stone from Ladram Bay was used in its construction.
St Lukes Church Newton Poppleford
The age of the church is not known, but there was an ancient chapel recorded in the hamlet in 1331, when the foundation and endowment of a chantry was licensed by Bishop Grandisson. The West tower is all that remains of the medieval church.
The walls are of local Sandstone, with Beer stone used for the cut stones on the corners, window and gargoyles. A south aisle was added in 1826, as the population was growing fast. The Nave and Chancel were rebuilt in 1875 when a continuous roof was made.
For most of its history the parish was linked with Aylesbeare, but in 1855 it became a separate parish church with a licenced curate. By 1863 it had its own incumbent, the Revd Samuel Henry Walker.
St Gregory’s Church Harpford
The Church was restored in 1884 by Hayward and Son, and consists of a nave, chancel and aisle with a very fine battlemented tower. The walls are of reddish rubble, with a variety of windows including some 13 century lancets.
The North aisle has 14th century octagonal piers and simple chamfered arches. There are some fine stained glass windows. Augustus Toplady, who wrote ‘Rock of Ages’ was the incumbent in 1706.
The churchyard cross was restored in his memory with an inscription.
St Gregory’s Church Venn Ottery
The Saxon tower dates back to about 1095 and is the oldest part of the church, being mostly medieval with paired square-headed belfry windows.
The church was destroyed by fire in the 18th century. The nave was rebuilt in 1882 by Packham and Croute of Exeter. New windows were inserted and new roofs built.
There are some late medieval carved bench-ends with large foliage forms, and Victorian replacements by Hems to match.