churchtourismstudy

An impressive church which dominates the village. The interior is similarly impressive. The sign board only mentions Sunday services and that the Post Office is in the church two sessions a week. A good way to get local people to come in the doors.

Inside I found a guide book and some post cards for sale. There is a folder giving details of the war dead from the village and also one on a survey of the monuments here. A nice parish map is also displayed. There is a good children’s area. Some leaflets were around about The Three Rivers Mission Community. There was a nice collection of prayers to use, both generally, and for particular groupings in the parishes which make up this community.

There is a village website – http://www.ugborough.com and 10 people in the visitors book in the last 22 days.

The font here is bright red with a modern cover, also brightly painted.

The pulpit is white and there is another font in the prayer area. This has a prayer board and a laminated sheet, ‘To help you use five minutes in prayer’. This had some good suggestions on it. I hope it gets used.

The parish priest, Fr Harry Jevons  had produced a leaflet, ‘A Sure and Certain Hope’ which explains the Christian hope in the face of death. It is very good.

I rate St. Peter’s as good.

I found St. Petroc’s open. It was cleaning day (Friday’s often seem to be) and the merry band there were very friendly. This is something I have noted before. The church is very well cared for and is obviously loved. There was no welcome notice outside but there was a notice saying no parking as space needed for church use. I know that this is a practical thing to do but it can give a negative message to a visitor. The main notice board had the usual service notices only but there was a nice friendly welcome notice in the porch.

A guide book and some post cards are for sale. For children there is the usual area set up at the back. A count of the visitors book showed 7 visitors in the first 22 days of this month. There was a very nice prayer leaflet in the pews which gave some excellent prayer ideas. Visitors are encouraged to take these away and to use them and to pray for the work of St. Petroc’s church. This is an idea well worth using in other places.

There is a display of church people – PCC, Warden’s etc and of the church’s mission link with Sri Lanka.

St. Petroc’s is an interesting church. I rate it as OK for the purposes of this study.

This delightful church is in Simon Jenkins ‘One Thousand Best Churches’ for good reason. St. Saviour’s is tucked down a side street. It is open every day and both doors are open wide to welcome people in. It is well worth going in as it is simply a stunning church. Richly carved as many Devon churches are, this must be one of the very best.

The sign outside gives a nice clear welcome to the visitor. Inside I found a guide book (very well produced with colour photographs) and a welcome sheet (also available in several languages). The latter uses the building to give a simple outline of the Christian faith. There are some multi lingual paddle boards and a selection of book marks, prayer cards, Tim Tilley booklets, postcards etc. on sale. Also some ‘faith stones’, small pebbles with short bible verses painted on them. I was rather taken with a monthly prayer guide which lists subjects and areas to pray for in the world, the deanery and the roads etc. in the parish. This is a nice idea which is seldom seen (Broadstairs had done something similar).

For children there is an area set up with colouring available and a knitted Noah’s Ark to play with.

Candles can be lit on the votive stand and there is a prayer request board also. A Bible is left open on the lectern at one of the day’s readings.

140 people had put entries in the visitors book over the last 21 days. This is a well visited church which is making a real effort to provide for those who come in. I rate St. Saviour’s as very good.

Brixham was busy with visitors today. Each Thursday over during the school summer holidays there has been a pirate day. This is obviously very successful in attracting crowds of holiday makers.

Perched high above this still working fishing port is All Saints Church. It is an impressive sight.

I found it locked today. It is advertised as being open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10.30 – 2.30. Teas are served and the tower is open for visitors to climb up. I would have thought that being open on a Thursday might have been a good idea as the town was so busy. Even better to find some sort of pirate link and exploit that.

I haven’t therefore rated All Saints.

I whizzed past this church but noticed the road side sign which says; ‘St. Gabriels Church all welcome.’ Turning round I went to see if this was in fact the case. I am pleased to report that it is!

It is open and inside is a simple, well loved building. Being a Devon church it has lots of wood carvings. These were done by a Miss Pinwell, daughter of a former vicar. There is a simple guide sheet which explains how St. Gabriel’s was once the village school and church but, after the school closed in 1934, it was just used as the church. There is a pilgrim’s prayer on the wall. The church features bright kneelers each of these records it’s maker on the back. A lovely idea. There is a copy of the original licence to build the church framed on the wall. The flowers are arranged in tin cans – perhaps these had been for a wedding? Anyway they add a homely touch to this simple church.

There is a sand dish for votive candles – something any church could do if they can’t run to a votive stand.

All very simple but all delightful. One of the joys of this study has been the discovery of churches like St. Gabriel’s. It is never going to make it into a 1000 best churches book but it is well loved, well used, and deserves a visit. A lovely place to be quiet and to pray. Go and have a look! I rate it as good.

Another fine Dartmoor church in a lovely little town. Again there was no church sign but it was open and is every day. The door is left open. I found some multi lingual ‘bats’ for visitors to use and a guide book to buy. On sale are prayer cards, bookmarks, notelets and tea cloths. 41 people had entered their names into the visitors book. This is a simple church which fits in very well with it’s locality. Well worth a visit but I do feel that this is a place where a bit more could be done to welcome visitors. There must be stories to tell of this place. I rate it as OK.

A trip around Dartmoor had me coming to St. Winifred’s. A distinctive church with it’s pale coloured slender tower. There is no sign at all outside. At first I thought that the church was locked but the door is just very stiff. It is worth persevering with. There is a good welcome notice inside, facing the door.

A history of the church is framed on the wall and there would normally be some church guides but these had sold out. Some post cards are for sale. There is a lovely prayer chapel here with a prayer book to add requests into, a remembrance book and an open bible.

The children’s area has a display of a Family Service walk and some examples of work that they had made. This is good to see as it shows that even in a tiny place like this there is the new life of children in the church.

I have to rate St. Winifred’s as OK but I really do like this church. It has a wonderful atmosphere. Only 7 visitors in the book in the last 20 days.

Much better as it is open with a nice welcoming notice placed in the door way. Inside I found a peaceful and prayerful church. It is quite dark which does add to the atmosphere. There are bats and laminated sheets (in several languages)to guide people around. Guide books for sale as well as a trail leaflet. There is a children’s area set up and only 7 people had signed the visitors book in the last 20 days.

The Kirkham Chantry is used for prayer and there is a votive stand and the blessed sacrament here.

There is some nice modern glass here to-

I rate St. John’s as good.

Website at http://www.paigntonparishchurch.co.uk

Another church that Betjeman rates highly; ‘Torquay’s magnificent high church, by G.E. Stret, 1861-71, dominates the harbour. There is extensive use of Devon marble, a rare total immersion font. mosaic panels by Burne-Jones and Salviati, and Morris glass.’ This sounds good but it is locked so visitors cannot delight at all this! This is a prominent church in a busy seaside town. It really should be open. Very disappointing and very poor. I was looking forward to visiting this church.

Again, feedback is welcomed.

This is a church which John Betjeman which he describes as ‘a fine example of a Butterfield Gothic Revival church.’ This it could well be but it was firmly locked with no indication of whether it is ever open except for services. There was a board set up inside the gated porch which says that people were welcome to a hog roast at the Bank Holiday weekend. Visitors don’t appear to be welcome at other times so why then? The church website is at http://www.allsaintsbabbacombe.org.uk but this gives nothing at all on visitors. A shame as this appears to be a church well worth seeing.

I rate this as very poor. I would welcome any feedback on this church.