In the parish of Withycombe Raleigh there are three churches; that of St John the Evangelist on Withycombe Village Road, All Saints on Exeter Road and of course St John’s in the Wilderness that was featured in a previous article.

The parish of Withycombe Raleigh came into being in 1850 and prior to that was in the East Budleigh Parish. In 1421 Bishop Lacey gave a licence to the Vicar of East Budleigh to hold services at St Michael and All Angels, Withycombe. This church was quite small and after three hundred years was restored in 1722 due to the generosity of Sir John Colleton of Rill.

On the establishment of the Withycombe Raleigh Parish in 1850 it was becoming evident that the existing church of St Michael and All Angels was too small to serve the ever growing population of the parish. This small church survived until 1865 when it was demolished but a sketch of it can be seen in the present day church that replaced it. In 1850 the church of St John the Evangelist was started and it was consecrated in 1864. Initially, the church of St John’s in the Wilderness was the recognised Parish Church but in 1864 the new church in Withycombe Village Road became the Parish Church. However, in 1912 it was discovered that due to an oversight in 1864 the church was not actually legalised for the purposes of conducting marriage ceremonies. A Special Order of Council was obtained that year to legitimise all marriages that had been conducted there between 1864 and 1912.

The church was built from local stone from Berry Head and Beer and the cost was £5223 and both Lady Rolle and a Mr Wood of The Grange were major benefactors. The church has a stained glass window by Morris & Co and a 3 Manual Organ amongst its features. The bells were first added in 1889 and again in later years and are recognised as among the finest in all Devon.

Usually, there is much history surrounding churches that historians spend time trying to discover and understand. Regrettably, in the case of the newest church within the parish of Withycombe Raleigh, All Saints on Exeter Road, this is not the case. This church came about due to a bequest of the late Miss Perrin of Llandovery House in Albion Hill and was commenced in 1898 and consecrated in 1908. It is a traditional Anglo Catholic church, featuring a Lady Chapel in the South transept and a St Christopher altar in the north transept. If you can add anything further to the history of this church please do let me know.

Exmouth Museum has recently launched a standing order scheme whereby monthly contributions can be made for as little as £2 per month, all of which goes towards the upkeep of the museum. Full details are on the website or are available at the museum, so do please help your local museum if you can in this way. If there is any particular aspect of Exmouth’s history you would like me to write about, again please do e mail me at mike.menhenitt@btinternet.com or leave a note at the museum and I will see what I can do. Thank you.