St John's Church, Bridgetown is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

place of worship built in 1832 by

Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset Edward Adolphus St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset (24 February 1775 – 15 August 1855), styled Lord Seymour until 1793, of Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire and Stover House, Teigngrace, Devon, was a British landowner and amateur mathematician. Biogr ...

for the tenants of his estate in

Bridgetown, Devon Bridgetown occupies the left bank of the Dart in the town of Totnes, Devon, England. It resulted from the first bridge being built across the river for the town. The river is in a valley, with Bridgetown on the south eastern slopes opposite Tot ...

. The original church was gutted by fire on 9 July 1976 owing to arson. The church was rebuilt and reconsecrated by Eric Mercer, the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

in 1980. It is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building. When the church was built Edward St Maur contacted Henry Philpotts, the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

as regards the consecration of the church. After a meeting and extensive correspondence between the Duke's solicitor and the Bishop's secretary it was resolved to make the church a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

attached to

St Mary's Church, Berry Pomeroy St Mary's Church of Berry Pomeroy is an Anglican parish church in Berry Pomeroy, with a full length, forty-two foot wide, rood screen which has been described as one of the most perfect in Devon. It is listed on the Heritage at Risk Register. T ...

. From 1843 until 1869 the church was aligned with the

Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...

References

Church of England church buildings in Devon Churches completed in 1980 Churches completed in 1832 {{UK-anglican-church-struct-stub