St Paul's Church 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 ...

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

parish church in Preston,

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. It was designed by

Nugent Cachemaille-Day Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day (1896–1976), often referred to as NF Cachemaille-Day, was an English architect who designed some of the most "revolutionary" 20th-century churches in the country. His Church of St Nicholas, Burnage has been c ...

and built in 1938–39.

History

With the expansion of the hamlet of Preston into a suburb of Paignton during the late 19th-century and early 20th-century, a mission room was first established around 1904. A temporary church dedicated to St Paul was then erected in 1909 as 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 ...

to Christ Church, with accommodation for 200 persons. As additional church accommodation was soon required, a second temporary church was erected adjacent to the other in 1912, with accommodation for 350 people. By 1937, the parish of Christ Church had a population of over 8,000, which was forecast to increase in the following years. With support from the Christ Church Parochial Church Council and 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.

, Rev. A. Harrington, the vicar of Christ Church, launched an appeal to raise £10,000 for a new, permanent church to be built. £4,600 had already been raised over previous years towards such a building. In October 1937,

was hired to design a church capable of accommodating up to 450 persons. Messrs. Wippell of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

were later hired as the builders and construction began on 31 October 1938. The original intention was to build the nave, chancel and lower part of the tower, omitting the upper part of the tower and a chapel until more funds were raised. By the time construction began, a sum of £8,214 had been achieved and a loan of £2,000 received. The foundation stone was laid by Dame Violet Wills of Haytor, in the presence of the Bishop of Exeter, on 14 January 1939. In May 1939, the Parochial Church Council unanimously decided to complete the entire church under their contract with Messrs. Wippell. Funds continued to be raised and a revised plan for the tower was submitted by Cachemaille-Day in June 1939. The completed church, which cost £12,500 to build, was consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev.

Charles Curzon Charles Edward Curzon (15 April 1878, in Kensington – 1954) was an Anglican bishop, the 6th Bishop of Stepney from 1928 until 1936 when he was appointed Bishop of Exeter. He educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Christ's College, ...

, on 9 December 1939. St Paul's was later made its own parish in 1948. A church hall was built adjacent to St Paul's in 1969. In 2002, St Paul's and Christ Church were united as a joint benefice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's Church, Preston, Paignton Buildings and structures in Paignton Churches in Devon Church of England church buildings in Devon Churches completed in 1939 Nugent Cachemaille-Day buildings