Christ Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

parish church in

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Designed by Walter G. Couldrey and Edward Gabriel, the church was built in 1887–88 and has been a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

since 1993.

History

Christ Church was built at a time when Paignton was undergoing rapid growth and expansion. Efforts towards the construction of a new church had been made from around 1863, but these early efforts did not come to fruition and neither did a proposal to begin conducting services at Paignton's Temperance Hall. In April 1886, a public meeting was held at the hall to determine whether a separate ecclesiastical district should be formed in the northern region of Paignton parish and a new church erected to serve it. Mrs. Disney Robinson of

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

had already promised £1,500 towards the endowment. The result of the meeting was to begin raising subscriptions and a building committee was established. The

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch ...

agreed to match Mrs. Robinson's sum for the endowment and provide a plot of land large enough for the proposed church, along with a vicarage and school. The new church was designed by Mr. Walter G. Couldrey of Paignton and Mr. Edward Gabriel of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as joint architects. Messrs. Christopher and Robert Elliott Drew of Paignton were the builders, with Messrs. Delafield and Pollard of Paignton handling the freestone work and Mr. W. Leaman as clerk of the works. Prior to its construction, an iron church was erected on the site in August 1886 to provide temporary church accommodation. The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid by the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

, the Right Rev. Edward Bickersteth, on 26 April 1887. It had been intended for Mrs. Disney Robinson to lay the stone, but heavy rain prevented her attendance. The church was completed a month ahead of schedule and was consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter on 1 June 1888. With its completion, the ecclesiastical parish of Christ Church was formed. The original iron church was then used as a Sunday school. It was intended to replace it with permanent premises, but the scheme did not come to fruition. The vicarage attached to Christ Church was built in 1894. In 2002, Christ Church and

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

were united as a joint benefice. The original iron church remains in use as the church hall.

Present day

Christ Church did, for a short time, belong to the

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the Church of England. On 6 April 2016, the parish passed a resolution to reject the

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

. As of August 2022, it is listed as an evangelical resolution parish by the

Bishop of Maidstone The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent. Canterbury suff ...

, the bishop who provides

alternative episcopal oversight A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction "are unable to receive the ministry of w ...

for conservative evangelical parishes. The resolution to reject women's ministry was over turned at the Parochial Church Council meeting on the 11 July 2022. Resolutions Concerning Women in Ministry. The PCC rescinds all previous resolutions regarding the ministry of women as they apply to Christ Church, Paignton and will warmly accept women presiding at Communion and in the future welcome the ministry of either male of female incumbents. Agreed, Proposed (GFH), Seconded (AB) All in favour

Architecture

Christ Church is built of local red sandstone, with freestone dressings, in the

Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

. Designed to accommodate 600 persons, it is made up of a nave with clerestory, chancel, narrow north and south aisles, north and south transepts, organ chamber and vestry. A tower and spire was intended for the church, but lack of funds meant this was never built. Original fittings include the pulpit of

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

with

Devonshire Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the wes ...

marble pillars, and the lectern, made up of a brass eagle perched on a slab of rough Dartmoor granite and a polished slab base.

Gallery

File:Christ Church Hall May 2020 since tree removal.jpg, Christ Church church hall File:Christ Church interior 23 June 2020.jpg, Interior June 2020 File:Christ Church Paignton Eagle Lectern.jpg, Eagle lectern on Dartmoor stone

References

{{Reflist

External links

Christ Church & St Paul's Together in Paignton website

Christ Church listing entry at Historic England
Buildings and structures in Paignton

Churches completed in 1888