St Mary at the Cross 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, ...

church in Whitford,

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. It was built in 1908 and remains active as part of the Five Alive Mission Community.

History

St Mary at the Cross was built 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, generally due to trav ...

and mission church for the hamlet of Whitford in the parish of Shute. In April 1907, the Exeter Diocesan Trust received a plot of land from Samuel Pavey, on which a mission church or parish room was to be built for the hamlet's inhabitants. Plans for a small church were drawn up that year and in December 1907, a £20 grant towards its construction cost was received by the Incorporated Church Building Society as part of their Mission Buildings Fund. The church was constructed in 1908 and was dedicated 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. Archibald Robertson, on 8 September 1908. It was designed with accommodation for approximately 50 people. In 1913, a stained glass window was added to one of the east end lancets in memory of Henry Haynes Lovell of Whitford. It was unveiled and dedicated by the vicar of Shute, Rev. Stanhope Mackie Nourse, on 21 December 1913. The stained glass was executed by Wilfred Drake of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. Today the church forms part of the Five Alive Mission Community. It has seating for 36 people and holds a prayer book service once a month, in addition to special quarterly services.

Architecture

St Mary at the Cross is built of brick, with stone dressings. Above the west porch is a bell-cot for two bells.

References

{{Reflist Whitford Whitford Churches completed in 1908