Holy Trinity Church, Buckfastleigh, Devon - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

Prior to its destruction by fire the church consisted of a chancel, with priest's door, north and south aisles with chapels at the east end, north and south transepts, south porch, and west tower, containing six bells, surmounted by a spire rather out of the perpendicular. The church was mainly Late Perpendicular, but the chancel is Early English.
In the churchyard are two curious tombs. The first is that of Richard Cabell, of Brook Manor, who died in 1677. He was the last male member of his family, and his reputation was so bad that when he died he was buried under a heavy stone with a sort of penthouse with iron railings built over it to prevent him coming up again. The second curious tomb is that of the Bovey family; the monument is in the form of a coffin of modern shape, resting on trestles, with the inscription carved on the side of the coffin, the whole being made of granite. At the east end of the churchyard are the remains of an old chapel, or possibly of an earlier church. The registers date from 1602.
This church has been dogged by misfortune over the years.On Tuesday the 8th of May 1849 arsonists broke into the church and started a fire which destroyed the vestry, part of the roof of the north aisle, the parish chest and badly damaged the communion table. In 1884 the tower needed repairs after being struck by lightning. During the Second World War some of the stain glass windows were shattered by the blast from German bombs which fell nearby. The final disaster happened 21st of July 1992 when sometime around midnight the church was broken into and a fire started under the altar. This time the inferno completely gutted the church. The biggest problem that the fire brigade faced was that the nearest hydrant was a quarter of a mile away and the fact that the water had to be pumped uphill, it took a relay of thirty eight 70ft connected hoses to get the water on site. After the fire it was decided to build a modern church in the town centre. Holy Trinity was left as a picturesque ruin with only the tower and its bells being restored..

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1000 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Church of England Street address of Church: Ho;y Trinity Church Church Lane Buckfastleigh, Devon United Kingdom EX1 If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/04/2013 SMacB visited it 04/22/2009 Sir Lose-a-lot visited it

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