History of St Peter's Church
Budleigh Salterton was part of the parish of All Saints East Budleigh until 1900. In 1812 a Chapel of Ease was built at the crossroads of Chapel Hill and East Terrace. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity it was usually called the Rolle Chapel as it had been financed by the Rolle family. By 1891 the population of Budleigh Salterton had risen so much that the Rolle Chapel had become too small to accommodate worshippers and was unfitted to the requirements of a growing town
Once again the Rolle family stepped in to help; the Hon Mark Rolle offered land on “The Lawn” and agreed to pay for a church which was to be dedicated to St Peter.The new church was designed by the Devon born architect G.H. F.Prynne, an advocate of the Gothic revival, and was built by the Exeter builders Luscombe and Sons. The design included a tower with a spire to be erected above the Baptistry to a height of 140 feet but this was never built. On 24th November 1891 Miss Mary Rolle laid the foundation stone. The main walls were built from limestone while the interior carvings were of Beer stone with Ashburton marble columns. By 13th July 1892 twenty two men were employed on the site. The total cost of the building was £10,000.
St Peter’s Church was consecrated on April 25th 1893 by the Bishop of Exeter, Edward Henry Bickerseth but it remained a Chapel of Ease to All Saints East Budleigh until 1900 when the Ecclesiastical Parish of Budleigh Salterton came into being. On July 10th 1900 the Revd Rees Charles Price was instated as the first vicar by the Archdeacon of Exeter.
For the next twenty years the interior of St Peter’s was beautified by stained glass windows and mosaics and on 28th September 1920 a Chancel Screen was installed as a memorial to the dead of World War One
The next really significant event occurred on 17th April 1942 when a bomb, dropped from enemy aircraft, hit the north aisle of the church. At first it was thought that the church was beyond repair. A large part of the wall and the flying buttresses had been damaged and every window had been blown out. Worship continued at the Temple Methodist Church and the job of restoration began. On April 25th 1953, sixty years after the dedication of St Peter’s Church the Archdeacon of Exeter, the Ven. WAE Westall dedicated two new stained glass windows. One was a memorial to the fallen of World War Two, the other a new West window to replace that destroyed in the air raid.
The 1960’s saw the installation of pews in the Nave and the recording of “Songs of Praise” for transmission on BBC television on 27th July 1969. In April 1975 a window was dedicated in memory of Colonel and Mrs Hatchard Smith and who gave hospitality to servicemen at Watch Hill. The new Peter Hall was first used in April 1985 and in 1989 it was decided to buy the moveable organ from the Nave of Worcester Cathedral. This was to work alongside the organ which had been installed in 1898
The twenty first century brought major changes, chiefly the Raleigh Mission Community St Peter’s Budleigh Salterton and All Saints East Budleigh are now part of a joint Mission along with St Michael’s Otterton. And to bring the history of the St Peter’s Church completely up to date, 2012 saw the installation of fitted cushions in the Nave!
Hazel Harland
Once again the Rolle family stepped in to help; the Hon Mark Rolle offered land on “The Lawn” and agreed to pay for a church which was to be dedicated to St Peter.The new church was designed by the Devon born architect G.H. F.Prynne, an advocate of the Gothic revival, and was built by the Exeter builders Luscombe and Sons. The design included a tower with a spire to be erected above the Baptistry to a height of 140 feet but this was never built. On 24th November 1891 Miss Mary Rolle laid the foundation stone. The main walls were built from limestone while the interior carvings were of Beer stone with Ashburton marble columns. By 13th July 1892 twenty two men were employed on the site. The total cost of the building was £10,000.
St Peter’s Church was consecrated on April 25th 1893 by the Bishop of Exeter, Edward Henry Bickerseth but it remained a Chapel of Ease to All Saints East Budleigh until 1900 when the Ecclesiastical Parish of Budleigh Salterton came into being. On July 10th 1900 the Revd Rees Charles Price was instated as the first vicar by the Archdeacon of Exeter.
For the next twenty years the interior of St Peter’s was beautified by stained glass windows and mosaics and on 28th September 1920 a Chancel Screen was installed as a memorial to the dead of World War One
The next really significant event occurred on 17th April 1942 when a bomb, dropped from enemy aircraft, hit the north aisle of the church. At first it was thought that the church was beyond repair. A large part of the wall and the flying buttresses had been damaged and every window had been blown out. Worship continued at the Temple Methodist Church and the job of restoration began. On April 25th 1953, sixty years after the dedication of St Peter’s Church the Archdeacon of Exeter, the Ven. WAE Westall dedicated two new stained glass windows. One was a memorial to the fallen of World War Two, the other a new West window to replace that destroyed in the air raid.
The 1960’s saw the installation of pews in the Nave and the recording of “Songs of Praise” for transmission on BBC television on 27th July 1969. In April 1975 a window was dedicated in memory of Colonel and Mrs Hatchard Smith and who gave hospitality to servicemen at Watch Hill. The new Peter Hall was first used in April 1985 and in 1989 it was decided to buy the moveable organ from the Nave of Worcester Cathedral. This was to work alongside the organ which had been installed in 1898
The twenty first century brought major changes, chiefly the Raleigh Mission Community St Peter’s Budleigh Salterton and All Saints East Budleigh are now part of a joint Mission along with St Michael’s Otterton. And to bring the history of the St Peter’s Church completely up to date, 2012 saw the installation of fitted cushions in the Nave!
Hazel Harland
