St Andrew's Church - Exwick

When this church was built in 1842 as a chapel of ease, it was considered to be 'the best example of a modern church we have seen yet' by the Cambridge Camden Society who were formed three years earlier, firmly establshing the architect John Hayward as one of their favourites, in the south-west. The Reverend John Medley wished the interior of the new church to be similar to that of St Thomas, although on a smaller scale. The foundation stone for the church was laid by James Wentworth Buller.

St Andrew's Chapel, Exwick
This stone was laid July 30th 1841
By J.W. Buller Esq. of Downes.
Vicar of St Thomas, Revd. J Medley
Architect J Hayward Esq.

After the stone was laid, Buller then took a bottle, containing a parchment scroll, inscribed with a brief record of the event, and three small silver coins and embedded it in the stone wall.

It took John Moore over twelve months to build the chapel at a cost of £1,400. Finally, on 26th September 1842 it was consecrated by the Rt Rev Bishop Phillpotts of Exeter. After the ceremony, a meal of roast beef and plum pudding was given to 250 local poor children in a nearby tent.

The chapel had free seating throughout, with no reserved pews for the Buller family. Built of Pocombe and Portland stone, the interior had stonework from Caen in Normandy, installed by Mr Rowe of St Sidwells. The east window, by Robert Beer of Exeter, was based on the design of stained glass at York Minster and the alter rails were a copy of those in the chapel of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey - they didn't aim low for inspiration.

The sacked Curate

The 19th Century was a time of much ecclesiastical debate, which often raged between the Evangelicals and the Tractatrians. Bishop Phillpotts of Exeter tended towards a middle path between the two, with a leaning towards the high church. When the evangelically minded Rev. Hibbert Newton was appointed to the Curacy of St Thomas and Exwick in 1850, he immediately came under suspicion. In January 1852, the Reverend was examined by the Bishop and found to be unsound on the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, and sacked from ministering in his parish. Exwick Chapel was closed for two Sundays after the judgment was served, much to the annoyance of the local parishioners. On the 18th January 1852, the parishioners published a declaration that "... they will not see a Christian and Protestant Minister suspended thus in a moment from stipend as well as duty, because he preaches the truth of the Gospel, as he finds it set forth in Holy Scripture, and in conformity with the Articles of the Church of England." They opened a subscription to raise a year's stipend for the Reverend, which received donations from W H Howard, the Vicar of St Thomas, Robert Maunder the owner of the woollen mill, John Rew, John Dinham, Thomas Latimer and many others; the notice listed more than £27 of subscriptions towards the £120 stipend of the hapless Rev., Newton.

The fire

In May 1856 an organ was installed in the church for the first time, which was played by Mr Hawker of St Sidwell. Ten years later, in March 1866, the chapel narrowly avoided destruction when a "little girl alarmed the neighbourhood seeing smoke issuing from the chapel, which had become ignited by reason of an overheated stove. Some injury was done to the organ, seats, &c."

William Gibbs of Tyntesfield, who made a fortune importing guano, persuaded Buller to sell him the living of Exwick in 1872, and then promptly made Exwick independent of St Thomas.

In 1873, the original architect, John Hayward, was brought back by William Gibbs to remodel the church and enlarge it. This work was paid for by Gibbs, who was also responsible for St Michael's Church at Mount Dinham and the small Cowley Chapel. The chancel was lengthened and polished marble pillars were installed, creating a north aisle; stencils illustrating the Benedictine's were added to the chancel ceiling by Mr Roberts of St Thomas. There were also plans to add a tower at the west end by St Andrew's Road, but it was not constructed.

Around about 1880, a Hope-Jones patented electric-action organ was installed by Hele and Co., of Plymouth. It was installed in a chamber over the vestry, an arrangement which was not, acoustically, very satisfactory as it was next to the choir. In 1949, builders moved the pipes to a gallery at the rear of the church, while the keyboard remained at the front, right side, of the nave. It was connected to the relays that triggered the pipes by wires. Although electric lighting was added to the church in 1931, the organ was powered from a 12 volt car battery situated in the organ loft, which had to be periodically removed to a local garage to be recharged. Air, from the bellows, to drive the pipes was manually pumped, probably by an unlucky choirboy.

In 1992 work commenced to add over a three year period toilets, kitchen, office and a side entrance and a new gas fired boiler. The outer main entrance door was replaced with one made of Culm Valley oak.

The Vicarage

Also in 1872 a new, large vicarage was built opposite the church, on the hill above Exwick Road, again, paid for by William Gibbs. He appointed his nephew William Cobham Gibbs as vicar, and gave him an endowment of £200 per year to support him. In October 1872 a small notice in the Flying Post stated that the house was being constructed by Messrs Moass, but that no plan had been submitted to the St Thomas Board. Approval must have been given for construction in the upper garden of the old Exwick Manor House continued. The building had a private chapel, dairy with cool shelves and stables next to Exwick Hill. It became the Diocesan Training Centre in 1983, and named Mercer House after the then Bishop of Exeter, although its present use is unknown. A new, smaller replacement vicarage was constructed just south of the old vicarage, in an urban style that will soon be forgotten.

The war memorial at the west end of the church grounds was designed by Mr T Easton and paid for with £107 10s raised by subscription from villagers. Inscribed on it are the names of fourteen men who fell in the First War and four from the Second War. It was dedicated on the 26th June 1920.

The Exwick Parish Institute, now known as the Exwick Parish Hall was built on land next to the church in 1921. The toll house on the opposite corner of Station Road belonged to the Buller's and, to avoid paying a toll, locals were said to nip through the churchyard on the way to St David's, bypassing the toll house. Tolls were discontinued on 7th October 1901, by the Mayor.

The Vicars of Exwick

There have been seventeen vicars of Exwick since 1842. Cousins, William Cobham Gibbs and John Lomax Gibbs were appointed by William Gibbs and his son, Antony Gibbs, respectively, both being nephews of William. John Lomax Gibbs accepted the living reluctantly, as William Cobham Gibbs had warned him that he had not had an easy time. John Lomax reminisced that "While I was at Exwick I had a visit from General Gordon just before he started on the expedition to Egypt which ended in his heroic defence of Khartoum and his death at the hands of the fanatical Arabs."

1838	John Medley	1936	James S Prowse
1845	William Henry Howard	1945	Gordon H Samuel
1873	William Cobham Gibbs	1950	William L Roper
1879	John Lomax Gibbs	1961	Michael C Boyes
1889	Charles Dendy Blakiston	1968	Ralston A Smith
1897	L P Williams Freeman	1973	Roy C Dixon
1912	W T P Winter	1982	John Fairweather
1916	H C Brenton	2009	Jerry Bird
1933	G S Trewin

Sources: Flying Post, a St Andrews history leaflet by John Fairwaether 1999, West of the River by Hazel Harvey and Michael Lowman.