TORQUAY CHURCHES
The three ancient Parish Churches
These were the only three churches that had ancient burial grounds.
All trace of the one at Cockington has disappeared, and there are no grave stones or Mis etc. Both the graveyards at St Marychurch and Tormoham have been turned into Gardens of Rest, some of the grave stones have vanished but luckily the Monument Inscriptions were recorded before this happened.
The only other church burial ground was at St Mary Magdalene, the Parish Church of Upton
St Saviours, the Parish Church of Tormohun
(commonly called Tormoham)
The Church about 1890
St Saviour's, The ancient Parish Church of Tormoham, was declared redundant by the Church Authorities and is now the Greek Orthodox Church of St Andrew. Said to have been built in the 14th century, on the site of an earlier Norman chapel, the parish was part of the property of Torre Abbey until the dissolutionment of the Abbeys in 1539 but much renovated in 1849 and enlarged in 1874
Modern view of St Saviours- after the grave yard had been tidied and the grave stones moved to the edges
Undated
interior view of St
Saviours
Contains
memorials to the Carys and the Ridgeways, as well as other notables
St George & St Mary, the Parish Church of Cockington
the
Church about 1900
Church of St George & St Mary, Ancient Parish Church of Cockington, the tower dates from about 1236. Like St Saviours at Tormoham this church was leased to the Monks at Torre Abbey until 1469 when the Abbey purchased it . After the dissolutionment of the Abbeys in 1539 the little church remained under the wing of St Saviours until the appointment of its first vicar in 1881. Still in use
A fine interior view of Cockington Church dated 1914. The church contains memorials to the Mallock family, Lords of the Manor of Cockington and to the Eastleys of Stantor amongst others
The church in 2003
Church of St Mary the Virgin, the Parish Church of St Marychurch
Church
of St Mary the Virgin,
the Parish Church of St Marychurch, an ancient site, said to be the
oldest in Devon, but the church was extensively altered by the
Victorians and was virtually destroyed by a bomb during WW2, the
Victorian tower survived, the main body of the church was rebuilt on
the original foundations.
This photo dates from the early 1900s
and shows the original Victorian building. Still in use
An interior view of the Church of St Mary the Virgin dated 1935
A modern view of the interior
A modern view of the rebuilt church