St Michael and All Angels, Princetown, Dartmoor

Image: © Tom Jolliffe Taken: 28 Mar 2007

The stone cross stands out against the darker church background, while the tower looks splendid against the blue sky. St Michael and All Angels Church was constructed in local granite by French Prisoners of War and 250 American Prisoners of War in 1813. The east window contains stained glass of 1910 in memory of the American prisoners. The first service was held there on 2nd January, 1814.The prisoners left Dartmoor on 10th February 1816 and the church was closed. In total, over 1400 French prisoners and 218 Americans died while imprisoned in Dartmoor in what was called the "war prison" and were "buried in a file beyond the prison walls". The church closed in 1994 and it was offered for sale, but no purchaser came forward. The Historic Buildings Trust (church of England) took it on and restored the church steeple and revealed beauty of the stonework, making it all safe from the elements. This is no mean task at Dartmoor. The location, 436 metres above sea level was described by Cherry and Pevsner as "unquestionably the bleakest place in Devon". The church remains closed today. The church is an important historical monument, shrine and icon for the American society, the "Daughters of the War of 1812", which has a branch in Indiana.

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