Church of St Gregory the Great, Dawlish

Image: © Stephen Craven Taken: 14 Jul 2021

The usual pedestrian and vehicle approach to the church is from the town centre to the east, but the best view is from the open field called the Newhay to the north-west. Historically the church was dedicated to St Gregory, with a reference as early as 1301. In 1824 it was rebuilt, apart from the medieval tower which survives, and for that reason is listed Grade II* (List entry 1164203). The architect for the rebuilding was Andrew Patey, who also built the daughter church of St Michael the Archangel in Teignmouth. Some time around the early 1850s the name was changed to St Michael, possibly because the anniversary of the consecration of the building was on 27th September, two days before Michaelmas, or to match the name of the daughter church, but the most likely explanation seems to lie with the vicar at the time, the Revd Edward Fursdon (vicar 1846-1864). He was the second son of the Fursdons of Fursdon House, Cadbury, Devon Image whose church is also dedicated to St Michael Image After Fursdon's time, the building was further altered in 1873-5. The dedication to St Gregory was reinstated in 1924 by the Revd Frank Simmons who 'having considered the history of the parish and consulted the lay representatives and the Diocesan authorities offered to hold a rededication service'(Dawlish Gazette 15th March 1924). The suffix 'the Great' appears to be a later addition still. Credit for the historical research here goes to David Allanach of the Dawlish Local History Group.

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