Restoring a crumbling church
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Restoring a crumbling church by Neil Owen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
![](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/63/09/7630962_31b09ee9.jpg)
Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 9 Jun 2023
This is the Church of St Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, in Barnstaple. The land was purchased in 1842, building starting in about 1844 and it was officially opened in 1855. Although quoted as being the work of distinguished architect A. W. N. Pugin (1812 to 1852), it more likely to be the handiwork of Gideon Boyce of Tiverton and the building erected by Sir Bourchier Wrey of Tawstock Court in memory of his wife. The church served the community until its closure in 1984. Since then the Romanesque style building has lain empty and decay had set into the Grade II listed fabric. Proposals to demolish it arose but were defended by, among others, Historic England. Finally the latter were able to provide a grant of nearly £200,000 in 2021 and work has started to save the it. Much is planned such as: stabilising the chancel arch and buttresses by inserting steel pins and ties, restoring and repointing the exterior stonework, mending and reslating the roof structure, and repairing the windows.
Image Location
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![Marker](https://streetguide.co.uk/includes/images/marker-icon-2x.png)