West Devon church guide

There is nothing that beats a fine church on a fine day, and Ashwater church on a fine day is an absolute banger, or on any day come to that.

Sampford Spiney church is proper Dartmoor, hunkered down high on its western edge, a marvel of rubblestone and granite, a dark cave inside.

The calm of Kelly Church almost matches the outside, but as a mere youngster only about six hundred years old it still has a bit to learn about peace and awe.

A hoard of golden brown woodwork, the softly coloured granite pillars and the faded white plaster, all blossoming from the ruddy-red floor…

The chancel here is said to be fourteenth century, and the rest of the church fifteenth with restorations, the whole is a beauty

It has a well looked after interior too, even refurbished at the end of the 1600s which is quite unusual in these parts.

The present Lydford Church of St Petrock dates mainly from the fifteenth century, like so many of the pretties here in Devon

A whimsical Victorian church on the edge of Dartmoor with a simple enchanting interior and an astonishing altar back by Christopher Webb

Hidden away in the hills of west Devon, Marystow Church of St Mary the Virgin is so peaceful yet so rich in beauty.

It is a fine little building too, with a very late tower, 1550 to be exact, with a Norman south doorway and a 15th century nave and chancel

Inside Sheepstor church is a very clean space. Those granite pillars are a delight, it is a stone always with an interesting texture.

It is a lovely church, full of little pleasures, modest and charming as the best can be in deep rural Devon

A sweet little church in a sweet little parish on a sweet little hillside up in north-west Devon; what is not to like?

Come and meet Halwill church, a very gentle church, in a very gentle parish, in a very gentle part of Devon, full of soft light and peace

Inside simplicity reigns, and a beguiling atmosphere that just invites us to sit and wonder. A delightful and unusual church.

A luminous space to sit and breathe with a light direct from heaven even on a cloudy day, though we do miss the hustle of church days

The church started life as a chapel of ease, first mentioned in the fourteenth century but with signs of thirteenth century work.

The interior is bare, as churches preserved and cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust tend to be, and all the better for it; a sublime skeleton of stone and wood.

The church has been around for a bit, parts dating from the twelfth century, through the thirteenth and on to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth.

A beautifully plain and simple Victorian church hidden deep in the wondrous West Devon landscape. The early 20th century stained glass is a treasure.