OS grid reference SX9203492439 Country United Kingdom Dedication Sacred Heart Phone +44 1392 272815 | Location Exeter, Devon Denomination Roman Catholic Opened 18 November 1884 Architect Leonard Stokes | |
 | ||
Website ExeterSacredHeart.talktalk.net Address The Presbytery, 25 South Street, Exeter EX1 1EB, United Kingdom Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture | ||
Nightfever 2015 sacred heart church exeter
Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Exeter, Devon, England. It was built from 1883 to 1884 and designed by Leonard Stokes. It is situated on the corner of South Street and Bear Street, close to Exeter Cathedral in the centre of the city. It is a Gothic Revival church and a Grade II listed building.
Contents
Foundation
Before the church was built, Roman Catholics congregated for Mass in rooms of houses. The site of the church was previously the Bear Tavern, which before the Dissolution of the Monasteries was the town house of the abbots of Tavistock Abbey. After its completion, the Catholic followers in the city moved from St Nicholas' Priory which was where they previously worshipped.
Construction
Building work on the church started in 1883. The foundation stone was laid by William Vaughan, Bishop of Plymouth. It is the earliest surviving architectural work of Leonard Stokes. At the time, he was in a business partnership with C. E. Ware. On 18 November 1884, the church was opened. Inside, the church was made using materials such as Bath Corsham, Pocombe and Portland stone; the total construction cost approximately £10,000. In 1926, the church tower was completed. Originally designed as a pointed spire, the 140 feet (43 m) flat-top tower contains a bell of 51 kilograms (112 lb).
Parish
The church has three Sunday Masses: 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. There is also a Polish Mass at 2:30 p.m. every Sunday of the month and a Syro-Malabar Mass at 6:00 p.m. every third Sunday of the month. During weekdays there is a 10:00 a.m. Mass from Monday to Saturday.