---
title: "St Helen, Abbotsham"
description: "Located in Abbotsham, Devon. Built Early C13 nave and chancel; tower c.1300; restored 1870. Diocese of Exeter. Grade II*. Early English; cruciform style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Devon","Abbotsham","Grade II*","Early English","Cruciform"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/abbotsham-st-helen"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T01:09:45.403Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-08T18:59:19.473Z"
location: "Abbotsham, Devon"
country: "England"
county: "Devon"
town: "Abbotsham"
address: "Abbotsham, Devon, EX39 5BR"
postcode: "EX39 5BR"
built: "Early C13 nave and chancel; tower c.1300; restored 1870"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Helen"]
diocese: "Exeter"
grade: "II*"
style: "Early English; cruciform"
materials: "Coursed slatestone rubble with ashlar dressings; gabled slate roof"
openingHours: "The church is open from 10am to 5pm between May and October each year."
parish: "Abbotsham"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1104408"
gridReference: "SS 424 264"
accessNotes: "Level access throughout"
---

# St Helen, Abbotsham

St Helen’s is a Grade II* parish church at the centre of Abbotsham, near Bideford in north Devon, in the Diocese of Exeter and the Torridge Coastal Mission Community.

## Overview

Historic England records an early thirteenth-century cruciform church with a tower of about 1300, restored in 1870: coursed slatestone rubble with ashlar dressings and a gabled slate roof. The plan is an early thirteenth-century nave and chancel, a three-stage north-east tower of about 1300 with offset corner buttresses, and an early fourteenth-century south chapel (transept). CRSBI notes further restoration in 1848 and 1870–72. The manor belonged to Tavistock Abbey at Domesday; the church was appropriated to the abbey in 1198.

The listing and Heritage Gateway highlight a twelfth-century font with a cable-moulded, fluted bowl; a fifteenth-century wagon roof with carved bosses and angels bearing shields (Giffard, Raleigh and others); and a fine set of early sixteenth-century carved bench ends with Passion emblems and Renaissance motifs. The tower occupies the position of a north transept. The village account notes six bells, one said to date from 1385.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1104408](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1104408)
- [CRSBI: St Helen, Abbotsham](https://www.crsbi.ac.uk/view-item?i=11810)