Southernhay URC, Exeter
Southernhay URC, Exeter
Southernhay United Reformed Church stands on Southernhay East, Exeter. Only John Tarring’s 1868 tower and spire are listed; the body of the church was rebuilt in 1956 after incendiary bombs destroyed the Victorian interior on 4 May 1942.
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
- Country
- England
- County
- Devon
- City / town
- Exeter
- Address
- Exeter, Devon, EX1 1QA
- Postcode
- EX1 1QA
- Built
- 1868 (tower and spire); body rebuilt 1956 after 1942 bomb damage
- Architect
- John Tarring (1868 church; tower and spire survive)
- Denomination
- United Reformed Church
- Grade
- II
- Style
- Gothic Revival (Early Decorated); mid-twentieth-century nave
- Materials
- Three-stage limestone rubble tower with dressed corner buttresses; octagonal spire
- Grid reference
- SX 923 927
- Opening hours
- Normally open Tuesday to Thursday 11am to 1pm.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
Historic England lists Southernhay Congregational Church as Grade II: “1868, by Tarring. Only the tower and spire remain, the rest is modern (1956).” The surviving tower is of three stages in limestone rubble with dressed corner buttresses and an octagonal spire. Exeter Memories records Tarring of London and Torquay as architect, an Early Decorated design in limestone, Bath stone and red sandstone, a tower 155 feet high, and builders Bragg and Dye of Paignton. The foundation stone was laid on 25 June 1868 on the site of the old Southernhay Baths; the church opened in 1870 and seated about 1,000.
The congregation’s roots in Exeter go back to the late eighteenth century, when Independents first worshipped at Castle Street. After the Blitz only the tower and spire stood; worship continued, and the church became United Reformed in 1972. The listed tower remains a city landmark.