---
title: "St Matthias, Torquay"
description: "Located in Torquay, Devon. Built Foundation stone 13 April 1857; opened 1858; south aisle and transept 1865; chancel lengthened 1882–85; west bay and north porch 1894. Diocese of Exeter. Grade II*. Decorated Gothic Revival style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Devon","Torquay","Wellswood","Grade II*","Gothic Revival","Anthony Salvin","John Loughborough Pearson"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-matthias-torquay"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:55:35.144Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T17:48:49.089Z"
location: "Torquay, Devon"
country: "England"
county: "Devon"
town: "Torquay"
address: "Babbacombe Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 1HW"
postcode: "TQ1 1HW"
built: "Foundation stone 13 April 1857; opened 1858; south aisle and transept 1865; chancel lengthened 1882–85; west bay and north porch 1894"
architect: "Anthony Salvin; John Loughborough Pearson (chancel 1882–85; west end and porch 1894)"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Matthias"]
diocese: "Exeter"
grade: "II*"
style: "Decorated Gothic Revival"
materials: "Local grey limestone rubble; Bath stone dressings; slate roofs"
website: "https://www.st-matthias-church.org/"
openingHours: "Open everyday."
parish: "St Matthias, St Mark and Holy Trinity"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1206840"
gridReference: "SX 9319 6417"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby"
---

# St Matthias, Torquay

St Matthias is a Grade II* Church of England church on Babbacombe Road (also listed as St Matthias Church Road, Ilsham), Wellswood, Torquay, begun as a chapel of ease to St Mark, Torwood, in the Diocese of Exeter.

## Overview

The foundation stone of St Matthias Chapel was laid on Easter Monday, 13 April 1857. Anthony Salvin designed a Decorated building; local builders John Tapley Harvey and William Harvey erected it, and the church opened in 1858. A south aisle and south transept were added in 1865. John Loughborough Pearson, later architect of Truro Cathedral, lengthened the chancel in 1882–85 and in 1894 added the west bay, open narthex and north porch, greatly enlarging the church. The listing describes local grey limestone rubble with Bath stone dressings, a stone-vaulted narthex, and a north-transept bell turret with a stone spire. A twentieth-century church room is attached on the south-west.

Historic England listed the church Grade II* on 10 January 1975 (list entry 1206840). The parish is St Matthias, St Mark and Holy Trinity.

## Further Information

- [St Matthias Church](https://www.st-matthias-church.org/)
- [Historic England list entry 1206840](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1206840)