Crediton Parish Church
| Crediton Parish Church | |
|---|---|
| Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who hung thereon | |
Crediton Parish Church
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| Coordinates: 50°47′22.70″N 3°39′8.21″W / 50.7896389°N 3.6522806°W | |
| Location | Crediton, Devon |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
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| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | creditonparishchurch.org.uk |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Minster Church of St Mary |
| Dedication | Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who hung thereon |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish Church |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Crediton and Shobrooke with Sandford and Upton Hellions |
| Deanery | Cadbury deanery |
| Archdeaconry | Exeter archdeaconry |
| Diocese | Diocese of Exeter |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Nigel Guthrie |
| Honorary priest(s) |
Michael Hall |
| Curate(s) | Paul Fillery |
| Laity | |
| Reader(s) | Carol Price Isolde Summers Jack Shelly |
| Director of music | Richard Stephens |
| Organist(s) | Mark Perry |
| Organ scholar | Nicola Wilkes |
Michael Hall
David Francis
Jenny Francis
Sue Martin
Peter Rapsey
Donald Reeves
David Robottom
Andrew Rowe
Crediton Parish Church, formally the Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who Hung Thereon, is a prominent building and worshipping community in the Devon town of Crediton. The church was the "cathedral" of the Bishop of Crediton in the former diocese until 1050 when the see was transferred to Exeter. A college of canons remained at Crediton, administering the buildings and life of the "collegiate" church. The nave and chancel of the current building date from the 15th century. At the English Reformation the church was surrendered to Henry VIII in 1545 and the college dispersed. The church buildings were bought by the Crediton Town Corporation who still administer the fabric today. Now a parish church, the life of the church is administered by the parochial church council (PCC), although many still refer to the church as the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross.
The church is held in trust by the Governors of Crediton for the people of the parish, but its life and worship are planned by the clergy and parochial church council.
Crediton Church has a history which is as long as that of any church in Devon, including Exeter Cathedral. In the early 10th century Crediton was chosen as the site for the cathedral for Devon and Cornwall and a cathedral was built there c. 910 AD by Eadwulf of Crediton. In 1046 Leofric was appointed to both the sees and moved the Devon see to Exeter. The cathedra, the bishop's throne, was moved to Exeter in 1050, where it was placed in a Saxon minster until a purpose-built cathedral could be constructed which did not happen for many years.
Crediton had lost the see, but the Bishop of Exeter retained his palace there (a little to the north-east of Holy Cross) and his lands around the town. The church survived, though not in its original building. The construction of a Norman church on the present site was started—building work was in progress in the 1130s—and a collegiate church (based on the old cathedral and initially staffed by 18 canons with 18 vicars) was established, although lack of funds meant that the number of canons was soon reduced to 12.
The collegiate church was always completely secular: none of the canons or vicars lived the communal life of monks, their work being funded by income from tithes on the extensive lands of the parish (which were shared with the bishop).
The early dedication of the church was to St Mary, but the present dedication—the Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him Who Hung Thereon—came into use only after the 1230s. The church was extended in the late 13th century by the addition of the Lady Chapel and the Chapter House.
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Wikipedia