The shortlist / England / St Petroc's Church, Petrockstowe
Photo: Church of England. Click the large photograph to see it full size.
tower ~580 years old
St Petroc's Church, Petrockstowe
Petrockstowe, near Okehampton, North Devon, England
A north Devon village church with a 15th-century tower, a Norman font of about 1170 and a pulpit of 1631, rebuilt round them in 1878. It closed in 2023. The press put the cost of making it watertight at £400,000, and about thirty villagers are trying to turn it into a school of heritage skills.
Our verdict
No price is given and the first bill is £400,000 to keep the rain out. What you get for it is a font of 1170, a tower of the 1400s and a brass with nineteen children on it.
Thirty people in the village are trying to save this church. I would not bid against them. Send them money, or offer to buy it and hand them the keys.
What is wrong with it
- £400,000 to make it watertight, before anything else.
- Plaster has fallen from the chancel walls in large areas.
- No asking price is published.
- A village group wants it and has applied for a viability grant. A buyer who ignores them will have the parish against them.
- Residential use is unlikely to get permission.
- The pub next door is shut too.
The story
- About 1170The font was carved: a square bowl with arcading, flowers and wheels. A Norman piscina cut from a cushion capital also survives.
- 14th and 15th centuriesThe north arcade and then the west tower were built. The tower has three stages, a granite doorway and four obelisk pinnacles.
- Late 16th centuryBrasses were laid to Henry Rolle and his wife Margaret, shown with nineteen children.
- 1631The oak pulpit was made.
- 1878 to 1880J F Gould of Barnstaple took down everything except the tower and rebuilt it, for about £2,000. Medland & Grant of Torrington were the builders and Harry Hems carved the roof bosses. It was reconsecrated on 13 October 1879.
- 1880s and 1890sThe reredos and the Kempe windows were added.
- 2023The church closed. The parish council judged it no longer sustainable.
- About 2024About sixty residents met, with the MP Sir Geoffrey Cox in the chair. The Diocese of Exeter gave the village six months to find a plan before marketing the building.
- December 2025A team of about thirty proposed a hub teaching traditional and heritage skills, and applied to the Architectural Heritage Fund for £15,000 to test it. Devon County Council helped with the bid.
- 2026Listed for sale by the Church Commissioners, with offers invited for the freehold.
Sources: Historic England, list entry 1333084; North Devon Gazette, six months to save the church; North Devon Gazette, 12 December 2025, education hub plan; Church of England listing
What it needs, and what it might cost
- Safe and dry
- £355,000 to £460,000
- Everything on the list
- £435,000 to £650,000
- Each year after that
- £4,000 to £8,000
The big number is the one in the press, £400,000, and we have put a range round it. Nobody has published the survey behind it.
What the photographs show
- The tower is granite and slate-stone, upright, with all four pinnacles standing.
- The slate roofs of 1879 lie in even courses on the slopes in view, with ridge tiles in place. Lichen covers the stone.
- Inside, the arcades and roofs are whole and the pews are in place.
- In the chancel the plaster has come off both side walls from the dado to the wall plate, leaving bare patches round the east window. This is water.
- Staining runs down the nave walls above the arcade.
- The reredos, altar rails and east window glass are intact.
- Hymn books and papers are still on the pews.
The work, line by line
| Now: safe and dry | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Survey and report by a conservation-accredited architect | £5,000 to £10,000 | Our assumption |
| Make the building watertight. The published estimate is £400,000. | £350,000 to £450,000 | From a public record |
| Next: fabric and glass | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Replaster the chancel and nave walls in lime once they are dry, and redecorate | £40,000 to £90,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Electrics, heating, a WC and a water supply for public use | £40,000 to £100,000 | Our assumption |
| Later: interior and services | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Fit out for teaching or another approved use. Not priced here. | Not costed | Our assumption |
Yearly upkeep, £4,000 to £8,000. Insurance, heating, gutters cleared twice a year, a yearly roof and tower check and the churchyard paths.
Grants. The village has already applied to the Architectural Heritage Fund. Grade II* buildings with a community owner can go to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the repairs.
Condition, as the listing describes it
| General | The church fell into disrepair before it closed. It needs urgent work to make it watertight. | Checked by us |
| Cost | Making it watertight was estimated at £400,000. The diocese wants any buyer to cover the essential repairs. | Checked by us |
| Roof | Delabole slate with terracotta ridge tiles. | Checked by us |
These are our rough estimates and not quotes. Nobody from this site has been inside the building. We measured from the listing, looked at its photographs, applied published British rates for 2025 and 2026, and raised them for scaffolding, height and heritage rules. Figures are for works only, before architect's fees of 10 to 15% and VAT. Rot, structural movement and asbestos do not show in a photograph. How we estimate.
The seller
Church Commissioners for England, with the diocese. To the Church of England. The sale runs under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011. The proceeds are shared between the diocese and the Church Commissioners, and part of the Commissioners' share funds the Churches Conservation Trust.
What you may do with it
Light use. The council has said non-residential uses are likely to be favoured and any use must respect the churchyard. That fits the village plan for a training hub. A house is the wrong idea here.
Sacred status
| Worship | Closed for regular worship. The sale needs a pastoral scheme from the Church Commissioners, which goes to public consultation and lifts the legal effects of consecration. | From the listing |
| Closed | 2023. The Anglican and Methodist congregations merged and now meet in the Methodist chapel. | Checked by us |
Heritage status
| Listing | Grade II*, record 1333084. | Checked by us |
| Consent | Listed building consent is needed for any change that affects the character of the building, inside or outside. You apply to the council. Historic England is consulted for Grade I and II* buildings. | Checked by us |
| Use | Initial feedback from the planning authority: non-residential uses are likely to be favoured. | From the listing |
What comes with it
| Building | West tower, three-bay aisled nave with south porch, two-bay chancel with north vestry and south chapel. | From the listing |
| Fittings | A square Norman font of about 1170 with a 16th-century oak cover. An oak pulpit of 1631. Oak roofs with bosses carved by Harry Hems. Two windows by Kempe. An organ of 1872. | Checked by us |
| Brasses | Two late 16th-century brasses to Henry Rolle and his wife Margaret, with their nineteen children. | Checked by us |
| Land | Not stated. Ask for the plan. | Unknown |
The dead
| Churchyard | The church sits in a churchyard containing burials. | From the listing |
Getting there
| Road | 12 miles south of Bideford and 9 miles north of Okehampton. The church stands back from the road behind a row of cottages and a disused pub. | From the listing |
| Train | Not stated. | Unknown |
How the sale works
| Covenants | The Commissioners write covenants into the sale that limit the building to the use they approved. Expect several months between an accepted offer and completion. | From the listing |
People to call
- Selling agent: Bond Oxborough Phillips
- Seller: Church Commissioners for England, Closed Churches team
- Listed building consent: Torridge District Council
- Heritage adviser: Historic England
"From the listing" means the seller's agent says so. "Checked by us" means we confirmed it against a public record, linked where possible. "Unknown" is a question to put to the agent before you visit.