Saint Mary’s Sampford Spiney

Welcome to our church

For further information just click any of the items below and use the arrow key on the top left of your browser to return to this page

Forthcoming Sampford Spiney events can be found on the Calendar (Click on View All Events)

Click here for the Campaign letter

Click here for the APCM minutes

Our church is Grade 1 listed and a place of worship was first recorded on the site in 1250. Over time it has metamorphosed from a private chapel to a church for all, and from Roman Catholic to Church of England. With additions over the centuries, it can now hold 100 seated and 20 on chairs. St Mary’s is sited in a wonderful rural location on the western slopes of Dartmoor and is well known for its peace and tranquillity. The setting is perfect surrounded as it is by the old manor, national school and rectory. Services are conducted using the Book of Common Prayer. In recent years we have re-hung and restored our bells and there is now an active team of ringers. Being an ancient listed building, maintenance work is ongoing and we have since 2013 renewed the lighting and heating system; repaired the tower roof and parapets; restored the crocketed pinnacles; and re-pointed all four faces of the tower. The parish is extremely grateful for the support of the Dean and Canons of Windsor, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, the Devon Historic Churches Trust and the Allchurches Trust in helping raise the funds for this work. In addition, the small community of Sampford Spiney has a record of being very generous towards and hugely supportive of its church. There are two adjoining graveyards, the old one not mown until late in the season to maintain a diverse collection of wild plants. The church is open at all times and attracts lots of visitors, usually walkers, all year round.

Sampford Spiney church officers 

WDMC Annual Report 2022

Click here for a resume of those of this parish who lost their lives in WW1

Brief history of the Church, Rectory & Poor House – Sept 2015

A link to the DevonChurchland website which has glorious photographs of our lovely church (July 2023 )

Find us on SatNav by putting in our postal code: – PL20 6LH (much of the village uses this code!)