Directory

You can search the diocesan database for parishes and mission communities and to find out contact details for clergy, readers and parish officers, where they have given their permission to be included.

Benefice Details for Ilfracombe, Lee, Woolacombe, Bittadon and Mortehoe

Archdeaconry: Barnstaple
Deanery: Shirwell

Clergy in the benefice

The Rev John Roles
Priest in charge

The New Vicarage, St Brannocks Road, Ilfracombe, EX34 8EG
Tel: 01271 863350
Email The Rev John Roles

The Rev Preb Giles King-Smith
Vicar in the Ilfracombe Team Ministry, with special responsibility for Woolacombe, Lee and Mortehoe

The Vicarage, Springfield Road, Woolacombe, EX34 7BX
Tel: 01271 870467
Email The Rev Preb Giles King-Smith

The Rev Ann Lewis
Self Supporting Minister

Osborne House, West Down, Ilfracombe, EX34 8NG
Tel: 01271 865405
Email The Rev Ann Lewis

Parishes in the benefice

Mortehoe

Saint Sabinus, Woolacombe

Bittadon

Ilfracombe

Saint Matthew, Lee

Reflections from a Church Treasurer

Church Treasurer, Maureen Richards, met with our Missions Resources Adviser, Brigit Kiyaga, to reflect on how the pandemic has affected the activities and finances at her church in Combe Martin. As a church they are a member of the Parish Giving Scheme and have continued to receive regular income in this way. Various digital giving mechanisms have also been set up, ready for when visitors can, once again, come in. Read the interview: Tell me…

Tackling Pandemic Poverty in Rural Devon

A charity which tackles homelessness in rural Devon says during the Covid-19 pandemic it has been five times busier than it would be normally. The Churches Housing Action Team (CHAT), based in Tiverton, runs a foodbank and has a support and advice team who help people with housing issues, tenancy support and debt and money management. During the past year they have also been working with local schools, churches and supermarkets to deliver more than…

Shining Lights in Lockdown

With the Christmas season ending, and 2021 bringing with it a new national lockdown, many are in need of some light in their lives. Rev’d Preb. James Grier, our Diocesan Mission Enabler, has shared a simple way we can bring light to those in our communities. The idea is to simply put a light in your window for others to see as a reminder of Christmas and of Christ’s love. James says he was inspired…

Bishop welcomes decision to keep churches open during lockdown

The Bishop of Exeter has welcomed the Government’s decision to allow church buildings to stay open in this current lockdown. Under the latest Government guidance, churches are permitted to remain open for communal worship and private prayer and people are allowed to leave home to attend church. Funerals and weddings can also take place in church buildings, although weddings can only happen in exceptional circumstances. Bishop Robert said “The fact that in this third national lockdown…

Mission Sheds get a fresh coat of paint for 2021

Mission Sheds are support hubs for anyone involved in any form of ministry and mission across the Diocese of Exeter. They are due to be relaunched later in January 2021 but first we thought it might be helpful to explain what they are for anyone who has not heard of them before. Here, Rev’d Prebendary James Grier, Mission Enabler for the Diocese of Exeter, explains a bit more about the Mission Shed concept: I am…

Churches work with Unicef to feed families in Plymouth
Churches in Plymouth have been packing and delivering hundreds of food hampers as part of a £24,000 Unicef-funded project to support families in the city who don’t have enough to eat. It’s part of Unicef’s first UK domestic emergency response in its 70-year history. Over the last few weeks church buildings including St Pancras, St Marks and Plymstock Chapel have become food warehouses with volunteers packing bags of dried goods and tins alongside Christmas items,…
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New urban Christian house-share community in Plymouth
A new urban Christian community is being established in Plymouth by the Diocese of Exeter in partnership with the Lee Abbey Movement. Residents of the Small Missional Community (SMC) will live in a former vicarage owned by the Diocese of Exeter next to St Mark’s Church in Ford. Joining the new community will be the Reverend Jonathan Devereux, 29, who was previously the student pastor at St Matt’s Church in Plymouth and was ordained at…
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Torquay vicar’s daring church spire climb
A Devon vicar has overcome his fear of heights to climb the 165ft spire of his church to raise funds for community outreach. The Reverend Sam Leach was joined by three other members of the leadership team to climb the steeple of St Mary Magdalene church (known as St Mags) in the centre of Torquay. A crowd turned out to watch the climb on Thursday 20 August, with dramatic drone footage captured by a member of…
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Stepping Out of the Boat: An Online Service by the Archdeacon of Exeter
The Archdeacon of Exeter is leading an online service on Sunday 9 August, on the subject of ‘Stepping Out of the Boat.’ The Venerable Andrew Beane, Archdeacon of Exeter, said: “Perhaps we can all think of a time when we have had to take a risk, try something new, a moment when we like Peter in our Gospel Reading have had to ‘step out of the boat’, and trust God as we head out on…
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