Church Services

7th February Communion 9.30 am
28th February Morning Prayer 9.30 am
1st Sunday 8.00 Holy Communion
2nd Sunday 11.00 Morning Prayer
3rd Sunday 11.00 Family Communion
4th Sunday 11.00 Morning Prayer
5th Sunday Benefice Service (see notices)
 
 
Church Information:
On the edge of Dartmoor, in the village of Sourton, St Thomas à Becket is a 14th Century church founded on an earlier settlement – going back before 970 when Aelfgyth was Chaplain and it was likely that there was a simple church building on the site. It was dedicated in honour of St Thomas à Becket in the 14th Century by descendents of two knights who had taken part in the murder of Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 – Fitz Urse and William de Tracey, who were both Devon men. It appears that their successors may have wanted to clear their family names and appease their consciences by rededicating the churches to the Christian martyr. The church at Sourton – on a hillside site with wonderful views from the churchyard – has undergone numerous alterations over the centuries but remains a place of peace where prayer can come easily. ‘A moorside church, to Tors akin, Grey without and calm within’, in the words of Rev A Hunter, vicar of Sourton 1953-1963. Sourton Cross, recently re-sited, dates from about the 6th century and carries lettering linking it to a late Roman military leader.