Church of the Holy Saviour Convent of Poor Clares

Details

LYNTON AND LYNMOUTH

SS7149 LEE ROAD, Lynton
858-1/4/18 (North side)
03/09/73 Church of the Holy Saviour and
Convent of Poor Clares
(Formerly Listed as:
LYNTON
LEE ROAD
Roman Catholic Convent and Church of
the Holy Saviour)

GV II

Convent with attached Catholic church. Begun 1908, church
dedicated 1910, completed 1931. By Leonard Stokes and George
Drysdale. Rendered, slate roofs. The church is attached to the
E side of the quadrangle of the domestic range.
The convent range is an austere block in 3 storeys with hipped
roof. To Lee Road it is in 11 bays, all with 12-pane sashes,
horned to the ground floor only. The upper 2 floors have flat
pilaster strips and surrounds, with a broad plat-band above
the ground floor; 3 painted terracotta roundels in the manner
of Della Robbia between first and second floor. The eaves has
a moulded cornice. To the left, set back, is a hipped porch
extension with doorway.
The left (W) return is similar to the street front, in 9 bays,
but including paired sashes in bays 7 & 9. There are 3 ridge
stacks. To the right, incorporated in the narthex to the
church, is the main entry to the convent. INTERIOR of the
domestic range not inspected.
The church is set gable to the street, and has a very austere
exterior. A gable with deep projecting eaves is flanked to the
right by a 2-stage bell turret. The gable contains a cross
above an inscription panel 'Christi Salvatori' and a central
oculus. At the ground floor is a projecting hipped narthex
with 3 square lights having Art Nouveau glazing, flanked each
side by paired square pilasters doorways to a flat-roofed
section. There are paired plank doors on 3 steps, to the left
under the inscription 'Convent of Poor Clares', and to the
right 'Parish Church of The Holy Saviour'.
The return to the right has a further pair of plank doors on
steps, then a hipped one-storey unit, over the baptistry,
which has a returned wing to the E. The main flank of the
church has 2+1 three-light Mannerist stone-mullioned arched
windows set flush with the rendered wall, and a stack to the
rear.
INTERIOR: the narthex, on 7 steps from the doors to the E, has
a low coved ceiling, and central deep-set doors in a bolection
moulding, flanked by a recess each side. The nave and
sanctuary is in 4 bays, plus gallery to S (liturgical W); to
the right is a baptistry, and to the left a chapel. The
sanctuary is raised on 5 steps with the altar on a further 3.
The main space is barrel-vaulted with plastered panelled
intrados and heavy transverse arches, carried on a moulded
cornice and with panelled aprons to the windows. The panelled
gallery front is on 2 unfluted Ionic pilasters, with volute
caps as end responds. The baptistry is in 2 bays with an apse,
and flat segmental pilasters, with cornice. The chapel to the
W has 2 arches with plain tympana above lintels, a low flat
ceiling, and a marble reredos with niche. The main flooring is
wood block.
The sanctuary is richly appointed, with a marble sarcophagus
altar of 1753, brought from the dismantled chapel of St Simon
and St Jude in Rome, from the Orsini family. At either end are
grilled doors, with a 3-light lunette above. The marble floor
is enclosed by an inlaid marble cancelli screen.
FITTINGS: in addition to the main altar, a double confessional
under W end, plain benches, font with cover, statue of Madonna
in niche, E side.
The church was built by Monsignor Hugh Lean, consecrated 8
September 1931. Leonard Stokes was assisted by George Drysdale
as architect, and Stokes designed and donated the font cover.
The builder was Bob Jones and Son, of Lynton, and much of the
stone is said to have been quarried on the site itself.
(The Buildings of England: Cherry B & Pevsner N: Devon:
London: 1989-: 555).


Listing NGR: SS7165049367

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

376503

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Devon, (1989), 555

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.