Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Kingswear

Hugh Watkins in his article The foundation and early history of Dartmouth and Kingswear Church[2] stated that the earliest deeds relating to the church were drawn up about 1173 and are in Totnes Priory: Willelmus de Vasci and his wife Juliana for the souls of their fathers and mothers and for the soul of Willelmus Buzun, give half the land of Kingeswere to Ricardus the deacon and to others succeeding him or serving the true God, Jesus Christ, and Saint Thomas there.

An abstract of another accompanying deed states: I, Willelmus de Vasci, for the safety of my soul and of my ancestors and of the soul of Willelmus Buzun my lord, have conceded and confirmed to God and to the Church of the Blessed Mary of Totonia and to the monks serving God there, half of the whole of my land which I have in Kingeswere, just as it can be reasonably divided by just men of our mutual friends, that is to say for the increase of the maintenance of the chaplain who for the time being serves the chapel founded in honour of the Blessed Thomas the Martyr at the said Kingeswere.

A deed in the Cartulary dated 1253 shows that Torre Abbey then owned eight manors and churches: Aveton-cum-Townstal, Ffloade (in or near Ashton), Hopyrigge, Ducconbe, Wadeton, Achelglit, Kingswear and Blakawton.

On 6 April 1267 Bishop Walterus de Bronescombe held a convocation in the chapel of Saint Thomas the Martyr at Kynggeswere, at which the first person recorded as being present is the Abbot of Torre, but not the Prior of Totnes.

During the rebuilding of the Church 1845 to 1847 the stone was turned out into the churchyard where it lay among the weeds and the rubbish at the east end of the building and become more weathered and injured every year.

By 1939 concern was expressed at its position and condition, but it was not until the Rev F H Keyworth (vicar 1935–55) that the ancient tombstone was brought back into the church where it lies on the left of the Lady Chapel.

The following is a résumé of a parchment belonging to the Feoffees of Crediton, dated 22 February 1544:[4] Grant by Henry VIIIth under the Great Seal of England to Thomas Gale, for service and the sum of £93 and 20 pence paid to “the Treasury of our Court of the Augmentation of Revenues.” all that our manor of Kyngeswere in the county of Devon formerly held by the monastery of Torre now dissolved as fully as the last Abbot of Torre held to the full value of £5 3s.

The plague virtually decimated the village in 1604 when 145 people died from the disease, as marked in the parish register with the letter P. An account in Jeremiah Milles’ Parochial Collections[3] states: The church seems to be an ancient building, but is in a very indifferent and ruinous condition.

It is believed by some that throughout the following centuries the church was much utilised by continental pilgrims who used Kingswear as a landing place on the pilgrimage to Canterbury to see the tomb of St Thomas.

The present day clock dates from 1897, it cost £124 and was purchased by subscription from Kingswear village to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne.

The carved wooden pulpit dates from 1921 and was a gift from the late Bishop William Boyd Carpenter while the oak choir stalls and seating come from the same year and were donated by Sir Thomas Leonard.

The most noteworthy stained glass window is located near the organ, it depicts St Michael and is a memorial to Commander Valentine Gibbs who took part in the Zeebrugge Raid during World War I and is buried in the church cemetery.

The de Vasci family had extensive holdings in Northumberland dating from 1093 including the barony of Alnwick and so would have known about the dual use of church towers in that county.

There is a history of raids from the sea in south Devon and these probably continued after the Conquest so there could have been a similar defence role to be met at the entrance to the river Dart.