Furrough Cross United Reformed Church

Furrough Cross United Reformed Church was built in 1853 as a Free Episcopal Church. It is constructed of local grey limestone, laid in courses, with a slate roof. The building is oriented north-south-east. The plan includes a two-bay ritual (east) end, a four-bay nave, and an entrance on the north side, originally with a bellcote in the westernmost bay.

The north side has diagonal buttresses dividing the bays, each containing a two-light, Decorated-style traceried window. A projecting porch is located in the westernmost bay, featuring buttresses with set-offs, a moulded two-centred arched stone doorway with a plank door and ornamental strap hinges, and a circular traceried window above. The bellcote that formerly topped the porch has been removed. The two-bay east end block has angle buttresses and two-light traceried windows on the north and south sides, alongside a three-light traceried east window. A south aisle mirrors the north side, with a lean-to block at the east end and a crank-headed, chamfered doorway in the western bay. The west end features a three-light window.

Inside, the church has a three-and-a-half-bay nave and a two-bay chancel. A three-bay south aisle arcade exhibits double-chamfered arches on octagonal columns with capitals. The roof is arch-braced, with chamfered spine beams with run-out stops, carried on moulded corbels. A low, Decorated-style timber chancel screen has trefoil-headed niches. Original grained nave benches and panelled choir stalls, extended on the west side, remain. A re-sited octagonal font sits on an octagonal stem with a deep plinth, and the bowl is now painted with blind Gothic carving. A 20th-century timber pulpit is present. Simple coloured stained glass is in the east window; other windows have border patterns. Several 20th-century brass wall plaques are also present.

The vestry contains a sketch of Reverend John E Gladstone, the first minister, who was a cousin of William Gladstone. The church forms an attractive group with the adjacent schoolroom to the southwest. Built by parishioners who opposed the Tractarian character of Anglicanism in Torquay, the church’s design contrasts with the High Church architecture of many other 19th-century churches in the area, representing an early example of a non-conformist chapel in the Middle Pointed style.