Christ Church

Christ Church is a Methodist chapel originally built for the Bible Christians between 1875 and 1876. It was later remodelled and given a tower by W.C. Oliver between 1891 and 1892. Carved woodwork was undertaken by Harry Hems of Exeter, and a pulpit was created by Mr Gillet. The chapel is constructed primarily of purple, coursed and squared stone rubble, with horizontal limestone bands in the tower, and slatestone rubble at the rear. Limestone details are present both front and back, with some polished pink granite at the front. The roof is slate, with pierced red ridge-tiles and a leaded spire.

The building is laid out with an oblong, galleried chapel with a small, five-sided apse at the north end. A foyer is situated at the south end, facing Bear Street, and a square tower sits at the southwest corner. A minister's room is incorporated into the ground storey of the apse.

The two-stage front facing Bear Street is executed in Early English style. A gabled end of the main chapel range is centrally positioned, featuring a three-light Gothic window on each stage, with arches springing from attached columns. The upper storey window has a taller central light, all set within a shallow recess with a pointed arch. Lower sections on each side contain doorways leading to the foyer, with two on the right and one on the left; these doorways have moulded pointed arches and attached pink granite columns. The upper stage has two two-light windows with plate tracery on the right and a two-light window with pointed arches springing from attached columns on the left.

The three-stage tower has moulded string courses. The lowest stage has a doorway with a pointed arch, enclosed by a gabled hood with a carved finial. The middle stage features a three-light window with similar hoods over each light, the arches springing from attached columns. The uppermost stage has three slit windows with pointed arches on each face. A bracketed top cornice is surmounted by a parapet with trefoil-headed panels, and a large, square finial is present at each corner, also with trefoil panels. A short spire, with patterned leading and gabled ventilators on each face, crowns the tower, alongside a decorated lightning conductor.

The interior is of considerable quality, with galleries on all four sides supported by cast-iron columns with foliated capitals. The gallery fronts bear enriched openwork cast-iron panels. Further columns rise to support the roof, with decorative cast-iron brackets rising to the wall-plates. The roof features arch-braced trusses combined with trussed common rafters. A particularly elaborate pulpit is located at the north end, with fluted and twisted columns flanking open Gothic panels, accompanied by three decorated chairs below. An East end wooden screen divides off the foyer, having trefoiled arches and coloured glass in the upper panels. An organ from 1880 is situated in the gallery above the screen.

The Church Hall, added in 1939 and adjoining the chapel on the east side, is not included in the listing.