Torquay - Religion

Religion

For a summary of the 2001 census results on religion, see below, Demographics

Torquay has about 60 churches from a wide variety of Christian denominations. The largest congregations are those of St Matthias (Anglican) and Upton Vale Baptist church. Central Church (United Reformed Church) has a notable pierced screen wall facade. St Matthias's Church, Wellswood, was built as a chapel-of-ease to St Mark's, Torwood, in the 1850s and became a parish church in 1880. In the 1970s the churches of St Mark and Holy Trinity were closed and in 1979 the vicar of St Matthias's became Rector of the parish of St Matthias, St Mark and Holy Trinity.

St Saviour's Church and St Michael's Chapel are medieval church buildings, now Anglican. St Saviour's originally had no aisles but a north aisle was added in the 14th century. The tower is at the west end and early medieval in date. Over restoration was carried out both on the exterior and interior in 1849. The monuments include one in early Tudor style to Thomas Cary (d. 1567) and another to Thomas Ridgeway (d. 1604) which includes an alabaster effigy. The Chapel of St Michael is only 36 by 15 ft and its floor is the uneven surface of the rock on which it stands. The roof has a barrel vault and the windows are small. The 19th-century Anglican churches of Torquay include All Saints, Bamfylde Road (1884-90, architect John Loughborough Pearson), St John's, Montpelier Terrace (1861-71, architect George Edmund Street), St Luke's (1863, architect Sir Arthur Blomfield), St Mark's, St Mark's Road (1856-57, architect Anthony Salvin), St Mary Magdalene, Union Street (1846, architect Anthony Salvin), and St Michael, Pimlico (1877, architect Pritchard).

There is also an Islamic Centre and mosque. A United Hebrew Congregation synagogue was closed in 2000 and the congregation dissolved.