The Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross
and the Mother of Him who hung thereon
Crediton - Devon

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Lighting and Rewiring Appeal

Patron: The Right Reverend Bob Evens Bishop of Crediton

In 1547 the townspeople of Crediton bought Holy Cross Crediton from Henry VIII for the sum of £200. Under a charter, granted by his son Edward VI, twelve Governors were appointed to act as trustees on behalf of the townspeople and inhabitants of the parish. Along with the church the Governors were given endowments and land to provide income for the maintenance of the building and the churchyard. The twelve Governors today are successors of the original twelve.

Over the years the lands have been converted into invested capital which provides a regular income but never enough to meet present day needs for the maintenance and upkeep of Holy Cross. Holy Cross is grade 1 listed and is considered by many, both in this country and abroad to be one of the finest parish churches in the country. Holy Cross is of international importance, warrants two pages in the Devon edition of The Buildings of England by Pevsner and attracts visitors from all around the world.

Typical comments left in our visitors book include: “Highly impressive and of great interest” –“A beautiful church and to stand at the High Altar where my great Grandparents were married in 1824 was a joy and privilege”. –“I have just moved to the area and simply had to come and see this amazing church”.

Installing a electricity supply to Holy Cross was first considered in 1905 when a plan was drawn up by Exeter architect Harbottle Reid. Because of vague detail and probable cost this was not taken forward. In 1933 electricity was installed by Thomas and Jennings of Crediton to a plan drawn up by Mr C M Davis at a cost of £435. Much of the wiring was fitted externally in conduit around the roofs.

In 1960 the lighting at Holy Cross was replaced and most of that scheme is what you see today. Now fifty years on this has reached the end of its useful life and along with much of the other wiring at Holy Cross urgently needs replacing.

An Exciting Opportunity now exists to vastly improve the lighting and electrical services at Holy Cross with the incorporation of modern systems and technologies to reduce the carbon footprint and provide a flexible and quality scheme to benefit all worshippers, visitors and other users of the church building. Holy Cross is much used by local schools as educational resource and by the wider community for a variety of public events such as during the very successful 2009 Crediton Festival when the town marked the 1100^th anniversary of the founding of the first cathedral in Devon here at Crediton.

A New Scheme has been drawn up in consultation with specialist lighting contractors Anthony J. Smith (Gloucester) Ltd. It is estimated that this scheme will cost in the region of £120,000.

Some of the statistics for material needed are quite daunting. For example 3,000 metres of fireproof cable, 300 metres of multicore cable, over 100 lights with bulbs and fittings. The cost of the materials alone amount to over £35,000 and it is expected that once work commences the installation could take up to three months to complete.

Fortunately thanks to a generous contribution from The Friends of Crediton Church and funds raised by our annual Flower and Christmas Tree Festivals, without which it would be almost impossible to upkeep and maintain the fabric of Holy Cross, we have £40,000 of the money needed. A small appeal committee, on behalf of the Holy Cross Church Governors, is now working on raising the balance of monies needed. All donations of whatever can be spared will be welcome, grant making trusts will be approached, fund raising events will be organized and a wide range of other fund raising ideas explored.

How You Can Help

• By making a one off donation or a regular direct debit gift for the duration of the Lighting and Rewiring Appeal.
• By making a donation under the Gift Aid scheme. You can find a Gift Aid declaration form on the back page of the Appeal leaflet that will be available from the 6^th March.
• Sponsoring some of the materials needed. For example £5 would buy a box of fixings, £10 would buy five metres of fire proof cable, £20 would buy a socket outlet, £35 would buy a wall bracket, £100 would buy an uplight and £250 would buy a distribution board.
• Support any fund raising events that are advertised. If you have any fund raising ideas please let us know.

Any donations by cheque should please be payable to: Crediton Church Campaign

How to Contact Us

Please write to: Crediton Church Campaign c/o The Parish Office, Boniface Centre,

Church Lane, Crediton EX17 2AH

By email: admin@creditonparishchurch.org.uk 

By telephone: 01363 773226 (parish office Tues/Fri am only)

or 01363 772142 (Helen Lawes) or 01363 772865 (Bill Jerman)

The Lighting and Rewiring Appeal was officially launched by Crediton Rector Nigel Guthrie at 11am on Saturday 6^th March. Those present at the launch were able to take the opportunity to ask Neil Blake, from our chosen contractor A J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd, searching questions about the overall scheme and what was planned. Samples of some of the lights and wiring that would be used were available to view. At the launch £1200 was donated to the Appeal. At present the Appeal total stands at £75,500.

A recent site visit left to right: Neil Blake and Richard Gittings, both from A J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd, Jo Ward (Church Governor) and John Wakefield (Churchwarden)

Appeal Committee at the Appeal Launch left to right: John Hubbard, Neil Blake from A J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd, Rector Nigel Guthrie, Jo Ward, Glenda Hills, Bill Jerman, Helen Lawes and John Wakefield.

 Page last updated 18/04/10