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Summary

Former parish church now a leisure facility. The church was built in 1894.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1206804: BREAKAWAY SPORTS CENTRE BREAKAWAY SPORTS CLUB

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX96SW/83

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CHURCH (XVIII to XXI - 1751 AD to 2009 AD)

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Church not shown. The land is within the grounds of Apsley House, now St Vincent House.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Holy Trinity Church shown, with its boundary wall.

Ordnance Survey, 2026, Mastermap 2026 (Cartographic). SDV366713.

Now 'Rainbow Fun House'.

Historic England, 2026, National Heritage List for England 2026 (National Heritage List for England). SDV366714.

Breakaway Sports Centre (Formerly Listed as: TORWOOD GARDENS ROAD Church of the Holy Trinity). Parish church, redundant and now in use as sports centre. 1894 by Watson and Watson on the site of an earlier chapel. Snecked local grey limestone rubble with sandstone dressings; slate roof, ornamental ridge tiles. Late example of Early English/Decorated Revival. PLAN: Nave; apsidal chancel; north and south aisles; north and south transepts; north porch into transept; chapel and vestry off chancel; north west tower. The conversion has involved walling off the aisles and inserting a floor in the nave with steps up from the former chancel. EXTERIOR: 3-sided apse with 2-light Decorated traceried windows. Transept windows 4-light and transomed, transepts with angle buttresses. Porch on west wall of north transept with a moulded 2-centred doorway with nook shafts. 5-bay aisles have lean-to roofs; bays divided by buttresses with set-offs; clerestory bays divided by pilasters. Triple lancets to aisles; lancets to clerestory. 3-light Decorated traceried window in west end of south aisle. 7-light west window with Geometric Decorated tracery. 3-stage tower with angle buttresses and a 3-sided stair turret on the east side; tall stone spire supported by flying buttresses. Tower has a richly moulded 2-centred arched west doorway and pairs of large lancets to the other faces. Frieze of blind trefoil-headed arcading to bottom stage. Belfry stage has big paired louvred lancet openings and Y tracery. Trefoil-headed arcade forms parapet. Octagonal corner pinnacles to angle and flying buttresses have blind trefoil-headed arcade and conical spire. 2-light lucarnes with Y tracery to 4 sides of spire. INTERIOR: 5-bay aisles have octagonal piers with stiff-leaf carved capitals. Nave open roof survives in first-floor gymnasium: arched braced on stiff-leaf carved corbels. Chancel polychromy, including stencilled wall decoration and the painted roof survives from the level of the springing of the window arches. Good stained glass intact: 3 east windows by Drake; excellent west window of 1907 designed by Maurice Drake and executed by Drake and Son (Devon Nineteenth-Century Churches Project). A very late example of Early English revival. The spire is an important element in the townscape. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Devon: London: 1952-1989: P.848; Brooks C: Devon Nineteenth Century Churches Project Archive).
Date first listed: 10th January 1975

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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