St Mary's Church, Cattedown

Construction of St Mary's

The church of St Mary the Virgin and St Mary Magdalene was built to serve the population of the large industrial district of Cattedown.^[1] By the late 19th century, new housing and expansion within the area left the parish church of St John no longer able to adequately serve the entire Sutton-on-Plym parish.^[2] In 1893, H. E. Tracey Elliot of James Terrace gifted a site for a new church at the east end of Alvington Street and the then-vicar of the parish, Rev. Wynell-Mayow, formed a committee to oversee its construction.^[3]

The church scheme continued to be pursued by the next vicar, Rev. C. H. Salt, and an estimated £1,000 had been raised by 1899. A temporary place of worship with seating for 160 people was built and a new church district was formed within the parish, covering an estimated population of 5,000. The temporary church was designed to later form the west end of the permanent church and a temporary east wall was built in anticipation of this.^[4] The building was opened and dedicated by the Bishop of Crediton, Rev. Robert Trefusis, on 13 February 1899.^[5]

The plans for the permanent church were drawn up by the London-based architect Sir Charles Nicholson,^[1] who designed it with seating for up to 630 people. It was to include a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a small chapel in the south aisle, clergy vestry, and choir vestry. The first portion of work was constructed between 1911 and 1912, but omitted the vestries and parish room.^[6][1] It was estimated that the total cost of the church would be £6,400, including £3,400 for the first portion of the work and £2,500 for the remaining sections.^[7]

A sod-cutting ceremony was held on the site on 1 July 1911, with Mrs Trefusis performing the cut of the first sod on behalf of the Bishop of Crediton, who was unable to attend.^[2] The foundation stone was then laid by the Bishop of Exeter, Rev. Archibald Robertson, on 9 September 1911.^[1] Construction of the church was undertaken by Messrs W. Cowlin and Sons of Bristol.^[8] The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Exeter on 6 May 1912. The occasion was marred by a group who gathered outside the church in protest over the "alleged Ritualistic practices" of the vicar, Rev. W. Stevenson and the curate, Rev. H. H. Holloway.^[9] The new ecclesiastical parish of St Mary's was formed from Sutton-on-Plym on 7 May 1912.^[10] The church was the seventh to have been built under the Three Towns Church Extension Scheme and a significant proportion of its cost was covered by the Three Towns Church Extension Fund.^[1] The proposed vestries had been added to the church by 1933.^[11]

Closure, later use and demolition

St Mary's closed as a place of worship in 1956 and the parish was incorporated back into Sutton-on-Plym.^[12][13] In 1961, the Church Commissioners approved the letting of the church for storage purposes.^[14][15] It was used by the South Western Electricity Board for much of this time, then the flooring accessory wholesalers Christal Supplies from 1987.^[16] In 1989–90, part of the building was converted into a combined church hall and community centre at a cost of £35,000, while the remaining part continued use as a warehouse.^[17][18][19]

On 12 June 2007, the Church Commissioners approved the demolition of the building,^[14] which was carried out over the course of December 2007 and January 2008.^[10] A 2012 proposal to provide affordable housing on the site failed to come to fruition.^[20] In 2015, Western Power Distribution received planning permission to use the site as an overflow car park.^[21]