St Paul's

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Consecrated 5 November 1933

​St Paul's Church is dedicated to Saint Paul, the great convert and "Apostle of the Gentiles" who was a tireless missionary, patron saint of saddlers and tent-makers; the latter being his own self-supporting trade.  The feast of St Peter & St Paul is kept on the 29th June and the feast of the Conversion of St Paul is celebrated on 25th January.

The Church of St Paul is sited in a mature garden.  It has accommodation for 160 seated and has a pleasing, homely and prayerful atmosphere.   It was built in 1933, a miniature St Paul's outside the walls of Rome!  The Church was the first of five churches built in the Diocese by Mrs Robinson, when the city was beginning to expand; it was erected on the site of a rugby pitch.  It is now in the centre of a densely populated area, but still retains its village atmosphere.  Above the entrance there is a white wheel panel which refers to the majesty of God: Wisdom, Justice, Goodness, Holiness, Infinity, Power, Immensity, Immutability, Eternity.  Inside this very "Roman" Church it is worth finding the tympanum above the Confessional, a magnificently modelled plaster relief portraying Christ, with his apostles, teaching the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The Stations of the Cross, represented in tableaux style, and the gentle Madonna, were carved by Stufflesser, Oritisei, North Italy.

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Source:
[1] "Illustrated Guide to the Churches in the Diocese of Plymouth", Sally Woodhead, 1992.