St Michael’s Mount Dinham is one of the most magnificent historic churches in the south-west of England. Its spire, at 230 ft (70m), is the tallest in England west of Salisbury. It is widely regarded as an architectural masterpiece, the finest work of the Victorian gothic architect Major Rohde-Hawkins. It is beautifully decorated with Ham stone carving of the highest quality, including naturalistic foliage sprays inhabited by real and mythical beasts. It contains the recumbent effigy and monument to the great Victorian churchman and philanthropist, William Gibbs of Tyntesfireld. 

It is also home to St Michael’s peregrine falcons, which have nested in and on the church spire since 1988 – providing an ideal habitat for the recovery of the UK’s peregrines since the population crash in the 1960’s. St Michael’s was the first church in the U.K. to have nesting peregrines. The extraordinary predators are the fastest creatures on the planet and are heavily protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended. They have bred every year on the spire since 1988 and can be seen on the church daily.

It is also the home to a devoted congregation which maintains a wonderful tradition of worship in choral music and intelligent preaching after an Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is a place where many people have found solace and spiritual vocations.

Despite all of this, the church is now threatened with immediate closure for regular services and, in the longer term, with redevelopment including possible subdivision into flats, or even complete closure as a place of Worship, and subsequent redevelopment.

Why is such an important and magnificent church threatened with closure? It comes down to a problem of management. Despite its size and grandeur, St Michael’s is not independent. It is technically a ‘chapel of ease’ which is subordinate to another church, St David’s, which has very different traditions and priorities. The Parochial Church Council (PCC), which runs church matters in the Parish, is dominated by authoritarian individuals who appear to prioritise the needs of the ‘mother church’, St David’s. Although not long ago St Michael’s was thriving and growing, over the past few years the PCC have taken decisions which have led to St Michael’s being run down. On 21 March, they ordered that regular services at St Michael’s, apart from very occasional celebrations (e.g. Christmas, Easter etc) should cease altogether. Instead of safeguarding the finances of St Michael’s, this will irreparably damage its prospects of recovery, making it very difficult, if not impossible, for it to keep a congregation together and raise funds to maintain the building and its mission.

On the grounds of St Michael’s having been run down in this manner, the PCC have also decided to explore options for converting St Michael’s into flats. If St Michael’s does eventually close, its endowments may be diverted to the benefit of St David’s instead.

St Michael’s is one of the great Exeter landmarks. It could flourish as a spiritual beacon, a place of musical and preaching excellence, a venue for concerts and community events, and charitable service to the city. It is a place that is vital for the use of local musicians and choirs, and the development of local musical talent. We maintain that its worth, beauty, and heritage should not be needlessly lost.

Sign this petition to urge the PCC of St David’s and St Michael’s to keep regular services going at St Michael’s; to desist from any action which might cause the closure of the church or the division, conversion, or disposal of the building; and to reform its management of the parish so that both churches can be allowed to flourish.