Look ahead and you’ll spot Sacred Heart Church standing proudly at the corner, where South Street and Bear Street meet. Its tall, square stone tower rises high above you, finished off at the top with elegant arched windows. The main entrance is easy to find-a trio of pointed arch doorways, all edged with pale stone. The big stained glass windows above are like eyes watching everything that happens on the street below, bursting with that classic Gothic shape. The building itself looks solid and weathered, like it’s been quietly holding stories for generations.
Now, imagine it’s the 1880s. The air smells of stone dust and fresh mortar, and the site right here was once not a holy ground but a noisy old tavern-the Bear Tavern, in fact! Before this church was built, Catholics in Exeter would slip quietly into private rooms for Mass, hoping to avoid trouble. Finally, after much patient waiting and fundraising (and probably a lot of church bake sales), the foundation stone was laid in 1883. Leonard Stokes, the architect, must have felt like he was building a fortress for faith right in the city center.
Step inside and the world changes: cool air, stone vaults, shafts of colored light dancing from the stained glass high above. The church remembers its own adventures-look for the statue of St Thomas More, a hero of the Reformation who famously lost his head for his faith. There’s also a mysterious saint inside-nobody’s quite sure, but she gets a spot of honor!
Now, imagine April 1942, when war turned Exeter upside down. Bombs rained down, and this street was nearly destroyed. But just as the smoke cleared, Sacred Heart stood strong and somehow untouched, thanks in part to brave priests dashing about with sand buckets-now that’s not a typical day for a parish priest. One of them, Fr Barney, claimed he saw a sign of the cross in the sky that night. Miracle or not, Sacred Heart became a symbol of hope on a badly wounded South Street.
Over the decades, new altars were built to keep up with changing times, and the church stayed close with the community, students from the university, and even the local primary school. Look out for a grand iron rood screen, and don’t miss the statues of St George and St Edward the Confessor-let’s just say, if there was ever a church hall of fame, this place would have plenty of candidates.
So here it stands, with its grand flat tower and warm stone, keeping watch. Sacred Heart is more than bricks and mortar-it’s a survivor, a storyteller, and a place where Exeter’s Catholic community found a home. And in case you’re wondering: No, they don’t serve any bear-themed ale anymore, but the spirit here is pretty strong!
