About us…
The Parish of Sandford with Upton Hellions is part of the Crediton Benefice and lies two miles north of the market town of Crediton, situated in the heart of the beautiful Mid Devon countryside.
There are three churches in the Parish, which serve their local communities, namely St. Swithun’s in Sandford, St. Mary the Virgin in Upton Hellions and Beacon Church in Newbuildings.
Throughout the year, many baptisms, weddings and funerals take place in the Parish. As well as these, we have special services, such as, our well supported pet blessing service and popular Crib Service, which is usually attended by over 80 families. We also run Bible Study Groups during the year, where we focus on a particular theme relating to the Christian life.
In addition, our Church family incorporates a number of groups, for instance, our choir, bell ringers, hand bell ringers, cafe group, flower arrangers and Friends of St. Swithun’s.
As part of our involvement with children and families in the Parish, we host a very popular free tea and toddlers morning twice a month, which provides a friendly space for parents, grandparents and carers and their children to mix and meet and enjoy play and refreshments.
We also have an active Open the Book team, which visits Sandford School to perform dramas and share Bible stories as part of the school assembly.
Our aim is to make you feel at home and welcome, and we warmly invite you to any of our services, details of which can be found in our weekly Parish Post.
We take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously; view our Safeguarding page here.
St. Swithun’s
Church Street, Sandford, Crediton, Devon EX17 4ND
The largest of the congregations in the Parish, with a friendly, welcoming community and an outward-looking and enthusiastic approach to practising our Christian faith.
Our worship life provides a varied selection of services e.g. the traditional sung Eucharist, with choir and organist on some Sundays; our Open Doors, lay-led family service, supported by a worship band; and we have had Wednesday morning prayer services which provided a quiet, reflective space utilizing contemporary language, music and contemplative silence. We hope our worship meets the eclectic needs of the community in which we live and the changing needs of our world.
Dating from Medieval times, St. Swithun’s Church is an attractive Grade 1 listed church, and, in recent years, a sympathetic, multi-purpose under-gallery space was built, which includes a modern kitchen, toilet and meeting area. This has created an additional versatile space to be used when there are baptisms, weddings and other social gatherings.
St. Mary the Virgin
Upton Hellions, Crediton, Devon EX17 4AE
Nestled in the small hamlet of Upton Hellions and is an outstanding example of a quintessential English country church. Comprising a small, but dedicated core congregation, the church offers traditional worship at major Christian festivals and other key celebrations in the year i.e. Harvest Festival and a summer Songs of Praise (Hymns and Pimms). All these services are supported enthusiastically by people in the Parish.
Beacon Church
Beacon Cross, Newbuildings, Sandford, Devon EX17 4PW
Situated a mile and a half from Sandford, set in a beautiful hilltop location. Beacon Church supports a small but lively and enthusiastic congregation who meet once a month, on the first Sunday. As Beacon members come from a range of church traditions, this brings a distinctive quality to our worship and fellowship together. An example of this is our Easter sunrise service at 5.30am, followed by bacon rolls. At Christmas, we sing carols in the courtyard with a life size Nativity scene.
A former Victorian schoolroom, Beacon Church provides a unique worship space and community resource. As part of the programme of ongoing improvements, this year, we plan to re-roof the church and build an extension to include a small kitchen and toilet.
Who is Who…
Our new vicar Revd Janet May with Bishop of Crediton Jackie Searle
Associate Priest for North Creedy East & Crediton Ministry Hub
Tel: 01363 779363
Rosamund Shetler-Jones
Upton Hellions
Tel: 01363 777664
Christine McSweeney
Beacon
Parish News
You are able to download the latest copy of our Parish Post and access other important information here:
Facebook Live Videos
You are able to download the latest copy of our Facebook Live church services from The Revd Paul Fillery here.
- Easter Sunday, April 4th – Hallelujah! He is Risen!
- Wednesday, March 24th – The Tree of Life
- Sunday, March 21st – Dying to Live
- Wednesday, March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day
- Sunday, March 14th – Mothering Sunday
- Wednesday, March 10th – Abide in Me
- Sunday, March 7th – Removing All That Hinders Love
- Wednesday, March 3rd – The Little Things
Get in touch with us…
Call us on
01363 779363
Rev’d Janet May – janetmay69@gmail.com
Address
St. Swithun’s with Upton Hellions
Sandford, Crediton
Devon
EX17 4ND
Your gift to Sandford Parish
We rely solely on the gifts of parishioners and friends to enable us to continue our work here in Sandford Parish.
Your gift means so much to us. Thank you for your generosity. Please click here to donate.
See our Privacy Policy for more details.
Get in touch with us…
Call us on
01363 895025
Address
St. Swithun’s with Upton Hellions
Sandford, Crediton
Devon
EX17 4ND
Your gift to Sandford Parish
We rely solely on the gifts of parishioners and friends to enable us to continue our work here at Sandford Parish.
Your gift means so much to us. Thank you for your generosity. Please click here to make a donation.
See our Privacy Policy for more details.