St Mary's Church
The Benefice of Offwell, Farway and Widworthy
Rev Stuart Huntley
Vicar, Offwell, Farway and Widworthy – Diocese of Exeter
Contact: 07479 532355 | revshuntley@gmail.com | or see him at the Offwell Rectory | stuarthuntley.com
Rev Stuart joined us as our Priest in Charge of Offwell, Widworthy and Farway parishes on 1st October 2025 in a part-time role. Stuart is a qualified teacher, and former Engineer. Ordained in 2008, after studying at Trinity College in Bristol, he served his curacy in St Helier, Jersey before moving to New York where he was Rector of an Episcopal Church on Long Island. Returning to the UK he assisted a parish in vacancy in Cornwall before becoming the Rector of the Wulfric benefice based in Crewkerne, Somerset. For the past five years he has been teaching secondary maths and serving the church part-time in Devon. He will be looking after the parishes for 3 days a week, whilst continuing to tutor and engage in historical research.
Rev Stuart was licensed at St Mary's Church on Sunday 13th September 2026. The service was conducted by the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Dr Mike Harrison.
Rev Stuart will be in St. Mary’s every Friday morning between 9.30 and 11.00am.
Church Wardens
Jonathan Paveley: 01404 831450
Viki Whitehead: 01404 831050
The church is now open every day between 10.00am and 4.00pm. Enquiries regarding weddings and funerals should be addressed to the churchwardens.
(Any enquiries regarding family research and burial records at St. Mary’s please email: brab.hallowes@gmail.com or carol@westcolwell.co.uk)
Benefice Coffee Morning
3rd Thursday of every month, 1030am – 12.00noon – Offwell Village Social Club Room
Whether you go to church or not you will be made very welcome. You just have to enjoy coffee, homemade cake and a chat!
News 2026
Preparing For The Future, whilst Preserving The Past
We are preparing to renovate and reorder the interior of St Mary’s Church. We are seeking your support to widen the nave aisle, re-establish the font to its original position and repair many of the box pews.
The work will enable us to provide greater hospitality to visitors and worshippers during events and services. By widening the nave aisle our ability to host funeral services and weddings will be enhanced giving enough space for two people to walk side by side, and for those with mobility restrictions greater access. The renovation work to the box pews will ensure they can continue to be used for years to come. The repositioning of the 15th century font to the south aisle will return it to its original location, but will also create space for groups to meet, and hospitality to be provided.
Unfortunately, the project will be extremely costly in time and money and therefore we seek the support of our community as well as visitors, and through charitable grants.
One piece of work currently underway is a pew timber survey, being conducted by a consultant specialist for the conservation of historic timber. In this survey the reconfiguring of the pews will be planned in such a way that limits harm and keeps the integrity of the original panelling. Once this has been carried out, the Parochial Church Council will be asking the Diocesan Advisory Committee for their recommendations prior to the faculty application being submitted to the Chancellor. We hope that by the end of the summer we can then move forward with fundraising and making early preparations for the work to be carried out.
If you would like to support the project please scan the QR code with your mobile phone, or go to our website to make your gift - and please don't forget to gift aid your donation, if you are eligible to do so.
St Mary's Tower Works - Update October 2026
Our stonemason, John Mayne, has started work replacing the perished cement render inside the tower crenelations with lime render; plus raking out the exterior mortar prior to repair and repointing. The bell chamber has been scaffolded to enable him to repair the interior, treat the corroded steel beam and prevent reoccurrence of the rust problem. Bell ringing has therefore been suspended until the work is completed sometime in November.
Fundraising for the total project cost of circa £21,000 continues.
So far £10,600 has been donated or pledged by members of the congregation and the community. £4,000 has been promised by the Devon Historic Churches Trust and a very successful Harvest Supper generated a record £1,275 which will go towards the project cost. This leaves around £5,000 still to be raised. The proceeds from the Reindeer Racing on 5th December (see above) will go towards the cost but it is envisaged we will still need to raise a further £4,000+.
If you would like to donate towards the tower works please contact Revd. Stuart or one of the churchwardens, or you can donate directly, using the details below. Please remember that if you are a taxpayer you can Gift Aid your donation, which ads a further 25% to your generosity.
Thank you.
Account name: Offwell Parochial Church Council
Sort code: 30-99-50
Account number: 81840860
You can read an article about John Mayne, our stonemason, here: Stonemasonry - One of the Oldest Professions