In 1849 the Reverend Charles Leslie Courtenay was appointed vicar of the Church of Saints Peter, Paul, and Thomas, at Bovey Tracey. Courtney decided to build a new church, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, to serve as a chapel of ease to the parish church, and a piece of land on an area to the south of Bovey Tracey was obtained. The church, now listed at Grade II*, was built to the designs of R C Carpenter in 1851-3.
No longer a chapel of ease it is now a thriving parish church in its own right that reaches out across Bovey Tracey and Heathfield. We work towards a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ in the sacrament and of a greater knowledge of Him in our daily lives. St. John’s attempts to offer a home and a family where you can rest, worship, pray, and receive the sacrament in confidence and love.