History
Baptists were often ridiculed, imprisoned and even killed
© National Trust / Phil Evans
A time of great danger
The history of Loughwood is a story of secrecy and persecution. The first known record of the chapel is in 1653 when a Baptist parish from nearby Kilmington sought an isolated place to worship.
Being a Baptist during the 17th century was full of risks. From 1661 to the passing of the Toleration Act in 1688, meeting houses were illegal.
Deliberately built into a hill and surrounded by woodland, it was hoped that at Loughwood, Baptists would be able to meet in safety. The meeting house may have been positioned on the county border to allow preachers to flee into the neighbouring county when threatened.
Attending a service was risky and guards were often stationed outside to warn of approaching soldiers. Tales recount how the congregation arrived one morning to find an armed soldier at the door, with orders to attack the first person attempting to enter. Another story describes worshippers arriving to find a huntsman blowing a horn whilst hounds sniffed around the pews.
Allen and Vernon fought in the Battle of Naseby before travelling to Devon
© Nick White
Founding fathers?
Some academics believe that the Cromwellian officers William Allen and John Vernon, who married into the local area after laying siege to Exeter, may have founded Loughwood.
The French connection
A large number of gravestones and records carry the surname ‘French'
© Mike Townsend
Protestant refugees (Huguenots), fleeing persecution in France, were crucial to the founding of Loughwood. Jean de Phippen may have provided the site which Loughwood was built on. It is believed these refugees were nicknamed ‘French’ which they adopted as their surname.
The mother church
Loughwood helped spread Baptist parishes throughout east Devon and Dorset
© Mike Townsend
As attitudes to Baptists softened so Loughwood became a mother church creating new parishes in the region. In 1832, a new church was openly established in Kilmington and it retains close links with Loughwood.
Modern day
Services are still held here by the Kilmington parish twice a year
© Mike Townsend
By 1969 damp and rot forced church services to move permanently to Kilmington Church and Loughwood was given to the National Trust. A restoration programme was launched to halt the decay and restore the thatched roof which had been replaced with slate in 1871.