Things to see & do

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A safe haven

A chapel built in secrecy during a time of great persecution. Take a trip to this charming thatched Baptist Meeting House set in the beautiful rolling Devon countryside.

Founded during the 17th century when Baptists were frequently a target for hostility, Loughwood provided these non-conformists with somewhere to worship in relative safety. Tucked away to avoid attention, this secretive meeting house was built into the hillside and originally concealed by Lough Wood. To find the chapel, strangers would have had to walk through narrow forest paths. Today, the woods have been cleared away and you can look out over the beautiful Axe Valley.

Step through the front door to travel back in time and explore this place of worship which has remained virtually unchanged since the 18th century.

Have a wander

Interior of Loughwood Meeting House, Devon © Mike Townsend

Baptists would travel from Dorset to attend the Sunday service

© Mike Townsend

Take a look at the simple but cheerful pine pews and pulpit. The rest rooms and the stables are a reminder of how far Baptists were willing to travel to worship in safety. The baptismal pool is positioned beneath the floor, central to the pulpit.

A musical welcome

View from the gallery at Loughwood Meeting House, Devon © Mike Townsend

The wall clock on the gallery has recently been restored

© Mike Townsend

Above the rest rooms is the gallery where musicians would have played during services. You can still see the music rests used by musicians playing stringed instruments and a hole cut in the book-rest to accommodate a bass viol.

Beloved by all

The pulpit at Loughwood Meeting House, Devon © Mike Townsend

The coffin was discovered beneath the floor during restoration work

© Mike Townsend

Loughwood is almost completely unique in holding the body of one of its pastors inside the chapel. You can see the wall tablet memorial (an indoors gravestone) to the much loved Reverend Isaac Hann on the church wall.