Kingswear lies opposite Dartmouth on the eastern [sunny] bank at the mouth of the River Dart, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the South West Coast Path. Hillhead is part of the parish, three miles to the north inland.
The Church
The original church was likely built in the wave of devotion following the murder of Thomas Becket after 1170. The rebuilt church (1845/47) is in good condition, and the c.13th tower has recently commissioned three new bells paid for by the community. The graveyard is closed; burials are now in the village cemetery. Kingswear Parish Council and an adjacent landowner are responsible for the graveyard and boundary walls.
We are a small, dynamic community with a big heart and we welcome many vistors as well as those living in and around Kingswear. We have close connections with the village council and village events.
Our churchmanship is largely traditional; vestments are worn. We have a Parish Giving Scheme and installed a contactless giving device in the church. We keep the building open for the public every day and provide welcome refreshments to help themselves to and prayer stations and devotional activities for people to use during their visit.
St Thomas’ is the only Christian presence in the village and we welcome members from elsewhere to join us in worship. Our regular congregation is joined by visitors on most Sundays. There is a much greater attendance at Easter, Christmas and Remembrance Sunday, which is always well-supported with a contingent from the Britannia Royal Naval College, including a French Liaison Officer, as Kingswear was home to a Free French Flotilla during WWII.
Our service to the people of the parish includes hosting a longlife food donation box called ‘Pantry in the Porch’ for those on low income. Churchgoers help alongside other volunteers at a monthly Tea Club, which takes place in the village hall and provides social opportunity for those who live alone. We have a group of Anna Friends supporting the Mission Community’s Anna Chaplaincy. We have weekly ‘Tea and Cake’ afternoon in church, and an ongoing Church Recording project.
The Bells
The three newest bells in the twelfth century Norman tower were donated to the church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Kingswear, and were installed in September 2024. They were dedicated by the Right Reverend James Grier, Bishop of Plymouth, on VE Day-80, 8th May 2025.
The three bells commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrated in February 2022 and the Coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.
The Story behind the Thomas William Lewis Peace Bell – written by his son
Thomas William Lewis (1932-2019) was born into a poor working class family on the Downham Estate in 1932. As a child he was evacuated three times during WW2 with very mixed experiences. The first evacuation to Folkestone was rushed due to a real fear that the Nazis would employ poison gas and consequently little Seven-year-old Tom was lost for two weeks, although happily rediscovered by his older brother sapper Henry Lewis who was stationed nearby with the Royal Engineers. He often recalled their happy reunion as well as the sadness of his brother’s later capture and torture by the Japanese military police.
The 2nd evacuation to Somerset during the London Blitz was very traumatic. He was bullied and starved by his host parents. He often recalled sitting on the bridge at Misterton railway station every day for months, hoping his mother would come to collect him. It left a lasting impression, although it never made him bitter, quite the opposite.
He was apprehensive and frightened when evacuated for the final time to the Devonshire village of Kingswear in 1943 during the period when London was bombarded with Hitler’s vengeance weapons. He arrived at Churston from Paddington on the Great Western Railway and then by coach for distribution at Kingswear village hall. His host mother Dorothy Battershall contemplated returning him as he was small and she wanted a girl or strong boy for house chores. The streetwise boy from London frantically cleaned and tidied the cottage to impress her. He need not have worried as Harry Battershall had instantly bonded with him and was not going to let him go. As time passed the childless couple had fallen in love with him and he with them.
Kingswear became a huge part of his life and later for us as his children. The Lewis family visited the Battershalls every year until Harry’s passing in 1983. I can only describe our family holidays to Kingswear as idyllic and we loved both Harry and Dorothy like grandparents.
My father’s mixed wartime childhood experiences of love and cruelty during the war years inspired his great humanitarian work with the underprivileged and the elderly. The suffering of his brother Henry Lewis as a FEPOW also inspired his lifelong promotion of peace and reconciliation with the German and Japanese people. A strong legacy that continues throughout the Lewis family today.
Written by Gary Lewis Email: gary@a1plc.co.uk Mobile: 07940 734721