The l7th century: Charles Church

Up until the mid-l7th century, Plymouth only had one church, St Andrew’s. But the town was growing, and also it seems that people were dissatisfied with what was on offer at St Andrew’s. (In the run-up to the Civil War, puritan Plymouth felt its vicar to be too royalist.) So in 1634 the mayor and others petitioned the king for permission to divide the ancient parish and build a new church. Seven years later he got round to agreeing. Perhaps out of tact, or else because of puritan scepticism about saints, the church was not dedicated to a saint but named after the king: it was called Charles Church.

The l9th century: daughter churches

As Plymouth continued to grow, so too did its churches. Charles Church “gave birth” to eight daughter churches over the years, and the first of these (in 1829) was Charles Chapel, later called St Luke's, in Tavistock Place.

Fifth was St Matthias, consecrated on 25th October 1887. St Matthias was built on land which was the garden and grounds of North Hill House, and financed by a Mrs Anne Watts, in memory of her late husband. Later, in 1912, a bowling green was taken over to build the church hall adjacent to the church site.

In 1892 St Matthias itself opened another church - the Mission Church in Amity Place, Greenbank. This was in continuous use until 1957.

The 20th century: reorganisation

On the night of 20th/2lst March 1941, Charles Church was hit in a terrible air raid, and destroyed by fire. The congregation moved to join St Matthias temporarily (as did the members of St Augustine's, Lipson Vale, for the same reason.) St Matthias itself avoided damage; it is often claimed that this was because its tower made a convenient landmark for enemy bombers.

When peace came, the question was whether to rebuild Charles Church. But Plymouth's population was no longer crowded into the centre, but scattered to new suburbs. So the ruins were allowed to remain as a “silent shrine of remembrance” to the 1200 civilians of Plymouth who lost their lives in the war. Meanwhile the parish was united with the oldest daughter, St Luke's, and styled Charles-with-St Luke

Charles Church
Built 1641, Consecrated 1665, Completed 1708.
Named in honour of King Charles I.
Ruined by enemy action. 21 March, 1941.
Partially restored 1952, by the City in co-operation
with the Ministry of Works.
The idea of restoration having been sponsored by the
Old Plymouth Society,
as a memorial to those citizens of Plymouth who were
killed in air-raids
on the City in the 1939-45 War.
THE PLAQUE WITHIN THE REMAINS OF CHARLES CHURCH

In 1964 St Luke’s church closed, and is now an annexe to the City Library. Its parish was amalgamated with St Matthias - henceforth to be known as the parish of Charles-with-St Matthias.

The vicar of Charles-with-St Matthias remains responsible for any services that may be held within the shell of Charles Church.

The 2lst century: God's future

What does the future hold for this parish? Currently the university and its students have become an outstanding feature of the area, and so the clergy of the parish also now act as university chaplains. Plymouth will continue to change, and so too will the response of the. Christian churches. Only God can see into the future, and therefore the present congregation look back in gratitude, and forward in faith and hope.