Denbury is an ecclesiastical parish and village, united for civil purposes with Torbryan, 1 mile from the Newton and Totnes high road, 3½ miles south-west from the the great Western railway station on the the South Devon section, 6 miles north of Totnes and 5 east from Ashburton; it is in the Totnes division of the county, Haytor Hundred, Teignbridge petty sessional division, Newton Abbot Union, Newton Abbot and Torquay county court district, rural deanery of Moretonhampstead, archdeaconry of Totnes and diocese of Exeter.

The church of St Mary is a cruciform edifice of stone in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of a long chancel, nave, transepts, south porch and a low embattled western tower containing a clock and 5 bells; in the chancel is a picina projecting at an angle and surmounted by an early decorated ogee arch; the drain is deep and curious; the chancel roof is relieved by carved bosses and there is a priest's doorway; the stained east window was presented by the Rev. James H. Reibey MA, Rector from 1858 - 1898 and there are five other stained windows; the rood loft stairs and traces of a rood loft still exist and a screen of the 16th century is in good condition (which was brought from Dartington church on removal of the latter to a new site) separates the nave from the south transept; in the north transept are remains of the rood-loft stairs; there is a table to the memory of Major-General Thomas William Taylor CB who died in 1764; the font of red sandstone in apparently Norman.

The church was repaired in about 1845 at the expense of Miss Froude; the chancel was restored and decorated in 1866 at the cost of the Rev. James Reibey MA, and the church was restored i n 1912 at a total cost of £600 raised by subscription, the work being carried out under the auspices of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. There is a tablet in the north transept which records the reopening of the church and also one to the memory of Aeldred, abbot of Tavistock and later Archbishop of York who crowned William the Conqueror and at one time ministered in this parish; there are sittings for 100 persons. In the churchyard is a very fine yew tree. The register dates from the year 1559. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £250 with residence and 16 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Society for the maintenance of the Faith and held since 1916 by the Rev. Albert Chadwick BA of St John's College, Cambridge.

The Boy Scout memorial in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Denbury

©Richard J. Brine

The inscription reads " In loving memory of Thomas Peter Butler, ASM* of Denbury St Mary's Scout Troop. Called to higher service July 2nd 1932. Aged 24.

Eternal rest grant to him O Lord

   And let perpetual light shine upon him 

*Assistant Scout Master                      

RESIDENTS

Chadwick, Rev. Albert BA, the Rectory

Curtis, Walter Septimus MA, Denbury Manor

COMMERCIAL

Badcock, Harold Edward

Brock, Richard, farmer

Chudley Brothers, farmers, Buckridge

Coker, George Denbow, farmer, Shute

Easterbrook, Frank, dairyman, Fairfield

Easterbrook, William, farmer, Holwill

Ellis, Richard,dairyman

Lark, Harry, blacksmith

Lark, Harry, blacksmith

Mortimore, John, farmer, Lows Farm

Pitts, John William Smerdon, farmer, Down

Pomeroy, William Thomas, shopkeeper

Potter, George Hamlyn, farmer, Burn

Soper, Walter Harry, butcher & car proprietor

Tozer, William, Church House Inn

Webber, Walter, farmer, Peartree

White, John, assistant overseer, clerk to the PC

Winser, William, insurance agent

Wrayford, Daniel, farmer, Higher Wotton