The Crediton Parish Church Flower Festival is one of the main fundraising events for the upkeep of Holy Cross and many people from our parishes work to make it a very special and memorable week.

The 2019 Festival has the intriguing title ‘Colours of the Wind’ and runs from 10am on Saturday 1st June until 5pm on Thursday 6th June.

Work towards the 2019 Flower Festival began as soon as the 2018 Festival ended.

Last years’ Festival was ‘In Our Element’ and if you would like to see photos of previous festivals and videos of how a car and a rhino got into the church then visit our Festival Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/creditonparishchurchfestivals

Flowers have been supplied by Smith and Green, Covent Garden directly in water to the church for the last 4 7years.  For the last 7 years Smith and Green have held the warrant to supply Her Majesty the Queen and have provided flowers for the 3 recent Royal Weddings. If you wish to see the quality of these flowers, the fruits of a years planning and the skills of local flower arrangers working to the brief ‘Colours of the Wind’ then make a date for your diary to come to the Crediton Parish Church Flower Festival.

Admission and Parking is FREE and there is Disabled access. Opening times are 10am to 5pm from Saturday 1st June to Thursday 6th June except for Sunday 2nd June 11.30am to 6pm.  

Refreshments, snacks and meals using only local suppliers are available in the adjacent Boniface Centre, where the Newton St. Cyres Art Group will exhibit and sell their work.

FREE interesting and informative guided tours of the Governors Room and Church Tower will be available during the Festival.

In the Governors Room you will see floorboards dating from 1434, English Civil War artefacts, retired town criers bell, the signature of Sir Redvers Buller and silver coins from a hoard found in 1896. In the Bell Tower you can see 12 bells (only 4 towers in Devon have 12 bells), clock mechanism and redundant chime barrel (musical box) and massive oak beams dating from 1532. Crediton Parish Church is a Grade 1 listed building, considered by many to be one of the finest in the country. In 1547 the townspeople of Crediton bought the church from Henry VIII for £200.  Under a charter granted by his son Edward VI, twelve governors were appointed to act as trustees on behalf of the townspeople and inhabitants of the parish. Along with the church, the Governors were given endowments and land to provide income for the maintenance of the building and churchyard. The governors today are the successors of the original 12 and meet 5 times a year.  

Proceeds from both the annual Christmas Tree Festival and Flower Festival provide much needed funds towards the upkeep and maintenance of the Church. The Church is heavily dependent on donations, legacies and grant funding to deal with safety issues, keeping water out of the building, structures and for bigger fabric projects.

Currently the roof is in urgent need of repair. Phase 1 needs approx. £600,000 to begin work and currently around £110,000 has been raised for the roof appeal. Crediton Parish Church is conveniently located on the A377, by a bus stop and only 10 min walk from Crediton Railway Station on the picturesque Tarka Line.