The earliest mention of a church building occurs in a charter of 1225, but the existence of a Saxon font still in use in the church suggests there has been a place of Christian worship on this site for over 1000 years. The present building dates mainly from 1849-52 when the nave and the chancel were completely rebuilt at the cost of £7000, the principal contributor being Edmund Pollexfen Bastard, a member of a Norman family resident at the nearby Kitley estate. All that survives of the medieval church is part of the spiral stairs in the tower. The remainder of the tower was rebuilt in 1913-1915 when the then vicar, the Reverend H. J. Warner, wrote to children around the world under the pseudonym of Old Mother Hubbard to raise funds to finance the construction work. (Old Mother Hubbard is reputed to have been the housekeeper at Kitley House in 1805 when the well known nursery rhyme was written by Miss Sarah Martin who was resident with the Bastards as a guest or employee.)

The celebrated Victorian church architect William Butterfield provided the plans for the extensive rebuilding of 1849-1852 although these could not be fully implemented and the original drawings were subsequently lost in a fire. Nevertheless, John Betjeman described present structure as, “the most amazing Victorian church in Devon”.