The Church of St. Michael de Rupe is one of the iconic landmarks of West Devon. Sitting atop an impressive rocky outcrop, is the fourth smallest Parish Church in the UK and, at 1,110 feet above sea level, is also thought to be the highest working Church in Southern England. 

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Unlike other tors on Dartmoor, this one is a volcanic rock formation created around 350 million years ago. It is an ancient site - the current Church is surrounded by an Iron Age earth-walled hill-fort (150BC - 50AD) - from which earthworks and ramparts can be found around its base.

 

The dedication to St. Michael is common for churches in high places – there are nearly 800 in England alone, perhaps the most famous being the abbey fortress of Saint Michael’s Mount on the Cornish coast, and St. Michael’s on the Mount at Glastonbury, Somerset.

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Most of the Church as it is today dates to the 13th and 14th Centuries. The church was struck by lightning in 1995.