The earliest known chapel at the site of the Teignmouth United Reformed Church was built in 1790 and was known as the Zion or Sion chapel. It was a typical design of its day with a central pulpit at the front. However, in 1882 the church members decided the congregation had outgrown the chapel and London architect, John Sulman, who had studied Italian architecture, was commissioned to build a new church. The building he designed was reminiscent of his Italian training and was opened in 1883.
John Sulman went on to achieve fame as the architect and town planner for Sydney and other towns in New South Wales. The church was his last building in Britain before he emigrated to Australia. The Church has undergone three major internal refurbishments, including; redecoration and restoration of the entrance in the 1960s; chairs replaced the pews in the 1990s and further refurbishments took place in 2004.
However, the Church is located close to the coast and suffers from the erosive elements of the sea, so parts of the building structure became damaged. The Church, built with beer stone from a nearby quarry, had deteriorated around the windows and doors. Ugbrooke Environmental Limited released £11,000 from Valencia Communities Fund funds to help towards the total costs of £27,000 which was needed to restore the building.
The work was undertaken by a specialist local stonemason and stone conservator, who repaired the white stone around the windows with a lime mortar mix. This conserved the Bath stone with a lime wash to protect it from further deterioration.
Reverend Doctor Tom Bush, Minister in Charge, expressed his personal gratitude for the award that had allowed him to complete the restoration of the "wonderful building".