The early history of this church is not well documented as no records were kept before 1862. The Church minutes book indicates that the date of the commencement of the church to be 1842, but there are records from other sources which indicate that the church was well established long before this date. The Church originally started in a house in Exeter Road which is still standing and called Trehill Lodge.
In 1836, James A Moreton became Home Missioner to Ivybridge. He was a travelling evangelist. He left Ivybridge and Lee Mill churches in 1839 and in 1840 he was replaced by Mr Adams who stayed until 1842. It was during the time of the next pastor, James Ellis that the Church moved from the house to a room behind the Bridge Inn or Bridge Cottages. At this period the church was officially recognised by the Congregational authority. In 1856 the hall had to be enlarged as the average congregation was around 120.
In the late 1860’s the congregation was still averaging around 90 and it was decided to build a church. John Allen, the owner of Stowford Paper Mill, donated the necessary plot of land and in June 1868 the foundation stone was laid. The church was opened in June 1869 at a cost of £850. Only a sum of £150 had been raised by collections leaving a £700 debt to be repaid. There was no pulpit, music was played on a harmonium, light by gaslight and heating by a tortoise stove. The congregation continued to rise with young men’s bible classes and interest shown in foreign missions.
In 1888 it was decided to build a Sunday School behind the church. The Hon. J Mildmay MP laid the foundation stone. In 1890, gas was made available to heat the church. The pipe organ was purchased in 1896 at a cost of £61 from a church in London.
During the 1920s the Sunday school thrived. Special outings in ‘a well-scrubbed coal lorry’ owned by Mr Varcoe was always something to be looked forward to. In the late 1920’s they were travelling in more grand style, enjoying the luxury of a char-a-banc belonging to the local garage proprietor Mr Hoare of Park Street. Later still, they were able to travel by train.