The church is dedicated to St Sabinus, a canonised Italian bishop; local stories claim it was named after a missionary from Ireland who was ship-wrecked at Woolacombe
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--> but there is no evidence to support this. St. Sabinus church was designed by the architect William Caroe and built in 1909-12.
His tournament victories include Hastings Challengers 1966, Slater Challenge Southend 1968, Johannesburg 1973, Woolacombe 1973, Capablanca Memorial (Master Group) 1974, Alicante 1977, Sydney 1979, Dortmund 1980, Barcelona 1980, Lloyds Bank Masters 1981, Adelaide 1983 and La Valletta 1985.