The conveyancing happened very shortly before the consecration twenty-four years after the church was started. Francis Porter, who was Presbyterian, conformed and kept his living and the church was consecrated by Bishop Seth Ward of Exeter on 2 September 1665 (after the restoration of the monarchy). In 1670 the churchyard was consecrated. The consecration caused a little controversy as the bishop wanted to dedicate the church to "Charles, King and Martyr". However, Puritan Plymouth was not to be messed with and insisted the church be named according to the letters Patent of 1641 signed in Charles's own hand. (The bishop succeeded in dedicating the Church of King Charles the Martyr in nearby Falmouth.)