Kirton was the original name that Crediton was known as, and means 'church town'. The present name was probably derived from 'tun (town) in the holy place of St Creedan or 'tun on the River Creedy'. The town's most famous son, St Boniface (born Winfrith in 680).

St Boniface became a great Christian missionary and one of the founding members of the Christian church in Europe. He is the patron saint of Germany and the Netherlands. A monastery was created in Crediton in 739 - possible at the influence of St Boniface - and this led to the town being created the first bishopric in Devon. The diocesan church in Crediton served as a cathedral until 1050, when it, the Bishop's seat, was moved to Exeter where it would have been easier to defend. With the moving of the cathedral to Exeter, the Holy Cross was awarded collegiate status and rebuilt in stone. The tower, crossing, Lady Chapel and southern vestry survive from this Norman period. The church was rebuilt again in the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. When King Henry the Eighth declared himself the head of the English Protestant Church and dissolved the monasteries and other religious houses, the townsfolk clubbed together and bought the church. At least four churches have stood on the site of the current parish church, the first a Saxon foundation associated with St. Boniface. Nearby stands the modern Roman Catholic Church of St. Boniface, and is the home of the national shrine to St Boniface. Both the beautifully mellowed Devon sandstone parish church and the modern catholic church, in Park Road, are well worth a visit.