Biscovey
This, rather oddly, is the parish church of the ecclesiastical parish of Par, which includes St. Blazey and Tywardreath; it's a big parish and a small church. On a sunny Saturday in early October I had a busy time visiting churches in the St. Austell/Par area. Major visit was Holy Trinity in St. Austell itself but I also enjoyed All Saints in Pentewan, St. Levan's in Higher Porthpean and, described here, St. Mary the Virgin in Biscovey. The location of St. Mary the Virgin is a surprise, high above a large circular car park on the north side of the A390 St. Austell to Lostwithiel Road. There are 32 steps to climb from car park to churchyard but the effort is well worth it. The first thing to note, in the angle between the external walls of the chancel and south aisle, is the tall remains of a Cornish Cross, sadly minus its head. This is a noteworthy church in at least one respect: It was built in 1848, the very first work of highly respected architect G E Street. The tower and spire are unusual for Cornwall, effectively a double broach spire with tiny dormers. Once inside, the high ceiling gives a feeling of spaciousness. The nave roof, of tie beam and crown post, is echoed in the aisle roof. The chancel has three stained glass windows to south, three to east, and a colourful altar cloth. The aisle chapel has a ceiling in blue and gold. The simple pulpit is of stone with blue carpeted stairs. There is an ornate brass lectern and a plain litany desk. A banner is of Virgin and Child.
Biscovey Church
Chancel of Biscovey Church
Photographs
More in Churches & Holy Sites
Blisland, the Church of St. Protus and St. Hyacinth
Blisland is an attractive small village set just below the western edge of Bodmin Moor. Most unusually the village centres around a large green, something you would have associated more with English shire counties than with Cornwall. Although there are some weekend homes here, there is quite a feeling of community in Blisland. Fund raising has seen a new primary school built and now the lost village stores and post office have been replaced by a new shop combining the two plus doctor's surgery, internet caf� and more. The pub on the green has a good reputation for its real ales. Architecture is typical of Bodmin Moor villages and even some new homes are granite faced. Highlight of Blisland is its church with the odd dedication to Saints Protus and Hyacinth; despite the latter's name, the two were apparently brothers. Outside, the church is typically Cornish with its squat tower and same height nave and aisle. Walk in and you might well be in a pre-Reformation church, faced as you are by a colourful rood screen, complete with rood, and chancel and chapel each with an elaborate reredos. All this was part of an 1894 restoration. There is a handsome Jacobean pulpit and the uneven roof timbers have carved bosses. The Blisland Inn is a pleasant and welcoming village local, open all day. We were very glad of its refreshments on a circular variation on a Camel Trail walk.
Bodmin
, St. Petroc's Church
Breage and Sithney
I visited Breage, on the Marazion and Penzance road in mid-May 2017 to add to my collection of Cornish Crosses by finding one in Breage. As it turned out, the first one I found wasn't in Breage but on the Helston to Marazion road, on the corner of a lane, opposite the car park of Trevena garden centre. Having photographed the cross, I continued on to Breage where there was indeed a Cornish Cross in the churchyard, near the porch. The church, as so often in Cornwall, stands on a lann, a high mound, suggesting an older pre-Christian site. On Shute Hill, leading up to the church, there are attractive cottages; beyond the church is the Queens Arms Inn. The church itself consists of nave, two aisles and a three-stage tower. The lych gate opposite the pub lacks roof and coffin rest but does have a coffen stile. Inside, the nave is impressive and the chancel is approached beneath an elaborate rood screen, complete with rood, beyond it an elaborate reredos. On north and south walls are several wall-paintings. An inscribed "Roman" stone stands in a corner of the south aisle. A carved stone, possibly part of a headstone, inscribed in Latin, stands beneath a window. Sithney's church was closed (and in 2018) so no report yet.