Flushing, St. Peter's
In March 2017 I visited Mylor Churchtown, where I had not previously been inside the church, so steeply and beautifully situated above the marina. On the way there I had been first to St. Gluvias at Penryn, which was closed, and St. Peter's at Flushing. St. Peter's is situated at the top of the hill down to the water. Opposite, from the top of a steep drive down to a house called Little Flushing, there is a good view down to the water and across to Falmouth. This Anglican church is highly unusual for Cornwall, dating from 1842, a time when so many Methodist churches were beng built. The interior (photo below right) is also unusual, with its queen-post roof and a model yacht - appropriate for Flushing - suspended from it. You might think there had been an older church on this site, witness the unexpected presence of a Cornish Cross in the churchyard. However, the cross was found in a farm building at Porloe in 1891 and moved to this churchyard.
St. Peter's Flushing
Churchyard Cornish Cross
The Unusual Interior
Photographs
More in Churches & Holy Sites
Forrabury near Boscastle, St. Symphorian's Church
I first encountered St. Symphorian's church - the same dedication as that in Veryan - in the course of the same round walk during which I first saw Minster Church. That was in January 2008. I didn't go inside it then; my interest then was only in photographing its Cornish Cross, situated to the south of the churchyard. However, I eventually revisited St. Symphorian's in July 2018 and took some interior photographs. Before going in the church I walked through the gate in the top left-hand corner of the churchyard. You should make a point of doing this for the views. Most striking is the view to the Coastguard look-out on Willapark, the headland to the south of Boscastle. Sitting just inland from Willapark and lying between the church and that headland is the high ground of Forrabury Stitches. The Stitches are evidence of a medieval way of farming. This series of fields is divided into 42 "stitch-meal" plots of farmland, a method of crop rotation that dates back to Celtic times still exists and is one of the best three surviving examples of stitches being farmed in Britain today. The church of Saint Symphorian was subject of a major restoration in 1868, resulting in an additional north aisle with heavy classical columns. The Pulpit, Credence Table and Altar all incorporate old bench ends. The pulpit is of geometrical design and features a terrier and two rabbits in a barrow, an ape on a stool, and two swans. One wonders what other treasures existed on old bench ends, sold off to local farms and houses. A priest's chair is of unusually elaborate design. The cup-shaped font is Norman with criss-cross diagonal decoration.
Fowey
The church stands at the southern end of the town, not far from Town Quay. Behind and above it is Place, the ancestral home of the Treffry family, perhaps best known these days for the great viaduct and aqueduct over the Luxulyan Valley. St. Fimbarrus is described by Pevsner as "in the first rank of the county's churches but in most stylistic aspects very untypical of Cornwall". The first notable feature of the church is the large porch with, unusually, east and west entrances. the latter presumably because it allowed direct access for the Treffrys from Place. The interior is likened by Pevsner to both Brittany and Lostwithiel. Most striking inside is the sheer height and continuous length of nave and chancel. The south aisle roof is very un-Cornish but the fine Cornish wagon roof of the nave and chancel is supported by angels and decorated with bosses and shields of benefactors. A major restoration was undertaken in 1876 by J P St. Aubyn and roofs of nave chancel and south aisle were extensively repaired in 1932-4, mostly using original medieval timbers. The Norman font is of blue Cataclause stone. The fine carved oak pulpit dates from 1601. Stained glass is late Victorian, including nine clerestory windows. Fine monuments are largely of the local Treffry and Rashleigh families and include a large grave slab with three Treffry brothers in armour. In the north aisle a large marble chest monument of 1624 commemorates John Rashleigh, dressed in ruff and beret. Brasses, set in the floor near the pulpit, commemorate Rashleighs and others. More 15th century brasses, on the sill of the east window in the south aisle remember more Treffrys, including Thomas and Elizabeth who defended Place in the 1457 uprising at the end of the Hundred Years War.
Germoe, St. Germoc's Church
In mid-December 2018 I had an outing down west. First I visited Porthleven, for the charming Victorian St. Bartholemew's Church. I know Porthleven well but had not previously been in the church. Next I visited St. Breaca's Church in Breage, the church with the finest collection of frescoes in Cornwall. Finally, just a couple of miles west of Breage, I spent some time in Germoe (the 'G' is hard). Appropriately enough, since their churches are not far apart, Germoc and Breaca were brother and sister, Celtic saints reputed to have arrived from Ireland in the 5th century. Not having read my Pevsner before reaching Germoe, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there, helped by a useful sign by the churchyard gate. The church stands at the centre of the little village, a tiny stream crossing a grassy area in front of it. Following the sign, I first took a look at St. Germoc's Holy Well. It has an interesting modern cover, installed in 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee, and a small information plaque. I then followed the other sign to find "St. Germoc's Chair" at the eastern end of the churchyard, built into the churchyard wall. According to the respected antiquarian John Leland the structure was a shrine covering the bones of St Germoc. However, no trace of Germoc's or anybody else's bones were found under the structure. The most striking external feature of the church is the tower, with two gargoyles high on each face. A surprising amount of the fabric of the church is early, predating the 15th century. On the roof above the chancel arch is a pretty Victorian bell-cote. Inside, the nave ceiling is in a mix of styles; the chancel ceiling is of the Cornish wagon type. The altar is of local granite, the reredos being of coloured patterned tiles. The font is one of Cornwall's oldest, eleventh century with an irregular bowl and worn faces at the corners. At the west end of the nave is a 12trh century font bowl with cable moulding. The oak pulpit has a simple carved frieze. There are 18th century texts on wall-mounted boards.