More St. Veep Church
Veep Church
On the late July Saturday when I re-visited St. Winnow church I also took the opportunity to re-visit that in St. Veep. On this occasion first I lingered in the porch and admired the finely carved decoration of the wall-plate, to be found inside the church as well.. Inside I noted the heavily moulded capitals of the arcade pillars. Somehow, on my previous visit to St. Veep, I managed to miss the fact that there is a squint between the north chancel aisle and the chancel. This time I had no trouble finding it but I was more than a little puzzled that a couple of jugs had been placed in it; surely the point of a squint was for the people to be able to peer through to see the priest. A most unusual thing that I spotted this time is that there are two royal coats of arms on the walls - that of Charles I and that of George I. Another thing that surprised me was the colourfully painted altar slab. I also noticed a slate memorial to Sir Nicholas Courteney, surely of the Devon family. I was also taken by the unusual font, rather hour-glass shaped and with carved decoration on each of its faces.
Charles I Royal Arms
Decorated Hourglass Font
George I Royal Arms
St.
Photographs
More in Churches & Holy Sites
Morvah, St. Morveth
This little church, in the tiny village of Morvah, beyond Zennor on the West Penwith peninsula, which I visited in May 2018, is probably the least interesting of all the Cornish churches I have researched so far. The tower dates from the 14th century but the body of the church was rebuilt in 1828, so just pre-Victorian. The approach is attractive, up three steps and through a pair of iron gates to a green outer porch door. Inside, the nave is simple and pews are unornamented with no carved bench ends. The ceiling is a simple ribbed barrel vault. The octagonal font is unusual with painted decoration on its shaft. The pulpit is simple oak with no decoration. The altar is of local stone with an incised cross. The reredos has three simple panels with a fretted top rail. Window glass is also simple with centre panels carrying a cross motif.
Morwenstow, St. John the Baptist and St. Morwenna
Morwenstow's church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist and to its putative founder St. Morwenna, possibly a daughter of Welsh King Brychan, is unusual in more ways than one. It must be just about Cornwall's least accessible church, a full five miles from the nearest road of any significance and in the county's most northerly parish. Of Norman origin (though there must have been an earlier church here), although restored in Victorian times, it retains a fair amount of Norman work, notably in the porch and the north arcade. And finally, for 40 years from 1834, it had as its vicar the remarkable Robert Stephen Hawker, poet and free spirit, who was responsible for much of the restoration of the church and who chose to bury shipwrecked sailors, of whom there were many in these dangerous seas, in his churchyard rather than, as was the custom at that time, on the shore where they were washed up. Hawker also wrote the Cornish anthem, Trelawny, Song of the Western Men. Worth noting inside the church are the unusual and very early Norman font, the screen and rood which Hawker restored, and a degraded wall painting believed to represent St. Morwenna. Outside, look at the lych gate and its adjacent lych house, at the figurehead of the Caledonia (original in the church) and, in early spring, the most amazing display of daffodils. And do walk to the cliff, turn left and seek out Hawker's Hut, where Parson Hawker wrote his poetry.
Mullion, St. Melina's
I visited Mullion towards the end of March 2018 in order to look around St. Melina's church, which stands towards the northern edge of this large village on the western side of the Lizard peninsula. There is a donation car park fairly close by and a pub, the Old Inn, almost opposite. The sturdy tower of the church is striking, built of a mix of granite and serpentine blocks. Otherwise the church consists of porch, nave and two aisles. The porch is worth attention with its Cornish wagon roof, studded door and three stage door surround. Inside are 15th century wagon roofs, an impressive three part rood screen incorporating some of the original screen, complete with rood, an Elizabethan lectern carved with two female figures, a 13th century hexagonal font with simple decoration, and elaborate royal coat of arms of Charles II. There are several monuments, though none of great significance. All this is fine but the reason for visiting St. Melina's is to see one of the best collections of 16th century carved bench ends in Cornwall - and that's saying something. In the churchyard, several crosses include the head of an octagonal section medieval cross. From Mullion I went on to Perranuthnoe, a couple of miles south-east of Marazion.