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.

Morwenstow church in the evening sun

Churchyard at daffodil time, see Morwenstow village