St. Ia's Church

Ia's Church

As so often in Cornwall, this church commemorates an Irish saint, this one reputedly arriving sailing on a leaf. From the east end, standing on the harbour wall, you appear to be looking at an unique church - of a nave and three equal-height aisles. It is only when you move to the south side that you discover that this is indeed the standard Cornish plan of nave and two equal-height aisles. The fourth gable, on the south side, is actually that of a small Lady Chapel. Built, unusually in granite country, of a local sandstone, this is a most handsome church. It is all of a period - 1410 to 1426 - except for the slightly later Lady Chapel and porch. The impressive tower rises to some 90 feet.

Inside are typically Cornish wagon roofs, decorated with bosses and angels, fine carved stonework, a pulpit faced with re-used carved bench ends, and choir stalls carved with local scenes. The rood loft has gone but the rood stairs are still in place by the Lady Chapel, in which is a Barbara Hepworth Madonna and Child, commemorating her son, in front of it steel candlesticks which she designed. Also inside, rather surprisingly, a notice reads 'Some people will tell you that at the Reformation the Church of England ceased to be Catholic and became Protestant. Do not believe it.'

St. Ia's from the Remembrance Garden

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