St. Materiana

The two best things about Tintagel are the climb to the top of the 'Island' in search of King Arthur and the parish church of St. Materiana, both well away from the tawdry bustle of the tourist-trap village. Its siting is odd, stranded on a clifftop to the west of the town; a whole early settlement must have gone missing here. Inside, a simple Norman granite font stands on a most unusual plinth of small upright slates set in a checker pattern, almost as if architect Sir Edwin Lutyens had designed it as part of one of his unusual garden paths. Wood work in the church is unusual; the reredos appears to be made of old bench ends which carry carvings of the Passion and of local coats of arms. From the clifftop beyond the church you get a view of The Island on which Tintagel Castle stands. As you walk or drive along Church Hill on the way to St. Materiana's church, you pass Tintagel Vicarage, the tiny Fontevrault Chapel, converted from a barn, in its gatehouse, a dovecot in its garden. If you do drive, there are parking spaces close to the church. You can approach Tintagel Castle along the cliff from the church.

More images of St. Materiana, Tintagel

St. Materiana's church in the late evening sun

For Tintagel village, do read my current review

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