The Three Churches of St. Minver Parish
On a hot late August Sunday we did a walk to take a look at the three churches in St. Minver Parish on the Camel estuary. This is Jane's home territory; she was raised in Trebetherick and Rock in the parish. We parked above Daymer Bay, walked across St. Enodoc golf course to St. Enodoc church and the Jesus Well, down through Rock to the Camel estuary for pasties at the Rock Inn, across the beach to St. Michael Porthilly, through pasture land to St. Menefreda's in St. Minver, and by Roserrow golf course back to Daymer Bay. You could do this by car for the churches, or as an eight mile walk, using OS Explorer sheet 106. Refreshments in Rock; Fourways Inn in St. Minver was poor (2013 believed much improved); the clubhouse at Roserrow (now The Point at Polzeath) serves excellent good value food.
St. Enodoc Church
The Jesus Well
St. Michael Porthilly
St. Menefreda's
Stranded within a golf course above Daymer Bay, the tiny church stands on a site holy since the 6th century. The church, with its stubby twisted spire, had to be dug out from sand-dunes in 1863; its steep churchyard is now protected by tall tamarisks. Poet Laureate John Betjeman is buried here. The lych gate retains its coffin rest.
The Well is also stranded in the golf course. Legend has it that St. Enodoc baptised converts here in the 6th century, when he had a monastic cell on the site of the church. Why it is called the Jesus Well is another question. I guess this is one of the places that tin-trader Joseph of Arimathea is supposed to have brought the young Jesus.
Location makes this charming little 14th century church, above a sandy beach on the Camel estuary. It once belonged to Bodmin Priory to which the adjacent farmhouses belonged. Notable inside are the wagon roof, Norman font and slate memorial to the Rounseualls. Outside, near the entrance, is a 6th century Celtic cross.
This church is in St. Minver Highlands and is mostly 15th century. Features include carved oak bench ends, a slate memorial to the Stone family and a board carrying a 'letter' from Charles I.
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More in Churches & Holy Sites
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Tregaminion
I first encountered the little church of Tregaminion, in the middle of nowhere about 2 miles from Fowey, while walking the Saints way from Fowey to Padstow in early summer 2006. I visited it again, in early September 2018, at the beginning of a day seeing St. Andrew's Church in Tywardreath and St. Fimbarrus Church in Fowey. The church was built in 1815 as a Chapel of Ease to St. Andrew's at Tywardreath. It was closed each time I tried to visit. Notable features, visible from the outside, are a small bellcote and the old arms of the Rashleighs, unearthed when the church was being built. To the right of the church, on a bank, is quite a tall Cornish Cross. To the left, also on a bank, is a short Cornish Cross.
Tregony, St. Cuby's Church
I had a busy last Saturday of March 2018, visiting three churches in the direction of Truro: St. Cuby, Tregony; St. Cornelius, Cornelly; and St. Keyne at Kenwyn on the northern outskirts of Truro. Tregony village, a nice place with most amenities including Post Office, shop and pub, is a long one street village on a steep hill from the infant River Fal up to the church at the very top of the hill. I had been inside Tregony church previously but, on this occasion I was there primarily for the inscribed stone built into the south-west corner of the south aisle. The inscription apparently reads "Nonnita ercilini rigati .....tris fili ercilini", but is very difficult to decipher. From the lych gate, an avenue of tombstones leads to the porch with its vaulted roof and door with elaborate ironwork. Inside are nave and south aisle. The royal coat of arms, unusually, is of James II. The font is late Norman, with heads at each corner, as at Bodmin. The hexagonal pulpit incorporates medieval bench ends, part of the reason there are no old ends on the present benches. A wall monument of 1644 commemorates Hugh Pomeroy. The organ casing incorporates a screen with paintings of saints. Attractive kneelers include one of roses, one of an RNLI lifeboat and one of sheep in a field.