Cornwall Historic Churches Trust

We met for our annual meeting at St Michael Penkivel to hear the most enlightening talk by John Allan, who is the Exeter Cathedral archaeologist. John had us riveted for over an hour as he explained how during the Decorated period c.1250-1350 work down in this part of Cornwall was as elaborate in design as some of the work being done at Exeter and Wells, the leading Gothic-style in Europe at the time. Although not on the same scale the use of ‘S’ shaped tracery and elaborate curvilinear designs can be found in quite a few of our parish churches here in Cornwall like St Michael Penkivel and also a group in South East Cornwall centred on St Germans, St Ive and Sheviock.

Notes from the talk by John Allan

Nick Jeanes also made a short presentation about St Michael Penkivel church and pointed out the face of William Morris planted on the little figure of the devil in the bottom left corner of the East window – a jest by the artist who did not credit William Morris with the respect he was getting at the time.

It was a great pleasure to have our Honouree Life President Lord Falmouth with us. In his centenary year Lord Falmouth remains as interested and supportive of the work of the Trust as ever having himself been one of the founder members.

A cream tea rounded off the afternoon in the old school house and was enjoyed by all.

The CHCT Annual party is undoubtedly one of Cornwall’s Christmas highlights, and deservedly so.

The elegance of Boconnoc was echoed by the guests who once again turned up in party mood ensuring the great success of the evening.

Deep gratitude goes to Elizabeth and Claire Fortescue who loaned the house for the party, and also to the dedicated team of canapé ladies who year after year produce mouth-watering eats whilst enjoying a parallel party in the kitchen – each party is as much fun as the other!

A huge thank you goes to those who collected and donated prizes for the Raffle and the hamper, also to Alexandra Bolitho for the stunning and most original wreaths, all of which add so successfully to the profits of the evening.

And of course, it wouldn’t even happen without the very generous and dedicated support of our sponsors, Savills, so a huge thank you from all of us goes to them.

I am happy to report that a healthy sum in excess of £6,500 was raised at this year’s party.

Caroline Fox

photos by Charles Francis www.charlesfrancis.photos

Our Savills Sponsors; Michael Pennington, Director & Head of the Cornwall office; Ben Davies, Associate Director – Residential; Chris Anderson, Associate Director –  Rural Professional; Paul Cressy Director and Head of Estate Management

Miss Cicely Willis, Dr Robert and Mrs Kirby-Harris, Mrs Christopher Harvey-Clark, Mr William Trinik and Revd. Philip de Grey Warter (hon treasurer)

Our hostess Mrs Anthony Fortescue and the winners of the raffle, David & Cecelia Bisson.

Friends Annual Visit- St Uny, Lelant and St Erth

We were blessed again with a lovely day for our visit to St Uny and St Erth on Thursday 14^th June. We had a warm welcome from John Culver and the Churchwardens Keith and Andy at St Uny. They had kindly arranged for refreshments to be made available in the delightful community room which had previously been the Methodist Chapel for the burial ground. The refurbishment had resulted in a lovely room, filled with local items of interest and which is frequented by both locals and tourists. So good to see a redundant building put to good use. Dr Joanna Mattingley had kindly agreed to talk to us about the history of the Church following a most interesting introduction from John. At our Annual Meeting in 2017 we began our theme of Romanesque church architecture, St Uny Church has a wonderful Norman Arch which was highlighted. There are significant links between St Uny and St Erth and we were well prepared for our next visit. It was a great pleasure to have Michael Swift with us, who specializes in stained glass, and he “talked us through” the very interesting windows at St Uny. We are so fortunate to have such knowledgeable people in our membership that can share things with us and make sure we do not miss anything when visiting these lovely buildings. There are several windows of considerable interest, so well worth a visit if you were unable to join us.

We continued our afternoon at St Erth where we were welcomed by Janice the Churchwarden. Another fascinating Church, sharing the same design for the South Porch as St Uny. There were two beautiful gable windows giving special light within the Chancel. David Scott spoke to us about the Sedding restoration within the Churches, highlighting key features to look out for which were indications of who would have carried out the Victorian Restorations. In the past the Altar had to be approached via a bridge as the Chancel floor had been under water. You will be pleased to know that this is no longer the case! Jo Mattingley shared some of the records of the Wills with us and highlighted the local families and their involvement within the Church from the past. Michael Swift also drew our attention to the wonderful carvings done by the Pinwill sisters. The work of the Pinwill Sisters is most interesting and well worth exploring further. There are many examples of their work in Devon and Cornwall.

The afternoon concluded with a tea enjoyed by all in the adjacent hall, which had been recently refurbished providing an excellent venue.