Friends – Page 2 – Cornwall Historic Churches Trust

Friends of CHCT annual church visit 2019

On Thursday, the 16th of May we had a very interesting afternoon in a special part of Cornwall. We met at St Kew which is a magnificent medieval church with a great feeling of space and tranquility. We were warmly welcomed by Jim Godden who shared some of his local knowledge and stories highlighting the importance of St Kew in the past. We were also fortunate to have Jo Mattingley and Michael Swift with us and they gave an informative talk on the Church. The beautiful Wagon roof still has wonderful carved angels above the main aisle. Approximately 12 years ago the superb medieval stained glass window, showing the story of Christ’s Passion was restored and we were able to appreciate this great piece of work, both the original work and the excellent restoration.

Church of St James the Great at St Kew

A short drive then took us to St Mabyn, where the Grade I listed, 15^th century church is very much in the centre of the village. There was a contrast to St Kew as soon as you walked in with three aisles and a much lower ceiling. Some interesting carving on the columns was highlighted to us showing links to local families. The tower of St Mabyn was also of note being 85 feet high. Michael Swift pointed out the mystery window which inspite of much research has not been attributed to a particular craftsperson which is most unusual.

St Mabyn Church

We had a most enjoyable afternoon concluding with tea served from the super new kitchenette. All members are warmly welcomed to these visits and it was lovely to see everyone this year and hope that 2020 we will be seeing you all again together with any friends who could not make it this year.

Annual Christmas Party December 2018

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.

Annual General Meeting 2018

We were warmly welcomed to St Gerrans on the Roseland by Revd Jill Edwards and treated to an inspiring talk by Dr Stuart Blaylock on 13^th century architecture in Cornish churches. This is a period well known to be lean on complete examples in our region, but Stuart was able to piece together the progress from the Romanesque period through to the beginning of the Decorated period showing us what remains there are in several churches. He also illustrated how the church morphed in design from each of the bookend periods at either end of the 13^th century. Gerrans proved to be an excellent example of what still survives with a triple lancet window in the 13^th century north transept, and two single lancets in the north wall (now kitchen area. There is also a Purbeck marble font with arcade designs of probable 1200s date and a coffin-shaped tomb slab of the 13^th or early 14^th century.

Examples from outside of the county had to be drawn on but the very best example here in Cornwall of Early English architecture was three miles down the road at St Anthony in Roseland. The 2017 lunch had been held at Place House which is attached to this church and this was where Dr Jo Mattingly had pointed out the crucifix plan and high-quality carvings of foliage, corbel heads of kings and bearded men adorning the crossing below the 13^th Century Tower.

Stuart Blaylock handout for 2018 CHCT AGM

St Anthony in Roseland

Friends of CHCT Annual Church Visit, June 2108

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.

70th Birthday of The Prince of Wales

To coincide with the 70th Birthday of The Prince of Wales, the CHCT was invited to a Reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the work of His Royal Highness’s Patronages and Charities. Simon Coy, Philip Willoughby, Susie Gore and Dolly Scott were nominated to go and enjoyed a marvellous afternoon with perfect garden party weather and the most delicious tea. Along with the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were the newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex; a happy afternoon was had by all in the magnificent setting of the Palace gardens.