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.