Church of St Enodoc

Details

SW 97 NW ST MINVER LOWLANDS 3/304 Church of St. Enodoc 6.6.69 GV I Chapelry of St. Minver dedicated to St. Enodoc or St. Guinedoc. Circa C12 origins with walls of nave, chancel, north transept and lower stage of north tower possibly incorporating some early masonry. C12 font. Second stage of north tower and spire possibly C13. South chancel aisle C15. Restored by J.P. St. Aubyn in 1863-4. Stone rubble. Regular slate roofs with nave and chancel in one. Circa C12 church probably comprised nave, chancel, north and south transept and possibly north tower. In circa C13 a broach spire was erected on the north tower at the north end of the transept. In circa C15 the three bay south chancel aisle was erected, probably absorbing the south transept and a south porch was added. By the C18 the church had become partly buried under sand and by the 1850's a clergyman was annually admitted through a skylight in the north transept to perform a service for the purpose of securing priviledges. The 1863-4 restoration of J.P. St. Aubyn included the part rebuilding of the external walls to the nave, chancel, south chancel aisle and porch; the renewal of tracery in the nave, and two windows in the south chancel aisle and the renewal of the roofs and roof structure in the nave, chancel, south chancel aisle and north transept. Exterior: Nave with C19 tracery to west of porch and west window with C19 geometric tracery of two lights. South chancel aisle with south wall part rebuilt, C19 2-light window with cusped head and two circa C15 windows with hollow chamfered jambs and cusped heads. East gable end part rebuilt. The chancel is built on bed rock with east window of four lights with cusped tracery. To the north the low north transept is pierced by a small lancet east window. North tower of two stages surmounted by low broach spire of stone rubble with small trefoil headed belfry openings on four faces. Gabled south porch with C19 2-centred arched opening. South door with circa C14 2-centred arched opening with moulded jambs. Interior: Roofs replaced in 1863-4. Circa C15 three bay arcade to south chancel aisle with moulded type B (Pevsner) granite piers, 4 centred moulded arches, moulded bases and caps. Furnishings largely replaced in 1863. Base of circa C15 rood screen survives although restored and regilded; the uprights are moulded and carved with a floral trail and the restored panels are decorated with blind tracery. Granite font of circa C12 with round bowl, shaft carved with cable moulding and round base. The bowl is lead lined and the plinth has been restored. Carved chest to north of font mentioned in inventory of church goods in 1613. Catacleuse holy water stoup reset in south wall with C15 arch above. Leger stone of John Mably, 1687 in south porch. Memorial to Ernest Edward Betjeman of Undertown (qv), father of Sir John Betjeman 1872-1934 on south wall. In churchyard, collection of mortars collected during excavations of the surrounding area. Medieval granite wheelhead cross with Maltese cross carved in relief, resited in south porch. St. Endocs was known as 'Sinkininny Church' having given the impression of sinking in the sand. A detailed account of the restoration was written in 1919-21 by Mr. Hart Smith Pearce, son of the vicar responsible for the restoration. The church is closely associated with Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972, who is buried in the churchyard, close to the Lych Gate. Maclean, Sir John Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor in the County of Cornwall 1879, vol III Church Guide Pevsner, N and Radcliffe, E The Buildings of England, Cornwall 2nd ed, 1970 Sites and monuments Register, Truro, Cornwall.

Listing NGR: SW9315977232

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

351624

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds, (1970)
Maclean, J, Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor in the County of Cornwall, (1879)

End of official list entry

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