St Columb Minor Church
| St Columb Minor Church | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates: 50°25′18″N 05°02′35″W / 50.42167°N 5.04306°W | |
| OS grid reference | SW839624 |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www.stcolumbminor.co.uk |
| History | |
| Dedication | St. Columba |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Columb Minor |
| Deanery | Pydar |
| Archdeaconry | Cornwall |
| Diocese | Truro |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Columb Minor Church is a late 15th century Church of England parish church in St Columb Minor in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The site is probably that of an ancient barrow where pagan rites were celebrated, and was originally circular. The position is in full view of the twin tumuli, the symbol of the fruitfulness of Mother Nature. It is sheltered from the strong winds of the Atlantic and looks down the Rialton valley and across at Castle-an-Dinas at the summit of Castle Downs. Here the Celtic missionaries, centuries before the Columba legend arose, drove away the evil spirits and replaced pagan magic by Christian worship, and erected the first wooden sanctuary. The Churchtown lay to the West and South while the shelving ground to the North and East prevented building for all time. Hence, as in the case of so many villages, the houses extended more and more from the parish church.
The first church was probably replaced more than once, until about 1100 A.D. a Norman church was built. Its outline has been traced from the present chancel step to about a yard from the belfry door, with North and South walls, exactly where the nave arches stand today. Part of the Norman foundations are to be seen around the pillars. It is possible to picture this old church with small windows, perhaps with transepts, and having a low arch leading to an apse.
About the middle of the twelfth century another church was erected in the place of the Norman one. This had aisles which terminated at the chancel. Nothing is known about the building of this church, except that in 1283 it was called a chapelry to the College of .
In 1417 the Bishop of Exeter stated that the chancel was in a ruinous state and that the church must rebuild at once. The stones used, tell their own story, as does also the style of architecture.
About 1430 nave arcades reconstructed: two of the original pillars of Beer stone were left but the other pillars are of Cornish granite. One baffling question concerns the blocked window near the tower which is Early English but does not accord with the rest of the building.
...
Wikipedia