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Landewednack |
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Landewednack is an easy church to miss, with every signpost urging the visitor to The Lizard - follow signs to the village, then look for Church Cove. The church itself lies below the more modern village, its fortunes resting on being the most southerly everything in the British Isles; here are old colour washed cottages and the church lies among substantial sycamores, its wandering roof lines immediately interesting and homely. The low tower, unbuttressed, as are most towers in this part of Cornwall, is made of strongly contrasting blocks of the local green serpentines and a pinkish granite |
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To view Larger pictures click thumbnails
St. Winwaloe St. Winwaloe, to whom the church is dedicated, was a well known Breton Saint whose parents had emigrated to Brittany sometime in the late 5th or early 6th Century. He founded the Abbey of Landevennec there, and Landewednack is thought to have been a daughter church of the Abbey.
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The church is thought to have been founded around 600 A.D. though nothing remains from that time. The strange name means “The lan (or sacred enclosure) of St Wennec”. Close links have recently been re-formed between the village and the Abbey at Landevennec in Brittany, which Saint Winwaloe founded. The south porch and doorway to the church are quite remarkable. The porch has battlements outside and a rib vault inside resting on angel corbels with a much larger angel as a boss (and, of course, so far south, the resident swallows!) Most authorities recognise the porch as being 13th Century work, and it protects a 12th Century Norman South Doorway, with a wealth of fine carving and typical zig zag decorations. The pillars are 19th Century replacements of the earlier ones, and the present doorway, set in the Norman one, is 13th Century. Above the lintel is a semi circular brick filling and an empty niche - probably there were originally have been what is called a tympanum (a carved religious scene) and a statue of St Winwaloe. That would have all gone at the Reformation, when such carving was regarded as akin to making idols. The holy water stoup is still intact and so are the stone seats at the sides. The inside offers an immediately ‘homely’ feel. Though there is much obvious evidence of the Victorian restoration, it has been sympathetically accomplished; a north aisle greets the eye, with the customary Cornish arcades, and glimpses of a fine barrel roof - and the wandering lines of the roof straying off into the south transept suggest great age rather than re-ordering.
The font lies, as is usual, on the left of the south door It dates from the 15th Century and an inscription reads in Latin “Dn. Rich Bolhma me fecit” (Master Richard Bolham made me). Bolham was Rector of Landewednack from 1404 to 1442. The serpentine pillars which support the font date from the 19th century. In the North aisle notice the superb carving of the 15th Century barrel roof and the wall plates. Much of the present roofing in the church had been covered by false ceilings - their removal shows the full glory of the work. The windows are 15th Century, typical of the style known as ‘Perpendicular’, without tracery - they fit into the old round headed openings of the former windows. The cracked disused tenor bell on the floor is one of the oldest in Cornwall, dated from 1550. Another of the same age, and an older one are part of the ring of 6 in the tower. Most of the stained glass dated from 1861. At the same time the polished serpentine pulpit and lectern were installed - polishing the local stone was becoming very fashionable, and remains so today in the souvenirs to be bought throughout The Lizard.
When the organ chamber was built in 1861 the old staircase to the rood loft was demolished . Part of the jamb of the old doorway is still embedded in the north wall, and beside it a picture of the church about 1860. The gaps in the stonework show where the Screen used to be - when it was removed is not known. The organ is now electronic and the old pipes have been retained. Several doors and windows have been unblocked in recent years - including the south window in the chancel. Also in the chancel is a carved and decorated prayer desk - this is made from part of a screen in Ruan Major church, which is now derelict. It was made about 100 years ago - notice ‘R’ on it - probably standing for Ruan.
Connecting the South Transept with the Chancel, to give a clear view of the altar is a passage Squint, unusual in Cornwall, but familiar enough in the Lizard: here the corner is simply cut off and supported by a granite pillar. The Altar in the South Transept is the place where prayer requests may be left. On the west wall of this chapel is a list of the Rectors since 1275. Notice also that the last sermon in the Cornish language was preached here in 1670. A moment spent at the Chancel step looking up at the woodwork of the roof is an opportunity to be grateful for the ingenuity of man in fashioning wood and stone, to the glory of God.
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