Breage Parish Church is the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church of the parish of

Breage Breage or Breaca (with many variant spellings) is a saint venerated in Cornwall and South West England. According to her late hagiography, she was an Irish nun of the 5th or 6th century who founded a church in Cornwall. The village and civil pari ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is dedicated to Saint

or Breaca, said to have been an Irish nun who came to Cornwall in the 5th-century.

Description

The church was built of granite in the 15th-century: it has two aisles separated from the nave by granite arcades of standard design. On the north wall are five medieval wall paintings: four saints are portrayed,

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, Corentine and Hilary (there are fragmentary ones also), and the ''Warning to the Sabbath-Breakers'', one of the finest examples in the country of a Sunday Christ. Another fine example is to be found a few miles away in St Just. A Roman milestone of the 3rd-century is preserved in the church and in the churchyard there is an unusual Hiberno-Saxon cross head. The inscription on the milestone is: IMP DO NO MARC CASSI: this incomplete text refers to the Emperor (Marcus Cassianus) Postumus, 258-68 AD (Collingwood, RIB no. 2232). The church reopened on

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

, 26 December 1879, following the restoration of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

which was enlarged and choir stalls provided. The roof was repaired, walls plastered and the floor pointed. The church contains the vault of the

Godolphin family Godolphin is a Cornish aristocratic family name and may refer to: * Baron Godolphin, an English title of nobility * Earl of Godolphin, an English title of nobility *Godolphin and Latymer School, an independent school for girls in London (formerly ...

History

After the Norman Conquest the church of Breage was of interest to three lords: the Bishop of Exeter who held the manor of Methleigh, the

Earl of Cornwall The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne. Condor of Cornwall *Condor of Cornwall, ...

who held the manor of Winnianton, and the

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100� ...

who held the manor of Binnerton. In the 12th-century the Earl of Gloucester (Lord of the manor of Binnerton) gave the church to the abbey of

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

but in this he exceeded his legal power and after eighty-six years the

intervened and bestowed it on the abbey of Hailes. The parish of Breage had until the 19th-century the unusual feature of dependent parochial chapels at

Germoe Germoe ( kw, Germogh) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Germoe village, the parish's main settlement and church town, is about five miles (8 km) west of Helston and seven miles (11.3 km) east of Penz ...

Cury Cury ( kw, Egloskuri) is a civil parish and village in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately four miles (6 km) south of Helston on The Lizard peninsula. The parish is named for St Corentin and is reco ...

and

Gunwalloe Gunwalloe ( kw, Pluw Wynnwalow) is a coastal civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Lizard Peninsula south of Helston and partly contains The Loe, the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall. The parish pop ...

, the last two being added to it in 1246 by the Earl.

Organ

The organ was built by

Henry Willis and Sons Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other countries. Five generations of the Willis family served as principals of th ...

for Thomas Robins Bolitho. It then moved to

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

and was rebuilt in Breage in 1968 by

Hele & Co Hele & Co (also known as Hele & Sons) were the main organ builders in the south west of England from 1865 to 2007.''The Freeman-Edmonds Directory of British Organ Builders''; by Andrew Freeman & Bernard Edmonds. 2002 History The company was fo ...

of Plymouth. A specification of the organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

Gallery

Image:Breage st breaca 001.JPG, St. Breaca's church Image:DSCN1522BreageChurchView.jpg, View of the church Image:DSCN1528BreageChurchTower.jpg, Church tower Image:DSCN1519BreageChurchPorch.jpg, Church porch Image:DSCN1526BreageChurchSundial.jpg, Sundial over doorway of the porch Image:DSCN1524BreageChurchyard.jpg, Churchyard Image:DSCN1520BreageChurchCross.jpg, Ancient cross in churchyard Image:Breage st breaca 002.JPG, Nave Image:Breage st breaca 004.JPG, Altar Image:Breage st breaca 005.JPG, Frescos Image:Breage st breaca 006.JPG, Frescos Image:Breage st breaca 007.JPG, Fresco of

St. Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...

References

{{Cornwall