Gorran Churchtown is a village in the parish of

St Goran St Goran is a coastal civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK, six miles (10 km) south-southwest of St Austell. The largest settlement in the parish is the coastal village of Gorran Haven, a mile to the east with a further cluster of homes at ...

(where the 2011 census population was included ),

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. Gorran Churchtown is situated approximately nine miles (14 km) south-southwest of

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

;

Gorran Haven Gorran Haven () is a fishing village, in the civil parish of St Goran, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about south of Mevagissey and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Overview The village ...

, the largest settlement in the parish, is a mile to the east. Gorran Churchtown lies within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers in Cornwall, England, UK; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for s ...

(AONB).

St Goran Church

The Church of St Goran is part of a wider benefice involving St Just (Gorran Haven) and

St Michael Caerhays St Michael Caerhays ( kw, Lannvihal) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about seven miles (11 km) south-southwest of St Austell. The population as of the 2011 census was 96 St Michael Caerhay ...

. All three are part of the

Diocese of Truro The Diocese of Truro (established 1876) is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury which covers Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and a small part of Devon. The bishop's seat is at Truro Cathedral. Geography and history The di ...

Refurbishment of the Bell Tower

Prior to 2015, the Church's bell tower had a ring of 6 bells. After fundraising effort and receipt of a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, St Goran were able to preserve their existing Georgian bells in a traditional wooden frame while installing a refurbished set of 8 Victorian bells from the former church of St Mary the Virgin in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

, Kent. Of the pre-2015 ring of bells, two modern castings were removed - leaving four Pennington bells cast in 1772 ''in situ.'' The Taylor 5th bell is now the tenor of the augmentation from three to six at

Ab Kettleby Ab Kettleby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, located north of Melton Mowbray, on the A606 road. It had a population of 501 in 2001; at the 2011 census this had increased to 529. It is situat ...

, Leicestershire. The Gillett & Johnston 2nd is to become the tenor of a ring of ten bells at

Vernet les Bains Vernet is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Painters *Antoine Vernet (1689-1753), French painter, father of Claude Joseph Vernet * Claude Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), French painter * Antoine Charles Horace Vernet (1758–1835), a ...

, France.

Renovations to the Interior

Since 2011, the Church has undergone numerous significant changes to the interior in an attempt to make the church more accessible for its parishioners and more effective as a community space. This began in 2011 with replacing the Lady Chapel's pews with chairs and improving the hand rail. A year later, the Norman font (dating from around 1180) was moved from the back of the church to the Lady Chapel in order to make room for more renovation at the back. In 2014, Fundraising efforts began in earnest to create a community space separate from the main body of the church. Building was completed in 2016 and now includes small and large meeting spaces, a kitchen, a gallery area and course facilities for visiting bell ringers. The new space was opened by the Bishop of Truro (then Tim Thornton) on 9 September 2016.

References

External links

Gorran Haven website
Villages in Cornwall {{Restormel-geo-stub