The Newquay Parish church of St Michael the Archangel, (also known as St Michael's Church) is located in

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

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,

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 ...

, and is dedicated to the St. Michael the Archangel. Since 1951 the church has been designated as a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building. It is an active

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 A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in 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 ...

, the

archdeaconry of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th century. The area and the archdeacon remained par ...

and the deanery of Pydar.

History

St Michael's, chapel of ease (demolished)

In the early 19th century, when Newquay's

pilchard "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, Oily fish, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes fr ...

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

and

boatbuilding Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood W ...

industry were at their height, meetings for worship began to be held in town itself. The Baptists were the first to have a building here (in 1822) and the first

Methodist chapel Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

was built in about 1833. But those who needed to visit an

Church (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

) had to travel to St Columb Minor Parish Church. The first

chapel in Newquay was built in 1858 (by the Reverend Nicholas Chudleigh) as a

chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

, in a Cornish

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

; it was known as St Michaels due to the dedication of a side chapel. The Chapel officially opened on the 9th September 1858. The Newquay parish itself was created 1896 from part of St Columb Minor parish. that same year the Chapel of Ease had been twice enlarged, a north and a south aisle being added, and its capacity increased to 500. By the turn of the 20th century, it became difficult to hold the summer

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

due to the number of people attending. The cramped and inconvenient site meant that no further enlargement of any kind was possible, and it seemed inevitable that a new large church would have to be built on a new site. The St Michaels, Chapel of Ease continued to serve the people of Newquay until 1911 when the New Parish Church was built. After the new church opened, the land where the Chapel of Ease stood was purchased and became the Women's Institute. The land and building was purchased by FW Woolworth and was subsequently demolished for the new

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

store to be built in 1937. However, there is still a reminder of the fact that a church once stood here in the footpath, named 'Church Path', which runs from Mount Wise to Bank Street which is still in use today.

Newquay Parish church of St Michael the Archangel

The new church in Newquay was dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, was commenced in 1909. the construction carried out throughout 1910 and eventually, after the some setbacks and some last minute issues that the necessary money would be collected in time, the church was completed and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on the 12th July 1911 by the

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...

. The total cost of the church, including the purchase of the site, was just under £11,000. The church was originally designed by

Sir Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...

. Newquay Parish Church of St Michael the Archangel opened in 1911. Sebastian Comper designed the present

church tower Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, The tower was completed in 1969, nearly 60 years after the church was built. The Tower itself is 64.76 metres (105 feet 6 inches) in height. It was originally intended to contain a peal of bells, but there have never been funds for this or the proposed clock either.

Fittings

The Church was further modified over the years, with stained glass (some designed by Ninian Comper), by the

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

, also designed by Comper, which was installed in sections, and by the fine organ by Nicholson of Worcester, which was dedicated in 1961, replacing an old organ of mixed origin. This was the gift of the late Revd W.P.Mitchell, as was the tower. Comper's original plans had included a tower at the east end of the church, which was never built for lack of funds at the time.

Fire

St Peter's Day The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christia ...

, 29 June 1993, there was an

arson attack Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, water ...

that destroying large sections of the church. The restoration project which followed received a considerate amount of funding from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, and in collaboration with experts at English Heritage, the practice used its expertise in

architectural conservation Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any Cultural property, immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interve ...

to complete a substantial repair of the church, restoring it to its former glory. but has since been reopened (rededicated in 1996).

References

{{coord, 50.4127, -5.0821, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Church of England church buildings in Cornwall Grade II* listed churches in Cornwall Newquay