St Germans Priory is a large

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church in the village of St Germans in south-east

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, UK.

History

According to a credible tradition the church here was founded by St Germanus himself ca. 430 AD. The first written record however is of Conan being made Bishop in the Church of St Germans as a result of King Athelstan's settlement with Cornwall. The fixing of the see here shows that the Celtic monastery was already of great importance. Possession of two holdings of land in the parishes of

Landrake Landrake ( kw, Lannergh) is a village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) west of Saltash in the civil parish of Landrake with St Erney (where the population of the 2011 census was ...

("Landerhtun") and

Landulph Landulph ( kw, Lanndhylyk) is a hamlet and a rural civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about 3 miles (5 km) north of Saltash in the St Germans Registration District. The parish lies on the River Tamar (which ...

("Tinieltun" i.e. Tinnel) was confirmed by

King Canute Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

in 1018; they had been granted by King Edmund. Both holdings remained in the monastery's possession until 1538. In 1042 the see was moved to

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

and the lands of the monastery were divided into two parts, one for the monastery and one (named Cuddenbeak) for the

Bishop of Crediton The Bishop of Crediton is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Crediton in Devon, England. The title was originally used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 10th and 11th centuries for a diocese covering Devon and Cornwall. It is now ...

. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

a college of

secular canons A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

was established which is said to have been reconstituted in the time of Bishop Bartholomew (1161–1184) as a college of

regular canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

. The present church replaces an Anglo-Saxon building which was the cathedral of the

Bishops of Cornwall A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. The church is dedicated to St Germanus and soon after construction it became the cathedral for

in 926 AD, when

King Athelstan King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

appointed Conan as the bishop of Cornwall. The bishopric was to be short-lived, however, as it was transferred to

in 1042 AD. A

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

grew alongside the church, and was reorganized by the Bishop of Exeter between 1161 and 1184 as an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

. The priory church was rebuilt on a grand scale, with two western towers and a nave of 102 ft. The church was once called the Cathedral of Cornwall because it is where the bishop of the duchy would be. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries under

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

the priory was abolished and its buildings became a private house, home to the

Eliot family Eliot family may refer to: * Eliot family (America) * Eliot family (South England) **Earl of St Germans, subsidiary title Baron Eliot See also *Elliot Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which c ...

, in whose hands the house remains. A number of the Eliot family are interred in the church. St Germans parish was once the largest in

. St Germans Priory is now managed by the Church of England and th
St Germans Priory Trust.

Architecture

Some of the original Norman features remain, including the large arched western doorway which is particularly ornate and is carved from

elvan Elvan is a name used in Cornwall and Devon for the native varieties of quartz-porphyry. They are dispersed irregularly in the Devonian series of rocks and some of them make very fine building stones (e.g. Pentewan stone, Polyphant stone and Cata ...

quarried at

. There is a mortuary chapel for the Moyle family of

Bake Bake is the verb form of baking, a method of preparing food. It may also refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Bake (surname) * Bake McBride (born 1949), American baseball player * Bake Turner (born 1940), American Football League and National Football L ...

. At

Dupath Well Dupath Well ( kw, Fenton Hynsladron Eng: 'Robber's Path') is a holy well house and chapel dedicated to St. Ethelred, constructed over a spring. It is a Grade I listed building, having been added to the register on 21 July 1951. Dupath Well is loc ...

the wellhouse is said to have been built in 1510 by the monks of St Germans. There is a peal of eight bells.Dove, R. H. (1982) ''A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain''; 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers; p. 93 The church has a two manual pipe organ on the left side of the church. The church also has two towers.

Other burials

John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans (30 September 1761 – 17 November 1823), known as the Lord Eliot from 1804 to 1815, was a British politician. Eliot was born at Port Eliot, Cornwall, the third son (second surviving) of Edward Craggs-Eliot, ...

Henry Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans Henry Cornwallis Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans (11 February 1835 – 24 September 1911) Henry Cornwallis Eliot was born in London on 11 February 1835 to Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans and his wife Jemima née Cornwallis (24 D ...

John Eliot (died 1685) John Eliot (18 October 1612 – March 1685) of Port Eliot, St Germans, Cornwall was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and from 1660 to 1685. Eliot was the son of Sir John Eliot of Port Eliot. He was educated at ...

Edward James Eliot Edward James Eliot (24 August 1758 – 20 September 1797) was an English Member of Parliament. Life Eliot was born in Cornwall, the son of Catherine (''c''.1735–1804), daughter and heir of Edward Elliston of Gestingthorpe, Essex, an East India ...

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot (London, 8 July 1727 – 17 February 1804, Port Eliot, Cornwall) was an English official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1748 to 1784, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Elio ...

History

Architecture

Other burials

See also

References

Further reading