St Ia's Church, St Ives, is a

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

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 ...

in St Ives,

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 ...

, UK. It is dedicated to

Ia of Cornwall Saint Ia of Cornwall (also known as ''Eia'', ''Hia'' or ''Hya'') was an evangelist and martyr of the 5th or 6th centuries in Cornwall. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane and a student of Saint Baricus. Legend ...

, a 5th- or 6th-century Irish saint, and is a Grade I listed building.

History and description

The church is dedicated to

Ia the Virgin Saint Ia of Cornwall (also known as ''Eia'', ''Hia'' or ''Hya'') was an evangelist and martyr of the 5th or 6th centuries in Cornwall. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane and a student of Saint Baricus. Legend ...

, also known as Ives, supposedly an Irish holy woman of the 5th or 6th century. The current building dates to the reign of King

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

. It became a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

in 1826. It was built between 1410 and 1434 as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, 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 ea ...

: St Ives being within the parish of

Lelant Lelant ( kw, Lannanta) is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the Hayle Estuary, about southeast of St Ives and one mile (1.6 km) west of Hayle.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' The vi ...

. The tower is of granite and of four stages (over 80 ft high): the church is large but not particularly high and built in a Devonian style rather than a Cornish one. An outer south aisle was added by the Trenwith family about 1500: this is now the Lady Chapel and contains a statue by

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

. The font is of granite and most likely of the 15th century. It is carved with four angels holding shields. In the chancel, there are bench ends of the standard design and two other, complete benches. There is a brass to a member of the Trenwith family, 1463, and a monument to the Hitchens family by Garland & Fieldwick, 1815. :The church of St. Ives, a beautiful structure of the age of Henry V, with a lofty tower, is dedicated to St. Ia the Virgin; the edifice is well worthy of the observation of those who are curious in ecclesiastical architecture: the living is part of the vicarage of Uny Lelant, but has lately been endowed, by a grant from

Queen Anne's bounty Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England, and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...

, the maintenance of a

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

; the present incumbent of the parish is Rev. Dr. Cardew, the curate is the Rev. C. Aldrich; the patronage of preferment is the diocesan bishop.–Pigot & Co.'s ''Directory of Cornwall'', 1830.

Organ

The church has a pipe organ dating from 1831. It has been restored by Telford and Telford in 1859 and 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 ...

in 1907, and more recently by Lance Foy in 1993. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

Churchyard

There is a late medieval lantern cross, ten-and-a-half feet high on an octagonal shaft.Pevsner (1970); p. 181

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ives, Saint Ia's Church 15th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Cornwall English Gothic architecture in Cornwall Grade I listed churches in Cornwall

Saint Ia Saint Ia of Cornwall (also known as ''Eia'', ''Hia'' or ''Hya'') was an evangelist and martyr of the 5th or 6th centuries in Cornwall. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane and a student of Saint Baricus. Legend ...