St Nonna's Church, also known as the ''Cathedral of the Moors'', is the second largest church on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

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 ...

, located in the village of

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...

(meaning: "altar of Nonn"). The dedication is to

Saint Non Non (also Nonna or Nonnita) was, according to Christian tradition, the mother of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. Legend The ''Life of St David'' was written around 1095 by Rhigyfarch, and is our main source of knowledge for the lives ...

or Nonna, who was the mother of

St David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail abo ...

. The church is mentioned in

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

's ''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamle ...

''; it is the church in which the evil vicar of Altarnun Francis Davey depicts himself in a painting as a wolf while the members of his congregation have the heads of sheep. The church 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 deanery of

Trigg Major The hundred of Trigg (also known as Triggshire) was one of ten ancient administrative shires of Cornwall—see "Hundreds of Cornwall". Trigg is mentioned by name during the 7th century, as "Pagus Tricurius", "land of three war hosts". Morris, J ...

, the

archdeaconry of Bodmin The Archdeacon of Bodmin is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. The role was established by Order in Council on 21 May 1878, two years after the diocese itself was created, by splitting the Archdeaconry of Cor ...

, and 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 ...

. Its

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

is united with those of Saint Sidwell and Saint

Gulval Gulval ( kw, Lannystli) is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Although historically a parish in its own right, Gulval was incorporated into the parishes of Ludgvan, Madron and Penzance in 1934, and is now considered to be a suburb ...

Laneast Laneast ( kw, Lanneyst) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies above the River Inny valley, about six miles (11 km) west of Launceston. The population in the 2001 census was 164, increasing to 209 at the ...

, and Saint Clederus,

St Clether St Clether is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the east flank of Bodmin Moor approximately eight miles (13 km) west of Launceston in the valley of the River Inny. The population o ...

. The church is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building 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 ...

History

The oldest fabric dates back to the

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 ...

era. Most of the church dates from the later part of the 15th century, at which time the north and south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s were added. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1867 by E. Sedding.

Architecture

It is a building largely of the 15th century in the Perpendicular style, with a tower high. It is notable for the fine Norman font and the amount of old woodwork, including the screen, bench-ends and communion rails which date to 1684. The screen is one of the finest 15th century examples in Cornwall; it has three gates and the cornice of vines and tracery and vaulting are finely carved. The 79 bench-end carvings were executed by

Robert Daye The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

between 1510 and 1530 (

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, dan ...

attributes them to 1524 or later) and portray a range of subjects including a Cornish piper and fiddler (Daye's name is given on one but the date is illegible). Also, one of the damaged pew ends was repaired to its former glory by the late local master joiner Douglas Edwards in the 1980s. Langdon (1896) records seven stone crosses in the parish, of which one is in the churchyard. The church has a peal of eight bells.

External features

Associated with the church are five structures that are listed at Grade II. These are the northeast entrance to the churchyard, the northwest entrance, the gate, gatepiers, nearby wall and a mounting block at the southeast entrance, and two items in the church yard; the Isbell tomb, and a tombchest and headstone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altarnun, Saint Nonna's Church Church of England church buildings in Cornwall Grade I listed churches in Cornwall English Gothic architecture in Cornwall