The Church of St Stephen, also known as St Stephens-by-Saltash, is a

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 ...

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 Saltash,

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 ...

. The church is a grade I listed building, and dates from the 15th century.

History

There was originally a 13th-century church on the same site; it had been

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 ...

in 1259. The present church dates to the 15th century. The church building itself consists of three

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, five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, and a three-stage tower. The

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof is dated to 1866. Inside the church, there is a square

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

dating to the Norman period of a similar style to others in Cornwall. Behind the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

, is a seven-bay,

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

. On 17 January 1952, the church was designated a grade I listed building. In the churchyard is a Gothic lantern cross. This cross was first recorded by Joseph Polsue in 1872; it stood for many years in the vicarage garden. In the 1970s it was resited in the churchyard. Andrew Langdon is of the opinion that it originally stood in the churchyard.

Present day

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St. Stephen by Saltash is part of the Saltash Area Ministry in 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 ...

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 ...

. St Stephen's is part of the

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 ...

of Saltash alongside the

Church of St Nicholas and St Faith, Saltash The Church of St Nicholas and St Faith is a Church of England parish church in Saltash, Cornwall. The church is a grade I listed building. History The earliest parts of the church date to the Norman period. The church was remodelled in 14th and ...

. The patrons of the parish are the

Dean and the Canons of Windsor The Dean and Canons of Windsor are the ecclesiastical body of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Foundation The college of canons was established in 1348 by Letters Patent of King Edward III. It was formally constituted on the feast of ...

Notable burials

Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL (18 November 1904 – 8 March 1983), was a British Conservative politician. Background, education and military service Lennox-Boyd was the son of Alan Walter Lennox-Boyd by his ...

(1904–1983)Philip Murphy, 'Boyd, Alan Tindal Lennox-, first Viscount Boyd of Merton (1904–1983)',

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 7 June 2017
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Gallery

MarieRolleBrass StStephensBySaltash 1613.jpg ,

Monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

of Marie Stradling (died 1613) Cemetery, St Stephens - geograph.org.uk - 1193365.jpg , Cemetery Cemetery, St Stephens - geograph.org.uk - 1193750.jpg , Cemetery

References

External links

Parish website

A Church Near You entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltash, Saint Stephen Church of England church buildings in Cornwall Grade I listed churches in Cornwall 15th-century church buildings in England Diocese of Truro