St Protus and St Hyacinth's Church, Blisland is a

Grade I 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 ...

parish church in the Church of England in

Blisland Blisland ( kw, Blyslann) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately five miles northeast of Bodmin. According to the UK census 2001, 2001 census, the parish had a populatio ...

, Cornwall, England, UK.

History and description

The church is of Norman origins, but was extended in the 15th century. The Norman nave and north transept of the church remain, with the six-arch south arcade, the aisle, the porch, the chapel coming off of the north transept, the

wagon roof A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

, a second font, and the tower from the north transept being added during the 15th century extension. It was restored in 1894 at a cost of £1,300 by

F. C. Eden Frederick Charles Eden (8 March 1864 – 15 July 1944) was an English church architect and designer. Frederick Eden was born in Brighton, Sussex, England. He was the son of Frederick Morton Eden and Louisa Ann Parker. Eden was a pupil and later ...

, architect. The chancel was restored by the rector. The window in the end of the south chancel aisle was filled with stained glass designed by Bucknall and Comper of London, and donated by Mrs Lucy Edward-Collins, in memory of her husband, Revd. C. M. Edward-Collins, and her son, E. C. Edward-Collins of Trewardale. It reopened on 13 December 1894. The present form of the dedication to

Protus and Hyacinth Saints Protus and Hyacinth were Christian martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Valerian (257–259 AD). Protus' name is sometimes spelled Protatius, Proteus, Prothus, Prote, and Proto. His name was corrupted in England as Saint Pratt. Hyaci ...

relies on identifying the St Pratt of tradition with St Protus Martyr. (Locally the saint would be called St Pratt rather than Protus.) Dr Sidney J. Madge, father of the incumbent Rector Revd Sidney Alfred Wilmer Madge, published in 1950 a good account of the church and its two patron saints entitled ''Blisland Church and its Patron Saints''; a 2nd edition was issued in 1965 with a preface by

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

. Charles Henderson, writing in the ''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) suggests that Lavethan (formerly Lanedewen) may record the original dedication of the church since the second element may be

St Adwen Adwen or Adwenna was a 5th-century Christian virgin and saint.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. II, pp. 107&nb ...

(patron of

Advent, Cornwall Advent ( kw, Sen Adhwynn; cy, Santes Dwynwen) is a civil parish on the north-western edge of Bodmin Moor in north Cornwall, England.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The English name St Adwenna derives from the Co ...

). The extensive restoration includes work by

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 ...

and F. C. Eden. According to Betjeman: "As a restoration and even improvement on a medieval church, this holy and peaceful place ... can hardly be bettered in the kingdom." In the church is the early 15th century brass of John Balsam, formerly rector here.Dunkin, E. (1882) ''Monumental Brasses''. London, Spottiswoode

Parish status

The church is in a joint parish with *St Catherine's Church, Temple *St Breward's Church,

St Breward St Breward ( kw, S. Bruwerd) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the western side of Bodmin Moor, about 6 miles (10 km) north of Bodmin. At the 2011 census the parish population including Cooksland ...

*St Helena's Church,

Helland Helland ( kw, Hellann) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated north of Bodmin. The meaning of the name Helland is unclear: it is possible that the origin is in Cornish ''hen'' & ''lan'' (i.e. old churc ...

References

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