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 Britai ...

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, ...

Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...

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 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 ...

, and dates from the 15th century.

History

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

s, five bays, and a three-stage tower. The slate roof is dated to 1866. Inside the church, there is a square font dating to the

Norman period 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 ...

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 ...

reredos. On 17 January 1952, the church was designated a

. 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 o ...

of St. Stephen by Saltash is part of the Saltash Area Ministry in the Archdeaconry of Bodmin of the Diocese of Truro. St Stephen's is part of the Benefice of Saltash alongside the Church of St Nicholas and St Faith, Saltash. The patrons of the parish are the Dean and the Canons of Windsor.

Notable burials

* Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton (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 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