Talland 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 ...

located on the cliff-top at

Talland Talland ( kw, Tallan) is a hamlet and ecclesiastical parish between Looe and Polperro on the south coast of Cornwall (the parish includes the eastern part of the village of Polperro, where there is a chapel of ease and formerly also the town of ...

near

Looe Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links ...

in Cornwall. It is dedicated to St Tallanus and was built by Augustinian monks from Launceston. 1140743-St-Tallanus-ViewFromClifftops

The

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 paga ...

of the present-day church is situated on the site of the original Celtic altar. The altar of the church is said to date from the time of Tallan and was built at the junction of ley lines. However, St Tallanus's existence is disputed and ley lines cannot be proved to exist either. The church celebrated its 500th anniversary in 1990. Part of the nave and the first stage of the tower probably remain from a 13th-century church: the remainder must be late 15th century and is in typical Cornish Perpendicular style. Unusually it has a detached bell-tower on the south side which was only joined to the main body of the church in the 15th century. Inside the church is the headstone of Robert Mark although there is some confusion over exactly who he was. Killed in 1802, some accounts say that he was a Polperro smuggler shot at sea, others that he was a revenue collector killed on duty. His tablet reads: "In prime of life, most suddenly, Sad tidings to relate, Here view my utter destiny, And pity my sad state. I by a shot which rapid flew, Was instantly struck dead." There is old woodwork in the fine wagon roofs and the many benchends (partly ca. 1520, the rest ca. 1600) are of the usual Cornish type and among the finer examples of these.Allsopp, E. G. (1979) A Guide to Talland Parish Church

References

* Talland Church 500 Celebrations: Souvenir Programme (1490-1990).

External links

{{Commons category, St Tallanus' church, Talland *https://www.tallandchurch.co.uk/ Official Talland Church Website