St Wynwallow's Church, Landewednack, is the

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, ...

Landewednack Landewednack ( kw, Lanndewynnek) is a civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated approximately ten miles (16 km) south of Helston.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Landewed ...

parish in

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 ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is the most southerly church in mainland Britain and is situated approximately south of

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

. It was founded about 600 AD but the present structure dates to the twelfth century.

History and description

The church is dedicated to St Winwaloe and is

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 ...

. St Winwaloe was the third son of a Cornish couple who moved to Brittany. There he founded the monastery of

Landévennec Landévennec (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Geography Landévennec is located on the Crozon peninsula, southeast of Brest.The river Aulne forms a natural boundary to the east. ...

. There is no evidence that he visited Cornwall, and the church may have been founded by one of the monks from Landévennec, or perhaps by St Winwaloe's elder brother, Wennac. Nothing remains of the original building. The oldest part of the current church building is the twelfth century

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 ...

doorway. The substantial tower is constructed of blocks of granite and serpentine giving it a

chequer-board A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English; see spelling differences) is a board of checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of altern ...

appearance. Other notable features are the serpentine pulpit and the font, which dates to the fifteenth century;there is also a Victorian lectern made of polished serpentine. The church was restored in the thirteenth century when the porch was added and in the fifteenth century when a new window was inserted into the tower. It is now 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 ...

. An inscription on the font records the name of Master Richard Bolham, rector from 1404 to 1442 who may have been responsible for the 15th-century work.Landewednack, St Wynwallow's Church, Lizard
britainexpress.com The last Cornish language sermon was preached here in 1674, though this claim has also been made for the churches of

Towednack Towednack ( kw, Tewydnek) is a churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is bounded by those of Zennor in the west, Gulval in the south, Ludgvan in the west and south, and St Ives and the Atlantic Ocean in th ...

and

Ludgvan Ludgvan ( ; kw, Lujuan) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, UK, northeast of Penzance. Ludgvan village is split between Churchtown, on the hill, and Lower Quarter to the east, adjoining Crowlas. For the purposes of local go ...

. The bells are very old and among the oldest bells in Cornwall; the tenor bell (on the floor) and another bell are dated 1550, but a third bell is about a century older than that. There is a ringing peal of six bells and the old tenor bell has been kept on the floor of the church. The 5th bell is unusually slightly heavier than the tenor bell which has a weight of 8-1-19. The settlements of Grade, Ruan Major and Ruan Minor were united into a single

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

called Grade-Ruan in 1934. The former parish church of Ruan Major is now in ruins. St Wynwallow's Church is part of a group of parishes comprising: * St Grada & Holy Cross Church, Grade *St Wynwallow's Church, Landewednack * St Rumon's Church, Ruan Minor *St Mary's Church,

Cadgwith Cadgwith ( kw, Porthkajwydh, meaning ''cove of the thicket'') is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the Lizard Peninsula between The Lizard and Coverack. It is in the civil parish of Grade Ruan. History ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landewednack, St Wynwallow's Church Church of England church buildings in Cornwall Grade I listed churches in Cornwall St Wynwallow's Church