St Columb Minor Church is a late 15th-century

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church

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 d ...

St Columb Minor St Columb Minor () (Latin: ''Columba Minor Sancta'') is a village in the civil parish of Newquay, on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ''St Columb'' alone by default refers to the nearby St Columb Major; both the town and the ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Site

The site is probably that of an ancient barrow where

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

rites were celebrated, and was originally circular. The position is in full view of the twin tumuli, the symbol of the fruitfulness of Mother Nature. It is sheltered from the strong winds of the Atlantic and looks down the Rialton valley and across at Castle-an-Dinas at the summit of Castle Downs. Here the Celtic missionaries, centuries before the

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

legend arose, drove away the evil spirits and replaced pagan magic by

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the N ...

, and erected the first wooden sanctuary. The Churchtown lay to the West and South while the shelving ground to the North and East prevented building for all time. Hence, as in the case of so many villages, the houses extended more and more from the parish church.

St Columba

Both St Columb Minor & St Columb Major churches were dedicated to

Columba of Cornwall :''See Columba (disambiguation) and St Columb (disambiguation) for other uses.'' Columba of Cornwall (Welsh, and in Latin, translated to modern English as ''dove''), also called Columb (English), was a saint from Cornwall who lived in the 6th ce ...

, but there is no written record of this. How the name arose or who St. Columba was is not known. The legend is very like that of St. Columba of Sens and some historians think she may be a French saint. the late Mr. Henderson suggested that St. Crantoc called his companions Columba (doves) and that these churches were named after his missionaries.

The Church Building

The initial church likely underwent multiple replacements until around 1100 A.D., when a Norman church was constructed. Its layout has been traced from the current chancel step to about a yard from the belfry door, aligning precisely with the North and South walls, where the present nave arches stand. Remnants of Norman foundations can still be observed around the pillars, allowing us to envision the old church with small windows, possibly featuring transepts and a low arch leading to an apse. Around the mid-12th century, a new church replaced the Norman one, featuring aisles terminating at the chancel. Little is known about the construction of this church, but it was first mentioned in 1283 as a chapelry to the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

of Crantock. In the same year, Bishop Peter Quinel united the prebends to establish a vicarage. During

the Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the Crown grantee was obligated to provide curates for

Crantock Crantock () is a coastal civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, two miles (3 km) southwest of Newquay. In 460, a group of Irish hermits founded an oratory there. The village lies to the south of the Ri ...

and St. Columb Minor. However, the stipend for the latter, fixed at £8, proved insufficient due to rising prices. In 1417, the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

noted the chancel's dilapidated state, compelling immediate reconstruction using stones that tell a distinctive architectural story. Around 1430, nave arcades were reconstructed, featuring original pillars of

Beer stone Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England for Beer stone. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of quarrying Beer stone, which was pa ...

and others crafted from

Cornish granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. An intriguing question arises concerning a blocked Early English window near the tower, divergent from the rest of the structure. Around 1470, the east walls of both transepts were dismantled, extending the aisles to match the chancel's length, with side walls punctuated by arcades. The fifteenth century saw the construction of the Tower. Three altars existed, dedicated to St. Columba and the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, and

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

. The 1886 restoration unveiled beer stone piscinas for these altars. The screen, a masterpiece of art in 1595, was destroyed in 1795, with fragments visible in the North aisle. The church's seating, built in 1595, featured carved ends, destroyed in 1795, except for one preserved in the North aisle. The Penventon stone Font, crafted circa 1450, emulates a Norman original. The Porch, with stone benches dating to around 1450, displays a carved 1669 date that was removed during the 1886 restoration. The Tower, the second highest in Cornwall, stands at 115 feet and was visible across the extensive parish and far out to sea before recent Newquay Road construction. The Royal Arms, unusually large and finely colored, date to Charles II. Among the notable slate slabs in the church are memorials to Elizabeth Pollamounter, daughter of Richard Pollamounter, Gent, and Roger Ellery, Commonwealth-era registrar. During a visit in 1878, the church was described as damp, with green mold on pillars and walls and widespread dry rot. The churchyard was deemed the most poorly maintained the visitor had ever seen.

Restorations

There have been two “restorations.” In 1795 the screen was cut up for floor boards and the nave and aisles filled with deal

box pews A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...

for the farmers and a gallery put up at the West end for the labourers. The names of subscribers are painted on a board in the belfry. In 1840 the Lay Rector destroyed the ancient East window and inserted the present “churchy” window. Samples of the Victorian glass from this window hang in the North aisle. The Holy Water Stoup was removed about this time and built into the boundary wall to the East of the chancel. In 1884 the building was in a deplorable state and another restoration was effected. Unfortunately the restorers did not understand this type of church which having been under a monastic body was all on one level. To make a series of steps to the altar the whole floor of the nave was lowered and the floor of the chancel so raised as to bury the bases of the pillars. The church was seated in pitch pine and a new roof put in. The carved rafters of the aisles were taken from the nave roof, and to make the church perfectly straight the chancel walls which inclined to the South were forced out of shape. The organ was formerly in a private house. The church was reopened on 23 September 1886 with a morning sermon by the

Bishop of Truro The bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown De ...

, George Wilkinson.

Features of the church

The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, a splendid piece of work, was given in 1935 by J. Knight, Esq, of Beachcroft in memory of his daughter. The original stone pulpit was given to Trencreek chapel. The chapel was demolished some time ago and the original pulpit has now been lost.History and Calendar, 1939/40 An oak altar table has been given by Mrs Stephens and Dr Stephens in memory of Mr Alexander Stephens who was Churchwarden for many years. Let into the mensa is the Portable

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, which dates from 1415 and is in perfect condition: there are very few other examples of such an altar. The clock was given in 1910 in memory of the Reverend A Langford. From the record of the installation of the church clock that it was dedicated by the Vicar on 4 November 1910, and started at exactly three o’clock, when we are told “The sweetness of the chimes was noted by all with delight”. On the face of the clock appear the arms of the Langford family. The appearance of the clock is described as being in accordance with the oldest known examples of such clocks, as seen at

Hexham Abbey Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed church dedicated to Saint Andrew, St Andrew, in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in the North East England, North East of England. Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century ...

, and

Kirkbampton Kirkbampton is a village and civil parish on the B5307 road in the English county of Cumbria. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was 482. It is near the city of Carlisle. It has a church called St Peter's Church, and a primary sch ...

and

Castle Rushen Castle Rushen () is a medieval castle located in the Isle of Man's historic capital, Castletown, in the south of the Island. It towers over the Market Square to the south-east and the harbour to the north-east. The castle is amongst the best e ...

in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. There is a peal of eight bells.Dove, R. H. (1982) ''A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain''; 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers; p. 92

References

*The St. Columb Minor

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and Church History and Calendar blotter of 1939–40

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Columb, Saint Columb Minor Church