Bodmin Parish Church
Encyclopedia
Bodmin Parish Church is an Anglican church in Bodmin
, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The existing church building is dated 1469-72 and was until the building of Truro Cathedral
the largest church in Cornwall. The tower which remains from the original Norman church and stands on the north side of the church (the upper part is 15th century) was until the loss of its spire in 1699 150 ft high. The building underwent two Victorian restoration
s and another in 1930. It is now listed Grade I. Part of the church is the Regimental Chapel of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
dedicated in 1933.
The parish of Bodmin is now grouped with Lanivet and Lanhydrock parishes. There is a chapel at Nanstallon.
and grey marble). The font of a type common in Cornwall is of the 12th century: large and finely carved.
Screen, pulpit and bench-ends
In 1491 Matthy More undertook the reseating of the church and the building of the rood screen and pulpit. His work took four years and he was paid "about £400 in our money" (estimated in 1937). Parts of his work survive in the bench-ends and panels of the screen which have been re-used in the Corporation seats, wall panelling, reredos, pulpit and modern screen.
Misericords
Unusually, the three, late 15th century misericord
s have at some point been taken from their original stalls (which may not even have been in St Petroc's) and fitted into the lectern. Although dating evidence is scanty, it is believed that the transfer happened sometime in the 18th century.
Bells
There is a peal of eight bells: the tenor bell weighs 17-0-11.
in the 6th century and gave the town its alternative name of Petrockstow. The legends of St Petroc associate him with monasteries in Padstow and Bodmin but that at Bodmin may have been founded as a daughter house of Padstow (also called Petrockstow or Aldestow) after his death. St Guron is said to have preceded him here. The foundation of the monastery is also attributed to King Athelstan though it probably existed before his time, and was destroyed in a Danish raid in 981 AD. It must have been revived since it was a considerable landholder in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Domesday Book records that parts of its lands had been taken from it by the Count of Mortain while others had been retained. The holdings were mainly in the hundreds of Trigg and Pydar and at the time of Domesday the monastery still held 18 manors, including Bodmin, Padstow and Rialton.
William Warelwast
, Bishop of Exeter established a house of regular Augustinian canons here ca. 1120. After St Petroc's relics were stolen in 1177 they were recovered and returned to Prior Roger (the ivory casket in which they were kept has survived to the present day). In the reign of King Henry VIII the priory was suppressed and the site granted to Thomas Sternhold
. Until that time the choir had been used by the canons and the nave by the parishioners of Bodmin. In John Leland's Itinerary he records that "monkes, then nunnys, then seculare prestes, then monkes agayne, and last canons regular" had possessed the church. He reports that the priory buildings stood at the east-southeast end of the churchyard. Some fragments of stonework have been found and are preserved at Priory House.
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The existing church building is dated 1469-72 and was until the building of Truro Cathedral
Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
the largest church in Cornwall. The tower which remains from the original Norman church and stands on the north side of the church (the upper part is 15th century) was until the loss of its spire in 1699 150 ft high. The building underwent two Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
s and another in 1930. It is now listed Grade I. Part of the church is the Regimental Chapel of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....
dedicated in 1933.
The parish of Bodmin is now grouped with Lanivet and Lanhydrock parishes. There is a chapel at Nanstallon.
Carving in stone and wood; bells
There are a number of interesting monuments, most notably that of Prior Vivian which was formerly in the Priory Church (Thomas Vivian's effigy lying on a chest: black Catacleuse stoneElvan
Elvan is a name used in Cornwall and Devon for the native varieties of quartz-porphyry. They are dispersed irregularly in the Upper Devonian series of rocks and some of them make very fine building stones...
and grey marble). The font of a type common in Cornwall is of the 12th century: large and finely carved.
Screen, pulpit and bench-ends
In 1491 Matthy More undertook the reseating of the church and the building of the rood screen and pulpit. His work took four years and he was paid "about £400 in our money" (estimated in 1937). Parts of his work survive in the bench-ends and panels of the screen which have been re-used in the Corporation seats, wall panelling, reredos, pulpit and modern screen.
Misericords
Unusually, the three, late 15th century misericord
Misericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s have at some point been taken from their original stalls (which may not even have been in St Petroc's) and fitted into the lectern. Although dating evidence is scanty, it is believed that the transfer happened sometime in the 18th century.
Bells
There is a peal of eight bells: the tenor bell weighs 17-0-11.
Churchyard
The churchyard is extensive and on a slope: the Chapel of St Thomas Becket is a ruin of a 14th century building in the south-east of the churchyard. St Guron's Well is a small building of granite at the western entrance to the churchyard.History
The early history of the monastic community of Bodmin is obscure; however the name "Bodmin" derives from the Cornish for "house of the monks" so the use of this name must have followed the establishment of the monastery. According to tradition after founding a monastery at Padstow Saint Petroc founded another monastery in BodminBodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
in the 6th century and gave the town its alternative name of Petrockstow. The legends of St Petroc associate him with monasteries in Padstow and Bodmin but that at Bodmin may have been founded as a daughter house of Padstow (also called Petrockstow or Aldestow) after his death. St Guron is said to have preceded him here. The foundation of the monastery is also attributed to King Athelstan though it probably existed before his time, and was destroyed in a Danish raid in 981 AD. It must have been revived since it was a considerable landholder in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Domesday Book records that parts of its lands had been taken from it by the Count of Mortain while others had been retained. The holdings were mainly in the hundreds of Trigg and Pydar and at the time of Domesday the monastery still held 18 manors, including Bodmin, Padstow and Rialton.
William Warelwast
William Warelwast
William Warelwast, sometimes known as William de Warelwast was a medieval Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Warelwast was a native of Normandy, but little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II of England...
, Bishop of Exeter established a house of regular Augustinian canons here ca. 1120. After St Petroc's relics were stolen in 1177 they were recovered and returned to Prior Roger (the ivory casket in which they were kept has survived to the present day). In the reign of King Henry VIII the priory was suppressed and the site granted to Thomas Sternhold
Thomas Sternhold
Thomas Sternhold was an English courtier and the principal author of the first English metrical version of the Psalms, originally attached to the Prayer-Book as augmented by John Hopkins.-Life:...
. Until that time the choir had been used by the canons and the nave by the parishioners of Bodmin. In John Leland's Itinerary he records that "monkes, then nunnys, then seculare prestes, then monkes agayne, and last canons regular" had possessed the church. He reports that the priory buildings stood at the east-southeast end of the churchyard. Some fragments of stonework have been found and are preserved at Priory House.