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Discovering Cornish churches for the first time, visitors are often left with more questions than answers. Why are the buildings so solid and plain? Why are there so many names beginning with 'Lan'? Who on earth were St. Pinnock, St. Veep and St. Keyne? Why are so many parish churches all on their own, often miles from the main villages? The answers to all these questions lie in the simple truth that Cornwall is a land apart, with a history very different from the rest of England.
The unfamiliar saints to whom most of the churches are dedicated were Celtic missionaries from Ireland and Wales who, in the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries, brought to Cornwall a strain of Christianity which had developed along different lines from the faith which was reintroduced to Saxon England by the Romans in 597 AD. These holy men and women set up their oratories, simple shelters of stone and wood, on the banks of tidal rivers or near springs of water on valley sides, not necessarily anywhere near the centres of population, and here the people came to hear them preach.
The sites of many of Cornwall's churches date back to these early days, and clues can often be found in the old church or parish names. In the Cornish language 'lann' means a church site (in those days, a curved enclosure containing a chapel and burial ground); thus churches like Lanreath, Talland and Lansallos can trace a direct line back to the Dark Ages. Confusingly, with Lanteglos it is the 'eglos' which means Church, not the 'Lan' which in this instance comes from 'nans' meaning valley. The conquering Normans rebuilt the Celtic chapels, but the great rebuild of Cornish churches came in the 15th century and much of what can be seen today dates from this time. If the churches themselves seem architecturally uninspiring, this may be because, in the words of Sir John Betjeman, they 'are not so much architecture as building ... the best that a religious, remote people could do to make the House of God the most glorious building in the parish'. The seventeen churches covered in this magazine are a good cross-section of those to be found throughout Cornwall. Further information can be found in guidesheets and books on sale in the churches. There is usually ample parking available near the church, but mention is made in the text of those Cases where it is restricted.
There is an almost eerie loneliness in the situation of Braddock church, with nothing but the 19th century Rectory (now a private house) and the ruins of the gardener's cottage and the old glebe farm buildings for company. Originally a chapelry to St. Winnow, Bradoc became a separate parish in the early 14th century. The original Norman church was cruciform and the font dates from this time. Nearby is the site of the Battle of Braddock Down, a famous Royalist victory in the Civil War.
The little parish church of Boconnoc is set in the heart of a large and ancient private estate, part of which also happens to be a deer park. The setting is almost perfect -the church, like a family chapel, perched on a terrace above the 18th century house (not open to the public) and overlooking the glorious rolling parkland and woods. There is absolute stillness here and the strong sense of another time, another century. The church, which has a bell turret rather than a tower, is largely 15 th century, restored in 1873.