Church of St Winwalaus Landewednack, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

LANDEWEDNACK CHURCH COVE SW 71 SW 9/63 Church of St Winwalaus GV I Parish church. C11 south entrance, late C13-early C14. South porch, chancel, south transept and nave. 5 bay north aisle, early C16. Tower rebuilt early C15 with some remains of earlier work. Restored 1860-2 by Rector Vywyan Robinson. Also restored in 1920s. Vestry C20. Random stone (including serpentine and granite) with coarsed granite tower, slate roof. Unbuttressed tower in 2 stages with embattlements and crocheted finials. 2-light bell openings with louvres on each side. West door blocked with smaller opening inserted. 3-light Perpendicular west window above. Embattled porch with gabled roof behind. Empty niche over moulded 2-centred arched entrance. Sexpartite ribbed vault considerably restored. Ribs with angel corbels and central boss, angel holding a scroll. Holy water stoup on east wall. South door in porch, Norman arch with chevron decoration on outer arch and circles in voussoirs of inner, with centre voussoir missing where figure possibly once projected into arch. Blind tympanum. Entrance partly blocked with Perpendicular arched doorway inserted c1430s. C19 columns of polished serpentine with cushion capitals. Original waggon roof to nave, north aisle, south transept and chancel. Carved wooden bosses and ribs. Hagiscope between south transept and chancel supported on squat pier of standard Cornish type A (Pevsner). Lancet window behind (originally two lights and was accessible to those wishing to take Communion from outside). 3-light Perpendicular tracery in south window on south transept. East window of south transept C13, 2-lights with trefoil cusped heads and quatrefoil above (central mullion renewed). East window of chancel, reticulated tracery, (possibly reused dated from C19 restoration). South window of chancel blocked until restoration of 1920s. North aisle: 5 bays with plain Cornish standard arcades, type A (Pevsner) with round arches. 4-light Perpendicular east window with three 3-light Perpendicular windows in the north wall. Shallow chamber for organ (site of rood-loft stairs removed in the 1860s restoration). 3-light Perpendicular window reconstructed behind. 4-centred arch to vestry. C19 glass in windows to the north west and west of north aisle. Late C13 piscinas in the south-side of the chancel and south-side of the transept. Font of granite on octagonal shaft with 4 small C19 syenite shafts. Inscription: "IHC and D RIC BOLHAM ME FECIT c1404". Pulpit: base dated 1860. In memory of Augusta Baker Vywyan Robinson and upper part constructed of polished serpentine as with contemporary lecturn. Attached to west wall in transept, copy of King Charles letter of thanks to the loyal Cornish 1643. (Note at bottom "H T Coulson Recr Donum Dedit 1829"). Reading desk constructed of part of carved wooden screen and desk ends removed from Ruan Major during restoration of 1867. Remainder of furnishings plain and of late C19. Selection of memorials to Vywyan family (rectors during the C19 and early C20). Churchyard: part of churchyard appears circular (lan) with rubble wall surrounding. Parish visited by plague in 1645 and bodies buried in churchyard. Century later part of churchyard was opened for internment of shipwrecked mariners. Plague reappeared and part of churchyard was fenced off (unable to trace position). Sources: N Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Cornwall, 2nd ed. 1970, rp 1974. H O Barrat, Landewednack Church pamphlet, 192. W B Mayne, Landewednack, Southernmost Cornwall. Its Parochial History, 1907.

Listing NGR: SW7114212671