Jump to content

St Breage's Church, Breage

Coordinates: 50°06′29.46″N 5°19′55.42″W / 50.1081833°N 5.3320611°W / 50.1081833; -5.3320611
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Andrewrabbott (talk | contribs) at 13:37, 6 October 2015. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

St Breage’s Church, Breage
St Breage’s Church, Breage
Map
50°06′29.46″N 5°19′55.42″W / 50.1081833°N 5.3320611°W / 50.1081833; -5.3320611
LocationBreage
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
History
DedicationSt Breaca
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade I listed[1]
Administration
ProvinceProvince of Canterbury
DioceseDiocese of Truro
ArchdeaconryCornwall
DeaneryKerrier
ParishBreage with Godolphin and Ashton

Breage Parish Church is the Anglican parish church of the parish of Breage, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is dedicated to Saint Breage or Breaca, said to have been an Irish nun who came to Cornwall in the 5th century.

Description

The church was built of granite in the 15th century: it has two aisles separated from the nave by granite arcades of standard design. On the north wall are five medieval wall paintings: four saints are portrayed, Ambrose, Christopher, Corentine and Hilary (there are fragmentary ones also), and the Warning to the Sabbath-Breakers, one of the finest examples in the country of a Sunday Christ. Another fine example is to be found a few miles away in St Just. A Roman milestone of the 3rd century is preserved in the church and in the churchyard there is an unusual Hiberno-Saxon cross head.[2] The inscription on the milestone is: IMP [C] DO NO MARC CASSI: this incomplete text refers to the Emperor (Marcus Cassianus) Postumus, 258-68 AD (Collingwood, RIB no. 2232).[3]

History

After the Norman Conquest the church of Breage was of interest to three lords: the Bishop of Exeter who held the manor of Methleigh, the Earl of Cornwall who held the manor of Winnianton, and the Earl of Gloucester who held the manor of Binnerton.[4] In the 12th century the Earl of Gloucester (Lord of the manor of Binnerton) gave the church to the abbey of Tewkesbury but in this he exceeded his legal power and after eighty-six years the Earl of Cornwall intervened and bestowed it on the abbey of Hailes. The parish of Breage had until the 19th century the unusual feature of dependent parochial chapels at Germoe, Cury and Gunwalloe, the last two being added to it in 1246 by the Earl.[5]

Organ

The organ was built by Henry Willis and Sons for Thomas Robins Bolitho. It then moved to Truro Cathedral and was rebuilt in Breage in 1968 by Hele & Co of Plymouth. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[6]

References

  1. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Breaca (Grade I) (1158264)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  2. ^ Pevsner, N. Buildings of England: Cornwall (1951; 1970) (rev. Enid Radcliffe) Penguin Books (reissued by Yale U. P.) ISBN 0-300-09589-9; p. 46
  3. ^ Collingwood, R. G.; Wright, R. P. (1965). The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. I: Inscriptions on stone. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  4. ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 63-64
  5. ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 63-64
  6. ^ "NPOR [D07638]". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 28 September 2015.