Churches of the British Isles

Despite its uncertain beginnings within the British kingdom of Dumnonia, the chapel certainly existed by 1284, when it was included in a grant along with Lanteglos-by-Fowey parish church (see below) to the Hospital of Bridgewater. The original chapel was small, but possibly was enlarged by Sir Richard Edgcumbe in 1488 to give thanks for the safe return of his ships after their voyage to Ireland to administer the oath of allegiance to the Irish earls, as ordered by Henry VII.

A chart of Fowey Haven which was drawn up during the reign of Henry VIII and his detailed revamp of coastal defences reveals that the chapel then consisted of a tower and a nave, with no less than three large windows. Despite its early beginnings it had matured into a sizable and well-built church. After 1572 St Saviour's Chapel fell into disrepair, following the dissolution of the monasteries and its support mechanism. The standing remains are now Grade 2 listed.

The location of Holy Trinity Chapel seems to have been lost. Polruan blockhouse, known as 'the castle', is on the eastern bank of the Fowey estuary, one of a pair of defensive structures which were built in 1380. There is record of a chapel near here, with Lysons mentioning a chapel of the Holy Trinity at Polruan. Henderson says the chapel is recorded in a deed of 1442. Ackland, citing local information, says the chapel was near the castle, but nothing remains.

The Church of St Lantys, Lanteglos-by-Fowey, is also known as St Wyllow or St Willow. It lies opposite Churchtown Farm to the north of Lantic Bay. Wyllow was a Cornish saint and martyr, reportedly beheaded in 596 by a relative. He then supposedly carried his own head to the spot at which the church was built. One of the door jambs is carved with the letters XP, the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, probably pre-Norman and suggesting a much earlier church here.

That earlier church has been dated by Pevsner to be eighth century at the latest. The south porch is probably sixteenth century, although the doorway incorporates Norman stonework. The building was restored in 1906 by Edmund Sedding. The font is Norman, carved from stone which was quarried at Pentewan near Mevagissey. Author Daphne du Maurier was married at Lanteglos-by-Fowey church in 1932 and used it as the model for Lanoc Church in her first novel, 'The Loving Spirit'.

Photos on this page kindly contributed by Debb Collins, Jimmy B Photographer, Clive Bowd, and Baz Richardson, all via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and two copyright © Richard Croft and Edmund Shaw via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.