Church Of St Uny

Church of St Uny

A medieval church standing on a sandy headland above the Hayle estuary, comprising some 12th-century Norman remains with the bulk of the structure in Perpendicular style, though extensively repaired after the Reformation. The church was restored by J.D. Sedding in 1872–3.

The building is constructed of granite and mixed rubble with slate roofs. The plan consists of a nave and chancel in one, with six-bay arcades opening to north and south aisles. The aisles and chancel are of equal length at the east end.

Externally, the nave is low, built of squared and coursed grey stone with windows set under four-centred arches. The tracery is Perpendicular in style, though probably mostly of Victorian date. The south porch is fine Perpendicular work, with the outer arch flanked by forward-facing buttresses and two slim pinnacled shafts attached to both north and south side walls. Within the gable is a statuary niche, now containing a sundial. The inner doorcase is good Perpendicular, featuring a square label with daggers in the spandrels. The tower is robust and plain, with diagonal buttresses, an embattled parapet, tall pinnacles and three-light Perpendicular bell openings. The west face carries a plain doorway with a small three-light window above. A polygonal stair turret rises on the north side. The north aisle was lengthened at some point to overlap the tower, and its west window tracery was replaced by Sedding, as was much work in the north aisle. The church's east face displays three almost even gables, with two large sloped masses of stone positioned against the chancel and the angle of the north aisle—evidence of post-Reformation attempts to strengthen the structure against encroaching sand.

The interior appears spacious because of the full-length arcades of six arches. The arcades are predominantly Perpendicular, with piers of four fat clustered shafts separated by angled fillets. The arches are wave- or hollow-moulded. However, the second arch from the west on the north side is Norman, of stepped round profile with capitals bearing a band of fluting. On the opposite (south) arcade is a capital with twining foliage, probably of 15th-century date, with similar capitals to the eastern responds. The stairs and upper door to a former rood loft survive in the north aisle wall. The wagon-vaulted roofs largely date from 1872–3, incorporating some re-used bosses.

The altar dates from 1902, with rails of 1903. In the south chapel stands a Jacobean communion table and an early 20th-century oak reredos, formerly positioned in the chancel. The font, of 12th or 13th-century date, has an octagonal bowl on a heavy central stem surrounded by completely plain pillars. It was reinstated from a local farmyard in 1889. The pulpit, dated 1887 and designed by J.P. St Aubyn, is of oak, as are the stalls. Pine benches in the nave date from 1872–3. A framed board displays a painted letter of commendation from Charles I to the county of Cornwall, dated 1643. The east window, commemorating the Tyringham family, was designed by M.C. Farrar Bell in 1973. The vestry window, by Hardman, is typical patterned glass from around the 1850s, with saints depicted in the tracery. Two windows in the north aisle date from 1949, and a Neo-Perpendicular oak screen of 1911, formerly screening the chancel, also stands there. At the west end of the south aisle are two characteristically Cornish slate tablets: one to Stephen Pawley dated 1635, and one to William Praed dated 1620. The latter depicts shell-headed niches containing flowers and memento mori, with the kneeling family shown in the centre. The sundial above the porch is unusual in including a figure of Death supporting the gnomon.

Low churchyard walls, probably of 18th or early 19th-century date, include blocks made of compressed black slag from the copper works across the Hayle estuary.

The church was granted to Tywardreath Priory in 1150 and to the Bishop of Exeter in 1272. The Norman church likely consisted of a nave, chancel, north aisle and possibly a tower. The north arcade was partly renewed, probably to match a new south aisle, in the late 14th or 15th century; a tradition of reconsecration on 2 February 1424 lacks documentary support. The present west tower is also late medieval. By around 1520, the port and church were described as "overpressed with sandes" (Leland). By 1679, the church had partially collapsed under drifting sand—one of several on this coast—and the curate vacated his nearby house. Repairs began in 1727, and a gallery was added in 1751. The growth of Nonconformity reduced communicants to twelve by 1812. Tracery in the north aisle was renewed in 1845. Gale damage to the roofs in 1872 prompted restoration by J.D. Sedding, costing £1,179, and J.P. St Aubyn added fittings in 1887–9.