Church Of St Genesius

The Church of St Genesius is a parish church with origins dating back to the 12th century. The lower stages of the tower are from around 1100, while the aisles and porch were constructed in the 15th century. The chancel is older than the aisles. The church underwent restoration in 1871 by James P St Aubyn, and further restoration in 1910 by E H Sedding, who added buttresses to the tower and rebuilt the upper stage.

The church is primarily built of slatestone rubble, with granite ashlar facing the porch, granite windows on the south aisle, and north aisle windows originally of polyphant stone, largely replaced with Hatherleigh stone. The roof is slate, with decorative slate bargeboarding to the aisle gables. A three-stage west tower features set-back buttresses with set-offs and decorative engaged finials. The tower’s lower stages have 12th-century window openings, while the belfry has paired cinquefoil-headed lights in square-headed openings beneath hoodmoulds.

The church has four-bay north and south aisles, containing three-light square-headed windows. The north aisle displays a single massive buttress and a blocked doorway. The porch features a moulded arch beneath a square head, with blind quatrefoils in the spandrels, complemented by stone benches, a stoup, and a moulded inner door. A priest’s door is located on the south side of the chancel. A simple 12th-century round arch defines the tower space.

The south arcade and west bay of the north arcade showcase 15th-century octagonal granite piers supporting double-chamfered, four-centred arches, while the east bays of the north arcade have polyphant piers from an unused section. These piers feature eight hollows with four engaged shafts and fillets. Capitals display fleurons and cresting, supporting richly-moulded arches. The church's roofs date to 1871 and incorporate two tiers of wind-bracing. A paired truss forms the chancel arch. A 12th-century greenstone square font, with blank arches on its faces, stands on a renewed granite base and Purbeck shafts. A fine slate memorial with a coat of arms for the children of William Heo, dated 1693, is set into the north wall of the north aisle. Fine slate memorials to William Braddon (died 1694) and Henry Braddon (died 1711) are fixed to the south chancel wall. Numerous 18th and 19th century slate memorials are set into the nave floor. Two 15th-century bench ends are located in the litany desk. A 17th-century altar table is at the east end of the north aisle. A First World War memorial window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne is positioned at the east end of the south aisle. During the 1871 restoration, St Aubyn raised the level of the chancel floor and roof.