Church Of St Cuby

Church of St Cuby

Parish church dedicated to St Cuby in the 6th century. The present structure comprises work from the 12th, 14th, and 15th centuries, partly rebuilt and lengthened in 1828, and restored by St Aubyn around 1899. The building is constructed of slatestone rubble with granite dressings and Delabole slate roofs with gable ends.

The church plan includes a nave, chancel, west tower, north transept, south aisle, and south porch. The north wall was mostly rebuilt in 1828, though earlier walling survives to the left of the transept, including a blocked 4-centred arched opening probably from the 15th century, and a short length to the right of the transept. The only windows in the north wall are two 3-light granite mullioned windows with squat tracery under segmental arched openings, probably dating from 1828. A straight joint marks the connection to an external stair turret of the tower.

The north transept walling is probably the earliest part of the church surviving in situ and is battered. A blocked window to the north gable retains its sill and two jamb stones. The cusped-headed wooden windows to the east and west walls and the arched doorway to the west are probably 20th century in date.

The south aisle east window and chancel window are in Perpendicular style and were inserted in 1899 into 1828 walling. The south aisle walling itself is from the 15th century but was interfered with in both 1828 and 1899. A 19th-century granite window sits to the left of the porch, with three further windows to its right, each having 3 arch-headed lights within 19th-century cambered heads.

The porch was rebuilt in 1828 above an arched opening, but much moulded and carved granite from the Norman period survives, including capitals and a round-headed arch to the door, wall plates, ribs to the internal barrel vault, benches, and carved heads to the central rib boss and flanking surfaces. The barrel vault is rebuilt in a slightly pointed form to accommodate a 2-centred granite inner doorframe probably from the 14th century. A sundial appears on the porch gable, and a stone fragment of an arch inscribed GK 1723 is positioned to the left of the door.

The west tower is probably late 14th century and comprises two stages. It features north-west and south-west diagonal buttresses with offsets, an external stair turret to the north at the east end, a plinth, strings with ashlar battlements, and slender corner crested pinnacles. The west door is 2-centred with a hood mould and relieving arch. Above it is a similar hood mould and relieving arch to a cusped 2-light window with quatrefoil tracery. The upper stage has similar windows fitted with slate louvres.

The interior of the nave contains a 4-centred arch with standard A type (Pevsner) responds to the north transept and a recess of a blocked opening to the east of the transept. A 6-bay arcade runs between the nave/chancel and the south aisle, featuring octagonal piers and 4-centred arches from the 1899 rebuild but incorporating two reused 15th-century pier shafts at the east end. The tower arch is tall and pointed with a 2-centred door from the tower to the stair turret. The roofs over the nave, chancel, and south aisle from 1899 are arch-braced.

Fittings include a Norman font with a round carved bowl over a round central shaft with corner lugs carved with heads forming capitals for four shafts supported on moulded and carved bases. A hexagonal pulpit incorporates five 15th-century carved oak benches and panels. Pitch pine pews date from the 19th century. A James II painted coat of arms (one of only four in Cornwall) and a painted coat of arms of 1831 survive, the latter being a small 17th-century oak panel with guilloche moulding in the chancel.

Monuments include a memorial tablet in the form of a fat crucifix with bead and reel enriched oval border surrounding a shield and inscription to Hugh Pomeroy, dated 1644; a tablet with draped urn on the south wall to Flag Lieutenant Frank Woodridge, 1833; and a small stone tablet on an arcade respond by the tower arch inscribed P C 1712 with pierced hearts carving beneath. The belfry was not inspected.