Church Of Saint Paul

Church of Saint Paul

A parish church built in 1828 when the parish was created out Kenwyn. The church was rebuilt in 1892, except for the tower, to a design by Edmund Sedding of Plymouth.

The building is constructed in elvan ashlar and killas with some granite and Polyphant stone dressings, and is roofed in dry Delabole slate. The exterior displays restrained Perpendicular style, while the interior is pointed Gothic in character. The plan consists of a nave and chancel under one roof with a west tower, north and south aisles, and clerestory.

The west front features a central four-stage embattled tower, the second highest in Cornwall, with strings dividing stages of diminishing width. An octagonal embattled stair turret rises to a higher level to the east of the north wall. A blocked tower doorway has Perpendicular style Polyphant stone tracery in the tympanum of a four-centred arch. Above this, in the third stage, is an early Perpendicular style two-light granite window with hoodmould, and similar windows appear in the upper stage with slate louvres.

Similar doorways flank the tower to each aisle with four-centred arches and original 1892 doors. The north and south walls of the aisles comprise 1:2:1 bays, with the two central bays broken forward with chamfered corners. Each bay contains a three-light flat-headed Perpendicular style window. Those to the end bays have hoodmoulds and trefoil-headed lights with original 1892 coloured glass. A similar window appears to the east end of the south aisle.

The chancel has a slightly projecting gable with a five-light limestone window, transferred from St Mary's Church, Truro, and installed by Pearson with original glass dating from the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The window depicts a central figure of Jesus flanked by Saint Philip, Saint John, Saint James the Less and Simon the Zealot. The east end of the north aisle has a doorway-like recess with glazed Perpendicular style Polyphant stone tracery in the tympanum of a four-centred arch. The clerestory of the nave and chancel has five small arch-headed windows to north and south. A vestry doorway has been inserted at the east end of the south aisle.

The interior features exposed killas rubble walling. Five-bay arcades run between the nave and north and south aisles, with octagonal Polyphant stone piers and pointed granite arches. A pointed arch separates the chancel from an altar projection. The tower arch is pointed rubble.

The 1892 fittings include a waggon roof over the nave and chancel, a Perpendicular style painted freestone font, an octagonal pulpit of polychrome polished Serpentine with open arcade on turned shafts, and a carved lectern in the figure of Saint Paul by Harry Hems of Exeter. Simple pitch pine pews with blind arcade carving to the ends are also from this period. Earlier oak and mahogany grained boards in Gothic style within the tower are pointed with the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments. The tower contains one original bell.

According to a report in the West Briton newspaper of 1866, the recently repaired church was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on 3 February. The lightning split the wall from ground to roof, and several windows were smashed into hundreds of pieces, being hurled from the west end to the pulpit, a distance of 90 feet.