Church Of St Martin And St Meriadocus

Church of St Martin and St Meriadocus

Parish church, mostly built in the late 15th century in a single campaign, but incorporating some fabric of an earlier, smaller 15th-century church. The building was restored and enlarged in 1878. It is constructed of dressed granite with slate roofs.

The church comprises a west tower, a nave and chancel in one, with north and south aisles. A further south aisle was added in 1878. All are covered under a 4-span roof.

The three-stage west tower has setback buttresses. The west doorway has a 2-centred arch with hollow-chamfered surround and hoodmould. Above it is a 4-light window with Perpendicular tracery, similarly arched. The upper stages are set back and marked by weathered bands. The second stage has a small lancet on the north side and a 3-light traceried belfry window in each side. The tower finishes with an embattled parapet and corner pinnacles.

The 5-bay north aisle has a plinth with moulded coping and a buttress between the first and second bays. A Tudor-arched doorway between the fourth and fifth bays has two orders of moulding in a square-headed surround with hoodmould. The aisle contains five Tudor-arched mullioned windows, each of four pointed arched lights with cavetto mullions and hollow spandrels; the surround has two orders of moulding and a hoodmould curved round the head. In the first bay, to the left, is an earlier and smaller window with flat Tudor-arched head, four trefoil lights, moulded surround, and simple hoodmould. The west end has a 4-light window matching the others. The east end has a 4-centred arched window of five cinquefoil lights with hoodmould and weathered sill-band.

The chancel projects and has a large 5-light east window matching those of the north aisle.

The original south aisle has a 2-centred arched west window of four cinquefoil lights with tracery in the head, and a 4-centred arched east window of five cinquefoil lights.

The added south aisle (of 1878) has large 5-light traceried windows to the east and west. Its south side features a gabled porch to the first bay with a 4-centred arched doorway. The doorway incorporates 15th-century semi-octagonal jambs with brattished caps. Above the door is a sundial lettered "Hora Pars Vitae" and dated 1793. The porch has four windows, each of three cinquefoil lights with Perpendicular tracery in the head.

Interior

The interior contains 7-bay arcades to the nave and chancel with Cornish piers, horizontal carved leaves on the caps, and 4-centred arches with cavetto and roll moulding (the added aisle imitates these features). The roof comprises restored arch-braced collar-truss timbers.

In the chancel is a simple aumbry and piscina. A fine marble reredos in classical style has Commandment Tables in shouldered panels under an open pediment, flanked by the Lords Prayer and Creed in lugged panels under swan-neck pediments. Lettered medallions in the dado state that it was given by Samuel Percival of Pendarves in 1761. The side walls have a dado made of fine late medieval carved bench ends.

The altar contains a 10th-century altar slab from Chapel Ia, Troon, with keyed border and inscription including the name Leuiut.

There is a late medieval oak pulpit with carved panels and coat of arms.

The church contains several fine wall monuments, notably those of William Pendarves (died 1683), Sir William Pendarves (died 1726), Anne Acton (died 1780), and Mrs Grace Percival (died 1763), who founded the Charity School in Camborne.

In the tower are large painted panels, including a Charles I letter to the County of Cornwall dated 1643 (painted in 1736).