St Germans Priory is a large Norman church in the village of St Germans in south-east

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, UK.

History

According to tradition the church here was founded by St Germanus himself . The first written record however is of Conan being made Bishop in the Church of St Germans as a result of King Athelstan's settlement with Cornwall. The fixing of the see here shows that the Celtic monastery was already of great importance. Possession of two holdings of land in the parishes of Landrake ("Landerhtun") and Landulph ("Tinieltun" i.e. Tinnel) was confirmed by King Canute in 1018; they had been granted by King Edmund. Both holdings remained in the monastery's possession until 1538. In 1042 the see was moved to

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. It stands on the A377 road, A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, north w ...

and the lands of the monastery were divided into two parts, one for the monastery and one (named Cuddenbeak) for the Bishop of Crediton. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

a college of secular canons was established which is said to have been reconstituted in the time of Bishop Bartholomew (1161–1184) as a college of regular canons. The present church replaces an Anglo-Saxon building which was the cathedral of the Bishops of Cornwall. The church is dedicated to St Germanus and soon after construction it became the cathedral for

in 926 AD, when King Athelstan appointed Conan as the bishop of Cornwall. The bishopric was to be short-lived, however, as it was transferred to

in 1042 AD. A

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

grew alongside the church, and was reorganized by the Bishop of Exeter between 1161 and 1184 as an Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

. The priory church was rebuilt on a grand scale, with two western towers and a nave of 102 ft. The church was once called the Cathedral of Cornwall because it is where the bishop of the duchy would be. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries under

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

the priory was abolished and its buildings became a private house, home to the Eliot family, in whose hands the house remains. A number of the Eliot family are interred in the church. St Germans parish was once the largest in

. St Germans Priory is now managed by the Church of England and the St Germans Priory Trust.

Architecture

Some of the original Norman features remain, including the large arched western doorway which is particularly ornate and is carved from elvan quarried at Landrake. There is a mortuary chapel for the Moyle family of Bake. At Dupath Well the wellhouse is said to have been built in 1510 by the monks of St Germans. There is a peal of eight bells.Dove, R. H. (1982) ''A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain''; 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers; p. 93 A magnificent though incongruous

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

monument in black and white marble is situated in space below north tower. It is dedicated to Edward Elliot (1682-1722), Tory Member of Parliament for the rotten borough of St Germans between 1705 and 1710. It is an early work in England by noted Flemish sculptor John Michael Rysbrack, commissioned in 1723. Large five-light Perpendicular east window was glazed in 1896 by

Morris and Co. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (1861–1875) was a furniture, furnishings and decorative arts manufacturer and retailer founded by the artist and designer William Morris with friends from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Pre-Raphaelites. With ...

, to designs of

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

. The donor was Alfred Burton. It two tiers of five figures show

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

to upper centre flanked by a

centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

and St Mary, Sister of Lazarus to left and St Mary Virgin and St Paul to right. Below is

St Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

to centre, flanked by the Four Evangelists, saints Matthew,

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, Luke and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. In tracery lights above is a choir of angels. South wall has two additional three-light windows filled with glass designed by Burne-Jones and manufactured by Morris & Co. Installed in 1902, they show allegorical representations of the Virtues and are designs from earlier in Burne-Jones' career. The church has a two manual pipe organ on the left side of the church. The church also has two towers.

Other burials

* John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans * Henry Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans * John Eliot (died 1685) * Edward James Eliot * John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans * Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot

History

Architecture

Other burials

See also

References

Further reading