Dedicated to St Credan. Although there is a problem as to which St Credan as there were two or more Cornish Saints with this name. Some feel the dedication is to St Credan, a disciple of St Petrock, whose body, according to Leland rests in Bodmin; or others to St Credan, son of Illadham, who subsequently returned to Ireland and settled in County Wicklow.
The circular configuration of the site together with the two old crosses , suggests not only the first church was probably monastic in character, but also that it was surrounded by a collection of huts or cells, housing a community of monks, manual workers and domestics by whom the story of the original founder would have been passed by word of mouth on from generation to generation.
The churchyard actually contains five ancient crosses.
One can be found abutting the diagonal path leading to the porch to the south east entrance, it is reputed to be the best specimen of incised work in Cornwall. Opinions as to its date vary from the eighth to the eleventh century. Its total length is nine feet and it stands eight feet three inches clear of the base. It is sculptured on all four sides. On the front is the figure of our Lord in bold relief, the features being still distinguishable. The figure is clothed in a tunic, the expanded sleeves and the lower hem of the garment being well defined. Below the figure is a vase or jug, with a handle on one side, from the mouth of which issues a stem about two feet in length, the top of which is generally thought to represent the lily emblem of the virgin, although there are antiquarians who incline to the opinion that it may be a spearhead and the composition is intended for the Grail and Lance. Below this again is a much defaced inscription of which INCX forms one line, with another X beneath it. Of the ornaments on the back and sides, the most interesting is the inscription on the panel on the right hand side. This is in debase Latin capitals and reads from the bottom upwards. Although much defaced, the words FILIVS IC in the lower line are still decipherable. Archaeologists incline to the opinion that the lettering is of a earlier date than the cross itself.
The cross on the east side of the south porch has many points in common with the larger one described above The heads in each case are exactly similar, and so far as is known are the only examples of this particular form in Cornwall. The height of this cross from the base to top is five feet nine inches. On the front is a figure of our Lord similar to that already referred to. An inscription in the right panel of the front is thought to be the mark of the maker. On the left side is a panel containing a serpentine creature, the body and tail of which form interlaced work exactly similar to the cross at Lanherne. On the back is a central boss, surrounded by interlaced work composed of four Stafford knots with a continuous serpentine band.
The remaining crosses, three in number, lack both shaft and bas. They are of the wheel pattern and are placed: one on the west wall, alongside the gate; another under the wall of the churchyard extension, on the left side of the main path; and the third, in the hedge forming the southern boundary of the churchyard. Before re-erection by the church the first and third of these crosses were at Trannack and Anjardin (farms within the parish) re-spectively. Their original site cannot be determined.
The character of the probable first Norman church is only a matter of conjecture. The remains of the Font from this period can still be seen.
The advowson of Sancreed appears to have been attached originally to the Manor of Bosvenning, held by the Earl of Gloucester.
1182 The advowson was transferred by the Earl of Gloucester to the Church of St James Bristol, a priory or cell of the Abbey of Tewkesbury.
1243-the advowson passed to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter.
1289-September 28th Thomas Durant is the first recorded incumbent.
1307- We can get a small glimpse of social conditions at this time as in his will Bishop Bytton of Exeter left legacies to no less than twenty-three leper hospitals in Cornwall, among which was sixpence to that of Sancto Sancredo.
14th century.
The west tower, massive and low, of two stages, was probably designed in the first place for a spire. It was built of granite ashlar in large stones, the courses in the lower half being alternately deep and shallow. The windows are small and simply treated, the tracery being flush with the wall face. The parapet is unusually high and has small pinnacles which are modern.
The font, is similar to that at St Ives and probably worked by the same mason. It is a cup-shaped bowl, two feet three inches in diameter. At the corners are four angels with crowns on their foreheads ,bearing shields. It stands on a round stem, with four engraved shafts.
In the east bay of the south aisle is a small blocked doorway, the original priests door, showing only on the outer face of the wall. Close to this is a piscina, suggesting that the east end aisle once formed a Lady Chapel, the entrance to which would probably have been by means of steps, as the doorway is well below the level of the nave. The rood stairs remain as does the base of the marvellous old screen stretching across the church with every inch rich in carving. there are 36 narrow panels in a great variety o f designs;you can find an eagle, lamb, pelican and a owl, a jester and a crowned head with three faces, and two headed men & women.
Our modern craftsmen have not been unworthy of their ancient example, for they have given the chancel a fine roof of waggon design , with 64 oak medallions and no two alike, carved with flowers and fruit and symbols of the Passion.
On the chancel seats are four charming doves.
There is a bronze plaque with a portrait of William Stanhope Forbes in the uniform in which he fell in France, and here is his wooden cross. he was the son of Stanhope Forbes, R A, and in the graveyard lies his mother.
1889-The advowson was vested ion the Dean and Chapter of the newly formed diocese of Truro.
1899-There is a window in the south wall , commemorating the Rev. Reginald Basset Rogers, Vicar of the Parish from 1879 to 1899, and his wife Laura Augusta, contains figures of the Virgin and Child, St Piran and St Margaret of Scotland.
1940- The east window was installed by Mrs Charles William as a memorial to her parents, Thomas Bedford and Frances Jane Bolitho. |In the centre is depicted the miraculous draught of fishes; below , the Nativity, with the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Wise Men. The outer lights Illustrates, agriculture, horticulture and mining. Two scenes from the life of St Euny, whose name is linked with the healing springs of Chapel Uny, appear at the base, while in the tracery is the shield of the diocese of Truro and figures of St Colum, St Austell, St Mawnan and St Credan, Cornish Saints associated with the neighbourhood.
Note.
Beyond the churchyard wall, on the south-west side, is an old hipping-stock or mounting stone, a relic of the days when worshippers made their way to church on horseback by lane, bridle-path or field, stabling their horses during the service time at what was the village inn and is now the Bird-in-Hand farm, opposite.