For about two hundred years prior to the Norman Conquest, Cornwall formed a separate see, but from the year 1046 the Sees of Crediton and Cornwall were united at Exeter and the bishopric of Cornwall was suspended. It was not until 1876 that it was restored and Bishop Benson was consecrated Bishop of Truro. Thus for five or six hundred years St. Agnes was under the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Exeter.
Although the date when the first church was built is lost in antiquity, it must have been long before 1331, as there is an account, in Bishop Grandisson's register, of that year, of a visitation to St. Agnes Church which was described as sadly neglected. From earliest times (until 1846) St. Agnes, while being the chief centre of population of the large parish of Perranzabloe, was but a chapelry to that parish, and the tutelage of the Mother Church was always resented. Various Bishops of Exeter tried to adjust the relations between the Church at Perran and the Chapel at St. Agnes, and in 1374 Bishop Brantyngham was compelled to interdict the latter, the inhabitants having refused to observe an arrangement made by him. A giant grievance was the lack of the right of burial, which was only obtained for St. Agnes by application to Bishop Courtenay in 1482. Hitherto the inhabitants of St. Agnes had had to attend the parish church at Perranzabloe.
1484- The second St. Agnes Church was built. The Bishop decreed that a chaplain be maintained at St. Agnes at the cost of the Vicar of Perranzabuloe, a house and stable to be found for him by the inhabitants, who were to maintain the fabric of the chapel, its books and ornaments, seats and vestments and window; the vicar to maintain the chaplain's house, but to receive all mortuaries as usual. On St. Piran's Feast, the inhabitants were to offer 1/2 lb. of wax of his image in the parish church in sign of subjection and filial obedience. The relics of St. Piran were to be lodged in the chapel at St. Agnes if required. St. Piran's head was preserved in a Reliquary, which was carried from the Parish Church of Perranzabloe to the daughter Church of St. Agnes at Rogationtide.
Throughout the ages, St. Agnes has played its small part in local history. For instance, men of St. Agnes, in common with nearly every other parish in the County, took part in the Rebellion, led by Perkin Warbeck. against King Henry VII in 1497. For this insurrection Cornwall was fined a total of £623. In each parish a leading inhabitant, or someone from outside, made himself responsible for collecting the fines and handing them over to the King's Commissioners. The following is a translation of the document as it affects St. Agnes:
From Master Alexander Penhill, rector of Illogan and Richard David of St. Agnes, sureties for the inhabitants of that parish . . . namely 5 marks."
Just over 50 years later, the inhabitants of St. Agnes were again taking part in a rebellion, this time the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549. The Act of Uniformity, passed in January of that year, brought to a head a feeling of unrest which had been fomenting since the start of the Reformation. There can be little doubt but that the men of St. Agnes were active participants, as the chief landowner at Mithian was John Winslade (of Tregarrick in Pelynt) who was executed for being concerned in the commotion.
Disturbances during the Reformation are also reflected in an article in the "West Briton" on 19 July, 1928, contributed by Charles Henderson, the great historian. It describes a Visitation held by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter in November, 1608. The reference to ST Agnes is as follows: At St. Agnes the local gentry were in trouble. Simon George, gentleman, and Richard Cleder were presented "for brawling and scolding in Church"; Peter Beacham, gentleman, "for using unseemly speeches and railing words in the church." Salathiel George and Edward George, gentlemen, for the like; and Margaret, wife of John Paull, ' for scolding in the churchyard" with Katherine, wife of Richard Danyell. They were all excommunicated, paid their fines, and received absolution. Last of all, Margaret Plemyn, alias Chinoweth, executrix of John Plemyn, late Vicar of Perran, was excommunicated for allowing the ' House for the Curate" at St. Agnes to be much decayed and refusing to restore it.
The loyalty of the Cornish to the Stuart Cause is commemorated in a great many Churches by a copy of a long letter of thanks sent by Charles I to the People of Cornwall. Most likely the copy at St. Agnes disappeared when the new church was built, although it may have been destroyed during the Commonwealth, or perhaps it was housed in the parent Church at Perran. But the loyalty of St. Agnes is reflected in the treatment meted out to Michael Stuckey, Minister of St. Agnes and of Perranzabloe, by the Commonwealth Parliament. Dr. Walker, in his "Sufferings of the Clergy" (published in 1714), does not mention Stuckey by name for the reason that the following information, found among Dr. Walker's manuscripts, arrived too late for insertion in his great work.
Stuckey, during the Civil War, suffered severely for his loyalty and it would be pleasant to record that on the Restoration, he received substantial recognition for his devotion. But, unfortunately, this does not appear to have been the case. Although the Letter of Thanks of Charles I is missing, yet there is, in the bell ringing chamber of the tower, a very large painted Coat of Arms of Charles II, dated 1660.
John Wesley visited St. Agnes on numerous occasions and more than once attended service in the Church. The entry in his Journal for 18 Sept., 1762, for example, reads: " I preached once more in the street at Redruth and in St. Agnes in the evening. I preached again at 8 in the morning and afterwards heard an excellent sermon at the Church, preached by the Rector, Mr. Walker, elder brother to the late Mr. Walker, of Truro. He likewise gave notice of his design to preach in the afternoon a funeral sermon for Mr. Phelps, his late curate, a man eminently humble, serious and zealous for God. He was snatched away by a fever three weeks since, as was his predecessor, Mr. Vowler, three or four years before. . .
The successor of Mr. Phelps was the Rev. Thomas Wills, who remained curate of St. Agnes till 1779. During that time he did great work in St. Agnes, his church being often filled , "from door to door" and it was ' with difficulty he could get to the reading des." In 1774 he married Selina Wheeler, a near relative of the Countess of Huntingdon. From that family connection, the Countess made handsome offers to Mr. Wills to leave his curacy at St. Agnes and take provincial charge of her dissenting chapels in various parts of the country. Mr. Wills eventually accepted the offer in 1779, but before he left, he caused to be erected, at his own expense, a meeting house for the Connection at Peterville, for the benefit of the small flock of followers he was leaving behind. That Meeting House was duly licensed on 18th November, 1780, by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Diocese as being "sett apart for a place of Religious Worship in which a congregation do design to meet as Protestant Devotees." After thirty or forty years the " Cause" gradually declined and the building was sold. It was then utilised as a carpenter's and wheelwright's shop, then a coal store and now a garage!
Another curate at St. Agnes who should be recalled was the Rev. W. H. Snowe who was in charge from 1830 to 1834. During 1833, cholera broke out at Mount Hawke. During the whole time that the scourge raged, the Rev. Snowe visited and ministered to the stricken people, quite ignoring the great danger in which he placed himself.
In 1714, an enlargement of St. Agnes Church was approved by Bishop Blackall of Exeter "who very much approved of the design (i.e., the proposal) and recommended it in a particular manner (in conjunction with Redruth, who joyned with us for enlarging their Church likewise) to the Clergy of his Diocese to get contributions for so good a work."
The rebuilding, however, was not destined to take place for more than a century. It was in 1846 that St. Agnes was constituted an independent ecclesiastical parish and on 1 May of that year Alexander Allen Vawdrey was admitted first vicar of St. Agnes.
To celebrate the emancipation from Perranzabuloe., Henry, Lord Bishop of Exeter, granted permission to the Perpetual curate of the Parish Church and the Parishioners of St. Agnes, to take down and rebuild on the same site, another church. The need was apparently urgent as the former church was much too small for the greatly enlarged congregation, due to the vast mining activity. Under the leadership of their new vicar, the people of St. Agnes set to work with a will. On 4 August, 1848, a building committee, consisting of the Vicar, Churchwardens and eight others, was appointed. Within a fortnight the pulling down of the old church was commenced and on 22 August-less than three weeks after the vestry meeting at which it was agreed to start work-the foundation stone of the new church was laid by the Archdeacon, Preb. Philipotts.
Permission had been granted to levy a rate of 2/6 in the £ to pay for the Church, but at the vestry meeting. the levy was rescinded and instead £500 was borrowed from the London Assurance Loan Co., to be repaid over five years. Less than a year later, on 24 July, 1849, the church was opened for service and on 28 May, 1851, the new building of nave, with north and south aisles, was dedicated by Bishop Phillpots, the Lord Bishop of Exeter.
It is in the style of the Decorated period and the pillars supporting the arches are of St. Stephens stone, the roofs being of the open cradle pattern.
The Blessed Sacrament is reserved perpetually in the Chapel in the north aisle, and the Lady Chapel is at the east end of the south aisle, while in the west, near the south porch is the Chapel of Remembrance.
An entry in the Marriage Register of 1 April, 1788, was the beginning of a story which was as romantic as that of Dick Whittington. On that day, Thomas Lawrence married Mary Tonkin, a sojourner. He was a carpenter by trade and became the father of a celebrated family. His eldest son, William Lawrence the Elder, was born at St. Agnes on 4 Feb., 1789, and was a carpenter like his father. In 1808, at the age of 19, he left St. Agnes with £2 2s. in his pocket and his bag of tools and, in company with two friends, worked his way to Plymouth, where he took ship for London. By the age of 25 he had set up in business for himself at Hoxton. Two years later he opened premises at Cheapside and became a leading citizen of the City, being elected Alderman in 1848 and Sheriff of London in 1849. He was largely instrumental in the provision of new schoolrooms for the British School in St. Agnes, whose formation he had encouraged. The foundation stone was laid on 2 Jan., 1837, on a site he leased to the school authority.
William had ten children, three of whom were knighted. The youngest, Edwin, had a very distinguished career as an industrialist, writer, politician and philanthropist. He took the name of Durning Lawrence in 1898, in which year he was knighted. In 1894 he founded, at his father's birthplace, the St. Agnes and District Nursing Association, contributing to its maintenance £50 per annum and later endowing it with the income from two cottages and £1,000 Plymouth Corporation 3% Stock.
The rebuilders of 1848 were very thorough. They left little of the old church for the interest of posterity5 the lower stage of the tower being the only portion to be incorporated in the new building. From written accounts and from a painting by Edward Opie (grand nephew of John Opie, R.A.) it appears that the old church was small, with '4three roofs," a small porch and a western tower surmounted by a short spire. This painting by Opie is believed to be the only picture left of the old church and was possibly from memory, as the east windows are not in the style of a 15th century church. But it is an interesting possession as it shows the roof of a large Market House which stood on the site of the lychgate and adjacent land. This was purchased by the Vicar and Churchwardens on 9 May, 1894, for £250 and the old market house was subsequently taken down.
One or two interesting things have survived inside the Church, however. The font, although not claimed by that eminent authority Edmund Sedding as being Norman, is very old and of good design in Catacluse stone. Another- interesting survival is the carved and painted wood figure of a hungry man which supports the Alms Box for the Poor. This curious figure probably dates from the time of Queen Elizabeth.
The bells, six in number, were also transferred from the old building. Four of them bore the inscription C.& G. Mears, Founders, London, 1850" and the other two were inscribed to effect that" Thos. Lester of London made us all, 1748." It is quite probable that the four cast by Messrs. Mears replaced others previously cast by Thos. Lester, as the bell foundry of the latter was bought by Mears at the end of the eighteenth century. All the bells were recast and rehung in a new iron frame by John Taylor & Co. in 1905.
Most of the glass in the windows is modern, but the designs are light and pleasing. There is a charming figure of the Patron Saint in a window above the Children's Corner, the work of Miss Salusbury, a local artist The Children's Corner, with this window, is dedicated to the memory of Maria Louisa Roffe, by her son, the Rev. C. G. Roffe-Sylvester. The dedication is not a common one, there being only 15 other churches in England dedicated to St. Agnes.
According to "Everyman's Book of Saints," St. Agnes was a Roman, and suffered at the age of thirteen, during the persecution of Diocletian. Her riches and beauty brought her many suitors, including the son of the prefect of the city. She rejected his advances on the ground that she was already espoused to Christ; and persisting in her rejection, was denounced by him to the prefect. By him she was exhorted to recant. "Remember you are but a child," he said. ' I may be a child, but faith dwells not in years, but in the heart." Continuing obdurate, she was sentenced to be driven naked into a house of ill fame. Thither it is said she was pursued by her lover, but protected by angels from any assault. She was now condemned to be burnt. In the flames she prayed "I bless Thee, 0 Father of my Lord Jesus Christ." When she had finished praying, the fire went out and she was dipatched with a sword She was martyred in 304 AD. and is commemorated on 21st January.
As one would expect in a land of legend and romance such as Cornwall, several interesting romances are related about St. Agnes. The local name for St. Agnes Churchtown is St. Ann's. This has lead more than one learned antiquarian to speculate on the derivation of the name. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould in "A Book of the West," presumes that St. Ann's takes its name from Ann, the mother of the gods amongst the Irish Celts, who gives her name to the Two Paps of Ana in County Kerry. This. might well be, as most of the other parishes along the coast are named after Irish Saints who landed in Cornwall between 450 A.D. and 550 A.D., such as S. Ia (St. Ives), S. Uni (St. Uny, Lelant), S. Gwithianus (Gwithian) and S. Piran (Perranzabuloe).
Dr. T. F. G. Dexter in "Cornwall, the Land of the Gods," traces the name ' St. Ann's' back to "San Tan" -" Ancient Fire or Holy Fire," thus placing the name in the days of pagan Fire Worship in Britain. His theory is that the derivation came about as follows: San Tan (Pagan) ; St. Ann's (popular Christian equation) ; St. Agnes (equation by the Church). He adds, "To subscribe to this proposition, there is no need to doubt the existence of St. Agnes; all that is needful is to doubt her connection with the parish."
It is most probable that it was one of these other saints who gave rise to the local legends attributed to St. Agnes. A popular story connects St. Agnes with the giant Bolster. This relates how, in order to rid herself of his persistent wooing and the countryside of his tyranny, she challenged him to fill a small hole in the rocks at Chapel Porth with his blood as a token of his love. To this the giant agreed, not knowing that the hole emptied into the sea, with the natural consequence that he bled to death! The hole at Chapel Porth still retains the evidence of the truth of this tradition in the red stain which marks the track down which flowed the giant's blood!
Chapel Porth has a connection with the ancient church at St. Agnes, for there was, in the Porth, a small Celtic Oratory, the ruins of which were visible as late as 1780. Close to this little cell was St. Agnes Well. The Misses Quiller-Couch in "Ancient and Holy Wells of Cornwall " state that the well existed in an entire state till about 1820. Over it was a little Gothic edifice. ".
The destruction of the chapel and its well was effected by time and lack of faith and reverence. It is said that the principal depredators, who carried away the stone to build a hedge, said, when remonstrated with, "What's the good of a well without any water? " The well had been drained by the delvings of the miners in a work below. Dr. Dexter points out that here are many of the signs of a monastic enclosure or Lan-an oratory (Porth Chapel) built within view of the sea; a well (St. Agnes Well); a stream (the Porth Chapel Stream) and a cross (Towan Cross at the head of the valley)."
This cross has been lost, although it may still be hidden in the scrub ground near the Cross Roads. But it is a usual feature in Cornish villages to find a symbol of very early Christianity in the form of a Celtic Cross, either in the churchyard, near to the south porch, or just outside the churchyard. St. Agnes is fortunate in having its Cross still preserved, and it stands near the church.
The stonework of the High Altar is made of granite from the old quay at ST Agnes. Attempts to form a harbour at Trevaunance Porth were made as far back as 1632 by the Tonkin family. After three attempts, a harbour was established in 1699, but in 1705 it was completely destroyed by a storm. Tonkin, the historian, again commenced work in 1710 at an expense of £6,000. These works having become decayed, a pier of granite was built about 85 years later, at an expense of £10,000, by a company, and for many years ships plied between St. Agnes and South Wales. This pier fell into decay about 30 years ago.
The family of Tonkin resided at Trevaunance for many generations from 1593. One of its most renowned members was Thomas Tonkin, who between 1702 and 1739, compiled a Parochial History of Cornwall. This history was not published and the manuscript copies are now in the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro. Of the monuments of the Tonkin family which were in the old church, only one now remains, attached to the north wall of the present church; the inscription is nearly obliterated. It bears the arms of Hugh Tonkin impaling those of Vincent. Outside the same wall, and embedded in it are the arms of the son of this member of the family, impaling Kempe.
On the south wall, there is a memorial to William Whitworth, for 37 years medical practitioner of the parish, who died 14 May, 1917. There has been a succession of Doctors Whitworth in St. Agnes for about 100 years! The memorial also commemorates another member of this family of medical men, Capt. H.P. Whitworth, M.C., R.A.M.C., who was killed 28 Oct., 1918 and is buried in Ypres. A simple wooden soldier's cross, bearing his name, is fixed to the splay of the window over the Memorial Chapel in the south-west corner of the Church. On the other splay of the same window is another soldier's cross to Pte. A. Trounce, 1st D.CL.I. The window is in memory of Thomas Oliver Prout and Martha, his wife, who died in 1867. On the north side of the church, there is a window to the memory of Anna Twite, who died 19 Oct, 1902, and the windows above the Lady Chapel are in memory of John James Halls who died in 1860.
On the south wall, there is a tablet, "Sacred to the memory of John Luke of this parish, many years Captain of the Gongo Soco and Bananal Gold Mines in Brazil, who died in Rio de Janiero, 22 March, 1850, aged 43 years." The Mine Captains of Cornwall, whether they stayed in their native land or travelled, as many did, to the four quarters of the earth, were a race of grand men. St. Agnes, centre of a very thriving mining industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, produced many such men of whom she can be truly proud.
The Rood was erected to the memory of William Henry Browne, Vicar of St. Agnes from 1922 to 1933, and on the south side of the chancel, is a memorial to the first vicar, the Rev. A. A. Vawdrey, who ministered to St. Agnes for 29 years.
The Church Plate contains several beautiful and interesting pieces and perhaps the loveliest of these is a Tazza cup, presented to the Parish of St. Agnes by John Worth, a wealthy landowner of Tremough, near Penryn, a Justice of the Peace in three reigns and Sheriff of Cornwall in 1711. Actually the bowl of the cup is more like a paten, and has been used as such, for, although it is six inches in diameter, it is only one inch deep. It is richly ornamented, both on the stem and base and also in the centre of the bowl, and from the marks it bears, it can be established that it was made in 1579. There are only two other churches in Cornwall which possess Tazza cup~at Poughill and Mabe.
There is also a small Elizabethan Cover Paten, 3~ ins. in diameter. No doubt, this Cover paten belonged to the Chalice at Perranzabuloe, and the plate became mixed when the livings were held together. The Cover bears no marks, but the Chalice has the mark of John Jons, of Exeter, with the N reversed, a mark only used in the years 157~73. The Cover has a leaf ornamentation with a Tudor Rose design on the foot.
Another interesting piece of the Church Plate has been lent to the Royal Institution of Cornwall and is exhibited in the Museum in Truro. This is a flagon, made in 1710 and also given by John Worth to the Parish of St. Agnes. It is 14 inches high and is interesting as a forerunner of the cruets of the present day.
The Statue of Our Lady was designed by Miss Salusbury and dedicated by the Bishop on 27 Jan., 1928. In tbe Church are several Icons brought back from a Pilgrimage to Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Holy Land by Mr~ Dowling and Mrs. B. M. Josa in 1925.
The pulpit, which has carvings of a figure of St. Agnes and emblems of the Passion, was given in memory of Martin Tredinnick Hitchins and his wife and was erected in 1914 by their children.
In 1931, when relaying the floor of the Church, many interesting finds were made. While preparing the floor for the concrete bed, it was noticed that a wall was running along the nave, between two of the pillars. On further examination, it was found that this wall extended on both sides, forming an oblong which might well have been the site of the old church building which existed before the one built in 1484. In the south-west corner,a 15th century base of one of the pillars was unearthed, resting, no doubt, on the original floor of the 1484 Church, some four feet below the level on which the 19th century church was built. It looked as if further excavation would reveal the floor and walls of the first of the churches which is known to have existed on this spot and, possibly, may have been the original Celtic Church which, again, may have been the one converted from the old pagan fire worshippers' temple as Dr. Dexter thought possible. Unfortunately, the work of excavation had to be curtailed, as vaults containing bodies in a state of dissolution were discovered.
In the churchyard is a simple granite cross, erected to the memory of Dr. John Wolcot, who died in 1819. This extraordinary man began his career as a physician. He then took holy orders, but later returned to the practice of medicine. He abandoned medicine for literature in 1778. About this time he " discovered " John Opie, whom he took with him to London, where Opie was immediately acknowledged as the ‘ Cornish Wonder," being elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1786 and Royal Academician the following year. Dr. Wolcot, under the nom de plume " Peter Pindar," was a great satirist and wit, having a gift for the comical and mischievous exposure of foibles, but his work suffers from vulgarity of thought and inelegance of style.