About Us

The history of the church

Set in the Vale of Lanherne, the church is the jewel of this beautiful Cornish village, with its cricket ground, ancient inn, ford, and convent. The church, endowed by the Arundells of Lanherne, who lived here from the 13th Century to the 18th Century, dates from the 13th Century.

The tower, dating from the 14th Century, is unusually placed at the south transept and the Arundells added the upper part in 1433 at a cost of £10. The belfry houses a ring of eight bells, the oldest of which was cast between 1378 and 1407.

Within the church are many beautiful items of interest, including the carved pulpit of 1553; forty-two bench ends from the mid 16th Century; rood screen from about the 15th Century; many fine Arundell brasses of the 16th Century and an elaborate font of Pentewan stone of the 15th Century.

The peaceful sloping churchyard contains many gems - look for the Lantern Cross from about 1420, which has been declared by English Heritage to be of National importance and scheduled as an ancient monument, and the replica stern of a rowing boat - memorial to ten men who drifted ashore frozen to death in 1846.

The Cornish Celtic Way is a pilgrimage route covering approximately 125 miles through Cornwall, from St. Germans to St. Michael’s Mount. It incorporates over 60 miles of the coastal path as well as two established pilgrimage routes: The Saints’ Way and St. Michael’s Way. The Cornish Celtic Way is divided into 16 walks that can be done as a whole over about 12 days or can be completed in sections over a longer period of time.  St Mawgan is a part of the Cornsh Celtic way route.