Torquil and Ruth McNeilage, of McNeilage Consevation, have done a wonderful job restoring the monument to young Michael Hill and it is now back in its place in the Manaton Chapel at St Sampson's.Michael Hill was the eldest son of Frances (nee Manaton 1616-c.1699), of South Hill, and her husband Michael Hill of Wendron near Helston. Michael died aged about eight in 1663. We have been unable to trace his burial in Cornwall parish records, so we were not sure whether he was buried in his father’s parish of Wendron or here in his mother’s church at South Hill. Following conservation of the monument to young Michael the mystery has been solved. The previously barely legible lettering of the inscription has been carefully repainted and now clearly reads "Nere unto this place lieth the body of Michael Hill .... who departed this life the 17th June 1633". - Confirmation that young Michael was laid to rest here among his forbears, in the Manaton Chapel of St Sampson's church. Two of Frances Hill's Manaton sisters never married and probably remained living in the family home at South Hill. Perhaps it was these two sorrowing aunts who erected the memorial to their young nephew, in the family chapel where they would have worshipped every Sunday.The monument centres on a relief portrait of the young deceased Michael, with his books on a writing table and striking a thoughtful pose. It was described by Torquil McNeilage, in his conservation report, as "both individual and finely wrought. The figure of the deceased Michael Hill has a rare intimacy and character in his melancholic pose, surrounded by his books, whilst the inscription is simultaneously charming and heartfelt.” The monument would have been coloured originally and the columns painted to resemble veined alabaster or marble. Torquil and Ruth discovered that much of the colouring had survived, albeit in a fragmentary state, under the grime of centuries and after thorough cleaning some of the original colour and marbling can at last be seen again.As part of the work to restore the Manaton chapel and turn it into a warm dry meeting space, we intend to install suitable lighting so that Michael Hill's charming monument can be fully appreciated by everyone.Please click the link above to download a copy of the Conservation Report. Many thanks to Torquil and Ruth McNeilage for all their work.The Conservation Report and all photographs are copyright McNeilage Conservation and South Hill PCC and must not be reproduced without permission.
At our Sunday With a Difference service on Sunday 25th November we will be considering safeguarding and talking and praying about how Christians across the country and in our own church are working to protect and look after victims and survivors of abuse.Come and join our informal cafe style service - refreshments available throughout. Last year, more than 3,000 churches took part in the event, with this year looking to be bigger than ever. Having taken part in the campaign, churches reported: greater positive awareness and understanding of safeguarding among church members an increase in the number of people feeling able to talk about their abuse for the first time more volunteers coming forward for safeguarding roles and to help with children’s and youth work an increased number of people completing safeguarding training and criminal record checks.
St Sampson's Church recently entered the National Churches Trust award for maintenance and were short listed to the final 12. National Churches' Trust told us, “your church, whilst not a winner, is one that the judges wanted to highlight as one of the Highly Commended projects". The ceremony is on Monday 6th November 4-6.30pm. All the finalists will be mentioned in the films and the programme, you can sign up for free here <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/715886605107?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwAR2EP62-Wt5LrDlnIOUlfIPJdfE9q1btqeS0EakG1bAwtCAsGNOcbaw4fS4">https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/715886605107...</a>
Thirteen is a good number for St Sampson’s Church. All our thirteen windows have been restored with the help of thirteen grant funders and three individuals. A grand total of £53,000 was raised. Thank you to you all.Our funding research took us in all directions and we made some fascinating discoveries. Many pleasant hours were spent wading through family trees and church records. We discovered connections all around the world, as well as a short distance down the road. We discovered a link to William Wilberforce and the campaign for the abolition of slavery - the east window above the altar is dedicated to Admiral Samuel Thornton who died in 1859. Samuel Thornton was the brother of Emily Rice, wife of the then Rector, Revd. HM (Horace) Rice. Samuel Thornton and his sister Emily were the children of Samuel Thornton, MP for Surrey, a campaigner with his more famous nephew and friend, William Wilberforce MP, for the abolition of slavery. Both men were part of the so-called Clapham SectThe chancel (south) window is dedicated to Major Percy John Rice (1810-1850) and Lucy Maria Elton (nee Rice) (1814- 1846), brother and sister of the then Rector of South Hill, Revd. Horace Rice. The inscription contains the words “Ah my brother! Ah my sister!” Lucy Maria was the great, great, Grandmother of Julia Rice Elton, who we traced. She was unaware of her family window but delighted to discover it.Other windows are connected to Victorian Curates of South Hill - Mary Fookes (south aisle west window) was the mother of Curate William Fookes and the tower west window is dedicated to John Sergeant, Curate for sixty years.Other windows are dedicated to local families, descendants of some of whom still live in the parish. Full details of our research so far are in a folder in the church.The work to repair the windows started in November 2021 . What a wonderful moment in January when the first three restored windows were replaced. No-one realised exactly how much difference it would make. No more rusty bars, no more wobbly glass panes - simply beautiful windows letting in the light and allowing us to see the trees outside. Five more windows were taken out in the intense heatwave of August 2022 and put back in December, amid freezing temperatures. The inscriptions can all now be easily read, the colours of the stained glass vibrant and fulsome. It feels like a true honouring of the local families Trehane, Body, Dunston and Hitchens.The final five windows were removed in May 2023, including the East window, which was a sad sight to see boarded up, but glorious when replaced in August. By the end of September 2023 all our windows were back.How wonderful that all the windows are now fully restored. Watching the skilled heritage craftsmen of Dan Humphries Stained glass Ltd and C.F. Piper & son at work has been amazing. Their knowledge is immense, and we are very grateful to them for the sensitive restoration that they completed. And it came in under budget!
