Church

St Uvelas, St Eval

St Uvelas, St Eval

The Church of St Uvelus (St Eval) is a Grade I parish church on the north Cornwall plateau, in the Diocese of Truro. Its tower is a long-standing sea mark; the church now stands among the former runways of RAF St Eval.

Location
St Eval, Cornwall
Country
England
County
Cornwall
City / town
St Eval
Address
St Eval, Cornwall, PL27 7UG
Postcode
PL27 7UG
Built
Late C11 or early C12; C15 nave, chancel and south aisle; tower rebuilt 1724–27
Architect
J D Sedding (1889 restoration)
Denomination
Church of England
Dedication
Uvelas
Diocese
Truro
Parish
St Eval
Grade
I
Style
Norman and Perpendicular; Georgian tower
Materials
Slate rubble with Catacleuse and granite dressings; slate roofs
Grid reference
SW 871 691
Opening hours
The church is open daily, approximately 9am to 5pm. There are two steps to enter the church. We do have a ramp which can be used by arrangement but it is not in place all the time.
Access
Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets in church

Overview

Historic England dates the Norman north nave wall to the late eleventh or early twelfth century. A rebuilt north transept is probably thirteenth-century. In the fifteenth century the nave (except the north wall), chancel, six-bay south aisle and south porch were rebuilt. The west tower collapsed in 1700 and was re-erected in 1724–27, in the old style, by Bristol merchants as a navigation landmark; the north porch was added in 1724. J. D. Sedding restored and reseated the church in 1889 and added pinnacles to the tower. Fabric is slate rubble with Catacleuse and granite dressings and slate roofs.

Fittings include a plain Norman font, the base of the rood screen, an octagonal pulpit dated 1688 (parish sources also give 1638 on the base stringers), and reused sixteenth-century bench ends. Wikipedia notes stained glass of 1989 commemorating the RAF station and Commonwealth war graves in the churchyard. Most of Churchtown was demolished for the airfield in 1938; the church tower served as an observation post in the Second World War.

Further Information