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St. Stephen in Brannel
St Stephen in Brannel is one of the larger parishes in Cornwall (extending to almost 9.300 acres), with St Enoder, St Dennis and Roche to the north, St Mewan to the east, Creed and Probus to the south, and Ladock to the west. Lying in the heart of the china clay area, it was where (at Carloggas) William Cookworthy found high quality deposits of kaolin, and where world famous manufacturers like Wedgwood and Spode at one time had china clay pits. And ceramic grade china clay is still produced there.

The parish church is dedicated, as the parish name suggests, to St Stephen – “in Brannel” to distinguish it from the other two Cornish parishes with the same dedication (St Stephen by Launceston and St Stephens by Saltash) and showing that it had been built within the ancient and royal manor of Brannel, or ‘Bernel’ as it was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086. It is likely that a Celtic church existed on or near the site of the present church, and it is not without significance that the farm on the southern side of the main road is called Egloshellens, suggesting that an earlier place of worship may well have been dedicated to St Helen or Elant. However, the predecessor of the present church was built in about the 12th century, and dedicated on 20th August 1261 by Bishop Bronescombe of Exeter.

Caerhays and St. Dennis were daughter churches, but in about the 16th century, incumbents showed a preference for living near the sea at Caerhays, giving rise to the mistaken idea (reported by several commentators) that Caerhays was the mother church. As with most Cornish churches, it was extensively rebuilt in the 15th century, and had the misfortune to have undergone “restoration” twice in the 19th – once in 1854 and then again in 1893. Although the earlier work was said to have been done with great care, a report from 1893 (apparently based on remarks made by the architect) was less complimentary, recording that “the church has suffered more from so-called restoration in the earlier part of the century than from the ravages of time”! As a result, the only remaining traces of Norman work are in the south doorway and the font.

Although the shortest path to the church is on the south side, leading from the Square to the church porch, arguably a more attractive approach is from the west, affording a splendid view of the graceful granite tower of three stages, topped off with impressively large crocketed pinnacles. One can imagine the weight and destructive power of those pinnacles, one of which came down in 1781. The Churchwardens’ Accounts for 1783-84 record that “the large pinnacle was thrown down by lightning and thunder”, and the Churchwardens’ expenses in that year, making good the damage, amounted to the huge sum of over £518 – whereas in the previous 10 years, the annual expenses averaged only about £40.

Attached to the porch gable is a sundial. Nothing remarkable about that, but the leading expert on the sundials of Cornwall says that “this dial has more puzzles than any other in the county, and has needed more attention than any other to reach even the limited understanding we have”. The dial is canted upwards by about 34 degrees, and has 8 foreign place names engraved on its face, the significance of which is unknown. Entering the porch, immediately in front is the Norman doorway embellished with an unusual decoration – the face of the stone was chiselled away, leaving a small hemisphere standing proud, resembling the head of a nail. It can only be found in one other church in Cornwall – at Manaccan.

Stepping inside the church immediately reveals its size. The nave is quite lofty, but the typical Cornish waggon roof dates only from the 19th century – it is only the roof of the north aisle which contains any ancient woodwork. Turning left, and moving westwards towards the tower, the floor rises by several feet (as does the country on which it is built) and ahead is the glorious carved granite font of the Bodmin style. A strange mythical creature is carved on the northern side, and then, on the eastern face, what Sir John Betjeman described as “Tiger Tim”, appearing to be in a boxing match with one of his relations. Nearby is a plaque recording the fact that the church clock, with faces on each side of the tower, was installed in memory of the men of the parish who gave their lives in the First World War.

At the back of the north aisle is a wooden board with the names of all the known incumbents, from Thomas de Branel 1308-1326 up to the present time. Master Walter Wadham 1426-1430 is said to be of the same family as Nicholas Wadham who endowed Wadham College, Oxford; and Zachary Hooker alias Vowell apparently fathered one daughter and eight sons, to whom he gave unusual names – Leofric, Theobal, Amethyst, Juvenal, Balsemus, Seraphin, Palmeris & Valentine. The daughter? She was christened Katie! The chancel is simply furnished, but the east window is a memorial to those men of the parish who died in the Second World War - unveiled in 1947 and dedicated by the then Bishop of Truro. It is interesting in showing Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper in the two central panels, flanked by secular subjects – china clay on the left, and agriculture on the right. Close to its memorial plaque is another, to 14 men who fell in the earlier conflict. It refers to “members of this congregation”, but they were in fact members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the village, and the marble memorial was installed in the parish church when the chapel closed – a lovely ecumenical gesture.

The pulpit is composed of carved panels from the 17th century, and the east wall of the Lady Chapel in the south (or Tanner) aisle can be seen to be of later construction than the chancel – composed of large ashlar blocks, as opposed to random stonework. The east window of the Lady Chapel depicts the martyrdom of St Stephen, designed and made by Wippells of Exeter, and on the north wall is a copper panel of the Annunciation. Outside, in the churchyard, is an ancient granite cross, known as Treneague Cross (since that is where it was found in the 19th century) – possibly a wayside cross marking the church path to Trethosa, although there was an ancient chapel at Treneague, licensed in 1381. The final image was taken in the village cemetery, to the north of the church, showing the granite Celtic cross War Memorial – and of course the church tower is never out of sight.