St. Ervan Rumford Padstow
01637 880252
http://www.lannpydar.org.uk/stervan

The history of the church

The church is tucked away in the depths of the Cornish countryside in the centre of St.Ervan Churchtown with its Victorian Rectory and School-house and its older "Kiddlywink" (The Farmhouse) and Glebe Farm. If you have the benefit of a satnav our postcode is PL27 7TA, otherwise find the village of Rumford and ask for directions.

The lane from the church runs down to a mill known to date from 1276, with a christening well on the right, halfway down. The church was supported by the Arundells who lived at the manor of Trembleath as early as 1240 and the first mention of the church that survives is 1208.

The present church was built in the 13th and 14th centuries and it has never been enlarged. The original tower, 50 feet high and built in the 14th/15th centuries had the upper part brought down by explosives in the 1880s, but it was not properly capped until 1956 and now stands 24 feet high. The chancel has a twist to the south. There are 10 slate memorials and 2 marble memorials on the walls and a Georgian Pulpit which was thrown out with the box pews in 1880 and returned this century.

John Betjeman mentioned the church in his poem "Summoned by Bells".  A framed extract can be found in the church.