St Elwyn
Hayle, Cornwall
St Elwyn is located next to the estuary of Hayle near to three miles of golden sand and it has an imposing presence above the town.
The two cell Norman church was extended by the addition of centre and south aisles and completed by 1424. By 1538 it was part buried by sand and in a poor state. Restoration was put in hand in 1727. The building bears the scars of the reformation and the Norman font was found in a nearby field and restored in 1889.
As you enter via the porch by the south door, ahead you see the beautifully preserved Norman arch leading to the north aisle. Immediately to your left is the Norman font behind which are two slate memorials, the lower being a memorial to Stephen Pawley dated 1635. The higher is dedicated to William Praed and dated 1620.
Passing through the Norman arch you will see King Charles’s letter on the north wall. To the east end of the north aisle are stairs cut into the north wall marking where the original rood screen was.
It is thought that the tower was originally detached from the Norman church but was incorporated when the present nave and south aisle were added. Behind the King Charles letter is a bricked up north door, probably closed when the sand invaded.
The very fine east window was designed by Mr MC Farrar Bell FRSA MGP, in 1973 and is nationally renowned for its design and features.
Over the entrance to the porch is a very fine 18th century sundial. Further along the south wall you can see the walled up priest’s door.
The church is surrounded by three graveyards, two of which are now closed but in one are the graves of the artist Peter Lanyon, The Reverend Bernard Walke of St Hilary and Henry Jenner the Cornish Bard. The tower houses six bells in the key of G sharp, most cast in 1836 by Taylors of Oxford.