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A fundraising campaign has been launched to protect and maintain the tallest church tower in Cornwall, based just five miles outside of Truro, writes Tom Howe. Probus Parish Church.
It can be found right in the heart of the bustling village of Probus, Cornwall, whose community it welcomes for different events every day of the week.
They range from regular church services and coffee mornings, to messy play and food larders, helping to support education, well-being and community interaction.
This year marks the 170th anniversary of works to alter the building, which sits on what is thought to be a Celtic christian site dating back to the early fifth century.
Andy McCarthey, church warden and acting treasurer, told CHAOS Radio: “The building itself is lovely but it’s also massive. It was last properly altered in 1854 by the Victorians and a lot of what they did wasn’t much better than the medieval building they were trying to fix. They put on about two thirds of a new roof, got rid of the curved roof structure and replaced that with straight rafters.
“They did a lot of things but much of that is crumbling and needs looking at. It was paid for, I believe, by a village tax raised on the local residents, along with some money from the local big house. The building has just kind of ticked along with a bit of tinkering for the last 150 years and that’s starting to come home to roost.
“We are actively promoting a building fund. The roof needs a really good overhaul. It is all quite expensive and needs to be done properly. Alongside that, the walls need to be well drained and pointed so they are not collecting water. We are trying our best to chip away at that. Our responsibility is to look after the building whilst we are around.
“We are trying to make sure the space is usable for the community, trying to work out the best ways that we can put on events that people can enjoy and interact with the building. People who live in the village, who want to see the church thrive and look good forever must recognize that it’s as much their church as anybody else’s and see what they can do to help.”
Work on the impressive Probus Parish church tower, which stands at an imposing 38.35m, began circa 1523 and features eight bells which are described as ‘one of the finest peals in Cornwall’.
“It is quite a famous building,” continued McCarthey. “We get people from all over the country visiting because it is in the various church guidebooks. It is very impressive, there is no doubt about it. The bells are well regarded and famous too and the whole church is of a different scale, really.
“You go to many other villages around and you are suddenly shocked by how small the church looks compared to Probus. We are very privileged that you can get a building as beautiful as our church and have it open all day long, unsupervised. If you haven’t grown up in Cornwall, you don’t necessarily realise how unusual that is.
“The vast majority of churches are locked up nowadays but we live in quite a respectful community who generally like the building and people behave well so there is no problem with having it unlocked. People can wander in and have a look around the nice architecture or bring their kids around.
“The future of it is to be a really useful resource for Probus and I think the community have a really good regard for it. The events we put on are well attended and supported. The thing that keeps me awake is making sure that that building is going to be there forever, or at least as far as we can imagine.”
Should you be unable to support the church in a monetary capacity, there are numerous other ways that you can involve yourself in safeguarding the site for future generations.
McCarthey concluded: “We need to be thinking about how we can have this building sustainably maintained and more useful to the community. If you want the church to be there for your kids to get married in or for future funerals et cetera, we need to recognize that that building is a big, expensive one that needs quite a lot of commitment to keep going.
“Being useful to the community isn’t about somehow convincing people to come on Sunday. If people can feel part of a larger community by how they engage with that church during the week, then that is just as good.
“We are trying to put on more good, interesting community events and all of those need volunteers to help with the organisation and the delivery of those events. There are plenty of jobs to do around the building, too. There’s also a really active churchyard group that is focused on getting the churchyard looking amazing and attracting more wildlife to the area.
“I think if we are going to have a beautiful, well-maintained and useful building in Probus forever, then people who live here need to recognize it’s theirs. They don’t want the church sat in the centre of the village being empty and decaying. That would be a real loss to the community.”
For more information bout Probus Parish Church, Cornwall, including an extensive list of events and a link to support with their fundraising, head on over to https://probuschurch.com.
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