Colan Church

St Colanus’ Church stands beside Ryalton Stream in a quiet corner of mid-Cornwall, between St Columb Major and Newquay. Built in the 13th century and enlarged in the 15th, it is a Grade I listed building of slatestone and granite. The tower rises in two stages, its upper part in fine ashlar masonry. Inside, the wagon-shaped roof is carried on carved bosses, and the walls are plastered. A four-centred arch frames the north door with its strap hinges, while the south porch has granite benches along its sides. The church is dedicated to St Colanus, a 7th-century Welsh saint whose other shrines lie in Wales and Brittany. In 1336 Bishop John Grandisson rededicated the building, and the present tower was rebuilt in 1879 after years of neglect. The interior still shows the 15th-century south transept and the Perpendicular windows with varied tracery. Two monumental brasses recall Francis Bluet and his wife Elizabeth Colan, and John Coswarth, Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall. Outside, the churchyard contains a lychgate at the southern entrance and a war memorial for the parish dead of two world wars. A 15th-century Gothic cross, once lost in a hedge, now stands near the tower. A sundial dated 1724 marks the passing hours, and the Thomas Monument bears the inscription ‘Death spares none’. The stream and surrounding fields offer quiet walks among wildlife.