Church of St Winnow

St Winnow’s Church stands beside the Fowey River in south Cornwall, a Grade I listed building whose present form is mostly 15th century. Norman stonework survives in the north walls, while the tower and south aisle were added later in the Middle Ages. The rood screen from about 1520, medieval stained glass, and carved bench ends are among its notable features. The tower unusually houses two separate peals of bells, one dating back to 1754 and a new ring installed in 2017. The church was partly rebuilt in the 13th century and enlarged again in the 15th. Sections of the north wall were renewed in the late 19th century. The rood screen’s figures of the Crucifixion, the Virgin, and St John were added in 1918 after earlier restoration. Bench ends show vernacular scenes such as a sailing ship in a storm and a man drinking. The granite font, probably 15th century, has an inscribed bowl and a 17th-century oak cover. The octagonal oak pulpit, carved about 1620, is richly decorated. Painted boards include a letter from King Charles I and a parish board dated 1775. Medieval glass fragments survive in the chancel and north windows. Inside, wagon roofs with moulded ribs and carved bosses cover the nave, chancel, south aisle, and porch. The six-bay granite arcade to the south aisle has moulded octagonal capitals. The tower arch is partly blocked, and the north transept arch was rebuilt in the 13th century. The church retains a one-manual organ with nine speaking stops. Outside, the slate roofs and granite details reflect the building’s long history.