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Holy Name, Boyton, Cornwall

Location
(50°42′11″N, 4°22′49″W)
Boyton
SX 320 920
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Cornwall
now Cornwall
medieval Exeter
now Truro
medieval Holy Name
now Holy Name
  • Richard Jewell
26 Sept 1998

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Feature Sets
Description

Nothing remains from the Norman church except the font and the lower part of the chancel walls; no architectural sculpture.

History

Before the Conquest, the manor of Boyton had belonged to Tavistock Abbey, but was unjustly seized by the Count of Mortain, and later the chapel belonged to Launceston Priory. The Domesday Book mentions no church at Boyton, but the style of the font could indicate a fairly early date for the Norman building.

Features

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

The font with its oval bowl is reminiscent of other Cornish examples: Washaway (originally from Lanteglos-by-Camelford) and Morwenstowe, and like them probably dates from the late 11thc.; it also reminds one of nearby Tresmeer font, which also has a squat stem resting on a low round plinth monolithic with the step.

Bibliography

P. Beacham and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cornwall (New Haven and London 2014), p. 123.

C. Henderson, The Cornish Church Guide, (London 1925), p. 30.

A Complete Parochial History of the County of Cornwall, Vol. I (Truro and London 1867), pp. 116-117.

N. Pevsner and E. Radcliffe, The Buildings of England: Cornwall, 2nd ed (Harmondsworth 1970), p. 45.

E. H. Sedding, Norman Architecture in Cornwall: A Handbook to old Cornish ecclesiastical architecture with notes on ancient manor houses (London and Truro 1909), pp. 38-39.

A History of the County of Cornwall, Vol. 2, parts 5 and 8: The Domesday Survey for Cornwall, Victoria County History (London 1924), p. 67, 103.