St Helen's Church, Lundy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint Helen's Church |
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View from the north-east
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| Location | Lundy, Devon, England |
| Built | 1896 |
| Architect | John Norton |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival |
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Saint Helen's Church is an Anglican church on Lundy island. Lundy is a small island about 19 kilometers (12 miles) off the coast of Devon, England. The church is not used for services very often because there isn't a priest living on the island. However, it is always open for visitors to explore. It is part of the Diocese of Exeter, which is a large church area.
Contents
History of Saint Helen's Church
The area where the church stands was first used as a burial ground. Old memorial stones found here date back to between the 5th and 8th centuries. A church was started in 1244, but it didn't have an official name. Later, in 1254, it was sometimes called "Church of St Mary."
There was also a small chapel on the island, likely built in the 12th or 13th century. This chapel was dedicated to Saint Elena. Over time, it fell apart by the 1600s. For a short while, a temporary church made of corrugated iron was used, starting in 1885.
The church you see today is made of stone and has a square tower. It was built in the mid-1890s. A man named Reverend Hudson Grosett Heaven started its construction. The money for the church came from a gift left in 1895 by Sarah Langworthy. Her family, the Heaven family, owned Lundy island from 1834 to 1918.
A famous architect from the Victorian era, John Norton, designed the church. It was finished in 1896. The church was officially opened and blessed on June 17, 1897. This ceremony was led by Edward Bickersteth, who was the Bishop of Exeter at the time.
Building the Church
The church is built in a slightly unusual direction, from northwest to southeast. Most churches are built from east to west. This might be because of a deep layer of clay found when they dug the foundations.
The church is mostly built from local granite blocks. These stones came from old, ruined cottages on the island. The church tower is quite tall, about 23 meters (75 feet) high. Building the church cost a lot of money, over £4,000, which was a huge sum back then.
Church Connections
In December 2013, Lundy island officially became its own church parish. Saint Helen's Church became the main church for this new parish. Before this, Lundy was considered an "extra parochial place." This meant it wasn't part of any church parish. (Lundy is still not part of any local government parish.)
The church and the island are part of a larger church group. This group includes the Deanery of Hartland, the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple, and the Diocese of Exeter.
Inside and Outside the Church
The church roof is made of slate and has decorative stone edges. The tower has a small stair turret next to it. At the top of the tower, you can see battlements, which look like the tops of old castles. There are also stone gargoyles at the corners. The bell openings are tall and narrow, with fancy tops.
Above the main entrance, there is a clock face. Below the clock, there's a small space with a statue of Saint Helen. The doorway itself is arched and has a wooden gate.
Inside, the church has a main hall called a nave. There's a porch under the tower and a special area for the altar called a chancel. On the north side, there's a small room called a vestry. The inside walls are made of different colored bricks, mostly red with black and white stripes.
The arch leading to the chancel is decorated with carved stone. The altar screen, called a reredos, has carvings of the Last Supper. The large window at the east end and a round window at the west end have beautiful stained glass.
Other interesting things inside include a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels) and a sedile (seats for priests). There's also an altar rail made of wrought iron, a low stone screen, a carved stone pulpit for sermons, and a square font for baptisms. You can see fancy wrought iron lamp brackets on the walls. There's also a pipe organ and wooden benches for people to sit on. The church also has special choir stalls and a carved wooden eagle lectern for reading.
Church Bells
A set of eight bells was put into the tower in 1897. This cost an extra £425. By the late 1920s, the bells became unsafe to use. They were taken out of the tower in the 1950s and stored in the porch.
The bells were finally fixed and put back into the tower in July 1994. They were ready to be rung again! In 2004, two more smaller bells were added. This made a total of ten bells. Many bell ringers who visit the island enjoy ringing these bells.
Saint Helen's Centre
By 2018, a ten-year project to fix up the church and add new facilities was finished. This project created the Saint Helen's Centre. Many groups worked together on this, including the Church of England and the National Trust. The National Lottery gave almost £1 million to help with the restoration.
Now, the Saint Helen's Centre is more than just a church. It's a place for studying the island and for holding exhibitions and talks. It also offers a warm, safe place for people to go when the weather is bad on the island.
About Saint Helen
As mentioned, there is a statue of Saint Helen on the church tower. The words under the statue say "Sancta Helena." This is the Latin way of saying Saint Helen. All official church papers call the church "Saint Helen Lundy Island."
However, in the early 1900s, some newspaper writers visited the island. They saw the Latin inscription and started calling the church "St Helena." Other writers then copied this, and the mistake spread. Even some official documents and books started using the name "St Helena." But the correct name is Saint Helen's Church.
