St Ervan

St Ervan is a small rural parish in North Cornwall, England, UK.

The parish church has a very unusual tower, it originally stood only 50 feet high and was built in the 14th/15th centuries. It had the upper part brought down by explosives in the 1880s, but it was not properly capped until 1956 and now stands 24 feet high.

English poet, Sir John Betjeman mentioned the church in his poem "Summoned by Bells" (1960), chapter VIII

"The time was tea-time, calm free-wheeling time,"
"When from slashed tree-tops in the combe below"
"I heard a bell-note floating to the sun:"
"It gave significance to lichened stone"
"And large red admirals with outspread wings"
"Basking on buddleia. So, coasting down"
"In the cool shade of interlacing boughs,"
"I found St Ervan's partly ruined church."
"Its bearded Rector, holding in one hand"
"A gong-stick, in the other hand a book,"
"Struck, while he read, a heavy-sounding bell,"
"Hung from an elm bough by the churchyard gate."
"Better come in. It's time for Evensong."

External links

*http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/StErvan/index.html
* [http://www.stmawgan.org.uk/st_ervan_plan.htm Inside St Ervan church]
* [http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='st%20ervan') Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Ervan]