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St Hilary - church
The church in the village of St Hilary is dedicated to St Hilary of Poitier and is remarkable for its collection of artworks by members of the Newlyn School in particular the "Lamorna Group" of that school.
A disastrous fire in 1853 destroyed all but the C13th tower and the rest of the church was subsequently rebuilt in the Victorian Gothic style but it had few interior fittings. In 1912 Bernard Walke became vicar, and with his wife Annie they contacted their friends in the Lamorna Group and many artworks - some by Annie herself - were gifted to the church resulting in the unique collection that exists there today. The services and decoration are of the "High Church" Anglo-Catholic style and were not universally popular; so much so that on 8th August 1932 a group of extreme Protestant agitators broke into the church and removed, destroyed or damaged many of the fittings and furnishings - a recent example of iconoclasm.
Fortunately many items survived and those removed have mostly been returned.
There are artworks by Annie Walke (the former vicar's wife), Ernest & Dod Proctor, Harold Harvey, Norman Garstin, Harold Knight, Alathea Garstin and Gladys Hynes as well as a set of paintings by Joan Manning Saunders made when she was just 10 to 12 years old.
Also in the church are earlier artworks, notably a C14th statue of St Anne and a C17th one of St Joseph (respectively mother and husband of St Mary).
Even older is a C4th Roman milestone inscribed with tribute to the Emperor Constantine.
The church is EH Grade I listed: Link
The churchyard contains Scheduled Ancient Monuments:
Early Christian Memorial Stone: Link
Wayside Crosses: Link
See also the Megalithic Portal for information about the ancient stones both inside and outside the church: Link
A disastrous fire in 1853 destroyed all but the C13th tower and the rest of the church was subsequently rebuilt in the Victorian Gothic style but it had few interior fittings. In 1912 Bernard Walke became vicar, and with his wife Annie they contacted their friends in the Lamorna Group and many artworks - some by Annie herself - were gifted to the church resulting in the unique collection that exists there today. The services and decoration are of the "High Church" Anglo-Catholic style and were not universally popular; so much so that on 8th August 1932 a group of extreme Protestant agitators broke into the church and removed, destroyed or damaged many of the fittings and furnishings - a recent example of iconoclasm.
Fortunately many items survived and those removed have mostly been returned.
There are artworks by Annie Walke (the former vicar's wife), Ernest & Dod Proctor, Harold Harvey, Norman Garstin, Harold Knight, Alathea Garstin and Gladys Hynes as well as a set of paintings by Joan Manning Saunders made when she was just 10 to 12 years old.
Also in the church are earlier artworks, notably a C14th statue of St Anne and a C17th one of St Joseph (respectively mother and husband of St Mary).
Even older is a C4th Roman milestone inscribed with tribute to the Emperor Constantine.
The church is EH Grade I listed: Link
The churchyard contains Scheduled Ancient Monuments:
Early Christian Memorial Stone: Link
Wayside Crosses: Link
See also the Megalithic Portal for information about the ancient stones both inside and outside the church: Link
by Rob Farrow
Created: Mon, 28 Jul 2025, Updated: Sun, 3 Aug 2025
20 images use this description: (all images taken in 2025)
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