The project

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St Torney’s Church has served the quaint rural community of North Hill in some capacity since Norman rule, and is dedicated to Saint Torney, an Irish missionary who set about spreading Christianity in the region following the ruthless Saxon invasion in the 6th and 7th centuries. The oldest feature of the church is its striking Norman font, a nod to the traditions of the village in centuries gone by. The earliest part of the building itself is the 14th century chancel, while the remainder of the church was built throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, including a beautiful wagon roof and impressive arcading. The church tower also happens to be one of the tallest in east Cornwall.

Following its closure in 2019, St Torney’s was the second Cornish church to be taken on by the Churches Conservation Trust in April 2022, a charity that funds essential repair work to conserve and protect the ancient churches of England.

Since then, the church has undergone incredible restoration and conservation work led by Meriel O’Dowd, conservation project manager for the Churches Conservation Trust, and Rebecca Harrison as architect. The project included grouting, repointing and re-roofing of the tower, repointing the nave and chancel, replastering of the aisles, as well as work to conserve some of the monuments and stained glass windows.

Conservation project manager, Meriel O’Dowd, said: “It has been a privilege to work on the beautiful, ancient stones of this church to bring it back from being a cold, damp, unused building to a bright and welcoming community space that is open to everyone and can continue to serve and have purpose for another 500 years.”

Going forward, the Churches Conservation Trust will continue to look after St Torney’s for the benefit of the community.

Looking to the future

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The weekend of the 19th October saw the the church reopen to the public for the first time since 2019, with a celebratory service, art and flower displays, talks on its history and the restoration, as well as a chance to meet some members of the team who are today’s custodians of the building, and an opportunity to imagine what could soon be brought to the sweeping aisles of this stunning Cornish church in the near future.

Sarah Latham, a local involved, said: “St Torney’s is a church of significant historic importance. It would have had mining money poured into it and, during the Wars of the Roses, came into the hands of the Courtenay family, the Earls of Devon. Interestingly in 1495, William Courtenay married Catherine of York, younger daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and sister to the Princes in the Tower.”

The aim now, is to get the church up and running on a regular basis once again. It is hoped six services will take place throughout the year and, with the building’s rich history tumbling across the centuries, that the church will become a centre for heritage activities, talks and discoveries. With stunning acoustics, it’s a promising space for concerts.

“We’re really looking forward to putting on events in the future, which we hope will attract the community,” Sarah continued. “For this church to survive, it’s about adapting. It’s a significant building; some of the monuments are quite extraordinary. It has been visited by both John Betjeman and John Piper, who admired the architectural language.”

Community importance

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For many, the power churches can have on a community is astounding. Families and friends come together to celebrate births, marriages and say goodbye to loved ones; they provide a chance for reflection; and they are safe spaces where communities gather to be with one another.

“For me, this church means a lot. It holds huge memories of my family,” Sarah said. “The community feel as though they are connected to their family and friends in the graveyard and with their ancestors.”

Local community officer for the Churches Conservation Trust, Marie Leverett, added: “We are so excited to welcome the community back into St Torney’s to see the work our conservation team have been carrying out over the last few years, and to enjoy this incredible space. We hope to see the church at the heart of the community, used and enjoyed for activities and events such as concerts, talks, tours and exhibitions.”

There is plenty of interesting information about St Torney’s Church at https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-torney-north-hill and in Trebartha - The House by the Stream by Bryan Latham. Keep an eye out for more information about events taking place at St Torney’s. There is to be a carol concert in the run-up to Christmas on Thursday 19th December.

For further information about St Torney’s Church and upcoming events, email mleverett@thecct.org.uk