St Levan's Church, St Levan

St Levan Church, St Levan is a parish church in the Church of England located in St Levan, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Until 1864 the church was a chapelry of the Royal Peculiar of the Deanery of St Buryan. It is now part of the united benefice of St Buryan and St Sennen.

St Levan Church, St Levan
St Levan Church
50°02′33″N 05°39′36″W
OS grid reference	SW380222
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	www.stlevanchurch.org.uk
History
Dedication	Selevan, or Salomon
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Truro
Archdeaconry	Cornwall
Parish	St Levan, Penwith
Location of St Levan's Church, St Levan in Cornwall
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Church of Saint Levan
Designated	15 December 1988
Reference no.	1143872

History

The church of St Levan is medieval.^[1] It was heavily rebuilt in the twelfth century and extended in the fifteenth century.^[2] In 1874 it was restored by J. D. Sedding to a more medieval appearance.^[3]

St Levan (properly Selevan, a Celtic form of Solomon) according to the Life of St Kybi was a Cornishman and the father of Kybi. In the department of Morbihan are four places probably connected to the same saint, who probably lived in the 6th or 7th century. On the cliff at St Levan is St Levan's Well and below it the probable remains of his chapel, which were described by William Borlase in his Antiquities.^[4] For more information on the saint see Salomon of Cornwall.

William Alsa, a local priest, was hanged for taking part in the 1549 Prayer Book Rebellion.^[3]

Bells

The tower contains three bells dating from 1641 (John Beaskam), 1754 (Abel Rudhall) and 1881 (Mears & Stainbank).^[5]

Stone crosses

Langdon (1896) records six stone crosses in the parish, of which two are in the churchyard.

Stained window

A stained glass window, the work of Messrs Joseph Bell and Son of Bristol, was placed in the chancel in March 1880. The window depicts Jesus, holding a child, between St Peter and St John and is in memory of Achile Baglehole who died when he fell off the cliff at Land's End in July 1879.^[6]

Media

St Levan's Church was featured in the first series of the BBC's Doctor Who.^{[citation needed]}