Owned By The Community
ABOUT THE PROJECT
St Day Holy Trinity (Old Church) has begun an exciting new future in the ownership of the St Day Old Church Community Interest Company (CIC), which has been formed to conserve the fabric of the building and develop its use as a heritage, education and arts venue benefiting the Cornish community – both local and worldwide. As well as providing a wonderful outdoor space for the local community to come together for events and enjoy their heritage, St Day Old Church, sited in the heart of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, celebrates its ties with the Cornish diaspora and regularly welcomes visitors whose ancestors called St Day their home.
This evocative ruined building, once likened by poet Sir John Betjeman to “an ecclesiastical toy fort”, offers a unique sense of place:
-
A much-loved focus for family memories and history.
-
An inspiring atmospheric space for writers, artists and performers.
-
An engaging place of discovery and imagination for educational groups.
-
A romantic gothic venue for celebrations.
-
A tranquil setting for reflection.
ABOUT THE BUILDING
The church was built in 1826-8 to designs by Charles Hutchens of Torpoint and was one of twelve in Cornwall funded by the Church Building Commissioners from money made available for church building following the Battle of Waterloo. Constructed of local grey granite ashlar in the “Commissioners' Gothick” style, it consisted of a five-bay rectangular nave, a shallow three-sided apse at the east end and a west tower. Internal galleries around the north, west and south walls meant the new church could seat 1,500 people.
Built at a time when the local population was expanding rapidly due to the booming mining industry, the church proved far too big as mining declined in the second half of the 19th century, and in 1931 the galleries were removed, compromising the stability of the building.
In 1956 the Old Church was declared unsafe due to structural problems and was closed. The congregation moved into the former hall building on the opposite side of Church Street, and that now serves as the parish church of St Day.
By the 1980s the fabric of the Old Church had deteriorated and in 1985 vandalism caused part of the roof to fall in and, as a result, the remainder of the roof was demolished using explosives.
The building was left in a sorry state, full of rubble, for a number of years, until 1988 when the St Day Old Church Appeal Committee was formed to save the building. Some essential renovation work, including a new lightning conductor, was carried out in 1994, and after The Trevithick Trust secured the lease of Old Church from the Diocese of Truro in 1999 the Old Church underwent a major programme of structural stabilisation works allowing public access once more.
The Old Church is grade II listed and situated within a Conservation Area and World Heritage Site.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Before we could reopen the Old Church to the public, some essential repairs were needed to the windows and we are delighted to say that this work was completed in December 2019. Work has continued during 2020 and 2021 to bring an electricity supply to the building, adapt the remains of the vestry area to create a roofed dressing room and store, and to reinstate the original front entrance to the church.
Meanwhile we are working with creative partners to bring exciting community events to the Old Church.
Follow us on Facebook for more details as they are announced.
Some of the great workshops run by The Day-Light Group in preparation for the very special Signs & Wonders 'DiaspAURA' light event in February 2020. You can see videos of this amazing event on our GALLERY page.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
There are many ways in which you can get involved and support St Day Old Church.
Make a donation
You can donate today via PayPal.
Become a regular supporter
You can join the ranks of our supporters who have generously pledged £50 a year to help maintain the Old Church and have set up annual Standing Orders. For further details on how to do this please contact us.
Volunteer
There is plenty to be done in maintaining and running the Old Church, and we welcome anyone in the local community who would like to help out with practical activities, from stewarding events and welcoming visitors, to simple and more specialist building tasks.
Come and explore, or attend a show
We are hoping to open the Old Church to visitors on a regular basis as soon as we have recruited sufficient volunteer stewards. In the meantime, look out for details of open days on our Events page or by following us on Facebook.
Group visits or activities at other times can be arranged on request.
We are contacted regularly by theatre companies, musicians and community groups keen to put on performances and exhibitions in the Old Church, so look out for details as events are announced in the near future.
Follow us on social media
For the latest information on all the exciting developments at St Day Old Church, follow us on Facebook.
Support as a business
We are very grateful to local businesses who have provided goods and services for free or at a substantial discount.
Thank you to:
Trevithick Window Cleaners (algae removal from paths)
