Stained Glass of Percy Bacon
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Posted 31 August 2022.
The church we see today is modern, designed by George H. Fellowes-Prynne and built in 1896 in a typical Fellowes-Prynne Arts and Crafts style. This replaced an earlier church built in 1802 to a design by James Wyatt which in turn replaced the 14th century Old Kea Church, whose remains lie close by the Truro River some two miles to the east. A framed architect's drawing of the Wyatt church sketched by Fellowes-Prynne hangs on the wall of the present church, and reveals itself as built in the "English Baroque" style; a rectangular box with round headed windows on the south side and a regular series of circular openings on the north, a style much favoured in London at the time, but very much out of place in rural Cornwall. It seems this church was generally disliked from the very beginning, being described as, "a frightful edifice",1 and it was clearly badly constructed as it suffered from many failings over its rather short life.
The rest of that original parish church at Old Kea was pulled down and the materials spread around the parish, leaving only the tower which still stands to its full height. The demolition of the 14th century church was seen by some (and not least by the Rev. Jeffreys Wilkins Murray, incumbent of All Hallows from 1858 to 1863) as a crass act of wanton vandalism. In a letter to the Royal Cornwall Gazette dated 22 November 1861 in reference to the Wyatt church, and head-lined, "Insecure State of St Kea Parish Church", the Rev. Murray lamented the loss of Old Kea Church, describing the great difficulties the demolition contractor faced due to the, "strength of its walls and general durability throughout". He went on;
The Rev. Murray took a deep interest in the church at Old Kea, and in the people who lived around the abandoned sanctuary, and had he been able he would have rebuilt the church there. He did, however, restore and enlarge a chapel of ease which had been built in the grounds of the old church for the benefit of those who lived nearby, mostly at his own expense.2
At the time the Rev. Murray was writing his letter to the Gazette, the Wyatt church was already in a parlous state, and though comparatively young, was quite ready, with a little persuasion, to come down.
The Fellowes-Prynne church we see today is a fine example of his craft. The panels on the
altar table
were painted by Prynne's brother Edward, with whom he would often collaborate on the decoration of his churches. One item which did survive from Old Kea Church is the fine pedestalled
Norman font,
in the "Bodmin" school style. Similar fonts can be seen at nearby
St Wenn, Jacobstow,
Warbstow,
Altarnon and elsewhere in Cornwall.
East Window: 1926
There is one Percy Bacon window in All Hallows; the east, of five lights and tracery, whose theme is, "The Church Triumphant". The window depicts Christ the King, surrounded by prophets, saints, and unusually (and not without controversy) two ecclesiastics with connections to Truro; the missionary priest to the peoples of India and Persia, Henry Martyn, and Bishop John Gott, third Bishop of Truro from 1891 until his death in 1906. The window was donated by Elizabeth Frances Ann Daubuz, daughter of Revd John Daubuz of Killiow, and dedicated to members of the Daubuz Family.
The development of the window's design is recorded in an exchange of letters between the donor, Miss Daubuz, George Fellowes Prynne, the architect of the church, Percy Bacon, the artist, Walter Damarel Coode, one of the churchwardens, Canon H. Holroyd Mills, rector of St. Stephen-in-Brannel and Honorary Secretary of the Diocesan Advisory Committee on Faculties, and Mr. H.L. Cowlard, Diocesan Registrar, all held by the Cornish Record Office, Kresen Kernow5 6. The correspondence also reveals Prynne's objection to the insertion of the two modern ecclesiatics, but it seem no amount of gentle pursuasion would sway Miss Daubuz's resolve to include them. In the first instance, Miss Daubuz was recommended by Canon Holroyd-Mills to contact Prynne to discuss the proposals for the window. Canon Mills had already suggested Miss Daubuz look at windows by Percy Bacon in nearby Mawgan-in-Pydar and Ladock. Later in the development of the design, and having commissioned Bacon to prepare outline designs, Prynne, writing to Miss Daubuz, states:
Miss Daubuz clearly got her way; the arrangement of the figures in the final window varies considerably with the original design, 8 (see also Cornish Stained Glass), and the two saintly figures in the bottom right light were replaced with likenesses of Henry Martyn and Bishop John Gott.
The subjects in the window are:
Isaiah & Jeremiah | St John Bpt & B V Mary | Christ the King | St John Ev & St Mary Magdalene | Ezekiel & "Great Unknown"*
St Peter & St Paul | St George & St Piran | Archangels Gabriel & Michael | St Kea & King Arthur | Henry Martyn** & Bishop John Gott.
In the tracery: Arms of Diocese of Truro, Arms of Daubuz, Arms of Coode, Arms of City of Truro.
The design of Christ with arms aloft was used in the west window at Holy Trinity, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire amongst other places.
Footnotes:
* Miss Daubuz in her correspondence with Fellowes-Prynne asks about the meaning of the "Great Unknown". Prynne replys; "I have written to ask Chancellor Cooper how best to describe “The Great Unknown” as he is much more up in such matters, and I hope he will write to you direct". Unfortunately Cooper's response to Miss Daubuz is not retained, but it is likely the Great Unknown refers to the unknown prophet who some scholars believe completed the book of Isaiah from chapter 40 onwards.
** Percy Bacon incorrectly spells the name "Martin".
References & Notes: Use your browser's Back button to return to text.
- Article: "The Ancient Stone Fonts of Cornwall": The Ecclesiologist New Series Vol IX p97
- Obituary for Rev. Jeffreys Wilkins Murray, Royal Cornwall Gazette - Friday 06 July 1883
- Church Website.
- Historic England Website entry.
- Faculty petition, stained glass window, Kea Parish Church, D/R/4/21.
- Cornish Stained Glass website entry for All Hallows, Kea has a transcript of the correspondence.
- Link to Lambeth Palace Library. New church plan by George Fellowes-Prynne.
- East Window, Original design, line drawing, much changed in the final execution. Source: Kresen Kernow (Archives and Cornish Studies Service) Document Ref: D/R/4/21
Location Map:
Sat Nav Post Code: TR3 6AE