An earlier post reported that the Diocese of Truro had announced the intended demolition of St Paul’s Church, Truro. In October 2020 the church was identified as a ”building at risk” by the Cornish Buildings Group and a  petition to save St Pauls was raised; this is reported to have gathered 2,840 signatures to date. A review of the associated legal issues is in an earlier post Guidance on “Ruined churches”, which has now been updated.

Background

The Grade-II listed church was built in 1845 and was one of the busiest churches in Truro.  A local banker paid for the building of St Paul’s in c1848 as an overflow church for the parish of St Clements. In 1864 the church was consecrated and acquired its own parish. In the early 1880s a major programme of extension was undertaken in the Perpendicular style using dressed coursed local stone with granite and Polyphant stone dressings; scantle slate and dry Delabole slate roofs with coped gable ends; the new work was consecrated by Bishop Wilkinson in 1884 and after further work the church was re-opened on 27th June 1889; the battlemented tower was completed in 1910. The church is contemporary with Truro Cathedral which was built between 1880 and 1910.

Closure and deterioration

St Paul’s Church was closed to worshippers in 2008 as a consequence of two challenging structural problems: subsidence, probably related to damage from a World War Two bomb that fell nearby, and crumbling stonework resulting in a potential risk to those using the building and to passers-by. The Deputy Diocesan Secretary explained the factors contributing to the subsidence to Cornwalllive: the church was built in early Victorian times on infilled land; a WW2 bomb dropped nearby, and Tregolls Road was also widened, all of which has led to subsidence at the church.

Of the stonework, she noted:

“It would take £7million to restore it. It’s the tower that’s the problem. The buttresses are made of polyphant soapstone[*] which is eroding. It’s a nice stone for decorative features but not for buttressing a building. When they built the church maybe they didn’t know what would happen over time. We have seen it in a number of churches. But it’s not sustainable. There is no technical solution to repair it…the church tower is very slowly moving down and toppling over. It could take decades but it will happen.”

Present position

The Deputy Diocesan Secretary is reported as indicating that it is planned for the stained glass window to be removed an given to another church or a museum ahead of demolition; the ecclesiastical furniture inside the church, such as crosses, have been removed and given to other churches; and it is likely that the font will be transferred to another church or a museum along with the organ and the altar. Meanwhile, the bells could be given to another church or sold to a metal dealer.

She also said that there are no human remains either inside the church or outside as there never was any cemetery attached to the building; nor are there any saints’ relics as St Paul’s is not that old and does not have a crypt.

In October 2024, the Diocese stated:

“Since 2008 the Diocese of Truro and the national Church of England have been exploring options that might give the building a new lease of life; several groups and individuals have been interested over the years but in each case closer examination of the two structural problems facing the church have meant that proposals have not been viable – even if the building were sold for a token amount.

While it would have probably been possible to solve the subsidence problems, very expensive but technically possible. Solving the subsidence problems, putting on a new roof, new heating and electrics would have cost upwards of £1million and presented lots of problems but the diocese had wanted to explore every possible avenue, even exploring one proposal to dismantle the church piece by piece and rebuild it elsewhere!

However, it has now become clear there is not a solution to the stonework problem. The polyphant stone is de-laminating and the only remedy would be to replace it all; in effect demolish what is there and build a new tower and east end of the church from scratch with brand new stone. The scaffolding that can be seen from Tregolls Road is in place to allow inspection of the stonework, we think it is getting worse quickly now, and because we need to keep the road and footpath safe from falling stone.”

Pubic meeting

A public meeting at the Old Cathedral School, Cathedral Close, Truro is scheduled for 7 November, from 3.30pm to 7pm, where representatives from the Church Commissioners will be in attendance to hear views and answer questions.

[*]Polyphant stone

Information from the Polyphant Quarry indicates [emphasis added]:

“…The resulting rock is quite soft, but is a superb medium for carving and will give a lustrous polish, producing a dark green shiny surface. Many churches in East Cornwall and farther afield have interior features made of Polyphant stone. The war memorial adjacent to the West door of Truro Cathedral is one example of  of carving in this stone. Launceston Priory and Castle also contain much Polyphant stone, but it does not weather well in exterior use, presumably because it is so soft and porous, and therefore susceptible to frosts. ‘Big Wesley,’ the Launceston Wesleyan church spire, so long a focal point of Launceston’s landscape, is one such construction that has suffered from this porous and soft state of Polyphant stone, and after several attempts over the years to stabilise it, was finally taken down in 1983 due to its dangerous state. The quarry lies dormant, but stone is still extracted when the need arises and today is owned by Nigel Owen Stone…”