St. Ia Parish Church of St. Ives

St. Ia Parish Church, St. Ives

Jake Davies

A prominent landmark of the fishing village of St. Ives in Cornwall is the tower of the local parish church dedicated to Saint Ia.

Over 80 feet high, one of the tallest in Cornwall, this harbourside church is clearly visible to returning fishing boats.

The interior of the 15th century parish church of St. Ives, Cornwall. — The interior of the 15th century parish church of St. Ives, Cornwall

Medieval Saint Ia's Church near the harbour of St. Ives in Cornwall. — Medieval Saint Ia's Church near the harbour of St. Ives in Cornwall

History

The church was built between 1410 and 1434 out of Cornish granite mined from nearby Zennor.

It is dedicated to Saint Ia, a 5th century Irish saint. The interior is quite beautiful with several notable features.

Although the stained glass window is modern, installed in 1907 following a major explosion at the nearby dynamite factory in Hayle that blew out many windows in St. Ives.

The magnificent wagon roof of Saint Ia's Church. — The magnificent wagon roof of Saint Ia's Church

Interior

The choir stalls are covered in intricate 15th century carvings of figures and blacksmiths tools, and the ends of the benches also have similar carvings.

However, the most magnificent are the carvings on the timbers supporting the wagon roof. They are carved with ivy and at the base of each is a tall, slender figure of a saint, apostle, or angel. They have been gilded and painted to bring out the detail.

A unique, more modern piece of art is a statue of Madonna and child sculpted by local artist Barbara Hepworth and donated as a memorial to her son.

St Ia Parish Church of St. Ives, Cornwall, UK. — St Ia Parish Church of St. Ives, Cornwall

Information

15 St Andrews Street
St. Ives TR26 1AH
Tel: 01736 449382
www: stiveschurch.org.uk

Heading into the village from the railway station, St. Ia's is clearly visible next to the harbour.

Entertainment & Accommodation

Being a resort, the town is well served with eating and drinking establishments. There are cafes, pasty shops, fish & chip shops and a complete range of restaurants. There are numerous pubs, including the Sloop Inn (Tel: 01736 796584) right at the harbor which has been a pub for over 700 years since 1312.

There are a complete range of accommodation options including campsites, caravan parks, hostels, self catering cottages, guest houses and hotels that range from budget to luxury.

Some good places to stay in St. Ives are the refurbished Primrose Valley Hotel close to Porthminster Beach and the nearby St Ives Harbour Hotel & Spa with terrace bar and restaurant.

See here for a listing of hotels and guesthouses in St Ives.

St Ives Access - Getting To St Ives

St. Ives is 5 hours by train from London Paddington in west London on the First Great Western, changing at St. Erth. A good option is to take the overnight Night Riviera Sleeper Service (www.gwr.com/plan-journey/journey-information/on-board/night-riviera-sleeper) which leaves at 11:45 pm and gets you to St. Ives at 8.14 am the next morning.

Exeter in Devon, located at the end of the M5 motorway, coming south from Bristol makes for a good starting point if you are driving into Cornwall. Exeter is also a good place to hire a car.

From Exeter follow the A30 dual carriageway, north of Dartmoor through Okehampton, Launceston, Bodmin and Redruth.

Leave the A30 at the junction of the A3074 to St. Ives.

Hire a car in St Ives to explore the south west of England.

St. Ives Parish Church, Cornwall. — St. Ives Parish Church has been a beacon for returning fishermen for centuries

Exeter International Airport, just 5 miles to the east of Exeter city near Clyst Honiton off the A30 has regular domestic flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Guernsey/Jersey, the Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. International destinations include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Funchal, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.

National Express coaches take about 8-10 hours to St. Ives from either Birmingham or London Victoria Bus Station.

Local buses from St. Ives run direct to Penzance with others going round the coast via Zennor. Local buses also connect St. Ives to Truro.

St Ives, Cornwall, UK. — St Ives, Cornwall

Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) has connecting flights to Bristol Airport, Cardiff, Glasgow, Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, Newcastle and international flights to Cork and Dublin in Ireland as well as seasonal flights to Alicante in Spain with Ryanair and Dusseldorf in Germany with Lufthansa.

Most UK flights are operated by Air Southwest. The airport offers airport parking for over 500 cars.

There is a passenger ferry from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. The Scillonian III passenger ferry takes between 2 hours 40 minutes and 3 hours. (Timetable)

There are Skybus flights to the Scilly Isles from Exeter, Newquay and Land's End airports.