St Pol de Leon Church Paul has received a confirmed grant of £254,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), for its Celebrating Peace through the restoration of a significant First World War Memorial Window project.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project aims to restore a unique stained glass window designed by Robert Anning Bell in memory of Torquil Bolitho who was killed in the Battle of Ypres in 1915.

As well as essential conservation work, the grant will add additional facilities within the church improving accessibility, enabling wider community use and so increasing its future sustainability.

Commenting on the award, Revd. Andrew Yates, Priest-in-charge said:

“We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. The church contains a number of important heritage items as well as the amazing window such as memorials to the crew of the Solomon Browne life boat and to Dolly Pentreath, the last monoglot Cornish speaker. It’s great to know that we are a step closer to preserving these important links to the past for another century.”

There are also plans for a number of community activities including an oral memories project which will record stories from residents of the village so that its history can be preserved.

The church in Paul has been at the centre of the community for centuries. More recently it has hosted Concerts, Art Exhibitions and an Exhibition of ‘Paul As We Were’ to which locals brought a wide collection of photographs and memorabilia connected to the social changes that have taken place within the community over the years.

St Pol de Leon is the Church of England parish church for the communities of Paul, Mousehole and Gwavas. It has been a place of worship since it was founded in the 6th century by Paul Aurelian, though it had to be rebuilt after being destroyed by fire during the Spanish invasion of 1595.

For more information contact Revd Andrew Yates on srotruro@btinternet.com or 01736 367863.