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ALTARNON CHURCH. 



By the Rev. A, H. MALAN. 



The paper on Probus Church, and Tower in the last number 

 of this Journal, naturally suggested the desirability of illus- 

 trated notes being furnished in reference to those two towers 

 which come nest to Probus in altitude, and sundry other Cornish 

 churches, the architecture of which is noteworthy, and has not 

 yet been described in these pages. Some information, therefore, 

 regarding Altarnon church, it is the intention of the present 

 paper to supply. 



If mere elevation only were concerned, Fowey church should 

 have had the precedence of the series, being 126 feet high as 

 against 123 for Probus, while Altarnon tower is but 109 feet; 

 but then in point of symmetry and richness of detail Probus 

 rightly ranks far ahead of any high-towered church in the 

 county. Indeed, the tower of Altarnon is plain in the extreme, 

 and totally devoid of any beauty or artistic merit ; its height has 

 not even the advantage of rendering it a landmark, since it is 

 completely hidden from most parts of the elevated moorland of 

 the parish, while it would seem rashly to attract visitations of 

 lightning to a greater degree than a tower more in proportion 

 with the rest of the building. And that this is no idle supposi- 

 tion may be gathered from the fact that it has already been 

 struck on two occasions ; once in 1791, when one of the pinnacles 

 was injured ; and again in 1810, when a similar accident occurred 

 — " the broken pinnacle carrying with it a'great part of the battle- 

 ment, and crashing through the roof : the tower being also 

 much shattered by the same storm." 



This church is dedicated to St. Nonna, or Nonnita (the 

 mother of Saint David of Wales), concerning whom, and the 

 connexion of the name with an inscribed stone at Tregony, some 

 interesting remarks may be found from the pen of the late Dr. 

 Barham, in these Transactions, Vol. II, 1866. As regards the 

 spelling of the name of the parish, the last syllable is usually 

 now written nun, but this is not in accordance with ancient 



