As Falmouth's All Saints Church prepares to mark its centenary in July, Judith Field looks back at the history of church that a whole town came together to build. 

If your family hails from Falmouth then the chances are that they will at some point have come into contact with All Saints Church – ‘the church at the top of the hill’, near the Rugby Club.

Almost everything in All Saints Church was given or made by local people – the organ, the processional cross and the choir stalls, to name but three. Donor families included the Goodings, Andertons, Grylls, Bowyers and Curgenvens, and many, many others.

The history of Falmouth’s society and families is therefore written in stone, wood and glass, preserved in the building itself. The fantastic rainbow-coloured East window, designed and made in Falmouth by Leonard A Pownall, is a good example.

The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in November 1887, a month so wet and windy that the Royal Marquee blew down the night before and there had to be hasty improvisation before the dignitaries arrived.

That ‘can-do’ spirit went on to become one of the defining characteristics of All Saints. When the Bishop of Truro fell ill before the consecration in 1890, for instance, the church asked the holidaying Bishop of Barbados to stand in for him, and when the West Window blew out in a gale in 1893, it was taken as an opportunity to create an even better one.

The replacement round window ‘Our Lord in Glory’ was itself blown out 130 years later, in the winter of 2023, but has been restored to its former beauty thanks in part to the generosity of today’s church supporters.

The fantastic rainbow-coloured East window, designed and made in Falmouth by Leonard A Pownall (Image: www.cornishstainedglass.org.uk)

The gift of the font c.1890 gives us pause for thought. It speaks of what it was like for our own relatives who lived in late Victorian times. The pitcher used for baptismal water was given by Mr and Mrs Savage, in memory of a little son who had died in 1886.

The font itself was given by Canon Christopherson ‘in memory of two of his children’. At that time, a shocking 25 per cent of all babies born in England did not live to see their fifth birthday.

But hard times make for an appreciation of the good things in life, and All Saints (which had started out as the little sister of King Charles the Martyr and Budock churches) celebrated its coming of age on July 29, 1924 – it became a parish in its own right.

Having constructed and equipped the church, local people turned their energy to building a Parish Hall. That building, next to Kimberley Park, now houses The Park Family Hub but it was designed and built entirely by volunteers from the church.

They dug the foundations and then each parishioner was set the target of finding one shilling – the price of each concrete block needed for the walls. They did an amazing job – on January 17, 1927, only nine months after the first spade hit the ground, part of the new hall was up and running.

The whole thing was completed five years later, and hosted hundreds of enjoyable community activities over the next 50 years before it was sold to the council in the early 1980s.

All Saints Church in Falmouth celebrates its centenary this year (Image: Google Street View)

Many of the fun activities like Scouts, drama productions, dances and fetes that took place in the church and the old Parish Hall are represented in a free exhibition to mark the centenary of the Parish, to be held over the last weekend in July.

Come and see if you can spot your mums and dads, grandmas and grandads (or even their parents and grandparents!) in the photos, and take the opportunity to explore this historic Grade 2 listed building.

The events run from 2 pm on Friday, July 26 to 2pm on Monday, July 29, with free coffee and cakes - or cream tea on Saturday afternoon - and raffle.

Trengilly Singers & Guests give a concert at 7 pm on Saturday (tickets £5 on the door) and on Sunday there is a special celebratory service at 10 am with the Dean of Truro Cathedral, to which everyone is invited.

The All Saints Centenary Committee warmly invites you to come and join the celebration – remembering many happy times together over the past 100 years.