Probus Church Roof Appeal

Church roof appeal

Last year, during the WW1 Exhibition, many visitors came into Probus church for the first time. They all expressed amazement at the size of the building. Seen from the higher ground of The Square, our parish church doesn't appear very big but walk down the path, through the north door, and the size becomes clear. The church of St Probus and St Grace is one of the largest village churches in Cornwall and has the tallest tower. Why does an ordinary village like Probus, once much smaller than it is today, have such a large church?

Records show that Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan founded a monastery here in 930 A.D. and the church is in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The circular shape of the site indicates an even older Christian site. The church had a college and was an important place of learning for centuries. There was a right of sanctuary here, one of only four places in Cornwall. Our present building dates from the 1400s, with a tower completed by 1530 but we have the names of vicars dating back to the 13th century. It is not only a village church but the church of a large parish, where in the past large numbers of people worked on the many farms and in associated trades.

What does this mean for us in the village today? It means we have a place to worship God with over 1000 years of prayer behind it, a building where the people of Probus have been married, had their children baptised and been buried for generation after generation and still do. It means a quiet place, where a constant stream of people come to write prayers on our Prayer Tree. It means a building full of history, not only of the church but of Cornwall itself, an architecturally significant building which is

Grade 1 listed. Most people have no idea that Probus church, like all parish churches, receives no money whatsoever from outside sources to maintain the building, the congregation must somehow find the money themselves. You know how much you spend on the maintenance and repair of your own home and it’s unlikely to be over 600 years old.

We’ve struggled on for a long time but have reached a crunch point: the church roof is in a precarious state. Once water gets in unchecked, we will have a church on the At Risk Register and could suffer the fate of St Paul’s in Tregolls Road, Truro. It’s a vicious circle: we apply for grants because we don’t have the money, to be told we can’t have a grant because we don't have money for matched funding. We are raising funds to build a toilet to support our regular worship services plus weekly Little Lights and Tower Tots and our popular Messy Church. We don't like asking for money, and we have the story of Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers in the Temple always in our minds. But His disciples relied on the generosity of those around them, and now we are asking, please, for your help.

On Saturday 13th July, in Feast Week, we are holding an evening of picnic and music in the garden of The Sanctuary – see the separate advertisement. Please buy tickets, which will be sold in advance, and bring family and friends to help us raise funds to repair the roof. Look out for other fund raising events, and perhaps you could organise one for us? Please, will you consider a donation? We need £88,000 for essential repairs.

For more information, please contact: St Probus Church Treasurer Robert Dodd 01726 883408 Thank you.

Image credit: Paul Ashby Johnson