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St Just In Roseland Church, Cornwall

In the nineteenth century the British had the biggest empire that the world had ever seen. This meant that British values were spread around the globe. People in places as diverse as Pakistan and Australia were encouraged to start playing cricket. And, of course people all over the world were encouraged to take up the Christian religion. At the Church of St Just In Roseland in Cornwall it is nice to see things working the other way round, with the wider world influencing Britain. The nineteenth century vicar of the St Just In Roseland Church, in common with many other plant hunters of the time, brought back exotic plants to Britain from his foreign travels, and arranged them around his church. Today the location of St Just In Roseland Church in a striking subtropical garden beside a tidal creek, makes this one of the most famous churches in Cornwall. The poet John Betjeman, described it as the most beautiful churchyard in England. Personally I see it as a memorial of a time when Britain and its Anglican faith went out to conquer the world, and some of that world came back and conquered England.

 

 

 

 

Directions: From the A39 in Cornwall, take the B3289 to St Just In Roseland. Click here for an interactive map centred on St Just In Roseland Church.

Address: St Just In Roseland Church, St Just In Roseland, Cornwall.

Opening Times: The grounds are open at all times.

Access: There are steep slopes.

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