An exhibition at Truro Cathedral – In the footsteps of Bishop Bronescombe
To mark the 750th anniversary of Bishop Bronescombe’s first visit to Cornwall in 1259, an exhibition focused on the 16 churches he dedicated during his visit was curated for display at the Cathedral, and subsequently as a touring exhibition to those churches.
Bronescombe ruled over the Exeter diocese from 1258 to 1280, which at that date included Cornwall as well as Devon. As he travelled down through Cornwall, the churches he saw would have been small Norman buildings; the Early English Gothic style filtered through to the Cornish churches in the second half of the 13th century.
For the exhibition the 16 churches dedicated by Bronescombe were analysed for early features surviving from the time of his visit. Features were photographed and illustrated on plan diagrams, and the display presented thematically to allow comparison of these early survivals.
