St Stephen, Launceston

This is the church where my grandparents, Percy and Enid Jenkins were married. 

Launceston is a town on the north of Cornwall, it is very hilly and has three main churches, and a castle.  The parish church is the magnificent church of St Mary Magdalene (which is the church which my grandfather attended as a child.)  At the bottom of the hill by the river is the small church of St Thomas, and at the top of the hill (the name of which escapes me) is this lovely church of St Stephen.

During around the early 1950s, there was a wonderful priest at St Stephen's called Fr Phillip Gendall.  Fr Gendall was very much the traditional priest, and was well loved in the whole of the town.  My Gran often used to mention him; for it was he that was instrumental in her attaining her first council house.

Calling at the vicarage one morning in dire straits about her two growing children in a 1 up 1 down cottage she sought the help of Fr Gendall.  He was out on his rounds, and called round to see her when he returned from his calls. 

He said that the new council houses being built in Hurdon Way were allocated from 3 lists - the urgent, the very urgent and the not so urgent.  My Gran was at that time on the urgent list.  He looked round the cottage, and decided that she should be put on the very urgent list.  Not long after she was allocated her first council house.

I know that Fr Gendall did as much for many people during his time at St Stephens.

(An old photograph hanging in the Church Vestry
The Rev. Father Gendall, M.A.
Parish Priest 1947 - 1960)

St Stephens also had a strong Anglo Catholic tradition, and incense was used and (I believe) the Anglican Missal also.  My Gran often commented (on the occasion that she accompanied me to Anglo Catholic churches) that "they used to do all that up at St Stephen's church, when Mr Gendall was there!"

St Stephens is a very beautiful church with a magnificent screen.  I am sure that the memory of Fr Gendall does live on amongst the people there - and in fact my mother often mentions him now.

I think that of all the priests I have known of and never met, none has inspired me so enormously than Fr Gendall with all that I have heard of him.

Incidentally, Fr Gendall also trained at the College of the Resurrection at Mirfield starting in 1911 when the college was quite new... I myself went there in 1997!