St Ia's Church, St Ives, is a parish church in the Church of England in St Ives, Cornwall. The church is dedicated to Ia the Virgin, also known as Ives, supposedly an Irish holy woman of the 5th or 6th century. The current building dates to the reign of King Henry V of England. It became a Church of England parish church in 1826. It was built between 1410 and 1434 as a chapel of ease: St Ives being within the parish of Lelant. The tower is of granite and of four stages (over 80 ft high): the church is large but not particularly high and built in a Devonian style rather than a Cornish one. An outer south aisle was added by the Trenwith family about 1500: this is now the Lady Chapel and contains a statue by Barbara Hepworth.
The font is of granite and most likely of the 15th century. It is carved with four angels holding shields. In the chancel, there are bench ends of the standard design and two other, complete benches. There is a brass to a member of the Trenwith family, 1463, and a monument to the Hitchens family by Garland & Fieldwick, 1815.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.