St Keverne
Coordinates: 50°03′00″N 5°05′20″W / 50.050°N 5.089°W
| St Keverne | |
| Cornish: Lannaghevran | |
 St Keverne
St Keverne shown within Cornwall |
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| Population | 2,107 (Civil Parish, 2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SW789212 |
| Civil parish | St Keverne |
| Unitary authority | Cornwall |
| Ceremonial county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HELSTON |
| Postcode district | TR12 |
| Dialling code | 01326 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | St Ives |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
St Keverne (Cornish: Lannaghevran) is a civil parish and village on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.[1]
The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 started in St Keverne. The leader of the rebellion Michael An Gof (the "smith" in Cornish) was a blacksmith from St Keverne and is commemorated by a statue in the village. Before his execution, An Gof said that he should have "a name perpetual and a fame permanent and immortal". In 1997 a 500th anniversary march celebrating the An Gof uprising, (Keskerdh Kernow 500) was held, which retraced the route of the original march from St Keverne, via Guildford to London.
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[edit] Geography
The parish is a large one. It includes some 10 miles of coast from Nare Point at the mouth of the Helford River to Kennack Sands, and the Manacles offshore. Settlements on the coast include Porthallow, Porthoustock and Coverack. Inland the parish includes the hamlets of Zoar, Laddenvean, Traboe, Trelan and Gwenter. The eastern part of Goonhilly Downs is also in the parish.
[edit] Parish Church of St Akeveranus
St Keverne was in the Middle Ages the site of an important monastery. The church is dedicated to St Akeveranus though for a considerable period this was corrupted to Kieran. The church is very large for a village church and in its present form is 15th century: however parts of the stonework appear to have been reused from a previous church building. The tower is topped by a spire (unusual in Cornwall) and features of interest include the bench ends and a mural painting.[2][3]
A 32-pounder carronade that divers recovered in 1978 from the wreck of HMS Primose stands by the lych-gate to the churchyard. (Primrose was wrecked on The Manacles off The Lizard on 21 January 1809 with the loss of 125 lives and only one survivor, a drummer boy.)
[edit] History and antiquities
A Bronze Age standing stone exists at Tremenheere, which means "Standing Stone Farm" (Tre = place/farm, Menhir = standing stone) and there is another place of the same name in Ludgvan.[4] Other antiquities are a cist called the Three Brothers of Grugith on Crowza Downs and a destroyed fogou at Polkernogo.[5]
St Keverne was in Celtic times part of the Meneage which belonged to several small monasteries. The monastery at St Keverne survived the Norman Conquest but was seized soon after by a lay lord. By 1236 the churches and demesnes of Tregonan had come into the possession of the Cistercian abbey at Beaulieu and their title was confirmed by Earl Richard in 1258. This was a valuable possession including as it did the rectorial tithe of a large and prosperous parish, the tithe of fish, and the lands of the churchtown. The right of sactuary held by Beaulieu Abbey was extended to St Keverne. A small cell of monks was maintained at Tregonan; slight remains of the building there existed until the early 20th century.[6] In the parish is Lesneague which can be derived from Cornish lis (court) and manahec (monks' land) which would indicate that it was once the seat of a local chieftain.[7]
[edit] Notable residents
- Michael An Gof (the "smith" in Cornish), blacksmith, leader of the first Cornish rebellion in 1497
- Charles Incledon, singer
[edit] See also
- Cornish self-government movement
- Cornish Rebellion of 1497
- Keskerdh Kernow 500
- Second Cornish Uprising of 1497
[edit] References
- ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth ISBN 9780319231494
- ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 117-118
- ^ Doble, G. H. (1962) The Saints of Cornwall: part 2. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 54-58
- ^ "Tremenheere". Cornwall's archaeological heritage. http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/a2m/bronze_age/standing_stone/tremenheere/tremenheere.htm. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ Hencken, H. O'N. (1932) The Archaeology of Cornwall and Scilly. London: Methuen; p. 300
- ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 117-18
- ^ Henderson, C. (1933) "Helston", in his: Essays in Cornish History. Oxford; Clarendon Press; p. 68
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: St Keverne |
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