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Feock

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The parish of Feock (Cornish: Lannfiek) is situated on the river Fal, in the Deanery and Hundred of Powder. It is bounded on the north by the parish of Kea, on the east by the River Fal, which separates it from St Just-in-Roseland and Philleigh, on the south by Restronguet Creek, which separates it from Mylor, and on the west by Perranarworthal. The name of the parish is based on the name of a saint, Fioc or Feoca, about whom little is known. There is a local tradition the saint lived in a small hut near a well in the area named La Feock.

The pretty village of Feock is on the western shore of the river Fal, and at the head of Carrick Roads natural harbour; it may be approached from the Truro/Falmouth road or across the river by the King Harry car (chain) ferry. Oyster Boats are a beautiful sight as they sail back and forth in the winter when the oyster beds are being dredged. It has been recorded that in a good season, a fleet of thirty to forty can be working in this area and around Restronguet Point. They were originally built on the quay at Pill, but not all to the same exact design.

One of the oldest sites in the parish is at Tregew, first mentioned in 1315, and originally a farmhouse. It later became something more grander and was owned by the Edmonds family in the 17th century.

To the west of Feock is Trelissick House and its extensive gardens, now owned by the National Trust. A little village in this parish is named Come-to-Good; here was established the first meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in this part of Cornwall. The parish of Devoran was formed from part of this parish in 1873. The main villages in the parish were Devoran (which transferred when it became a separate parish), the Churchtown, Pill, La Feock (or Le Vege), Trevella, and King Harry

Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)

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Cemeteries

The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for the parish church.

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Census

Census information for this parish (1841 - 1901) is held in the Cornwall Record Office. The Cornwall Family History Society offers a census search service for its members.
Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

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Church History

  • Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW8238 and was dedicated to St Feoca around 1264. It comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle, north transept, and vestry. The arcade has six four-centred arches of St Stephens porcelain stone, with pillars of the same material. There is a south porch and a chancel door. The tower is detached from the church, and stands on an eminence several yards to the west of it. The tower is of two stages, has a pyramidal roof of slate, and contains three bells. The church was enlarged and renewed in 1844. The south entrance to the churchyard is through a lych gate, and over it is a room in which the parish meetings were once held.
  • Non-Conformist. The Wesleyan Methodists and Bible Christians had chapels at Carnon Downs; there was also a Wesleyan chapel at Penpol, and another, built in 1866, at Penelewey.
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Church Records

  • LDS Church Records.
  • The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1671 - 1887, Burials 1671 - 1955, Marriages 1671 - 1971, Boyd's Marriage Index 1597 - 1672, BTs 1597 - 1672.
  • Baptisms.
    • Baptisms 1681 to 1772 and 1801 (Bishop's transcripts), and 1843 to 1911 (parish transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD baptisms 1676 to 1812 for this parish and these are available for purchase on Parish Chest.
    • The Cornwall Parish Registers Index also contains baptism details for this parish 1843 to 1905. The on-line index is searcheable by surname.
  • Banns. Banns at Feock 1754 to 1798 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Marriages.
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1597 to 1837, which is available in Book, CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
    • Marriages 1597 to 1911 (parish transcripts), and 1681 to 1772, and 1801 (Bishop's transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Burials.
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book or CD format.
    • Burials 1671 to 1936 (parish transcripts), and 1681 to 1772, and 1801 (Bishop's transcripts), for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
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Civil Registration

The parish of Feock has been in the Truro Registration District continuously from 1st July 1837. There were sub-districts at Kea, Kenwyn, Probus, St. Agnes, St. Clement and St Just-in-Roseland, but these have now been abolished. Parishes in this registration district are: Cornelly, Cuby, Feock, Gerrans, Kea, Kenwyn, Ladock, Lamorran, Merther, Perranzabuloe, Philleigh, Probus, Ruan Lanihorne, St. Agnes, St. Allen, St. Anthony in Roseland, St. Clement, St. Erme, St. Feock, St. Just in Roseland, St. Michael Penkevil, Tregavethan, Tregony St. James, Truro St. Mary, Veryan.

The address of the Registration Office is: Dalvenie House, New County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY.
Tel: 01872 322241.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Feock which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

OPC Assistance. The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is available on-line, from where the OPC can be contacted by email.

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Historical Geography

The place-names below were taken mainly from Dr. Grover's unpublished typescript and Charles Henderson's works, both in the Library at the Truro Museum. We are specially grateful to Mr. Richard JENKIN for his personal assistance, and have also studied works by Morton Nance and P. A. S. Pool. [Source of extracted material: Feock with Devoran and Carnon Downs In The 19th Century, Part II; copyright by the Extra Mural Department, University of Exeter, 1973]

  • Feock occurs as Ecclesiam Sancte Feoce in 1264 (S. R.); later spellings vary considerably and it was first spelt with a 'k' in 1394. The name is said to come from the Irish saint Fiacc or Fiaco.
  • Devoran is mentioned as Deffrion in 1278 (Ass); the name is a derivative of dever or dover meaning water (Cornish dour) the old name for the creek.
  • Carnon Downs occurs in the 1683 Recovery Rolls and means Rocky Downs, a mixture of Cornish and English.
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Land & Property

  • The parish and town tithe maps, and accompanying survey books of c1840, provide a fascinating snap-shot of land use and ownership in the 19th century. In order to preserve the documents and improve access to them, the Cornwall Record Office are digitising these maps and survey books. The CD ROM tithe package include a map and survey books, together with a reader, for this parish; it is now available from the Cornwall Record Office. Details are on their website.
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SW812390 (Lat/Lon: 50.210526, -5.067444), Feock which are provided by:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Feock parish was part of the Truro Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

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Population

Part of this parish became the parish of Devoran in 1873.

Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)

  • Population in 1801 - 696 persons
  • Population in 1811 - 968 persons
  • Population in 1821 - 1093 persons
  • Population in 1831 - 1210 persons
  • Population in 1841 - 1476 persons
  • Population in 1851 - 1934 persons
  • Population in 1861 - 2411 persons
  • Population in 1871 - 2408 persons,
    plus 8 living on shipping
  • Population in 1881 - 2047 persons
  • Population in 1891 - 1716 persons
  • Population in 1901 - 1698 persons
  • Population in 1911 - 1725 persons
  • Population in 1921 - 1744 persons
  • Population in 1931 - 1589 persons
  • Population in 1951 - 1971 persons
  • Population in 1961 - 2157 persons
  • Population in 1971 - 3154 persons
  • Population in 1981 - 3230 persons
  • Population in 1991 - 3495 persons
  • Population in 2001 - 3505 persons
  • population in 2011 - 3752 persons
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Societies

The Carnon Downs Old Cornwall Society News Page is on-line.

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Statistics

The parish comprises 2947 acres of land, 16 acres of water, 42 acres of tidal water and 306 acres of foreshore.