Cornwall

Nearby places

Illogan

Illogan (Cornish: Egloshal)is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Penwith. In the early 19th century, it was bounded on the north by the sea, and St Agnes, on the east by St Agnes and Redruth, on the south by Wendron and Camborne, and on the west by Camborne and the sea. Named after an obscure Cornish saint, St Illogan parish stretches south from the north coast of Cornwall and is between the towns of Camborne and Redruth. The parish contains Portreath, originally called Basset's Cove, a quiet fishing village situated about a mile and a half to the north-west of Illogan Churchtown, and which was developed in the 18th and 19th centuries into a port with a railway connecting to the Pool and Hayle Foundry. Copper ore was exported to Swansea for smelting and coal and iron were imported for the mines in Cornwall.

Richard Trevithick, the celebrated Cornish Engineer who was the inventor of the Cornish Steam Engine, used both in mining and locomotive transport. He was born in Illogan on 13th April 1771 and, on 7th November 1797, he married Jane Harvey, the daughter of the owner of Harvey's Iron-Foundry at Hayle.

Out of this parish and St Agnes was formed the ecclesiastical district of Mount Hawke, which was gazetted on 4th July 1846.

Cemeteries

• Parish Church Burial Ground Records (from 1895) are not Burial Register entries - they are mainly based on the Sextons' records of burial plots in St Illogan churchyard. Recording commenced when the churchyard was extended in 1895. There are no records of burial plot locations before this date.
• Suezan James compiled a list of MIs for Illogan Churchyard and Illogan Cemetery in 1999. These are available.
• War Memorial inscriptions for Illogan parish (1914-1918 and 1939-1945 Wars) are also available.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for Trevenson Church, Pool - 402 entries. Burials in Trevenson Churchyard are available on-line; these commenced in 1880 when ground was acquired on the hillside east of the church. Before this date the Parish churchyard at Illogan was used.
• Most Illogan burials since the early 1950's have taken place in the municipal cemetery, not the churchyard. The Illogan Cemetery is frequently mistaken for the churchyard as it is adjacent to it. This cemetery is administered by Cornwall County Council and not by the church.
• At the outbreak of the Second World War, a piece of ground was laid aside in the south-western corner of Illogan Churchyard for service burials and this later became the war graves plot. The plot now contains 52 Second World War burials, seven of them unidentified, and the grave of one Merchant seaman whose death was not due to war service. The old part of the cemetery contains seven burials of the First World War. This is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Most of the graves are of men who served in the Air Forces of the Commonwealth.

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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. The Cornwall Family History Society have also published on-line census detail by surname on the FamilyHistoryonLine site.

Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

• 1841 Census. The 1841 Census of Illogan (HO107/142) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • Enumeration Districts 1 to 3.
  • Enumeration Districts 4 to 11, plus Workhouses.
  • Enumeration Districts 12 to 14.
• 1851 Census.
  • The 1851 Census of Illogan is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • HO107/1915.
      • Enumeration Districts 1c and 1d.
      • Enumeration Districts 1e and 1f.
      • Enumeration Districts 1g, 1h, 1i and 1j.
      • Enumeration Districts 1k, 1l, 1m and 1n.
    • HO107/1916. Enumeration District 1a, which was wrongly enumerated as part of Camborne.
  • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; Illogan is listed in Volume 36. The booklets are available in Cornwall at the Cornwall Centre, (formerly known as the Cornish Studies Library), and is also available in the Cornwall FHS Library.
• 1861 Census. The 1861 Census of Illogan is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG9/1581.
    • Enumeration Districts 1 to 5.
    • Enumeration Districts 6 to 9.
    • Enumeration Districts 10 and 11.
  • RG9/1582.
    • Enumeration Districts 12 and 13 [including merchant shipping].
    • Enumeration Districts 14 to 16 [including Workhouse].
• 1871 Census. The 1871 Census of Illogan is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG10/2319. Enumeration Districts 1 to 6.
  • RG10/2320. Enumeration Districts 7 to 9.
  • RG10/2321. Enumeration Districts 10 to 13.
  • RG10/2322. Enumeration Districts 14 to 16 [including Workhouses and Merchant Shipping].
• 1881 Census. The 1881 Census of Illogan is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG11/2332.
    • Enumeration Districts 1 to 5.
    • Enumeration Districts 8 and 9.
  • RG11/2333.
    • Enumeration Districts 10 to 12.
    • Enumeration Districts 13 to 16 [including Merchant Shipping and Workhouses].
• 1891 Census. The 1891 Census of Illogan is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG12/1848.
    • Enumeration Districts 3 and 4.
    • Enumeration District 5.
    • Enumeration Districts 8 to 10.
  • RG12/1849.
    • Enumeration Districts 11 to 12.
    • Enumeration Districts 13 to 15.
    • Enumeration Districts 16 to 18, and Workhouses.

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Church History

• Anglican. There are three Anglican church in the parish. Information about these three lively and welcoming churches in the parish is separately available. The churches are:
  • Illogan. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW6743 and was dedicated to St Illogan (Ylloganus or Euluganus) and St Edmund. The earliest reliable reference to a church in Illogan, dated 1235, refers to the Ecclesia of Eglossalau. All that remains today of the church on that site is the tower, some monuments and a few stones. The building lay roughly in a North East - South West alignment and almost filled the original tiny churchyard which lay around it in a rough oval. As was common with many other Cornish churches, it would seem that the church was either extensively restored or entirely rebuilt about 1500. It had a thatched roof and the walls of the church were regularly whitewashed. The oak pews all had doors to keep out the draft; some had richly carved bench ends. There was an oak Communion Table, over which were the slate tablets of the Ten Commandments - now to be seen in the present parish church. By 1844 the old church building had became too small and dilapidated to serve a vastly increasing mining population, so the decision was taken to replace it. The new church of St Illogan was built at a cost of £2875 and came into use on 4th November 1846.
    The present church comprises a chancel, nave, north and south aisle, and a vestry. The arcades each have five lofty pointed arches of granite, supported on otagonal monolith pillars of the same material; over the north door are royal arms, boldy carved and emblazoned. The roof is of open woodwok. There are north and south porches and a priest's door. The Bell Tower is all that remains of the old church building. Everything else was demolished just before the new building opened in 1846. The tower would have gone the same way, but Trinity House refused to allow its removal as it provided a useful landmark for shipping.
    Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
    There were also several other chapels in the parish during the Middle Ages. The Chapel of St Edmund was so important that the Parish Church is still called "The Rectory of Saints Illogan and Edmund" in documents of 1543 and 1548.
  • Trevenson. Because of the distance from the parish church the spiritual needs of Pool were met by a new chapel-of-ease built on the "West Field" of Treloweth Wartha Farm. This field, together with 20 acres of adjoining enclosures had been purchased in 1801 from Lord Falmouth by Lord de Dunstanville of Tehidy Park, who financed the building of the chapel, gifting it to the parish together with the rent of the remaining land (£42 per year). Treloweth Chapel, as it was first known, was consecrated on 6th July 1809 by Dr Pelham, the Bishop of Exeter, who had spent the previous night at Tehidy House. Present were Lord de Dunstanville, the Honourable Miss Basset (his daughter) and the Misses Mary and Catherine Basset (sisters). After the ceremony a large party, including the reverend gentlemen, dined with Lord de Dunstanville at Tehidy. Among church papers examined some years ago was an undated handwritten note stating that the chapel was consecrated in the name of the Chapel of Illogan or Illogan Chapel although later, during the rebuilding of the Parish Church (see Parish Church history on this web site) it was referred to as the Chapel of Illogan or Chapel of Trevenson. The note also referred to it being known as Trevenson Church or Trevenson Chapel-of-Ease. By a deed of 1809 Lord de Dunstanville covenanted for himself and his heirs to keep the chapel in repair. In time there arose a resistance from later Bassets to do so and payments ceased in 1915. Photographs of Trevenson Church are available.
  • Portreath. In November 1840 the Revd George Treweeke and John Basset of Tehidy Park petitioned: ...that because the Parish of Illogan contains 7000, many of whom to the amount of about 700 are resident at or near Portreath within the said parish at a distance of two miles from the Parish Church; that .... there has been erected on a spot of ground within the said hamlet of Portreath a .... chapel of Ease to the Parish Church of Illogan. Portreath Chapel was opened in 1841; it was dedicated to St Mary, and was consecrated on 3rd July 1842. It was said to contain 256 sittings and, in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society for promoting the Building and Enlargement of Churches and Chapels, 228 of that number were declared to be free and unappropriated for ever. By the late 1950s the chapel had deteriorated badly - possibly because of a water course that ran beneath its foundations - and worship was being conducted in the church hall. The bold decision was therefore made in 1963 to demolish the old building and erect a new church on the site.
    A chapel-of-ease was also built at Portreath. From the WEST BRITON Newspaper, Friday 5th August, 1842: CONSECRATION OF NEW CHURCHES - On Saturday se'nnight, the new Chapel of Ease at Portreath was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Exeter.
    Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
• Non-Conformist. In the Churchtown, and at Portreath, were Wesleyan Methodist chapels. There is also a Methodist chapel at Bridge.

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Church Records

• LDS Church Records.
  • The LDS Church batch numbers for Illogan are: C035671, C052801, E052801, M052801. These are searchable by surname.
  • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1600 - 1837.
• The Cornwall Record Office holdings:
  • Anglican.
    • Baptisms: 1539-1547, 1561-1589, 1614-1617, 1664-1665, 1684-1699, 1735-1985.
    • Banns of Marriage: 1823-1993.
    • Marriages: 1600-1645, 1654-1669 (with note of sequestration 1646-1660), 1735-1960.
    • Burials: 1540-1543, 1559-1646, 1654-1695, 1735-1944.
    • Boyd's Marriage Index 1613 - 1673.
    • Bishop's Transcripts: 1613 - 1673.
  • Methodist.
    • Carn Brea (Wesleyan): Baptisms 1938-1981
    • Illogan Downs (Wesleyan): Baptisms 1839-1921; Baptisms 1922-1961
    • Illogan Highway Chili Road (United Methodist Free Church/United Methodist): Baptisms 1892-1934; marriages 1959-1972
    • Pool St. Martin's (UMFC/UM): Baptisms 1877-1903
    • Roscroggan (Wesleyan): Baptisms 1916-1990
    • Roscroggan (UMFC/UM) Baptisms 1880-1930
    • Treskillard (Primitive Methodist) Baptisms 1942-1979
    • Voguebeloth (Wesleyan) Baptisms 1841-1876, Baptisms 1876-1985.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
  • 1813-37 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Burials.
• Baptisms.
  • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on two CDs, baptisms 1720 to 1812 and 1813 to 1840 for this parish.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, baptisms (1839 to 1900) of the Redruth Methodist Circuit. The Circuit covers Redruth, Gwennap, Illogan, St Agnes, Portreath, and Carn Brea.
• Marriages.
  • Marriages 1889 to 1907 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1601 to 1837, which is available in Book, CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
• Burials.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book and CD formats.
  • Burial Ground (Sexton) Records from 1895 are available on-line. See under Cemeteries.

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Civil Registration

The parish of Illogan was originally in the Redruth Registration District. There were sub-districts at Camborne, Gwennap, Illogan, Phillack and Redruth which have now been abolished. It is now part of the Registration District of Camborne-Redruth. Parishes in this registration district are: Camborne, East Phillack, Gwennap, Gwinear, Gwithian, Illogan, Phillack, Redruth, St. Sithian's, West Phillack.

The address of the Superintendant Registrar is: Roskear, Camborne, TR14 8DN. Tel: 01209 612924.

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Description & Travel

• ePodunk's Cornwall page - providing general, plus some historical and genealogical information, about Cornwall and its parishes, together with links (mainly relating to general sites and services, rather than ones that are specific to Cornwall or particular parishes).
• Pictures of Illogan are available on-line.

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Directories

• Doidge's Directory of Redruth, Illogan, Gwennap and Stithians 1866

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Genealogy

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Historical Geography

• Nancekuke (Lancichuc, Lanchehoc), Grid Reference 670457.
• Tehidy (Tedentona, Tedintone), Grid Reference 649441.

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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

• Map of the Camborne and Redruth Registration district in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Illogan in the 19th century is also available.

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Occupations

Information about the Illogan Area Mines is available on-line.

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Illogan parish was part of the Redruth Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.
• The Redruth Union Workhouse was erected in 1838 in Illogan Highway from designs by the Architects G. Gilbert Scott and W. Bonython Moffatt. Under the National Health Service it became Barncoose Hospital, and was later closed.
• Overseers' Accounts (1763 to 1779, 1799 to 1837) are available in the Cornwall Record Office.

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Population

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Probate Records

• Wills & Admons for St Illogan parish, 1660-1857 are available.
• Also an index to Cornish Wills 17th to 19th centuries, which include some for Illogan, are available on-line.

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Religion & Religious Life

• In the May of 1641 it was agreed and ordered that every Member of the House of Commons and House of Lords should make a protestation (declaration of loyalty) to the crown. The Protestation was printed and then distributed by the Members to their counties. The Protestation was to be made by everyone and the Rectors, Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor, had to appear before the Justices of the Peace in their Hundred to make their protestation and, on returning to their parishes, any two of them were to witness the taking of the Protestation Oath by all males over the age of 18 years. All names were listed and anyone who refused was to be noted.

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Statistics

The parish comprises 8493 acres of land.

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Voting Registers

• The 1832 Voters List for Illogan, is available, courtesy of the OPC.

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