Cornwall

Nearby places

Kenwyn

The parish of Kenwyn, (Cornish: Keynwynn), is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Powder. It is bounded on the north by St Allen, on the east by St Clements, the parish of St Marys Truro and the river Fal, on the south by Kea, and on the west by St Agnes, the detached part of Kea called Tregavethen, and Perranzabuloe.

For many centuries Kenwyn and Kea formed what now seems one vast parish. Which church had the priority has been disputed. The Cornish historian, Charles Henderson, noted that in the thirteenth century, Kenwyn was regarded as a chapelry of Kea but that, after the Reformation, their roles were reversed. Henderson, thought, however, that Kenwyn was originally independent, and so could be claimed as the mother church of Truro.

This parish stretches north-west from Truro, Kenwyn church being on the outskirts of the city. A considerable part of the City of Truro was in this parish. Although so near to the centre of Truro, it has rural scenery and an attractive wooded valley. At the beginning of the 21st century, Kenwyn is regarded as a suburb of the City of Truro.

During the 19th century, many parish boundaries changed because of the moving centres of population; many parts of Kenwyn were redefined as separate parishes. Chacewater chapelry was removed from this parish in 1837 when it became the centre of the new parish of its own. The (new) parish of Mithian, was also created from part of Kenwyn in 1847. The Truro Railway Station is in Kenwyn parish. Kenwyn also contains the villages of Shortlanesend, Tregavethan and Idless.

The ecclesiastical parish of St Allen united with Kenwyn on 1 July 1991 by an Order in Council.

Cemeteries

The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for the Parish Church - 3232 entries. These are available on-line.

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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. The 1841 Census of Kenwyn (HO107/147) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • Enumeration Districts 1-4.
  • Enumeration Districts 5-10.
  • Enumeration Districts 11-15.
  • Enumeration Districts 16-19 [including Hospitals].
• 1851.
  • The 1851 Census of Kenwyn (HO107/1910) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • Enumeration Districts 1a, 1b, and 1c..
    • Truro, St George's parish. Enumeration Districts 1 (Hospitals), 1d, 1e, and 1f.
    • Enumeration Districts 1g, 1h, 1k, and 1l.
    • Baldhu parish. Enumeration Districts 1n.
    • Chacewater parish. Enumeration Districts 1o, 1p, 1q 1r and 1s.
    • Tregavethan. Enumeration District 1t.
  • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; Kenwyn is listed in Volume 20. The booklets are available in Cornwall at the Cornwall Centre, (formerly known as the Cornish Studies Library).
• 1861. The 1861 Census of Kenwyn (RG9/1560), is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • Enumeration Districts 6 (Truro, St George's parish), 7 and 8.
  • Enumeration District 9 (including Trigavethan) and 11.
• 1871. The 1871 Census of Kenwyn is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG10/2284. Enumeration District 7.
  • RG10/2285. Enumeration Districts 8, 9 and 11.
• 1881. The 1881 Census of Kenwyn (RG11/2313), Enumeration Districts 7 [including Schools], 8 and 9, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1891. The 1891 Census of Kenwyn (RG12/1831), Enumeration Districts 7 [including schools], 8 and 9, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.

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Church History

• Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW8146 and was dedicated by Bishop Brandescombe on 27th September 1259 to St Kenwyn, the day after he had dedicated St Mary's in Truro. The church comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle, south transept and north transept (known as the Tregavethan aisle). The arcade has seven four-centred arches of St Stephens stone supported on pillars of the same material. A part of the north transept is used as a vestry. This aisle was rebuilt in 1855 by the owner of Tregavethan Manor. The south transept was rebuilt in 1820, and again in 1862. There is a south porch, a priest's door, and a vestry door. The tower is of three stages, buttressed on the square, and finished with battlements and pinnacles.
  In 1819 the church had become so delapidated through extreme old age that it was considered unsafe for further use. The church was completely reconstructed and was reoped for divine worship on 8th October 1820. On 20th December 1860, during a terrific thunderstorm, the tower was struck by lighning, and one of the pinnacles and the roof of the nave considerably damaged.
  Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
  
  There is also a Mission Church at Idless in this parish. Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
  A chapel of St John was built in Lemon Street, Truro, in 1837-8; this became a separate parish. Another ecclesiastical district of St George was gazetted in 1846, and created from Kenwyn. All Saints Highertown is a new church (built in 1980) on the outskirts of Truro. It is in the diocese of Truro and the parish was divided from the neighbouring Kenwyn parish in 1984 with the addition of the parish of Baldhu and has a population at the beginning of the 21st century of almost 6,000. Details about the plans of this modern church are available on-line.
  
  A Mission Church was built in Shortlanesend in 1884. Details about the plans of that church are also available on-line.
• Non-Conformist. Dissenting chapels in this parish were available for the Wesleyan Methodists in Fairmantle Street, the Baptists in River Street, Methodist New Connexion in Castle Street, and for the United Methodist Free Church in Kenwyn Street.

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Church Records

• LDS Church Records.
  • The LDS Church batch numbers for Kenwyn are: C022951/2/3, C052821/2. These are searchable by surname.
  • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1608 - 1875; it is NOT believed to be fully included in the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI).
• LaVelda Faull of Glasgow, KY, USA. has transcribed some entries from the Parish Registers of the Kenwyn Parish:
  • Baptisms.
  • Banns.
  • Marriages.
  • Burials.
• The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1662 - 1971, Burials 1670 - 1977, Marriages 1662 - 1988, Boyd's Marriage Index 1559 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1800 - 1812.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
  • Pre 1813 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Burials.
• Baptisms.
  • Baptisms 1800 to 1911 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, baptisms (1837 to 1862) of the Falmouth Bible Christian Circuit. The area covers Falmouth, Camborne, Lanner, Penryn, Gwennap, St Agnes, and Kenwyn.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, baptisms (1843 to 1900) of the Falmouth, Redruth & Camborne Bible Christian Circuit. The area covers Falmouth, Redruth, Camborne, Lanner, St Agnes, and Kenwyn.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, baptisms (1857 to 1900) of the St Day Primitive Methodist Circuit. The area covers: St Day, Scorrier, Gwennap, St Agnes, Kea, Kenwyn, Perranzabuloe.
• Banns. Banns 1853 to 1912 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
• Marriages.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1608 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
  • Phillimore's marriages 1559 to 1812, and marriage transcriptions 1800 to 1911, 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 and CD formats.
  • Burials 1800 to 1911 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).

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Civil Registration

The parish of Kenwyn 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

• 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).
• Photographs of Kenwyn are available.

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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

• Bosvisack (Beuesehoc, Beveshoc), Grid Reference 781461.
• Idless (Edelet), Grid Reference 821474.
• Trehaverne (Tregauran, Tregavran), Grid Reference 822454.

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Maps

• Map of the Truro Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Kenwyn in the 19th century is also available.
• An old map of the parishes of Kenwyn, St Clement and Truro, St Mary in 1835 is available on-line from GENMAPS.

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Kenwyn parish was part of the Truro Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.
• Overseers' Accounts (1670 to 1727) are available in the Cornwall Record Office.

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Population

• Mithian was created from part of this parish in 1847; however, up to 1971, population figures still include Mithian. From 1981, the figures for Mithian were counted separately.
• From 1911, Kenwyn parish was reduced to an area called Kenwyn Rural; the remainder, which was known as Kenwyn Urban, was enumerated as part of the City of Truro.

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Statistics

Kenwyn parish comprises 8062 acres of land. Mithian was created from part of parish in 1847.

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