Cornwall

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Uny Lelant

The parish of Lelant, (Cornish: Lannanta), Uny-Lelant, Lelant-Euny, or Lanant, is situated in the Deanery of Penwith, and in the eastern division of the Hundred of Penwith. It is bounded on the north by St Ives and St Ives Bay, on the east by the estuary of the River Hayle and St Erth, on the south by Ludgvan and on the west by Towednack.

Lelant is not mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086. In the twelfth century the area was named Lanata, meaning 'Church site of Anta'. All that is known about this saint is that she had a chapel on the rocks at the entrance to Hayle River. Lelant is an attractive village on the west bank of the Hayle estuary about 3 miles from St Ives. One of the oldest houses in the village is The Abbey, which was owned by the monks on St Michael's Mount. It was used as a rest house by the monks.

"LELANT (UNY), a parish in the hundred of PENWITH county of CORNWALL, 3 miles (S.E.) from St. Ives, containing 1271 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of St. Ives, in the archdeaconry of Cornwall, and diocese of Exeter, rated in the king's books at £22. 11s. 10½d., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Exeter. The church, dedicated to St. Ewny, is surrounded by banks of sand. There are two places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The parish is bounded on the north by St. Ives Bay, and on the east by Hayle harbour and the river of that name, which is crossed by a bridge. A considerable quantity of granite is raised here, and there are several tin mines in the neighbourhood, the principal of which are Wheal Reath and Wheal Speed. A fair for cattle is held on August 15th." [Lewis 1831].

It is often referred to as Uny Lelant after its patron saint. Its main villages are: Lelant, Tredreath, Trencrobben, and Trink.

The modern ecclesiastical parish of Carbis Bay was created from Lelant in 1913.

Cemeteries

• Lelant burials in St Uny's Churchyard are available on-line, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
• Lelant burials from 1877 in the Eastern Cemetery are available on-line, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
• Lelant burials from 1877 to 1911 in the Western Cemetery are available on-line, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
• Lelant burials from 1935 in the Southern Cemetery are available on-line, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for the Parish Church - 1220 entries.
• Some monumental inscriptions for Lelant, Longstones cemetery at Carbis Bay are available on-line courtesy of West Penwith Resources.
• War Memorial inscriptions for Lelant parish are separately available.
• Lelant soldiers who died in World War II are listed.

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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 their website.
• Censuses 1841 to 1901 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
• Other specific census information for this parish is available as follows:
  • 1831 Census. Details of population numbers of Leland parish in 1831 can be found on-line. No personal names were recorded.
  • 1841 Census.
    • The 1841 Census of Lelant (HO107/142), Enumeration Districts 6 to 9, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1841 census for Lelant village (HO 107/142/10) is available courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • 1851 Census.
    • The 1851 Census of Uni-Lelant (HO107/1917), Enumeration Districts 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1851 Census for Uny-Lelant, Lelant village, (HO107/1917), is also available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
    • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; Lelant is listed in Volume 24. 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 Lelant (RG9/1588), Enumeration Districts 13 to 16, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1861 census for Lelant village (RG9/1568) is also available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • 1871 Census.
    • The 1871 Census of Lelant (RG10/2332), Enumeration Districts 13 to 16, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1871 census for Lelant village (RG 10/2332) is also available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • 1881 Census.
    • The 1881 Census of Lelant (RG11/2340), Enumeration Districts 13 to 16 [including Merchant Shipping] is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1881 census for Lelant village (RG 11/2340) is also available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams
    .
  • 1891 Census.
    • The 1891 Census of Lelant (RG12/1853), Enumeration District 13 to 16 [and Merchant Shipping], is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
    • The 1891 census for Lelant village (RG 12/1853) is also available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • 1901 Census. The 1901 census for Lelant village (RG 13/2248) is available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • 1911 Census. The 1911 Census of Lelant and Carbis Bay, is available on-line, courtesy of Chris Uphill.

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Church History

• Anglican. St. Uny Lelant is the mother church for the area now covered by not only Lelant, but also of Towednack, St. Ives & Carbis Bay. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW5437. It is dedicated to St Ewinus (Uny or Euny).
  The Parish of Uny Lelant is sometimes shortened to Lelant; it is located on the north coast of Cornwall to the east of St. Ives. The older name for the churchtown is Lananta; in Middle Cornish it was Lan Anta or "Anta's church site" this is now preserved as 'Lelant'. A chapel to St. Anta (Chapel Anjier) stood on a low cliff north of the present church. St. Anta's church was standing as late as 1500.
  The present church comprises a chancel, nave, and north and south aisles. The north arcade has four ordinary pointed of arches of granite; a Norman arch supported on circular, moulded piers and a heavy pointed arch with a plain soffit. The south arcade consists of six ordinary pointed arches of granite, with granite pillars. The tower, which is in three stages, is 60 ft in height, buttressed at the angles and finished with battlements and pinnacles; it contains six bells.
  At the beginning of St Uny Lelant Parish Register of Marriages 1813-1837 the following was entered: "On Advent Sunday, December 2 1821, at two o'clock in the morning Lelant church tower was struck by lightening which falling first on the (porch ?) of the little West roof of the tower and tearing off many of the slates then down the south east pinnacle on the western gable of the southern aisle and split the large stone on which the pinnacle was fixed into two parts one of which was carried through the roof into the ringing loft. The other was thrown beyond the east end of the church. From the roof of the tower the lightening passed into the bell chamber where it broke out all the slated windows but did not injure either of the three bells which were sound before. A part of the fluid passed from the bell chamber to the ground through the tower and ringing loft breaking all the glass windows of the belfry, part passed from the bell chamber to the roof of the church where two streams of lightening came along the leading gutter between the middle aisle and the north and south aisles passing from west to east and entered the church breaking a large hole in the roof of the middle aisle over the ringing gallery and another in the roof of the north aisle. It entered the church also in several other places through smaller apertures, broke away a piece of the arches north of the altar and threw down the scotting at the side of the altar. There was at the time no conductor to any part of the church or tower".
  In the early years of the nineteenth century, when Anglicanism was still at a low ebb, there were only about a dozen communicants of St Uny's church. The numbers had increased by the mid-19th century as the 1851 religious census shows. By the beginning of the 20th century the numbers were such that a separate ecclesiastical parish of Carbis Bay was created from Lelant in 1913; however the two parishes are now conjoined again. Since 1948 Lelant has been part of the ecclesiastical parish of Carbis Bay and Lelant.
  There were ninety nine people on the St Uny church electoral roll at March 2003. Of these sixty five were Lelant residents. Further information about the history of St Uny's Church, Lelant, is available on-line, in three parts.
  Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
• Non-Conformist. There was a Primitive Methodist chapel at Lelant Town built in 1859. There was also a Wesleyan chapel built in 1834 at Tredreath, and there were Wesleyan Methodist chapels at Carbus Water, Polpier and Boldstamps, and another one belonging to the Methodist New Connexion at Chyengweal. Because membership had shrunk to a handful, the Primitive Methodist chapel closed in 1909 and the Wesleyan one at Trendreath closed in 1987.
  Some Information about Methodism in Lelant is also available.

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Church Records

• LDS Church Records.
  • The LDS Church batch numbers for Uny-Lelant are: C022561/2, M022561. These are searchable by surname.
  • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1669 - 1875.
• The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1684 - 1901, Burials: 1716 - 1928, Marriages: 1716 - 1878, Boyd's Marriage Index 1611 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1800 - 1812, Bishop's Transcripts: 1611 - 1674.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
  • Pre 1813 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Burials
• Births/Baptisms.
  • Baptisms 1779 to 1812 and 1813 to 1865, for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Baptisms at St Uny's church (in date order) 1779 to 1840 - with gaps - are available on-line by courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • Baptisms at St Uny's church (in name order) 1779 to 1840 - with gaps - are available on-line by courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD, baptisms 1716 to 1840 for this parish.
  • Some baptisms at Lelant Primitive Methodist Chapel are available on-line by courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • Cornwall Legacy have published on CD, baptisms (1844 to 1900) of the Penzance Primitive Methodist Circuit. The Circuit covers Penzance, Madron, St Ives, Gulval, Lelant, Ludgvan, Paul, Newlyn St Peters, and Towednack.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, records of the St Ives Methodist Circuit . These comprise baptisms (1818 to 1900). The areas covers St Ives, Towednack, Lelant, Ludgvan, St Erth, Halestown and Zennor.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, records of the St Ives Primitive Methodist Circuit. These comprise baptisms (1832 to 1900). The areas cover St Ives, Penzance, Towednack, Lelant, and Ludgvan.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, records of the Lelant, Ludgvan and St Erth Chapels. These comprise baptisms (1855 to 1900) for Chyangwheal, Hayle Foundry, Ludgvan & St Erth Chapels (Ludgvan Chapel Register is called "Marazion Wesleyan Circuit from 1883". St Ives, Penzance, Towednack, Lelant, and Ludgvan). The areas cover Lelant, Breage, Crowan, St Erth, Hayle, Ludgvan, St Hilary, Germoe and Marazion.
• Marriages.
  • Transcripts of Phillimore's marriages 1679 to 1812, Bishop's Transcripts 1679 to 1772, and parish transcripts 1782 to 1906, are on-line through the Cornwall OPC Database search facility - (C-PROP).
  • Marriages in Uny-Lelant 1837 - 1906 are on-line, courtesy of Linda Fowler.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1611 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
  • Phillimore's marriages 1679 to 1812 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
• Burials.
  • For details of burials in Lelant (including St Uny's cemetery) see under Cemeteries.
  • Burials at St Uny's church (in date order) 1861 to 1865 and 1877 to 1898 are available on-line by courtesy of Maxwell Adams.
  • Burials 1813 to 1902 for this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in CD format.

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Civil Registration

The parish of Uny-Lelant has been in the Penzance Registration District continuously from 1st July 1837. There were originally sub-districts at Marazion, Penzance, St Buryan, St Just, St Ives and Uny-Lelant but these have now been abolished.. Parishes within the district are: Gulval, Ludgvan, Madron, Marazion, Morvah, Penzance, Perranuthnoe, St. Buryan, St. Erth, St. Hilary, St. Ives, St. Just-in-Penwith, St. Levan, St. Michael's Mount, St. Paul, Sancreed, Sennen, Towednack, Uny-Lelant, Wolfe Rock Lighthouse, and Zennor. The Superintendant Registrar can be contacted at: Alphington House, Alverton Place, Penzance, TR18 4JJ. Tel: 01736 330093.

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Description & Travel

• A history of the parishes of St. Ives, Lelant, Towednack and Zennor in the county of Cornwall by J. H. Mathews (Published 1892), is available on-line, courtesy of the Old Cornwall Society.
• 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).
• Further photographs of Lelant are also available on-line.
• Some further photographs of Lelant have been made available by Maxwell Adams.

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Directories

• Lelant entries from Directories 1783 to 1939 are available.
• Surnames from Lelant entries in all Directories are available on-line. Specific Directories available are:
  • Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1873 covering Lelant.
  • Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1883 covering Lelant.
  • Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1893 covering Lelant (including Carbis Bay).

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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.
  • The OPC has produced a genealogical website which covers the parish.
• A further variety of information to help those reserching Lelant families is also available from Maxwell Adams.

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Historical Geography

There are listings of various place names in Lelant as found on censuses, maps, and other documents. These include the names of settlements, roads, and fields.

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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.
• Maxwell Adams has made the following information available on-line:
  • Lelant leaseholders 1708-1853.
  • A list of people who were present or late occupiers of houses and tenements in Lelant in 1717.
  • Lelant landowners in 1820 and 1873.
  • Lelant village leaseholders in 1838.
  • Rent anf Tithe payments by St Ives to Lelant parish as recorded in St Ives borough accounts

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Law & Legislation

Information on the application of law & order in Lelant parish is available. This includes many names of parishioners who had transgressed, and how they were punished.

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Maps

• Map of the Penzance Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Uny Lelant in the 19th century is also available.
• An old map of Lelant, St Ives and Towednack in 1835 is available on-line from GENMAPS.
• A map showing Lelant in the context of its neighbours is also available.

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Military Records

• Lelant soldiers before 1914 are listed.
• Men of Lelant parish who served in World War I and survived are listed.
• Information about those from Lelant who were killed in the war is available.

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Occupations

• Information on the Lelant Brewery is available on-line.
• Information on the Inns of Lelant is available on-line.

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Officials & Employees

Lelant parish officials 1770-1802 included churchwardens and overseers of the poor. Details of these are listed on-line.

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Politics & Government

Information on the civil administration of Lelant is available on-line.
For nearly forty years, from December 1894 to the Spring of 1934, Lelant had its own parish council. This covered a much larger area than the present village, stretching into Carbis Bay and into the countryside. Information on this is available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Uny Lelant parish was part of the Penzance Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.
• Some information about the poor in Leland is available courtesy of Maxwell Adams. People listed in 1771-1772 in the Lelant poor book, the accounts of the Lelant parish overseers of the poor (CRO P/120/12/1), are also available.
• Overseers' Accounts (1772 to 1837) are available in the Cornwall Record Office.

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Population

The 1377 poll tax recorded the number of Lelant people assessed for tax was 239. The approximate population of Lelant parish in 1377 (as estimated by MacLean from the poll tax figures) was: 359.

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Postal & Shipping Guides

• Some information about the postal arrangements in Lelant is available. This includes information on Postmasters and postal staff.

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Probate Records

• Wills & Admons for Uny Lelant parish, 1660-1773 are available on-line.
• A list of the Wills of people from Lelant (1858 to 1893) are also available on-line, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.

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Public Records

• Lelant references at Cornwall Record Office, compiled by Maxwell Adams, is available on-line.
• Lelant references at the Royal Institution of Cornwall, also compiled by Maxwell Adams, is also available. These include many surnames.
• Lelant references at the Public Record Office, compiled by Maxwell Adams, is available on-line.

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Religion & Religious Life

The Vicars of Lelant, with the date of their appointment to the post, are available on-line courtesy of Maxwell Adams.

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Schools

• The village had a school from 1833 to 1975. This was the National School (a Church of England school) in Church Road. A history of the school is available on-line.
• Pupils at Lelant National School, born October 1898 - December 1910 are listed, courtesy of Maxwell Adams.

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Societies

• To encourage and sustain public interest in the history of Penwith to provide mutual support and encouragement to members in their individual research projects, whether related to Penwith or of wider historical interest.
• To work as a group on specific research projects, with the aim of publication to an academic standard.
• To encourage the strong link with the Morrab Library, supporting the Library in its aims and activities.

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Statistics

The parish comprised 3524 acres of land.

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Taxation

• Lelant ratepayers of 1722 are listed and available on-line.
• Lelant ratepayers of 1750 are listed and available on-line.

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