Cornwall

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Sancreed

The parish of Sancreed (Cornish: Eglossancrekres), is named after the holy place upon which the church now stands. There is a legend St Sancreed, patron saint of the parish church, killed his father by accident and, in contrition, lived as a swineherd. This parish is in the centre of the Lands End peninsula. It is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Penwith, and is bounded on the north by St Just, on the east by Madron, on the south by Paul and on the west by St Buryan. Although not on the coast, there is the large stretch of water of the Drift Reservoir to the east of the village, which is now much used by visitors for fishing and bird-watching.

The advowson of Sancreed appears to have been attached originally to the Manor of Bosvenning, held by the Earl of Gloucester. Further information on Sancreed is available. Principal hamlets are the Churchtown, Drift, Sellan, Brane and Newbridge.

Cemeteries

• The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for:
  • The Parish Church - 987 entries; photographs of surviving gravestones in the churchyard are on-line courtesy of Mark Hattam.
  • Tregerest Methodist Chapel - 105 entries; photographs of surviving gravestones at Tregerest are on-line, courtesy of Mark Hattam.
    (There is a search box on Mark's main page).
• War Memorial inscriptions for Sancreed parish are separately available on-line on the OPC site, and also on Mark Hattam's site.

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Census

Census information for parishes in this town (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 Sancreed (HO107/144), Enumeration Districts 11 to 13, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • The 1841 Census of Sancreed, (Enumeration District 14), is also on-line from West Penwith Resources.
• 1851.
  • The 1851 Census of Sancreed (HO107/1919), Enumeration District 2a, 2b and 2c, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; Sancreed is listed in Volume 29. 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. The 1861 Census of Sancreed (RG9/1596), Enumeration Districts 2 to 4, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1871. The 1871 Census of Sancreed (RG10/2343), Enumeration Districts 2 to 4, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1881. The 1881 Census of Sancreed (RG11/2349), Enumeration Districts 2 to 4, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1891. The 1891 Census of Sancreed (RG12/1860), Enumeration Districts 2 to 4, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1901. The 1901 Census of Sancreed (RG13/2256), Enumeration Districts 2 and 3, 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 SW4229 and was dedicated to St Credan (or Sancredus). Although there is a problem as to which St Credan as there were two or more Cornish Saints with this name. Some feel the dedication is to St Credan, a disciple of St Petrock, whose body, according to Leland rests in Bodmin; or others to St Credan, son of Illadham, who subsequently returned to Ireland and settled in County Wicklow.
  The circular configuration of the site together with the two old crosses, suggests not only the first church was probably monastic in character, but also that it was surrounded by a collection of huts or cells, housing a community of monks, manual workers and domestics by whom the story of the original founder would have been passed by word of mouth on from generation to generation. There was a Norman church here but the character of this church is only a matter of conjecture. The remains of the Font from this period can still be seen.
  The church comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle and north transept. The arcade consists of five four-centred arches supported on monolith granite pillars; the transept is separated from the nave by two similar arches sustained by a similar pillar. The inner half of the transept is used as a vestry. Entrances are a south porch, a north door and a vestry door; the original priest's door is blocked. The tower is a massive building of two stages and finished with battlements and pinnacles; it was probably designed in the first place for a spire. It was built of granite ashlar in large stones, the courses in the lower half being alternately deep and shallow. It contains three bells.
  Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
• Non-Conformist. There were Wesleyan Methodist chapels at the Churchtown and Newbridge; Bible Christian chapels existed at Drift, Newbridge, Brahan and Grumbler - see also West Penwith Resources information. Further photographs of two of these chapels are available.

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Church Records

• LDS Church Records.
  • The LDS Church batch numbers for Sancreed are: C022041/2. These are searchable by surname.
  • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1566 - 1875; it is NOT believed to be fully included in the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI).
• The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1566 - 1835, Burials 1579 - 1973, Marriages 1559 - 1966, 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 1600 to 1911 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The OPC has placed on-line baptisms as follows:

    Baptisms at Sancreed 1566 to 1599. Baptisms at Sancreed 1600 to 1699. Baptisms at Sancreed 1700 to 1779. Baptisms at Sancreed 1780 to 1799. Baptisms at Sancreed 1800 to 1812.

    Baptisms at Sancreed 1813 to 1834. Baptisms at Sancreed 1835 to 1849. Baptisms at Sancreed 1850 to 1869. Baptisms at Sancreed 1870 to 1905.

  • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD baptisms 1700 to 1834 for this parish.
  • Cornwall Legacy have published on CD, baptisms (1839 to 1900) of the Penzance Bible Christian Circuit. The Circuit covers Penzance, Sancreed, St Just, Madron, Gulval, St Hilary, Ludgvan, Paul, Sennen, St Buryan, Zennor, Towednack and Morvah.
  • Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, records of the St Just Bible Christian Circuit. These comprise baptisms (1860 to 1900). The areas covers St Just, Sancreed, St Buryan, Madron, Sennen and Morvah.
• Banns. Details of Banns (and Banns & Marriages) in this parish are available on-line as follows:
  • Banns 1754 to 1901 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Banns & Marriage Register 1754 to 1812 which are on-line courtesy of Diane Donohue.
  • Banns Register 1813 to 1901 which are on-line courtesy of Diane Donohue.
• Marriages.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1559 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf formats.
  • Phillimore's marriages 1559 to 1812, and parish marriages 1813 to 1901, are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Phillimore's Marriages at Sancreed - 1559 to 1812 are available on-line from the UK Genealogy Archives.
  • The OPC has made the following marriages available on-line as follows:

    Marriages at Sancreed 1549 to 1599. Marriages at Sancreed 1600 to 1649. Marriages at Sancreed 1650 to 1699 Marriages at Sancreed 1700 to 1749. Marriages at Sancreed 1750 to 1799. Marriages at Sancreed 1800 to 1837. Marriages at Sancreed 1837 to 1849.

    Marriages at Sancreed 1850 to 1859. Marriages at Sancreed 1860 to 1869. Marriages at Sancreed 1870 to 1879. Marriages at Sancreed 1880 to 1889. Marriages at Sancreed 1890 to 1899. Marriages at Sancreed 1900 to 1903.

• Burials.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book format.
  • Burials 1579 to 1910 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The OPC has made the following burials available on-line as follows:

    Burials at Sancreed 1579 to 1599. Burials at Sancreed 1600 to 1649. Burials at Sancreed 1650 to 1699. Burials at Sancreed 1700 to 1749. Burials at Sancreed 1750 to 1799.

    Burials at Sancreed 1800 to 1812. Burials at Sancreed 1813 to 1837. Burials at Sancreed 1838 to 1852. Burials at Sancreed 1853 to 1889. Burials at Sancreed 1889 to 1905.

  • Burials at Sancreed 1838 to 1852, Surnames are also available on-line courtesy of Gwen Attridge.
  • Burials at Sancreed 1853 to 1889 are available on-line courtesy of Diane Donohue.
• Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD, records of the St Just Wesleyan Circuit. These comprise baptisms (1856 to 1900), Wesleyan Chapel burials (1849-1900), Trewellard Wesleyan Chapel Baptisms 1894 to 1900. The areas cover St Just, St Leven, Sancreed, St Buryan, Madron, Morvah, Botallack and Paul.
• Other Records. The OPC has made the following records available:
  • Church Wardens' Accounts.
  • Vestry Records 1843-1862.

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Civil Registration

The parish of Sancreed 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

• 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 the former Bible Christian (now Methodist) chapel at Tregerest.

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Directories

• Kelly's Post Office Directory of Cornwall 1856 for Sancreed.
• Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1873 for Sancreed.
• Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1883 for Sancreed.
• Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1893 for Sancreed.

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Genealogy

• 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.
• There is a genealogical website for the parish.
• West Penwith Resources have also produced a genealogical website for Sancreed.

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Manors

The Manorial Documents Register (MDR) maintained by the Historic Manuscripts Commission notes that, so far as can be established, the parish of Sancreed contained the manors of Bosvenning, Sancreed and Tregonebris.

• Tregonebris Manor.
  Survey and rental 1620 and 1636. In private possession. Enquiries to Cornwall Record Office, Old County Hall, Truro TR1 3AY (ref: Carew Pole, HD/11/336 & 238).
• Bosvenning and Sancreed Manors.
  The MDR has no note of manorial documents for Bosvenning or Sancreed.

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Maps

• Map of the Penzance Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Sancreed in the 19th century is also available. A map showing Sancreed in the context of its neighbours is available.

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Sancreed parish was part of the Penzance Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

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Population

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Probate Records

• Wills & Admons for Sancreed parish, 1660-1727 are available on-line.
• The OPC has also made Sancreed Wills and Admons, with links to on-line transcriptions, available.

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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 comprises 4608 acres of land.

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Taxation

Entries from the Hearth Tax 1662 - 1664 for Sancreed are available on-line.

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