Cornwall

Nearby places

St Ives

The parish and Borough town of St Ives, (Cornish: Porthia), are situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Penwith. The parish is bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, on the east by St Ives Bay and Lelant, on the south by Lelant and Towednack, and on the west by Towednack and the sea. The parish is named after St Ja or Ia, who was believed to have been an Irish saint. The story is that she missed the boat carrying her companions to Cornwall and so climbed on a leaf which arrived before them! She is believed to have died at Hayle about the middle of the 5th century. Further information on the history of St Ives is available.

St. Ives was a small inconsequential town in 1602 according to Carew. By 1700 Tonkin regards it as equal to several other corporations. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 it was taxed with Ludgvan Lees, being the senior manor which encompassed lands in Ludgvan, Lelant, St. Ives and Towednack. Another early manor from the Domesday Survey is Trenwith - legend has it that it was held from King Arthur's time. The parish was junior to Uny Lelant from at least as early as 1294 until 1869. The current building has parts that date back to the early C15th century (petitioned in 1408, built a little later). The town was known as Pendennis and the principle manor was "Porth Ia" - later "Porthia and Dinas". The earliest borough charter known was in the time of Charles I but probably existed before that. The hanging of the Mayor (Payne) was in Edward VI reign for being involved in the prayer book rebellion (1549).

The town contains a picturesque fishing port in the far west of Cornwall with special qualities of light that has inspired many artists to live here in the past. The new Tate Gallery (West) houses an exhibition of modern art and has an excellent refreshment room on the top floor overlooking the bay.

The parish of Halsetown was created from part of St Ives parish in 1849.

Cemeteries

• Barnoon, is St. Ives oldest cemetery. It is an area of St. Ives on a steep hill above Porthmeor beach and was formed in 1855. The cemetery is located on the hill itself behind the Tate Gallery. Some monumental inscriptions at Barnoon are available on-line courtesy of West Penwith Resources.
  [All burials prior to Barnoon for St-Ives were at nearby churchyards. When all the plots at Barnoon were full or purchased, the next cemetery used from late 1950's was Longstones Cemetery at Carbis Bay. There is no church situated at either Barnoon or Longstones, however at Longstones there is a small chapel where services can be held].
• Transcriptions from Barnoon and Longstones cemetery, in St Ives, are available on Christine Uphill's Cornish Cemeteries site. A webcam view of Barnoon cemetery is also available.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line Monumental Inscriptions for:
  • The Parish Church - 194 entries.
  • Barnoon Cemetery.
• War Memorial inscriptions for St Ives parish are separately available.

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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 St Ives (HO107/144) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • Enumeration Districts 1 to 5.
    • Enumeration Districts 6 to 10).
  • The 1841 Census of St Ives is also available on-line from West Penwith Resources as follows:
    • Enumeration Districts 1 to 4.
    • Enumeration Districts 5 to 7.
    • Enumeration Districts 8 to 10.
• 1851.
  • The 1851 Census of St Ives (HO107/1917) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • Enumeration Districts 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d.
    • Enumeration Districts 2e, 2f and 2g.
    • Enumeration Districts 2h, 2i and 2j.
  • The New Zealand Society of Genealogists have compiled separate surname indexes of the 1851 Census for each Cornish registration district; St Ives is listed in Volume 25. 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 from which it can be purchased.
• 1861. The 1861 Census of St Ives is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG9/1589. Enumeration Districts 5, 6 [including some Merchant Shipping] and 7.
  • RG9/1590.
  • RG9/4454. In the 1861 census, Merchant Shipping was treated peculiarly. Shipping Returns for St Ives and Padstow have been placed on-line by the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1871. The 1871 Census of St Ives is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG10/2333. Enumeration District 5.
  • RG10/2334. Enumeration District 6 to 10.
  • RG10/2335. Enumeration District 11 and Merchant Shipping.
• 1881.
  • The Census of St Ives is also available from the on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • RG11/2341. Enumeration Districts 5 to 8.
    • RG11/2342.
      • Enumeration Districts 9 to 12.
      • Merchant Shipping.
    • Information about the coverage of the 1881 census of St Ives is available from West Penwith Resources.
• 1891.
  • Details of the 1891 census of St Ives is available on-line from the West Penwith Resources project.
  • The Census of St Ives (RG12/1854) is also available from the on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
    • Enumeration Districts 5 to 7.
    • Enumeration Districts 8 and 10.
    • Enumeration Districts 11 and 12.

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Church History

• Anglican. "The church of St. Ives a beautiful structure of the age of Henry V, with a lofty tower, is dedicated to St. Ia the Virgin; the edifice is well worthy of the observation of those who are curious in ecclesiastical architecture: the living is part of the vicarage of Uly Lelant, but has lately been endowed, by a grant from Queen Anne's bounty, the maintenance of a perpetual curate; the present encumberant of the parish is Rev. Dr. Cardew, the curate is the Rev. C. Aldrich; the patronage of preferment is the diocesan bishop. There are two methodist chapels, one of which is the largest in Cornwall, and two others belong to Lady Huntington's sect." (Pigot & Co 1830 Directory of Cornwall).
  The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW5140 and was dedicated to St Ia the Virgin. Further information on the churches of St Ives and Halestown is available. An extract from Blight's Churches of West Cornwall (1864) is also available.
  The church was built between 1410 and 1426. This is a large church, consisting of chancel, nave with western tower, north and south aisles to both, with porch, and a side chapel opening by an arcade of two into the eastern part of the south aisle. The east walls of the aisles and chapel are all flush with that of the chancel. The chapel was added, but the other portions of the structure appear to have been built according to one design, without any additions or alterations, excepting those which were barbarously effected in almost every church during Puritanical times. The roodloft staircase is at the north-west angle of the chapel. The roodscreen has been removed, but some of the carved oak benches remain.
  The tower, which is 119 feet in height is in four stages, buttressed on the square, and finished with battlements and battlement pinnacles. The belfry windows are unusually large and are transomed. The tower contains two bells and a clock.
  Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
  The parish is now part of the St Ives Team Ministry which is on-line.
  
  A second church dedicated to St Nicholas was built in 1903/04; details about the plans of this modern church are also available on-line.
• Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church in St Ives is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the patroness and name saint of St. Ives, St. Ia. A legendary biography of St. Ia was mislaid or spoilt in the Reformation, but a few details exist. St. Ia was apparently, one of a group of Irish missionaries who came to Cornwall about 460 A.D. The saint found herself separated from her companions, but after praying she spotted a coracle, (some legends tell of an enormous leal), which carried her safely to the port of Hayle. She built an oratory in St. Ives, now the site of the present Parish Church. St. Ia worked hard to foster the Christian faith in this part of Cornwall. She was martyred with several other missionaries on the orders of Theodoric, a local chieftain who had a castle in Hayle. Her relics were placed in the oratory which she had founded. During the fifteenth century a new Parish Church was built and her relics were laid there. St. Ia's feast is recorded in the liturgical calendar on 3rd February. The following Sunday a special Mass and procession are held in her honour in the Catholic Church here and then the whole town celebrates a public holiday "Feast Monday".
  During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries St. Ives seemed to have completely broken with the Roman Catholic Faith which it had formerly cherished. Foreign visitors, Breton fishermen, Irish workers, shipwrecked sailors had to go as far as Penzance for Mass. In 1901 a site in Street-an-Pol, once used as a shop and warehouse, was bought by a rich Catholic convert who then presented it to the Canons Regular of the Lateran for a new "Mission". The first Mass was celebrated on 16th February 1902 with only a very few people present. As time went on Mass attendance increased and it became necessary to find a more suitable location at the top of Skidden Hill facing Tregenna Hill. The new Church was blessed on 21st September 1908 by Bishop Charles Graham and solemnly opened with the celebration of Pontifical High Mass on 24th September 1908.
  The Church has fulfilled an artistic role, past and present, in this renowned part of Cornwall. The memorial plaque, already mentioned, was made by a Benedictine monk, Fr. Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey. Other artists' work can be seen in the interior. The wooden statue of St. Ia was carved by a parishioner, Faust Lang of Oberammergau, from a thick section of Austrian Oak found floating in St. Ives Bay. Near the statue are seventeen painted panels, in the style of El Greco, depicting Our Lord with the Twelve Apostles and four Latin Doctors of the Church: St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine of Hippo, Pope St. Gregory the Great and St. Jerome. The panels were a gift of the late Mr. & Mrs Philip Hill for the Consecration of the Church on 8th May 1946.
• Non-Conformist. There were a number of Non-Conformist chapels in St Ives. The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion had a chapel in Fore Street which was built in 1800. The Wesleyan chapel in Chapel Street is a large building capable of seating 750 persons. The Primitive Methodists also had a chapel in Fore Street, erected in 1831, which is capable of accommodating 800 persons. The Bible Christians built a chapel in Back Row for 400 persons, in 1858. The Methodist New Connexion also had a chapel in Chapel Street.

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Church Records

• LDS Church Records.
  • The LDS Church batch numbers for St Ives are: C023291/2, P014781, Primitive Methodist Church C045701, Sion Chapel Lady Huntingdon C065411, Wesleyan Methodist C065401. These are searchable by surname.
  • The IGI coverage for this parish is 1651 - 1812; the parish is NOT believed to be fully included in the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI).
• Church Registers.
  • Available surviving church registers are listed on-line.
  • The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1651 - 1940, Burials 1653 - 1964, Marriages 1653 - 1977, Boyds Marriage Index 1607 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1800 - 1812, BTs 1607 - 1674, Non-Conformist records 1800 - 1837.
• The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
  • Pre 1813 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Marriages
  • 1813-37 Burials.
• Baptisms.
  • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD, baptisms 1730 to 1840 for this parish.
  • Baptisms at St Ives parish church are available on-line from West Penwith Resources as follows:
    • 1807 - 1808.
    • 1868 to 1901.
  • Baptisms of St Ives (1730 to 1840) are available on CD from the Cornish Forefathers' Society.
  • Baptisms 1832 to 1903 of St Ives Primitive Methodist Circuit are available on-line courtesy of West Penwith Resources.
  • Baptisms 1860 to 1899 of St Ives Methodist New Connexion Chapel are available on-line courtesy of West Penwith Resources.
  • 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 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 covers St Ives, Penzance, Towednack, Lelant, and Ludgvan.
• Marriages.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1606 to 1837, which is available in Book, CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
  • Marriages 1860 to 1900 for this parish are also available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Phillimore's Marriages at St Ives - 1653 to 1812 are available on-line from UK Genealogy Archives.
  • Marriages in St Ives parish church 1837 to 1900 are available on-line from West Penwith resources.
• Burials.
  • Burials in St Ives parish church 1653 to 1753 are available on-line from West Penwith resources.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Burials 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book and CD formats.

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Civil Registration

The parish of St Ives 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).
• Some Old pictures of St Ives are available.
• Those pictures of St Ives at the beginning of the 21st century are on-line.
• More photographs of St Ives are also available on-line.
• Further pictures of St Ives are also available.
• Yet more photographs of St Ives are available on-line.

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Directories

• Pigot's Directory of St Ives 1823.
• Pigot's Directory of St Ives 1844 with Hayle and Neighbourhoods.
• Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1893 covering St Ives.

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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 West Penwith Resources have a genealogical website giving further information on St Ives.

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Land & Property

Information on the sale of Tregenna Castle and Estate in 1871, is available on-line. All the property concerned is in the parishes of St. Ives and Uny Lelant and totals about 470 acres freehold which was sold as one lot. Also included are the manor of Dynas Ia & Porth Ia which are described in great detail including all the leaseholders, lives and tenants - virtually a census of St. Ives for 1871 which can be compared with the official census. There is also some details of the manor of Lelant & Trevethow, some Mine Setts owned by the estate and some leasehold property held under Lord Wellesley.

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Manors

The Manor of Ludgvan Lese covered parts of the parishes of Ludgvan, St. Ives, Zennor and Towednack. The abstracts of the Manorial Records 1688-1739, which are taken from LDS film #1471491, are available on-line.

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Maps

• Map of the Penzance Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of St Ives 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 St Ives in the context of its neighbours is available.

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Occupations

Information about the St Ives, Zennor, St Erth Mines, is available on-line.

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

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

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Population

Halsetown was created from part of St Ives parish in 1849.

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Probate Records

• Wills & Admons for St Ives parish, 1660-1705
• Wills & Admons for St Ives parish, 1706-1730
• Wills & Admons for St Ives parish, 1730-1773 are available on-line.

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Societies

• The St Ives Trust is a charitable organisation which was set up in 1967 to educate the public in geography, history, natural history, and architecture of St Ives and District. Since 1997 it has supported the Archive Study Centre. It is located on the first floor of the Public Library in Gabriel Street.
  The Centre is a community-based project linked to the local Public Library, St Ives Museum, the County Record Office and other like organisations. The centre has an Archive Study Centre which has a number of local historical documents and archives to help the family history research department. It is currently researching the following families: Cundy, Curnow, Dysart, Harry, Hingston(e), the Germans Stevens family, the Lander Lugg family, Murt, masters or mariners named Rowe, and the Williams family from Portreath.
  Further detail is given on its website (given above).
• Recently terminals/PCs, containing information from the Cornwall Family History Society, have been provided to the Archive Study Centre.

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Statistics

The parish comprised 1890 acres of land.

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