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St Teath

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The parish of St Teath (pronounced 'St Teth'), (Cornish: Eglostedha), is situated in the Deanery of Trigg Minor and Hundred of Trigg. It is bounded on the north by Tintagel and the detached part of Lanteglos, on the east by Lanteglos and Michaelstow, on the south by St Tudy and St Kew, and on the west by St Endellion and the sea. St Teath is situated on the north coast of Cornwall surrounded by green hills, between the parishes of Port Isaac and Tintagel. The name is derived from the patron saint of the local church St Tetha, who legend says was one of the 24 children of the Welsh king Broccan, but there was a 9th century Breton priest with the same name.

St Teath claims Vice-Admiral William Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) was born here in 1753, although the neighbouring parish of St Tudy has put in a rival claim. The village of Delabole lies due west of Camelford on the B3314. It is the home of the world famous Delabole Slate Quarry and the first commercial wind-farm to be operated in Britain. On the site of the wind-farm, is now located the Gaia Energy Centre.

Besides the Churchtown and Delabole, the villages in this parish are Medrose, Pengelly.

Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)

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Cemeteries

  • Besides the churchyard, a new cemetery was consecrated on 18th March 1869 by Bishop Trower.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions for:
    • The Parish Church - 1469 entries
    • Methodist Chapel, Delabole - 116 entries.
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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.
Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

  • 1841. The 1841 Census of St Teath (HO107/152), Enumeration Districts 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1851.
    • The 1851 Census of St Teath (HO107/1898), Enumeration Districts 6a, 6b and 6c, 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; St Teath is listed in Volume 4. 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 St Teath (RG9/1516), Enumeration District 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1871. The 1871 Census of St Teath (RG10/2221), Enumeration Districts 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1881. The 1881 Census of St Teath (RG11/2273), Enumeration District 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
  • 1891. The 1891 Census of St Teath (RG12/1800) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
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Church History

  • Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SX0680 and was dedicated to St Tetha. The first church on this spot was probably a rather flimsy wooden building of which nothing remains. The second church was built in Norman times (about 1100) and fragments of this still remain in the present church building which is mostly from about 1380.
    This church comprises a chancel, nave, and north and south aisles. The arcades east consist of six four-centred arches supported on monolith granite pillars. There are a south porch, a north door, and a priest's door. The tower has three stages and is finished with embrasures and stump pinnacles. The belfry contained five bells. There is a statue of a Knight on a window ledge in the church; angels are holding his head and his feet are resting on a lion. In the back of the church is a slate gravestone with the date 1580; it is one of the oldest in the country. There is also another slate slab with a carved picture of three people in Tudor costume, one woman holding a skull and a thigh bone in her left hand. There are only a few small pieces of old stained-glass left in the windows; these had been smashed at the time of the Reformation, and these pieces were dug up from the churchyard under the windows when the church was restored in the 19th century. The Pews were taken out of the central aisle and replaced by chairs at this time. Some of the Benchends were taken to Tintagel Church. They are now in a screen behind the altar there.
    The altar in the Lady Chapel stands on Norman pillars. The old font which stands on the floor just inside the North Door is also Norman, and was found in 1978 in a stream outside Vicarage Farm (which used to be the Vicarage many years ago.); holes had been inserted in each side for the water to go in and out and it had been used as a washing basin.
    Besides the parish church of St Teath, the parish also incorporates the sister church of St John the Evangelist, at Delabole.
  • Non-Conformist. There was a Bible Christian chapel at Medrose, chapels in Pegelly for the Wesleyan Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodist Free Church. In the Churchtown were chapels for the Wesleyan Methodists and Bible Christians; the former was rebuilt in 1871.
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Church Records

Until 1996 the records of St Teath Parish Church remained in the church and were not deposited at the County Record Office with the other parish records from Cornwall. In July 1996 the records were finally deposited in the CRO and indexes to the records made by the Cornwall Family History Society.

  • LDS Church Records.
    • The LDS Church batch numbers for St Teath are: E021011, M021011, P021011. These are searchable by surname.
    • The IGI coverage of this parish is 1558 - 1812.
  • The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1558 - 1934, Burials 1558 - 1994, Marriages 1558 - 1992, Phillimore's Marriage Index 1558 - 1812, Boyd's Marriage Index 1558 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1790 - 1812, BTs 1676 - 1772.
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of:
    • Pre 1813 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Marriages
    • 1813-37 Burials.
  • Other Non-Conformist Records. OPC Coverage of Non-Conformist records of this parishare available.
  • Baptisms.
    • Baptisms 1558 to 1911 in this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • Non-Conformist Registers for St Teath, or which copntain names of individuals from this parish, are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP) as follows:
      • St Teath United Methodist Free Church baptisms 1875 to 1878.
      • Camelford Bible Christian baptisms 1884 to 1912.
      • Camelford,Chapel Street Wesleyan Methodist burials 1805 to 1911.
      • Camelford United Methodist Free Church baptisms 1863 to 1897.
      • Camelford Wesleyan baptisms 1801 to 1830 and 1837 to 1876.
      • Camelford & Wadebridge United Methodist Free Church baptisms 1898 to 1911.
      • Michaelstow Bible Christian Circuit baptisms 1822 to 1884.
  • Banns. Banns 1754 to 1812, and 1852 to 1910, in this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Marriages.
    • Marriages 1558 to 1910 in this parish, and marriages 1898 to 1908 for St. John the Evangelist church, Delabole, are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Marriages in the Parish 1558 to 1837, which is available in CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
    • Phillimore marriages 1558 to 1812, marriage transcriptions 1558 to 1837 and 1899 to 1910, and marriages at Delabole 1898 to 1908, in this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • Burials.
    • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Burials in the Parish 1813 to 1837, which is available in Book format.
    • Burials 1558 to 1911 in this parish are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
    • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD burials 1846 to 1917 for this parish which can be purchased on Parish Chest.
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Civil Registration

Although originally in the Camelford Registration District, the parish of St Teath is now in the Bodmin Registration District; there were sub-districts at Boscastle and Camelford but these are now abolished. Parishes within the Camelford district were: Advent, Davidstow, Forrabury, Lanteglos, Lesnewth, Michaelstow, Minster, Otterham, St. Breward, St. Clether, St. Juliot, St. Teath, Tintagel, Trevalga.

The Superintendant Registrar of Bodmin can be contacted at: Lyndhurst, 66 Nicholas Street, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL31 2AG. Tel: 01208 73677.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of St Teath which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"ST. TEATH, a parish in the hundred of Trigg, county Cornwall, 2½ miles S.W. of Camelford. The parish, which is large, is bounded on the W. by the Bristol Channel, and intersected by the great road running to the N. There are two large slate quarries, that called Delabole, belonging to the Trevanion family, being of great extent and value. A lead mine, yielding a large proportion of silver, has been successfully worked, and there are deposits of iron, antimony, and other minerals. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Exeter, value £226, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Teath, is a structure of Henry VII.'s time, and was formerly collegiate for two prebendaries. It contains monuments to the Cheyneys of Bodanan and the Phillippses of Treveares. The Wesleyans and Bible Christians have chapels. Where are National schools. On a hill in this parish are traces of an ancient British encampment.

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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

The Domesday Settlements of Cornwall, a study undertaken by the Cornwall Branch of the Historical Association, has identified and located settlements listed in the Exeter and Exchequer Domesday Survey of AD 1086. The following places have been identified in St Teath ecclesiastical parish:

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SX058821 (Lat/Lon: 50.60614, -4.745665), St Teath which are provided by:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • St Teath parish was part of the Camelford Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.
  • Overseers' Accounts (1808 to 1835) are available in the Cornwall Record Office.
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Population

  • Population in 1801 - 911 persons
  • Population in 1811 - 875 persons
  • Population in 1821 - 990 persons
  • Population in 1831 - 1280 persons
  • Population in 1841 - 1719 persons
  • Population in 1851 - 2204 persons
  • Population in 1861 - 1980 persons
  • Population in 1871 - 2245 persons
  • Population in 1881 - 1994 persons
  • Population in 1891 - 1703 persons
  • Population in 1901 - 1836 persons
  • Population in 1911 - 1892 persons
  • Population in 1921 - 1839 persons
  • Population in 1931 - 1893 persons
  • Population in 1951 - 1818 persons
  • Population in 1961 - 1691 persons
  • Population in 1971 - 1638 persons
  • Population in 1981 - 1770 persons
  • Population in 1991 - 2085 persons
  • Population in 2001 - 2343 persons
  • Population in 2011 - 2605 persons
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Statistics

The parish comprises 5904 acres of land, one acre of water and 77 acres of foreshore.