Cornwall

Nearby places

Baldhu

The parish of Baldhu (Cornish: Baldhu) is situated in the Deanery of Powder. It is named after the Cornish for Black Mine. It was formed on 1st January 1847 from parts of Kea and Kenwyn parishes. The parish Church is the burial place of Billy Bray, the revivalist preacher.

The village is a mining village situated above the Carnon Valley to the West of Truro. All of the mining in the area has now ceased but there is much evidence of its past. The mine at Wheal Jane was the most recent one to close in the late 20th century. The area has many buildings once occupied by the local miners.

A little to the south of the Truro to Chacewater road, in the old parish of St. Kea, lies an Anglican church in an isolated spot. Hardly a house stands anywhere nearby. The building is reached by a narrow road and one almost stumbles upon it. The rooks crow in the surrounding trees. No bells are ever heard. The doors are locked and the windows vandalized, while all the ornaments and valuables have been removed. There are no times of service in the south porch for no services are ever held here. The atmosphere is one of desolation and decay. The people have departed; the organ no longer peals forth its music. Visitors come only to seek the grave of the miner evangelist preacher Billy Bray, who lies buried on the south side of the Victorian Gothic building. The place is St. Michael and All Angels Church, Baldhu.

In 1984, the Anglican ecclesiastical parish of Baldhu was united with All Saints, Highertown, Truro.
Baldhu parish contains the hamlet of Bissoe.

Cemeteries

• The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions on-line for the Parish Church - 772 entries.

Census

Census information for this parish (1851 - 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. In the 1841 Census, Baldhu was enumerated under Kea and Kenwyn parishes.
• 1851. In the 1851 Census, Baldhu was enumerated under Kea and Kenwyn parishes. The census (HO107/1910) is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • Kea Civil Parish, Enumeration Districts 1e, 1f, 1g, 1h, 1k and 1l.
  • Kenwyn Civil Parish, Enumeration District 1n.
• 1861. The 1861 Census of Baldhu is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG9/1560 - Kenwyn Civil Parish. Enumeration District 12.
  • RG9/1562 - Kea Civil Parish. Enumeration Districts 6 to 10.
• 1871.The 1871 Census of Baldhu is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG10/2286. Enumeration District 12.
  • RG10/2287. Enumeration Districts 5 to 8.
  • RG10/2288. Enumeration Districts 9 and 10.
• 1881. The 1881 Census of Baldhu is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG11/2313. Enumeration District 12.
  • RG11/2314. Enumeration Districts 5 to 10, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1891. The 1891 Census of Baldhu is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project as follows:
  • RG12/1832. Enumeration Districts 5 to 9.
  • RG12/1832. Enumeration District 10.
  • RG12/1831. Enumeration District 12.

Church History

• Anglican. This ecclesiastical parish was formed on 1st January 1847 from the parishes of Kenwyn and Kea. The parish church of Baldhu is located in OS Grid Square SW773432 and was dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
  The church was built in 1848 by the Earl of Falmouth, at a cost (including the school adjoining) of over £3,000; it is built of stone in the decorated style, and consists of chancel, nave, south aisle and a tower with spire on the north side, contained 6 bells, the gift of Anne, late Countess of Falmouth; the east window was stained. The church contained a copy of King Charles the First's letter to the people of Cornwall thanking them for the loyal services to the Crown, written from the camp at Sudeley Castle, September 10th 1643. The register here dates from the year 1848.
  The church stands a little to the south of the Truro to Chacewater road in an isolated spot. The building is reached by a narrow road. The atmosphere now is one of desolation and decay, and the building is no longer in use. The church building experienced a major restoration during the 1960s. Visitors now come only to seek the grave of the miner evangelist - the preacher Billy Bray, who lies buried on the south side of the Victorian Gothic building.
  The ecclesiastical parish is no longer independent; in 1984, it was united with All Saints, Highertown, Truro.
  Details about the plans of the modern church are available on-line.
• Non-Conformist. The Bible Christians and Wesleyan Methodists had chapels here. There were two Wesleyan Chapels at Baldhu and Hugus, and the United Methodists had chapels at Bethel and Kerley Downs.

Church Records

• Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1847 - 1975, Burials 1848 - 1973, Marriages 1848 - 1978.

Civil Registration

The parish of Baldhu became part of the Truro Registration District on its creation. There were originally sub-districts at Kea, Kenwyn, Probus, St. Agnes, St. Clement and St Just-in-Roseland, but these have now been abolished.

The address of the Truro Superintendant Registrar is: Dalvenie House, New County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY.
Tel: 01872 322241.

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 Baldhu are available on-line.

Genealogy

OPC Assistance. The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is on-line, from where he can be contacted by email.

Maps

• Map of the Truro Registration District in which the parish lies.
• An old map of the parish of Baldhu in the 19th century is also available.

Occupations

Information about the Carnon Valley Mines is available on-line.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Baldhu has always been in the Truro Registration District. Following its creation, Baldhu civil parish continued as part of the Truro Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief.

Population

Baldhu parish was created in 1847 from parts of Kea and Kenwyn parishes.

Statistics

The parish comprises 000 acres of land.

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