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{{other uses}}{{Redirect|Lannudhno|the town in North Wales|Llandudno}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
{{Infobox UK place
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[[File:Hayle River near St Erth - geograph.org.uk - 182864.jpg|thumb|River Hayle near St Erth (church tower in distance)]]
[[File:Hayle River near St Erth - geograph.org.uk - 182864.jpg|thumb|River Hayle near St Erth (church tower in distance)]]
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'''St Erth''' ({{lang-kw|Lannudhno}})<ref>[http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)] : [http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=79ba408d-7c02-499e-8cd6-b18dd48de58d&version=-1 '''List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel''']. [[Cornish Language Partnership]].</ref> is a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] and village in [[Cornwall]], England, United Kingdom.


⚫
'''St Erth''' ({{langx|kw|Lannudhno}})<ref>[http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515091028/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 |date=15 May 2013 }} : [http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=79ba408d-7c02-499e-8cd6-b18dd48de58d&version=-1 '''List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel''']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515071635/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=79ba408d-7c02-499e-8cd6-b18dd48de58d&version=-1 |date=15 May 2013 }} [[Cornish Language Partnership]].</ref> is a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] and village in [[Cornwall]], England, United Kingdom.
⚫
The village is four miles (6.5&nbsp;km) southeast of [[St Ives, Cornwall|St Ives]] and six miles (10&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Penzance]].<ref>Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' {{ISBN|978-0-319-23148-7}}</ref>


St Erth takes its name from [[Saint Erc]], one of the many Irish saints who brought Christianity to Cornwall during the [[Sub-Roman Britain|Dark Ages]], and is at the old crossing point of the [[River Hayle]]. The Cornish name of the place derives from St Uthinoch of whom little is known.
St Erth takes its name from [[Saint Erc]], one of the many Irish saints who brought Christianity to Cornwall during the [[Sub-Roman Britain|Dark Ages]], and is at the old crossing point of the [[River Hayle]]. The Cornish name of the place derives from St Uthinoch of whom little is known. The [[St Erth's Church, St Erth|church of St Erth]] dates from the 15th-century, though an older church is said to have once stood on St Erth Hill overlooking the village.


The [[St Erth railway station]] is 0.75 miles from the village, at [[Rose-an-Grouse]], and is on the [[Cornish Main Line]] from [[Paddington railway station|London Paddington]] to [[Penzance railway station|Penzance]]. It is also the junction for scenic [[St Ives Bay Line]].
The parish shares boundaries with [[Ludgvan]] in the west, [[Hayle]] in the north, and [[St Hilary, Cornwall|St Hilary]] in the south.

The current church of St Erth dates from the 15th century, though an older church is said to have once stood on St Erth Hill overlooking the village. St. Erth also has a [[St Erth railway station|railway station]] situated 0.75 miles from the village, along the [[St Ives Bay Line|branch line]] between [[St Ives, Cornwall|St Ives]] and [[Penzance]].


==Geography==
==Geography==
⚫
The village is four miles (6.5&nbsp;km) southeast of [[St Ives, Cornwall|St Ives]] and six miles (10&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Penzance]].<ref>Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' {{ISBN|978-0-319-23148-7}}</ref> The parish shares boundaries with [[Ludgvan]] in the west, [[Hayle]] in the north, and [[St Hilary, Cornwall|St Hilary]] in the south.
⚫
The old coaching road once led through the village, before the building of the Causeway in 1825 along the edge of the Hayle [[Estuary]]. Prior to 1825 anyone wanting to go from Hayle to St Ives or Penzance had to cross the sands of Hayle Estuary or make a significant detour crossing the River Hayle at the ancient St Erth Bridge. The Star Inn, in St Erth village centre, is a fine [[coaching inn]] dating from the fourteenth/fifteenth centuries. It was along this route that tin was carried upcountry from the [[Stannary|stannaries]] of [[Penwith (hundred)|Penwith]]. Guides took travellers across the sands, but, even with guides, it was sometimes a perilous journey and the shifting sand and racing tide claimed several lives. Because of this major obstacle to trade, a turnpike trust was formed, with Henry Harvey a trustee, to build the causeway which now takes the road below the plantation west to the Old Quay House. Costing £5000 in 1825, the investors charged a toll to use the causeway to recover their costs.


⚫
The old coaching road once led through the village, before the building of the causeway in 1825 along the edge of the Hayle [[Estuary]]. Prior to 1825 anyone wanting to go from Hayle to St Ives or Penzance had to cross the sands of the Hayle Estuary or make a significant detour crossing the River Hayle at the ancient St Erth Bridge. The Star Inn, in St Erth village centre, is a [[Listed building#England and Wales|Grade II listed building]] [[coaching inn]] dating from the fourteenth/fifteenth centuries. It was along this route that tin was carried upcountry from the [[Stannary|stannaries]] of [[Penwith (hundred)|Penwith]]. Guides took travellers across the sands, but, even with guides, it was sometimes a perilous journey and the shifting sand and racing tide claimed several lives. Because of this major obstacle to trade, a turnpike trust was formed, with Henry Harvey a trustee, to build the causeway which now takes the road below the plantation west to the Old Quay House. Costing £5000 in 1825, the investors charged a toll to use the causeway to recover their costs.
Langdon (1896) recorded that six stone crosses existed in the parish, including two in the churchyard.<ref>Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Pollard</ref>


St Erth was the site of a large creamery operated by [[United Dairies]]: this was responsible for processing a large quantity of milk produced in Penwith.
St Erth was the site of a large creamery operated by [[United Dairies]]: this was responsible for processing a large quantity of milk produced in Penwith.


===Manor houses===
===Manor houses===
Trewinnard Manor is an early 18th-century house built on a different site from its medieval predecessor by the Hawkins family. Trelissick Manor is a medieval house remodelled in 1688 for the Jacobite [[James Paynter]], again remodelled in the 18th century and extended in the 19th century. Tredrea Manor is a 17th-century house but it was largely rebuilt c. 1856. The front is of five bays built in ashlar.<ref>Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). Cornwall. New Haven: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-12668-6}}; p. 538</ref>
Trewinnard Manor is an early 18th-century house built on a different site from its medieval predecessor by the Hawkins family. [[Trelissick Manor]] is a medieval house remodelled in 1688 for the Jacobite [[James Paynter]], again remodelled in the 18th century and extended in the 19th century. Tredrea Manor is a 17th-century house but it was largely rebuilt c. 1856. The front is of five bays built in ashlar.<ref>Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). Cornwall. New Haven: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-12668-6}}; p. 538</ref>


===St Erth Sand Pits===
===St Erth Sand Pits===
St Erth Sand Pits was the site of choice for the extraction of clay for the fixing of candles to the helmets of miners. It also was the site of significant [[fossil]] finds and in 1962 was designated a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI).<ref>{{cite web|title=St Erth Sand Pits|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000492.pdf|publisher=[[Natural England]]|accessdate=28 October 2011|year=1986}}</ref> However, the main use of the [[sand]] in this location was for the [[foundry|metal foundries]] throughout Cornwall and beyond. The sand grains are found coated with a thin film of clay. With gentle pressure and the correct percentage of water the sand grains will bind together and can be used for making a [[Sand casting|sand mould]] into which molten metals can be poured from making engineering castings. A good source of clay for the fixing of candles to the helmets of miners was [[St Agnes, Cornwall#St Agnes Beacon|St Agnes Beacon]].
St Erth Sand Pits were worked for [[Pliocene]] sands and clays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/view/cornwallgeoconservationgroup/reserves|title=Geological Nature Reserves|access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref> The clay was used for fixing candles to miners' helmets and also for [[Puddling (civil engineering)|puddling]] the [[dry dock]] at [[Penzance]]. Later it was used by [[Bernard Leach]] at his [[pottery]] in [[St Ives, Cornwall|St Ives]]. The clay was the source of significant [[fossil]] finds and in 1886 the [[Royal Society]] obtained a government grant to search the shell-beds.<ref>{{cite news |title=The St Erth Sand-Pits |work=The Cornishman |issue=413 |date=17 June 1886 |page=5}}</ref> In 1962 the pits were designated a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI).<ref>{{cite web|title=St Erth Sand Pits|url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1000492.pdf|publisher=[[Natural England]]|access-date=28 October 2011|year=1986}}</ref> However, the main use of the [[sand]] in this location was for the [[foundry|metal foundries]] throughout Cornwall, but especially for [[Harvey & Co|Harvey's]] of nearby [[Hayle]], and beyond. The sand grains are found coated with a thin film of clay. With gentle pressure and the correct percentage of water the sand grains will bind together and can be used for making a [[Sand casting|sand mould]] into which molten metals can be poured to make engineering castings. One of the disused pits is a geological nature reserve owned by [[Cornwall Wildlife Trust]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/st-erth-pits|title=Nature reserves, St Erth Pits|access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref> and part of St. Erth Sand Pits SSSI is owned by the [[Diocese of Truro]] (via their Diocesan Board of Finance)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-14 |title=Cornwall’s church land: commercial enterprise or public benefit? |url=https://beatingtheboundshome.wpcomstaging.com/2021/08/14/cornwalls-church-land-commercial-enterprise-or-public-benefit/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Beating the bounds |language=en-GB}}</ref>. Another good source of clay for fixing candles to miners' helmets was on [[St Agnes, Cornwall#St Agnes Beacon|St Agnes Beacon]].


==Parish Church==
==Parish church==
[[File:Ancient cross in St Erth - geograph.org.uk - 1331234.jpg|thumb|The cross in the churchtown]]
[[File:Ancient cross in St Erth - geograph.org.uk - 1331234.jpg|thumb|The cross in the churchtown]]
The [[St Erth's Church, St Erth|parish church is dedicated to St Erc]] (Latin ''Ercus'') and is probably of the 14th century. It is not a large church and has a west tower of three stages. There are north and south aisles, the arcade in the north aisle having piers of two different types. The church was [[Victorian restoration|restored]] in 1874, at which time two dormer windows were inserted in the roof. The wagon roof of the south porch is old and the font is Norman and of an unusual square design.<ref>Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed. revised by Enid Radcliffe. Penguin; p. 169</ref> The ornate wooden roofs of the nave and aisles and fine oak screen decorated with the Four Evangelists are due to the restoration of 1874.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oliverscornwall.co.uk/holy.html#Erth|title=St Erth|publisher=Oliver's Cornwall|accessdate=3 May 2010}}</ref><ref>[[Mee, Arthur]] (1937) ''Cornwall''. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213</ref>
The [[St Erth's Church, St Erth|parish church is dedicated to St Erc]] (Latin ''Ercus'') and is probably of the 14th-century. It is not a large church and has a west tower of three stages. There are north and south aisles, the arcade in the north aisle having piers of two different types. The church was [[Victorian restoration|restored]] in 1874, at which time two dormer windows were inserted in the roof. The wagon roof of the south porch is old and the font is Norman and of an unusual square design.<ref>Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed. revised by Enid Radcliffe. Penguin; p. 169</ref> The ornate wooden roofs of the nave and aisles and fine oak screen decorated with the Four Evangelists are due to the restoration of 1874.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oliverscornwall.co.uk/holy.html#Erth|title=St Erth|publisher=Oliver's Cornwall|access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref><ref>[[Mee, Arthur]] (1937) ''Cornwall''. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213</ref>


The church is sited in a wooded area and the churchyard, according to [[Charles Henderson (historian)|Charles Henderson]], "greatly enhances the building". The names of eight places in the parish are recorded as having chapels or shrines in the medieval registers, including Bosworgey (St Mary Magdalene) and Gurlyn.<ref>''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 92-93</ref>
The church is sited in a wooded area and the churchyard, according to [[Charles Henderson (historian)|Charles Henderson]], "greatly enhances the building". The names of eight places in the parish are recorded as having chapels or shrines in the medieval registers, including Bosworgey (St Mary Magdalene) and Gurlyn.<ref>''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 92-93</ref>
Line 53: Line 51:
There are six Cornish crosses in the parish: two are in the churchyard and the others are in the churchtown and at Battery Mill, Tregenhorne and Trevean.<ref>Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard</ref>
There are six Cornish crosses in the parish: two are in the churchyard and the others are in the churchtown and at Battery Mill, Tregenhorne and Trevean.<ref>Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard</ref>


==Cornish wrestling==
⚫
== Local government ==
There have been [[Cornish wrestling]] tournaments, for prizes, have been held in St Erth at least throughout the last century.<ref name="C09111905">Cornishman, 9 November 1905.</ref> Tournaments have been held at the field at Treloweth, near St Erth station<ref name="CPMN02101920">Cornish Post and Mining News, 2 October 1920.</ref> and at Tredrea Manor.<ref name="WBCA13091945">West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser - Thursday 13 September 1945.</ref>

⚫
==Local government==
For the purposes of local government St Erth forms a civil parish and elects eleven parish councillors every four years to St Erth Parish Council. The local authority is [[Cornwall Council]].
For the purposes of local government St Erth forms a civil parish and elects eleven parish councillors every four years to St Erth Parish Council. The local authority is [[Cornwall Council]].


== Twinning ==
==Twinning==
St Erth is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Ploulec'h]] in [[Brittany]], France.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}
St Erth has been [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Ploulec'h]] in [[Brittany]], France since 1998.<ref>{{cite news |title=French village looks for a twin |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=UKNB&req_dat=F40D1930047444E2B32A215A4E7AC431&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F1219C9564352A5A0 |work=[[Western Daily Press]] |date=28 June 2008}}</ref>


==Notable people==
==Notable people==

* The Rev. [[William Paynter (academic)|William Paynter]], (1637 – 1716) Anglican clergyman and [[Vice-Chancellor]] of [[Oxford University]] was born at Trelissick Walbert, in the parish of St Erth.
* The Rev. [[William Paynter (academic)|William Paynter]], (1637 – 1716) Anglican clergyman and [[Vice-Chancellor]] of [[Oxford University]] was born at Trelissick Walbert, in the parish of St Erth.
* [[Davies Gilbert]] PRS (1767–1839) Cornish engineer, author, and politician. Born Davies Giddy, he lived in St Erth in family home of Tredrea.
* [[David Charleston]] (1848 in St Erth – 1934) Cornish-born Australian politician, emigrated to Australia in 1884 and in 1901 he was elected to the [[Australian Senate]]
* [[David Charleston]] (1848 in St Erth – 1934) Cornish-born Australian politician, emigrated to Australia in 1884 and in 1901 he was elected to the [[Australian Senate]]
* Major [[Herbert Augustine Carter]] [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (1874 – 1916) son of the vicar of St Erth. Served in two campaigns in East Africa.<ref>Mee, Arthur (1937) ''Cornwall''. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213</ref> He is buried at St Erth in a plot planted with tropical plants including laurels and castor oil plants.<ref>Mee (1937); p. 250</ref> His Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Museum]] at Bodmin.
* Major [[Herbert Augustine Carter]] [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (1874 – 1916) son of the vicar of St Erth. Served in two campaigns in East Africa.<ref>Mee, Arthur (1937) ''Cornwall''. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213</ref> He is buried at St Erth in a plot planted with tropical plants including laurels and castor oil plants.<ref>Mee (1937); p. 250</ref> His Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Museum]] at Bodmin.
* [[Bernard Rawlings (Royal Navy officer)|Admiral Sir Henry Bernard Hughes Rawlings]] GBE KCB (1889 in St Erth – 1962) Royal Navy officer, became [[Mediterranean Fleet|Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean]] during World War II.
* [[Bernard Rawlings (Royal Navy officer)|Admiral Sir Henry Bernard Hughes Rawlings]] GBE KCB (1889 in St Erth – 1962) Royal Navy officer, became [[Mediterranean Fleet|Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean]] during World War II.
* [[John Nott|Sir John William Frederic Nott]] KCB (born 1932) former British Conservative Party MP for [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]] from 1966 to 1983, [[Secretary of State for Defence]] during the [[Falkland war]], now lives on his farm in St Erth
* [[John Nott|Sir John William Frederic Nott]] KCB (1932 &ndash; 2024) former British Conservative Party MP for [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]] from 1966 to 1983, [[Secretary of State for Defence]] during the [[Falkland war]], lived on his farm in St Erth.


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
*Tyrrell, Stephen (2012) ''Trewinnard: a Cornish History''. Pasticcio<ref>[http://pasticcio.co.uk/trewinnard-a-cornish-history/ Trewinnard: a Cornish History]</ref>
* Tyrrell, Stephen (2012) ''Trewinnard: a Cornish History''. Pasticcio<ref>[http://pasticcio.co.uk/trewinnard-a-cornish-history/ Trewinnard: a Cornish History]</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|St Erth}}
* [http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='st%20erth') Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Erth]
* [http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='st%20erth') Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Erth]
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/StErth/ Article on St Erth parish in Genuki]
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/StErth/ Article on St Erth parish in Genuki]
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{{St Ives CP navigation box}}
{{St Ives CP navigation box}}
{{SSSIs Cornwall geological}}
{{SSSIs Cornwall geological}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Erth}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Erth}}
⚫
[[Category:Villages in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall]]
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[[Category:Villages in Cornwall]]

Latest revision as of 11:42, 9 November 2024

For other uses, see St Erth (disambiguation).
"Lannudhno" redirects here. For the town in North Wales, see Llandudno.

St Erth
St Erth is located in Cornwall
St Erth
St Erth
Location within Cornwall
Population1,381 (2011 census including Canon's Town and Godsithney)
OS grid referenceSW553349
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHAYLE
Postcode districtTR27
Dialling code01736
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°09′58″N 5°26′13″W / 50.166°N 5.437°W / 50.166; -5.437
River Hayle near St Erth (church tower in distance)

St Erth (Cornish: Lannudhno)[1] is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

St Erth takes its name from Saint Erc, one of the many Irish saints who brought Christianity to Cornwall during the Dark Ages, and is at the old crossing point of the River Hayle. The Cornish name of the place derives from St Uthinoch of whom little is known. The church of St Erth dates from the 15th-century, though an older church is said to have once stood on St Erth Hill overlooking the village.

The St Erth railway station is 0.75 miles from the village, at Rose-an-Grouse, and is on the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington to Penzance. It is also the junction for scenic St Ives Bay Line.

Geography

[edit]

The village is four miles (6.5 km) southeast of St Ives and six miles (10 km) northeast of Penzance.[2] The parish shares boundaries with Ludgvan in the west, Hayle in the north, and St Hilary in the south.

The old coaching road once led through the village, before the building of the causeway in 1825 along the edge of the Hayle Estuary. Prior to 1825 anyone wanting to go from Hayle to St Ives or Penzance had to cross the sands of the Hayle Estuary or make a significant detour crossing the River Hayle at the ancient St Erth Bridge. The Star Inn, in St Erth village centre, is a Grade II listed building coaching inn dating from the fourteenth/fifteenth centuries. It was along this route that tin was carried upcountry from the stannaries of Penwith. Guides took travellers across the sands, but, even with guides, it was sometimes a perilous journey and the shifting sand and racing tide claimed several lives. Because of this major obstacle to trade, a turnpike trust was formed, with Henry Harvey a trustee, to build the causeway which now takes the road below the plantation west to the Old Quay House. Costing £5000 in 1825, the investors charged a toll to use the causeway to recover their costs.

St Erth was the site of a large creamery operated by United Dairies: this was responsible for processing a large quantity of milk produced in Penwith.

Manor houses

[edit]

Trewinnard Manor is an early 18th-century house built on a different site from its medieval predecessor by the Hawkins family. Trelissick Manor is a medieval house remodelled in 1688 for the Jacobite James Paynter, again remodelled in the 18th century and extended in the 19th century. Tredrea Manor is a 17th-century house but it was largely rebuilt c. 1856. The front is of five bays built in ashlar.[3]

St Erth Sand Pits

[edit]

St Erth Sand Pits were worked for Pliocene sands and clays.[4] The clay was used for fixing candles to miners' helmets and also for puddling the dry dock at Penzance. Later it was used by Bernard Leach at his pottery in St Ives. The clay was the source of significant fossil finds and in 1886 the Royal Society obtained a government grant to search the shell-beds.[5] In 1962 the pits were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[6] However, the main use of the sand in this location was for the metal foundries throughout Cornwall, but especially for Harvey's of nearby Hayle, and beyond. The sand grains are found coated with a thin film of clay. With gentle pressure and the correct percentage of water the sand grains will bind together and can be used for making a sand mould into which molten metals can be poured to make engineering castings. One of the disused pits is a geological nature reserve owned by Cornwall Wildlife Trust[7] and part of St. Erth Sand Pits SSSI is owned by the Diocese of Truro (via their Diocesan Board of Finance)[8]. Another good source of clay for fixing candles to miners' helmets was on St Agnes Beacon.

Parish church

[edit]
The cross in the churchtown

The parish church is dedicated to St Erc (Latin Ercus) and is probably of the 14th-century. It is not a large church and has a west tower of three stages. There are north and south aisles, the arcade in the north aisle having piers of two different types. The church was restored in 1874, at which time two dormer windows were inserted in the roof. The wagon roof of the south porch is old and the font is Norman and of an unusual square design.[9] The ornate wooden roofs of the nave and aisles and fine oak screen decorated with the Four Evangelists are due to the restoration of 1874.[10][11]

The church is sited in a wooded area and the churchyard, according to Charles Henderson, "greatly enhances the building". The names of eight places in the parish are recorded as having chapels or shrines in the medieval registers, including Bosworgey (St Mary Magdalene) and Gurlyn.[12]

There are six Cornish crosses in the parish: two are in the churchyard and the others are in the churchtown and at Battery Mill, Tregenhorne and Trevean.[13]

Cornish wrestling

[edit]

There have been Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, have been held in St Erth at least throughout the last century.[14] Tournaments have been held at the field at Treloweth, near St Erth station[15] and at Tredrea Manor.[16]

Local government

[edit]

For the purposes of local government St Erth forms a civil parish and elects eleven parish councillors every four years to St Erth Parish Council. The local authority is Cornwall Council.

Twinning

[edit]

St Erth has been twinned with Ploulec'h in Brittany, France since 1998.[17]

Notable people

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Tyrrell, Stephen (2012) Trewinnard: a Cornish History. Pasticcio[20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel. Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  3. ^ Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). Cornwall. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12668-6; p. 538
  4. ^ "Geological Nature Reserves". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ "The St Erth Sand-Pits". The Cornishman. No. 413. 17 June 1886. p. 5.
  6. ^ "St Erth Sand Pits" (PDF). Natural England. 1986. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Nature reserves, St Erth Pits". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Cornwall's church land: commercial enterprise or public benefit?". Beating the bounds. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall; 2nd ed. revised by Enid Radcliffe. Penguin; p. 169
  10. ^ "St Erth". Oliver's Cornwall. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  11. ^ Mee, Arthur (1937) Cornwall. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213
  12. ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 92-93
  13. ^ Langdon, A. G. (1896) Old Cornish Crosses. Truro: Joseph Pollard
  14. ^ Cornishman, 9 November 1905.
  15. ^ Cornish Post and Mining News, 2 October 1920.
  16. ^ West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser - Thursday 13 September 1945.
  17. ^ "French village looks for a twin". Western Daily Press. 28 June 2008.
  18. ^ Mee, Arthur (1937) Cornwall. London: Hodder & Stoughton; p. 213
  19. ^ Mee (1937); p. 250
  20. ^ Trewinnard: a Cornish History
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