St. Kew
Encyclopedia
St Kew is a civil parish and village in Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. The principal settlements in the parish are the church town
, St Kew, and nearby St Kew Highway .
The parish is named for a Welsh saint, Cywa or Kew, possibly the sister of Docco, also known as: Docuin, Docwinn, Docquinn, who founded a monastery at or near the village of St Kew. The 15th century church, however is now dedicated to St James.
St Kew was a large manor at the time of Domesday Book. There were 5 hides of land which included land for 22 ploughs. There were 59 villagers and 26 smallholders with 20 ploughs between them. Also 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of pasture and a large woodland; the livestock were 9 cattle and 120 sheep. The annual value was £6.
At Bokelly there are a Tudor barn and a house which was apparently refronted in the late 17th century. Pengenna is a 17th century manor house.
's visit. He also praised the pulpit: "Uncommonly good, Elizabethan, with ornamental panels ... ". He notes the carved capitals, the wagon roof, the 15th century font, bench ends, a 15th century cross-head and the Royal Arms, in stone. There is a curious Ogham stone, found in a local farm, in the church. see Gallery, below According to Charles Henderson
, writing in the Cornish Church Guide (1925), the tracery and stonework of some windows at St Kew may have been transferred here from Bodmin Parish Church
. The dedication was originally to St Docco but in the mid 15th century the patroness of a chapel (St Kewa, Virgin) nearby was transferred to the parish church when the church building was enlarged. Two other chapels existed in the parish in the late medieval period, one of St Wenna, and another of St Aldhelm at Chapel Amble (in Cornish: An Heyle 'by the estuary').
opened in 1 June 1895, and had a passing loop and a single siding with headshunt that served a goods shed and loading dock. Both lines through the station had platforms although the down platform had no buildings and was only accessible via a foot crossing at the down end of the station. The station building itself, like the goods shed, was substantially constructed out of local stone, as was the locking room of the signal box. The passing loop was extended in 1939, but the up loop, sidings and signal box were taken out of use on 21 November 1965 as goods services had ceased on 7 September the previous year. Traffic was never very heavy and by the late 1930s was averaging 5 passengers per day, less than a third of that ten years earlier. The station was unmanned from 6 December 1965 and closed on 3 October 1966, although the building functioned for some time as a guest house but is now a private residence: it is partially visible from the A39
.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The principal settlements in the parish are the church town
Churchtown, Cornwall
In Cornwall, the churchtown is the settlement in a parish where the church stands, for example,*Churchtown Mullion,*Churchtown Redruth,*Churchtown St Hilary,*Churchtown St Merryn,*Churchtown St Minver,*Gorran Churchtown,*Gulval Churchtown,...
, St Kew, and nearby St Kew Highway .
The parish is named for a Welsh saint, Cywa or Kew, possibly the sister of Docco, also known as: Docuin, Docwinn, Docquinn, who founded a monastery at or near the village of St Kew. The 15th century church, however is now dedicated to St James.
History
St Kew is mentioned in history earlier than any other place in Cornwall since it appears in the Life of St Samson. The life includes an account of the saint visiting a monastery called Docco which was over the seas (St Samson came from Wales).St Kew was a large manor at the time of Domesday Book. There were 5 hides of land which included land for 22 ploughs. There were 59 villagers and 26 smallholders with 20 ploughs between them. Also 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of pasture and a large woodland; the livestock were 9 cattle and 120 sheep. The annual value was £6.
At Bokelly there are a Tudor barn and a house which was apparently refronted in the late 17th century. Pengenna is a 17th century manor house.
Church of St James
The 15th century parish church, in the village of St Kew Churchtown, has important stained glass windows, including one depicting the Passion of Christ, which were restored in 2005. The windows were the most "memorable" part of Nikolaus PevsnerNikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
's visit. He also praised the pulpit: "Uncommonly good, Elizabethan, with ornamental panels ... ". He notes the carved capitals, the wagon roof, the 15th century font, bench ends, a 15th century cross-head and the Royal Arms, in stone. There is a curious Ogham stone, found in a local farm, in the church. see Gallery, below According to Charles Henderson
Charles G. Henderson
Charles Gordon Henderson was a historian and antiquarian of Cornwall.Charles Henderson's only quarrel with Cornwall was that it had given him no more than a quarter of his blood. His father, Major J. S. Henderson, was half Scottish and half of the Irish family of Newenham: his mother was a...
, writing in the Cornish Church Guide (1925), the tracery and stonework of some windows at St Kew may have been transferred here from Bodmin Parish Church
Bodmin Parish Church
Bodmin Parish Church is an Anglican church in Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom.The existing church building is dated 1469-72 and was until the building of Truro Cathedral the largest church in Cornwall...
. The dedication was originally to St Docco but in the mid 15th century the patroness of a chapel (St Kewa, Virgin) nearby was transferred to the parish church when the church building was enlarged. Two other chapels existed in the parish in the late medieval period, one of St Wenna, and another of St Aldhelm at Chapel Amble (in Cornish: An Heyle 'by the estuary').
St Kew Community Primary School
The St Kew Community Primary School campus includes an infant playground with sandpit, large general playground with quiet garden, playing field with adventure equipment and science garden. The building is all on one level and comprises three classrooms and additional teaching space. There is a work/artroom, library, reception and hall, with kitchen facilities. St Kew School, originally located in the Parish Hall at the turn of the 20th century, moved to its present location in 1928. Further extension and improvement in 1991 added a complete new wing providing the school with a new kitchen, hall/dining room/gymnasium and workroom, staffroom, library and offices.St Kew Highway railway station
The station on the North Cornwall RailwayNorth Cornwall Railway
The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...
opened in 1 June 1895, and had a passing loop and a single siding with headshunt that served a goods shed and loading dock. Both lines through the station had platforms although the down platform had no buildings and was only accessible via a foot crossing at the down end of the station. The station building itself, like the goods shed, was substantially constructed out of local stone, as was the locking room of the signal box. The passing loop was extended in 1939, but the up loop, sidings and signal box were taken out of use on 21 November 1965 as goods services had ceased on 7 September the previous year. Traffic was never very heavy and by the late 1930s was averaging 5 passengers per day, less than a third of that ten years earlier. The station was unmanned from 6 December 1965 and closed on 3 October 1966, although the building functioned for some time as a guest house but is now a private residence: it is partially visible from the A39
A39 road
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
.
Notable residents
- Sir Edward BraddonEdward BraddonSir Edward Nicholas Coventry Braddon, KCMG , Australian politician, was the Premier of Tasmania from 1894 to 1899, and was a Member of the First Australian Parliament in the House of Representatives...
, premier of TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, was born in St Kew. - Rev. Thomas Hutton, (1565/6–1639), Vicar of St Kew (January 1607 until his death in December 1639) and author of An Answer to Several Reasons for Refusall to Subscribe to the Book of Common Prayer (1605).