 CORNWALL ONLINE PARISH CLERKS - helping to bring the past alive | ||
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STITHIANS
The Online Parish Clerk (Genealogy) for Stithians is Michael Bath
who can be contacted at michael.bath@sympatico.ca If you are trying to contact the local council then search the Cornwall County Council website at
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/people-and-communities/ PARISH INFORMATIONCENSUS:Transcriptions can be found at
COCP
- the Cornwall Online Census Project - which is complete for 1841 to
1891. GenUKI has more reference information and alternative resources. REGISTERS:For Parish Register transcriptions and other resources, please see our online searchable database (C-PROP) which is updated frequently. The C-PROP coverage page can be found here. Images of many Cornwall Parish Registers can be viewed free of charge at FamilySearch. OTHER RECORDS:Bastardy Documents: (Alphabetical order by Mother's surname) Coroners' Inquests: (newspaper reports)
Deaths, Funeral Accounts and Obituaries: (newspaper reports)
Other Documents: 12 Aug 1844, a letter regarding the funeral expenses of Bligh DUNSTAN Other Newspaper Reports:
Parish 'settlement' records: (Alphabetical order - these documents arise out of the Poor Law Acts and may have a wider relevance than just settlement)
Trade Directories &c: For other information and links to trade directories see GenUKI and the University of Leicester's website. Voters Lists:
Wills:
A list of
available Wills and
Probate Documents. See also the wills on the unknown parish page.
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION:For further information regarding History, Population, and much more, visit GenUKI. Maps: For a zoomable and printable map of Cornwall please visit Cornwall Council’s mapping website. To see the Parish boundaries, click on the Layers Tab for Government Boundaries. For maps and satellite images use Google Maps. The Ordnance Survey Maps for Great Britain from the 1840s are online at the 'National Library of Scotland' Map Images page https://maps.nls.uk/. Click on 'Find By Place' and type in the parish or town you are looking for. A large number of old O.S. Maps of many areas of Cornwall (various scales) are also available, the index is here. The ecclesiastical (church) parish boundaries can be found by searching here on the Church of England website. Online Books:
PHOTOS:
Stithians Church The parish of Stithians is in west Cornwall, surrounded by the parishes of (clockwise from the north) Lanner, Gwennap, Perranarworthal, St Gluvias, Mabe, Constantine, Carnmenellis and Pencoys. The parish church is built on high ground at the northern end of, and overlooking, the main part of the village. It is dedicated to St Stythiana (sometimes rendered as Stedyana), who is something of a mystery - neither Nicholas Roscarrock nor Canon Doble mention her at all, although there is a suggestion that she originated in Ireland, and came to Cornwall in about 547 AD. In the usual way, no trace of any Celtic foundation remains, nor of any building earlier than the 15th century, although there must have been one, since the first vicar for whom we have a date was Roger de Conewardely in 1268. The advowson belonged originally to the Earls of Cornwall, and then to the Black Prince when he was created Duke of Cornwall in 1337. He, in turn, appropriated the church to Rewley Abbey in Oxfordshire in 1354, and, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, the advowson was acquired by the Boscawen family. It is thought that the north wall is perhaps early 14th century, but in the main the church is of 15th century construction, and then suffered several “restorations” – first in 1783 and then in the 1870’s – which resulted in the church being (to use the words of the late Charles Henderson) “swept empty of all its interesting contents.” Today it consists of chancel and nave under one roof, north and south aisles, north porch and impressive west tower of 3 stages, which is slightly unusual in having its crocketed finials springing from corbels carved as angels. .The gates at the eastern end of the churchyard afford perhaps the most attractive approach, passing close by the War Memorial, and give a good view of the east end of the church and its tower. The path then leads along the south wall, past a now-disused small priest’s door, and gives us the opportunity to admire the workmanship of the 15th century stonemasons in the construction of the granite ashlar wall. The south doorway, somewhat unusually, has no protecting porch – though the north door has. As we step into the south aisle of the church, immediately to the left is the plain stone font, with its splendid octagonal carved oak cover. The cover, which stands over 3 feet high, was a gift in memory of Helen Hellings, who served the church for many years as organist, Sunday School teacher and secretary of the church council until her death in 1928. It is surmounted by a dove, and carved around the base are the words “Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting.” At the east end of the south aisle is the organ, and on the wall is an interesting monument to members of the Martin family – in particular to James Martin who died at Gawler, South Australia in 1899 and was “commonly called the father of Gawler.” The nave is quite wide, with 19th century pitch pine pews, the scissor-braced roof being also of that same period. Walking on into the chancel, the ends of the choir stalls have well-carved poppy heads, and it will be seen that there are a number of memorial plaques on the north wall. The stained glass east chancel window is a fine example of the work of Clayton & Bell, and was inserted in 1899 as a memorial to Dr. William Charles Watson, who died the previous year. It depicts the Ascension of Christ, with the apostles gazing upwards in awe, with the dove of peace, two panels of three seraphim and a red angel in the tracery. The memorial plaques are interesting – one being to the Rev. William Ralph Daine, vicar from 1896 to 1911, who was clearly well thought of by his congregation. Another, to Anna Maria Reed who died in 1807, has this touching verse – “Nought could surpass / The goodness of her heart / Earth has her clay / The Lord her better part”. There is also a memorial to Thomas and Ann Phillips of the parish who died respectively in 1876 and 1900, and sadly to 2 of their sons who died as young lads. The north aisle was converted in the last century into a Lady Chapel, and in the north wall can be seen the blocked up doorway which formerly gave access to the rood loft stairs. The screen and loft were casualties of the zealots of the Reformation, who also decided to demolish the stairs as well – a rather pointless exercise, one would have thought, since their activities had rendered the stairs purposeless, but zealots will be zealots! On the north wall is another interesting memorial – to William James Benjamin Trewin who died at Feilding in New Zealand in 1912. He had been the mayor of the town from 1906 to 1910, and at the top of the plaque is a coloured painting of one version of the New Zealand coat of arms. A view of the south aisle, looking westwards, shows the intriguing layout of the pews against the wall facing inwards, rather than to the east, and also the survival of the 2 old box pews at the front. The 4 pews behind, however, have open ends. At the back of the aisle is a charming candlestick, fashioned in the form of a medieval knight. Moving outside, a short walk to the western boundary gives a splendid view of the impressive tower, and nearly is a small store-like building which was apparently constructed at the time of the 19th century restoration from surplus stonework from the church – the doorway in particular appears to be ecclesiastical in design, and one wonders precisely where it came from and why it was unwanted! Finally, near the eastern end of the churchyard is an ancient granite cross with the unmistakeable rendering of the crucifixion carved at its head.
ADJACENT PARISHES:Wendron (pre-1846), Carnmenellis (post-1846), Pencoys (post-1881), Lanner (post-1845), Gwennap, Perranarworthal, St Gluvias, Mabe and Constantine. |
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