Uny Lelant, Cornwall

Historical Description

Uny Lelant, a village and a parish in Cornwall. The village stands at the head of St Ives Bay, with a station on the G.W.R., and has a post office, designated Lelant, Cornwall, and a fair on 15 Aug. The parish comprises 3524 acres; population of the civil parish, 1439; of the ecclesiastical, 1802. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Drift sand covers much of the surface towards the sea, and is alleged to have overwhelmed the castle of Theodorick, a king of Cornwall. The West Cornwall golf links are very good. Trecroben Hill has an altitude of 550 feet, and affords good specimens of schorl rock and schorlaceous granite. The living is a vicarage, united with Towednack, in the diocese of Truro; net value, £215 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Truro. The church is an ancient building of stone, with remains of Norman work, but rebuilt in 1424, all but one Norman arcade being of Perpendicular architecture. It was carefully restored in 1873, and contains memorials to the Praed family and others. In the churchyard stands a massive cross with a carved head. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

The register of baptisms dates from the year 1684; marriages and burials, 1716.

Churches

Church of England

St. Uny (parish church)

The church of St. Uny is an ancient building of stone, partly Norman, restored or altered in the 13th and 15th centuries: it consists of chancel, nave and aisles of equal height, separated by arcades of six arches, south porch and an embattled western tower, 60 feet in height, with pinnacles, and containing 6 bells, all cast in 1836, and rehung in 1905, when also the tower was entirely restored, the total cost amounting to about £360: the rood loft remains in the north aisle, and there are piscina niches in the chancel and south aisle, and portions of a stoup in the porch: the font, of Early English date, was discovered in a farm yard: the east window is a memorial to William Praed and William Tyringham Praed, 1848, and there are other stained windows: in the church are memorials to the family of Praed, 1620-1846; Pawley, 1635-1721; Oundy, 1799-1802; a brass in the chancel to the Rev. R. F. Tyacke M.A. (vicar 1869-1902) and others: over the entrance of the south porch is an elaborate niche, containing a sun-dial: the communion plate is dated 1725, and there is also a silver chalice and paten, set with turquoise, presented in 1902, in memory of the Rev. R. F. Tyacke: the church was thoroughly restored in 1873, at a cost of £2,000, when open benches for 420 persons were substituted for the former pews: the roof was also reconstructed and the chancel decorated and paved: a mortuary chapel and additional land for a burial gronnd, vested in trustees, were added to the churchyard in 1879. In the churchyard stands a massive cross, 5 feet 6 inches high, and 1 foot 7 inches broad; the round head is boldly carved with a St. Andrew's cross, and a boss in the centre; a second cross, 4 feet 6 inches in height, was found about 1906 in a wall near the churchyard; outside the churchyard wall is another cross, 3½ feet high and about 1 foot broad, with an oval head, bearing a Maltese cross, and on the reverse a figure of our Lord.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Uny Lelant from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Lelant, Uny (St. Ewyn))

Maps

Online maps of Uny Lelant are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cornwall papers online:

• Royal Cornwall Gazette
• Cornishman
• West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
• Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser

Visitations Heraldic

We have a copy of The Visitations of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J.L. Vivian online.