Herodsfoot (Cornish: Nanshiryarth) is a village in southeast

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately four miles (6 km) southwest of

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

and five miles (8 km) north of

Looe Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links= ...

at a point where two tributaries of the West Looe river join. It is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Lanreath Lanreath ( kw, Lannreydhow) is a civil parish and a village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles (8 km) west-northwest of Looe. The name Lanreath (pronounced Lanreth) means 'church (Lann) of Rayd ...

The name Herodsfoot derives from the Cornish 'Nanshiryarth' and means 'the foot of the stream at Heriard'. The name 'Heriard' was changed to Heriod in the 17th century and then to Herod in the 18th century. Bartholomew's map of 1879 in Black's ''Guide to Cornwall'' of that year has "Herras Foot" but this had become "Herodsfoot" by editions of around 1900. There has been a settlement here since medieval times, with people gaining a living from the Herodsfoot and Deer Park forests as well as locally cultivated orchards, but it was not until silver and lead mines were dug into the steep valley walls that the population began to grow. Herodsfoot is one of 51

Thankful Villages Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages; ) are settlements in England and Wales from which all their members of the armed forces survived World War I. The term Thankful Village was popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in the 1930s; in '' ...

in the UK and the only one in Cornwall (the 'thankful villages' are those that lost no men in World War I). It is "doubly thankful", as one of only 14 villages that lost no men in World War II either.

Church history

In 1851 the parish was created from parts of Duloe, Lanreath, and

St Pinnock St Pinnock ( kw, Sen Pynnek) is a hamlet and civil parish in southeast Cornwall, England, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Liskeard. Other settlements in the parish include East Taphouse, and Penfrane, containing 421 inhabitants. The parish c ...

parishes and the Church of All Saints was built high on the hillside in 1850 by the architect John Hayward of Exeter —described by

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

as 'big boned and stately'. The Church is a substantial building, buttressed all round under a very high pitched, slate roof and a turret at the Western end hung with a single bell. The font is of 14th century workmanship and was brought here from the ruined chapel of St Martin at Respryn in

St Winnow St Winnow ( kw, Sen Gwynnek) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its name may be connected with either that of Saint Winnoc or Saint Winwaloe. It has a population of 304, which had increased to 328 at the 2011 census. ...

. The population of the village was a mere 116 when the Church was opened but ten years later had quadrupled and reached a peak in 1871 with 499 people being recorded in the census. The Rev Enys Henry Rogers was vicar of Herodsfoot 1900–1902. In 1936, St Cuby's at Duloe, and All Saints Herodsfoot joined to become the united benefice of Duloe-with-Herodsfoot.

References

{{authority control Villages in Cornwall