Kerris ( kw, Kerys) is a settlement in west

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 three miles (5 km) south-west of

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

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 ...

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. Kerris means "fort-place" in the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

Toponymy

In 1302 a document spells the name '' Veor Keris'' and other spellings have been ''Kerres'' (in 1310), ''Kyrrys'' (1337), ''Vean Kerrys'' (1440), ''Keres'' (1481), Kyrris (1668). (''Veor'' means large or great and ''Vean'' means little).

Antiquities

Several

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

relics can be found around Kerris including the Roundago (possibly an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

) and the Kerris Standing Stone or

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

. Several fields away is the Tresvannack Stone which stands around 3.5m tall with a further 1.2m below ground. In 1840 a pair of

urns An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

were found under a slab of granite at the base of the stone. The urns are now kept at Penlee Museum, Penzance. Kerris cross was damaged during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and repaired by a local blacksmith in the 19th century with iron pins holding the granite head in position. In September 2011 the corroded pins were replaced by stainless steel pins. Medieval crosses, in situ, indicate the route to the parish church. Ancient cross at Kerris Farm - geograph

History

There is a former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, which is a

grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

dating back to the 17th-century, possibly using earlier walls. Kerris was under three different ownerships until 1694. when Richard Pearce bought the three parts, Major alterations were carried out in 1721 by his son Richard Pearce (1693–1753) and in 1743 John Hawkins became the owner when Pearce and his wife, Maria, were declared bankrupt. In 1882 the freehold farm Kerris was advertised for sale by auction. It included a ″commodieus and substantially built farm house″ and about of land. Approximately was considered to be of good arable and pasture land, and of croft which ″with very little expense could be brought into cultivation″. The property was bought by the owner of an adjacent tenement, Mr Thomas Bedford Bolitho, for £4,320. A Weselyan chapel was opened in 1905.

Culture

Kerris Brass Band was in attendance at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Methodist New Connexion The Methodist New Connexion, also known as Kilhamite Methodism, was a Protestant nonconformist church. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist F ...

, annual Sunday school treat in June 1883.

References

Sources

* {{Cornwall, state=collapsed Hamlets in Cornwall Penwith