Little Petherick ( kw, Nansfenten) is a village and

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 ...

in north

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 two miles (3 kilometres) south of

Padstow Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

and 6 miles (9 kilometres) west of

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent populat ...

. As of the 2011 census its population is included in the

St Issey St Issey ( kw, Egloskrug) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which lies approximately two miles (3 km) south of Padstow. The parish covers an area of approximately . At the 2011 census the parish population wa ...

Little Petherick lies in the valley of Little Petherick Creek, a tidal tributary of the

River Camel The River Camel ( kw, Dowr Kammel, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Cel ...

: however, upstream of Little Petherick the creek ceases to be tidal. The village straddles the A389 Wadebridge-Padstow road which crosses the creek at the east end of the village on a Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

19th century bridge.

Parish church

The parish church of

St Petroc Saint Petroc or Petrock ( lat-med, Petrocus; cy, Pedrog; french: link=no, Perreux; ) was a British prince and Christian saint. Probably born in South Wales, he primarily ministered to the Britons of Devon (Dewnans) and Cornwall (Kernow) then f ...

, at , was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1858 by the Victorian architect William White. It was originally built in the 14th century and is now Grade I listed. (John)

Athelstan Riley John Athelstan Laurie Riley (10 August 1858 – 17 November 1945) was an English hymn writer and hymn translator. Riley was born in Paddington, London, and attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where obtained his BA in 1881 and MA in 1883. Active ...

(1858–1945) was patron of this church and a notable benefactor, responsible for employing

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...

to restore it in 1908: his work includes the high altar,

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

and

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

. Other features of interest are the monuments to Sir Roger de Lemporu, 13th century, and Andalusia, the Hon. Mrs. J. A. Riley, née Molesworth (d. 1912), ca. 1916; the Flemish 17th century relief in the north chapel.

Arthur Mee Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. The ...

was impressed by the beauty of this bronze monument. The official name of the parish is St Petroc Minor (distinguishing it from Padstow or Petrockstow). According to tradition St Petroc passed this way before settling at

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

. The parish was until 1830 a Bishop's peculiar and within the episcopal manor of Pawton. The church was rebuilt in 1745 and the Molesworth family have since been notable benefactors.

Mining

A copper mine at Creddis was a small scale venture in Little Petherick. The shaft at Creddis was no deeper than thirty

fathoms A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...

(55 m) and employed about forty men. Adjoining Creddis, but in the parish of

, was the copper mine of Legossick. This had a steam engine on it, being a large adventure, it employed many men. There were a few mines of this sort in the area; and one, Wheal Paynter showed a course of lead at twelve fathoms (22 m).

Little Petherick Creek

The village gives its name to the tidal creek of the

, the location most likely being chosen as the highest navigable point with evidence of quays here still being visible. Between Little Petherick and the River Camel is Sea Mills. Here a tidal lagoon was created to capture the rising tide, the outflow being diverted via a

tide mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate ...

used to grind flour.

References

* Park, Jo (1982) ''Athelstan Riley, patron of St Petroc Minor, Little Petherick''. Truro: he Compiler(includes extracts from the diaries of Athelstan and Andalusia Riley) * iley, Athelstan?(ca. 1910) ''The Church and Parish of St Petroc Minor of Nansfounteyn, Little Petherick, Cornwall''.

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cornwall