St Clether is a
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 authorit ...
and village in
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. The village is situated on the east flank of
Bodmin Moor approximately eight miles (13 km) west of
Launceston in the valley of the
River Inny. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 156.
The original Norman church of St Clederus was, apart from the tower, rebuilt in 1865. The tower is built of granite and is of late medieval date; the font is Norman and very plain.
West of St Clether parish church is a
holy well
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...
and associated chapel, said to be one of Cornwall's best preserved. The church and holy well are dedicated to Saint Cleder (or Clederus), one of the twenty-four children of Saint
Brychan
Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales.
Life
According to Celtic hagiography Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and ...
, a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
saint and King of
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Norman ...
in the 5th century.
Arthur Langdon (1896) records five stone crosses in the parish of which four are at the old manor house of Basill Barton.
[Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard; pp. 157-160, 170]
Gallery
File:St Clether Holy Well - geograph.org.uk - 1029808.jpg, St Clether Holy Well
File:St Clether Chapel and Holy Well - geograph.org.uk - 1029799.jpg, St Clether Chapel and Holy Well
File:Basill Manor near St Clether - geograph.org.uk - 936135.jpg, Basill Manor
File:St Clederus church, St Clether (geograph 3234448).jpg, St Clederus church, St Clether
References
Further reading
*
Maclean, John (1872–79) ''The Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor''. 3 vols. London: Nichols & Son
External links
Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Clether
Civil parishes in Cornwall
Villages in Cornwall
Bodmin Moor
Holy wells in Cornwall
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