St Veep ( kw, Sen Vip) 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 ...

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, situated above the east bank of the River Fowey about three miles (5 km) south-east of

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...

. It is bordered by the parishes of

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. ...

to the north-west,

Boconnoc Boconnoc ( kw, Boskennek) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately four miles east of the town of Lostwithiel. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 96. The parish is rural in character and i ...

to the north,

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 ...

to the east

Polperro Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554. Polperro, through which runs the River ...

to the south-east and Lanteglos to the south. The River Fowey forms its western boundary. The parish is named after Saint Veep of whom little is known (not even whether the saint was male or female). Part of the village of Lerryn is in St Veep parish. The hamlets of Cliff (), Higher Penpol (), Middle Penpol and Lower Penpol () are all within the parish.

History

The parish church was originally dedicated to Saint Veep, but when it was rebuilt in 1336 it was rededicated to

Saint Quiricus and Saint Julietta Cyricus ( el, Κήρυκος, am, ቂርቆስ, arc, ܡܪܝ ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ ܣܗܕܐ ''Mar Quriaqos Sahada''; also Cyriacus, Quiriac, Quiricus, Cyr), and his mother, Julitta ( el, Ἰουλίττα, am, እየሉጣ arc, ܝܘܠܝܛܐ, ''Yul ...

. Following the

Prayer Book Rebellion The Prayer Book Rebellion or Western Rising was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon in 1549. In that year, the ''Book of Common Prayer (1549), Book of Common Prayer'', presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced. The ...

of 1549, a number of well-known Cornish figures and priests were murdered or hanged in Cornwall. These included Richard Bennet, vicar of St Veep, under the direct orders of

Anthony Kingston Sir Anthony Kingston (ca. 1508 – 14 April 1556) was an English royal official, holder of various positions under several Tudor monarchs.A.D.K. Hawkyard, 'Kingston, Anthony (by 1512-56), of Cadleigh, Devon and Painswick, Glos.', in S.T. Bind ...

, Provost Marshal serving under

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. Valuable church silverware, which had been deposited with

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...

of St Austell and subsequently lost, was rediscovered in 2015 at a storage facility near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Items included a communion cup (dated 1579), silver

flagon A flagon () is a large leather, metal, glass, plastic or ceramic vessel, used for drink, whether this be water, ale, or another liquid. A flagon is typically of about in volume, and it has either a handle (when strictly it is a jug), or (more ...

tankard (1737) and a silver plate (1738).

St Cadix's Priory

A small cell or priory was built by the side of Penpol Creek, today the site is referred to as "St Cadix's Priory" but it has also appeared as St Ciric, St Carroc, St Cadokys, St Carrett and St Karroc. There is some uncertainty as to which saint the priory was dedicated to; either 6th-century Celtic Saint Cadoc or Cyricus son of Saint Julietta, who the parish church is dedicated to. Little remains of the priory today and a farmhouse was built on the site in 1710, but there are some remains of a crucifix and ecclesiastical stones dated at 1150 onwards. In 1100 the priory was granted to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

Montacute Priory Montacute Priory was a Cluniac priory of the Benedictine order in Montacute, Somerset, England. History It was founded between 1078 and 1102 by William, Count of Mortain, in face of a threat that if he did not do so, the King would take the land ...

in Somerset by

William, Count of Mortain William of Mortain (bef. 1084–aft. 1140) was Count of Mortain and the 3rd Earl of Cornwall. Life William was the son of Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William I of England and Maud de Montgomery, daughter of Roger de Montgomeri ...

. Before that a small cell or holy well had existed. It remained the priory's until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. For most of its time just one monk and prior lived there. Three priors are known: Robertus (1339), Wilhelmus Smythe (1385) and Laurence Castleton (1536). The cells' residents included Walter de Exeter who supposedly wrote a biography of

Guy of Warwick Guy of Warwick, or Gui de Warewic, is a legendary English hero of Romance popular in England and France from the 13th to 17th centuries. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the Matter of England.''Boundaries in medieval r ...

in 1301. After dissolution the freehold of the site was granted to Laurence and Dorothy Courtenay on 3 September 1545. They leased it to the Cavells who leased it to

Burchard Kranich Burchard Kranich (c. 1515–1578) (also known as Doctor Burcot) was a mining engineer and physician who came to England from Germany. He was involved in mining ventures in Derbyshire and Cornwall, and in assaying the black ore, thought to be gold- ...

a German silver smelter and adventurer. Kranich borrowed £500 from Mary Tudor, £150 from William Godolphin and more from several others to build a "melting house" in Lerryn which cost about £300 to build. Later he was lent £300 by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, who ordered the repair of the bridge in Lerryn. Between 1556 and 1583 at least 2,000 ounces of silver were smelted with ore coming from mines in Tregardoke,

Padstow Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, 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, northwest of Bodmin and ...

, St Delion, Portysyke, Peran and St Columb. Kranich was arrested for his debts and held in the

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, ...

in London. He is credited with curing Queen Elizabeth I of smallpox.

Penpol

There are three hamlets named ''Penpol'' or ''Penpoll'' in the parish: ''Higher'', ''Middle'' and ''Lower Penpol''. The first known references to a ''Lord of Penpol'' are in 1224 and 1249. Higher and Lower Penpol are mentioned in a deed of 1375. In the 1839 Tithe map Higher and Middle Penpoll are sizable hamlets, but Lower Penpoll consists of just a cottage, the mill and a forge, today the hamlet has expanded with houses all the way up to Middle Penpol. Penpol Mill is mentioned in 1591 and it was rebuilt in 1794, today it is abandoned. The bridge across Penpol Creek was built in 1867, replacing a tidal ford.

Famous people

Buried within the churchyard is the British stage and film actor

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in several films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

(1901 – 1969) who lived in Penpoll Cottage, St Veep. Also Captain Robert Edwin Phillips VC (11 April 1895 – 23 September 1968) of the 13th Battalion, The Warwickshire Regiment who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for an action at the River Hai,

Kut-el-Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

on 25 January 1917.

References

External links

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Veep

St Veep Church

GENUKI website; St Veep
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Veep Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall