Crowan ( kw, Egloskrewen (village), Pluw Grewen (parish)) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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 Atlan ...

, United Kingdom. It is about three-and-a-half miles (6 km) south of

Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, Cornwall, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove ...

.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' A former mining parish, all of the mines had shut by 1880.

Geography

Crowan had a population of 2,375 (2001) which had increased to 2,454 in the 2011 census. Crowan Churchtown is not the largest settlement: there are villages at Praze-an-Beeble, Nancegollan,

Bolitho Bolitho ( , kw, Bosleythow) is a village in west Cornwall, and a Cornish surname. The Bolitho Family own large estates in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The name ''Bolitho'' comes from the Cornish language words ''bos'', meaning 'dw ...

and Leedstown and a hamlet at Black Rock (on the B3280 road four miles (6.5 km) south of

and five miles (8 km) north of

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

). The hamlets of Carzise,

Clowance Wood Clowance Wood is a hamlet in the civil parish of Crowan (where the 2011 census population was included ) in west Cornwall, England. Clowance Wood is situated east of Leedstown and north-west of Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and ...

, Drym,

Fraddam Fraddam ( kw, Fradam) is a village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is two miles (3 km) southeast of Hayle.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is in the civil parish In England, a civil parish is a ...

, Gwinear Downs, Horsedowns, Nine Maidens Downs, Noonvares,

Paul's Green Paul's Green is a hamlet between Leedstown and Townshend 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 t ...

, Releath, Townshend and Tremayne are also in the parish. The

River Hayle A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

rises near Crowan and flows through the village and the railway branch to

passed nearby.

Notable buildings and antiquities

The parish church is dedicated to St Crewenna and is built of granite. St Crewenna was possibly one of the Irish saints accompanying saints Germoe and Breaca. Crowan church was given, by William, Earl of Gloucester to

St James' Priory, Bristol The Priory Church of St James, Bristol (), is a Grade I listed building in Horsefair, Whitson Street. It was founded in 1129 as a Benedictine priory by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the illegitimate son of Henry I. The early nave from 1129 survive ...

, which was a dependency of the Benedictine Abbey of Tewkesbury. The present church is of the 15th century but was substantially

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 1872. In some 18th-century documents there is evidence that the parish was called Uni-Crowan and this may be connected to the fact that the parish was in two parts, one in Penwith and one in Kerrier hundred. The Kerrier portion was once a separate chapelry and may have had St Uny as its patron saint. Crowan feast was observed on the nearest Sunday to the eve of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The six church bells were cast in 1729 by

Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century ...

and restored in 1881. The inscriptions are, * 1st bell ″A. R. 1729″, * 2nd bell ″Prosperity to this parish″, * 3rd bell ″Abr. Rudhall, of Gloster, cast us all, 1729″, * 4th bell ″Peace and good neighbourhood″, * 5th bell ″Prosperity to the Church of England″. The 5th bell was sent to Messrs Warner and Sons, London to be recast in 1881, * 6th bell ″I to the Church the living call, and to the grave do summon all″. There are numerous monuments to members of the St Aubyn family. Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, is buried at Crowan; his monument was carved by William Behnes. The three St Aubyn brasses (c. 1420, c. 1490 & c. 1550) are now at Clowance. Nine Maidens Cross

Clowance House was the seat of the St Aubyns (from 1671 they were the

St Aubyn Baronets There have been two baronetcies created for members of the St Aubyn family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The St Aubyn Baronetcy, of Clowance in the County of Cornwall, was created in the Bar ...

, but the legitimate line ended with

Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet (17 May 1758 – 10 August 1839), was a British Member of Parliament, High Sheriff of Cornwall and Grand Master of the Freemasons. Born in London, he succeeded to the baronetcy on 12 October 1772, at which point he ...

in 1839). Three years before his death the wings of the house burnt down on 10 November 1836. The resort of Clowance estate offers swimming, tennis, gym and fitness facilities, a bar and an Italian restaurant. Prehistoric remains: Crowan parish has many remains of prehistoric times including barrows and stone crosses. There are four Cornish crosses in the parish; one cross was found at Praze-an-Beeble and now stands by the parish church; three are at Clowance. The original location of the Praze cross is unknown. Two of the Clowance crosses have a cross on one side and a crude crucifixus figure on the other; one formerly stood at Bold Gate on Clowance Down and the other at Binnerton Cross. The third cross is curiously ornamented on the front and back of the shaft; it formerly stood at the northwest corner of Nine Maidens' Down. Manor Mill is an ancient mill used for grinding corn until 1946. It then became a pottery and later still a weaving mill.

Mining

Crowan was formerly a mining parish with thousands employed in the mines. By 1880 all the mines had shut and Polcrebo still had a steam-engine in good condition. Other mines included Binner Downs, Crenver, West Treasury, Wheal Abraham, Wheal Strawberry and Wheal Treasury. Financed by a London company, shafts were sunk and old levels extended at Polcrebo in 1884, with tin-ore accumulating at the surface.

References

External links

Church of St Crewen
{{authority control Civil parishes in Cornwall Villages in Cornwall