Illogan (pronounced ''il'luggan'', ) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in west

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom, two miles (3 km) northwest of

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

. The population of Illogan was 5,404 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan and several satellite villages, stood at 55,400 making it the largest conurbation in Cornwall. Originally a rural area supporting itself by farming and agriculture, Illogan shared in the general leap into prosperity brought about by the

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

boom, which was experienced by the whole

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") 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, C ...

-Redruth area.

History

Antiquities

In 1931 the ruins of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

at Magor Farm were found by Nicholas Warren and excavated under the guidance of the Royal Institution of Cornwall. The villa was probably the residence of a wealthy Dumnonian who had adopted the Roman lifestyle.

Church

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

was dedicated to St Illogan (Ylloganus or Euluganus) and St Edmund; the earliest reliable reference, dated 1235, refers to the Ecclesia of Eglossalau. By 1844, the church had become too small to serve a vastly increasing mining population, so a new church was built to the designs of J. P. St Aubyn. at a cost of £2,875 and came into use on 4 November 1846. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

is all that remains of the old church; Trinity House refused to allow its removal as it provided a useful landmark for shipping. The church reopened in 2012 after extensive repairs to the roof. The churchyard includes fifty-two Commonwealth War Graves., and the grave of Thomas Merritt, whose carols are sung by Cornishmen worldwide and who was commissioned to write the 1902 Coronation March for

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. The Church, its tower, the Basset sarcophagus, a Cornish cross, and the gates at the north end of the churchyard are all Grade II Listed. The Cornish cross in the churchyard is probably ''in situ''. * The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

extends beyond Carn Brea and includes long stretches of the North Cliffs – from Reskajeage Downs on the North Cliffs to

Cambrose Cambrose is a Hamlet (place), hamlet east of Portreath in west Cornwall, England, UK.Ordnance Survey ''One-inch Map of Great Britain; Land's End, sheet 189''. 1961 Cambrose is the location of Sally's Bottom, a small valley running down to the c ...

, with a population of 12,500 people. It was split into three

es - Illogan; Carn Brea, which includes the village of

Pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

; and

Portreath Portreath ( or ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) west-north-west of Redruth. The village extends along ...

. * The civil parish has a population of 5,404 and stretches from Bridge and Harris Mill in the East; Tolvaddon and Bell Lake in the West; and from the A30 to Reskajeage.

Buildings

* Parts of Aviary Court date back 300 years and was the home of mining engineer James Tangye; this is now a hotel. * The Bain Memorial, in memory of David Wise Bain who owned Portreath Harbour, built in 1901 as

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...

for decayed (invalid) miners. * Mary's Well (1888) named after the wife of Gustavus Lambart Basset . * The Plymouth limestone and granite faced Paynters Lane End Methodist Church, was built in 1890. The Methodist Sunday School was built in 1858; 30 years before the Chapel.

Amenities

* Illogan School provides education for 4-11 year olds. * Tehidy Country Park, the largest area of woodland in West Cornwall, containing an 18-hole golf course. Is owned and managed by

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...

. Tehidy was the estate of the

Basset family Members of the Basset family were amongst the early Normans, Norman settlers in the Kingdom of England. It is currently one of the few ancient Norman families who has survived through the centuries in the paternal line. They originated at Montre ...

, one of the four most powerful families in Cornwall who had extensive lands and mineral rights. * Maningham Community Woodland was opened in 2004. It was part of an ornamental garden for the old Rectory now called Maningham – now a private house – built of

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

in 1783 for the Rev John Basset, brother of Lord De Dunstanville whose monument is seen on Carn Brea.

Notable residents

* Julia Goldsworthy, Politician * Rory McGrath, comedian * Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye, engineer and philanthropist. *

Moondyne Joe Joseph Bolitho Johns ( February 1826 – 13 August 1900), better known as Moondyne Joe, was an English convicts in Australia, convict and Western Australia's best-known bushranger. Born into poor and relatively difficult circumstances, he became ...

, bushranger.

Sports

The town football club, Illogan RBL, has a reserve team that is very famous, as they beat Madron FC 55–0 in the

Mining League The Mining League (last sponsored by One and All Sports) was a football league competition based in Cornwall, England, UK, with three divisions. The First Division sat at level 13 of the English football league system The English footbal ...

, the worst-ever fair defeat.

Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling Cornish wrestling () is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton people, Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’"Phillipps, K C: ...

tournaments, for prizes were held in Illogan in the 1800sRoyal Cornwall Gazette, 26 September 1807. and 1900s.Western Morning News, 1 September 1947. Venues included Paynter's Lane EndWest Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 29 October 1945. and Tehidy Hospital.West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 4 June 1964.

Literature

* In the '' Poldark'' novels by Winston Graham, Demelza Carne was born in 'Illuggan'.Clarke, D. (1977), ''Poldark Country''. St Teath: Bossiney Books; p. 28.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall