England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lansallos St Ildierna

The Parish

The parish of Lansallos lies on Cornwall's southern, English Channel, coast towards the eastern end of the county and roughly 6 miles west of the small port of Looe. Lansallos sits a little over 2 miles west of the western end of the A387, a road which links Looe with Polperro. The village of Lansallos is rather small, built around a triangular run of lanes, whilst the wider parish has scattered farms and cottages across the inland area. The village sits high above the cliff-tops of the southern coastline where steep valleys run down to the sea, the easternmost valley had a small landing where the fishermen would launch, harvesting of the local pilchard being the main income of the parish. Inland the farming was primarily pastoral with the salt-laden coastal winds unsuitable for arable production. Today Lansallos earns much of its income from tourism, the discrete coves being attractive for bathing whilst the South West Coastal National Trail runs along the cliff-tops and brings a few overnight stays. Much of the coastline is extremely attractive and is managed by the National Trust. The above mentioned steep valley each has a small stream which drain the short distance into the English Channel. Lansallos is sited at around 110 metres above the sea by the church, land continues rising northeastwards to peak at 154 metres along the main inbound lane from Pelynt. Cornish parishes are often more extensive than in softer counties and Lansallos at almost 2,800 acres was no exception, within that acreage would have been roughly 800 parishioners. Whilst Lansallos is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of Count Robert of Mortain it was one of the smallest settlements recorded in that book offering just 2 ploughs and a small pasture for its mere 7 households.

The Church

St Ildierna's church, an obscure Celtic saint of whom little is known, sits at the apex of Lansallos' triangle of lanes with spectacular views across to the cliff-tops below. The church sits within a circular churchyard, a "llan" were it in Wales and an indication of an early Christian site, indeed there is evidence for a church here as early as 1086 whilst today's church has, concealed within an image niche of a western window, a head of Norman origin from the 12th or earlier centuries as well as re-worked stone of similar origins in both northern and southern walls, as noted by a 20th century restorer. Documentary evidence indicates a dedication of the present church in 1331 which fits well with the Decorated styling of the lower two stages of its western tower. Whilst the basal stages are early 14th century there was certainly much more activity in the 15th century when the tower was re-worked. The main body too appears to date from the 15th century, it consists of the basic nave & chancel augmented with an impressive 6-bay southern aisle, a shorter 3-bay northern aisle and a southern porch all of that dating. Restorations from 1884 and continuing into the 20th century saw many changes  and after a fire in 2005 further restoration work was required to bring the church back to its present state. Whilst the small village car park allows a lengthy stay for briefer visits the lane to the north of the churchyard is widened to permit around 4 cars to safely park for visiting or services. A sloping pathway leads through the gates and crosses the churchyard to the church, there are a few trees uncomfortably close to the southwestern corner which limit the views of the tower but otherwise all is unobstructed for the photographer.