England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ruan Major St Rumon

The Parish

The parish of Ruan Major lies in the far south of Cornwall not too far from its English Channel coast and sitting on the Lizard Peninsula. Ruan Major is located about 8 miles south of the market town of Helston and just 3 miles from Lizard Point. Ruan Major is a dispersed settlement located just east of the A3083 road which heads for Lizard Point from Helston. There is no distinct village to Ruan Major just a scatter of farms and cottages across the bleak moorland landscape of the Lizard Peninsula. Early descriptions of the parish describe almost a third of the parish as "wasteland" and pastoral farming as well as mining would have dominated the local economy. Ancient rocks rich in minerals underlie the Lizard Peninsula and these were mined from early times - the area is rich in tumuli. Just a couple of miles from the east coast of the Peninsula Ruan Major is drained by small streams rushing to that nearby coast. Ruan Major is sited at around 70 metres above the sea, the top of the Peninsula is relatively flat but deeply incised towards the coastline with steep cliffs falling into the sea. Ruan Major parish covered around 2,300 acres in an area where parishes were either small or very large it was midrange in size, it would have supported a population of around 150 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Ruan Major in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Rumon's church is a picturesque ruin situated at the eastern end of a narrow lane running northeast off the A3083 opposite to Predannack airfield. Little remains of the church beyond the Perpendicular style tower built from the local granite & serpentine. The church received a major restoration in 1867 at which time both aisles were removed but today it lies roofless and covered in ivy. The lane leads off signed to an Animal Sanctuary which is passed between high hedges, shortly after the top of the tower hoves into view, the lane splits at the entry to Ruan Major Cottage and the left branch leads through the copse to the former churchyard. A remote and atmospheric site indeed.