England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Anthony in Roseland St Anthony

The Parish

The parish of St Anthony (the suffix is to distinguish it from the other St Anthony in the county "in Meneage"). lies it the extreme south of the Roseland peninsula of southern Cornwall. St Anthony lies roughly 3 miles east of the port of Falmouth but is separated by the drowned river valley that is now one of the country's most important natural harbours, Falmouth Roads. St Anthony's nearest major road also lies separated by the Percuil River within St Mawes where the A3078 connects the Roseland Peninsula with the A390 to the east of Truro. St Anthony is a tiny but highly picturesque hamlet, a collection of farms and cottages gathered loosely around Place House, the home of the Spry family who controlled the land of this area and who consequently prevented a formal village from arising. St Anthony is definitely a difficult place to reach, several miles down winding lanes or by infrequent ferries from Falmouth via St Mawes, the South West Coastal Trail crosses both ferries before heading around St Anthony's Head to continue its journey north along the Cornish coast and brings a few pilgrims to this remote spot. As a coastal settlement the drainage is irrelevant with the sea so close. St Anthony is sited at just 4 metres above the sea by the church but land rises to form the backbone of the peninsula at close to 70 metres or so. St Anthony parish was one of the smaller in the county covering just over 750 acres it would have supported less than 150 parishioners. St Anthony is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Anthony's church is highly unusual in being physically attached to Place House and is unique in Cornwall in having its original central crossing tower. Original an Augustinian priory church it was re-dedicated in 1259, a date which Pevsner feels is highly coincident with the tower and the northern transept. The church, however, goes back still further than that date as shown by the Norman Romanesque southern doorway which Pevsner says is one of the finest in its county. Much else is 13th century work but the church has been extensively renovated at the behest of the Sprys with a major campaign of 1850 resulting in much of what we see today. Parking at St Anthony is difficult but it is only a half hour's walk from Towan Beach car park on tranquil lanes to reach the head of the creek on which house & church sits. The coastal trail crosses before the house and the church  can be accessed by this route. Given the unusual situation of close attachment to Place House which removes the southeastern aspect entirely this is a difficult church to adequately capture for the photographer.