England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Ewe All Saints

The Parish

The parish of St Ewe lies in southern Cornwall not too far from its English Channel coastline, St Ewe is located roughly 6 miles southwest of the town of St Austell and sits about 3 miles west of the B3273 road which links St Austell with Mevagissey. St Ewe, itself, is a small village that sits within an extensive parish containing several other settlements such as Polgooth, Sticker and Polmassick, the former two settlements actually being larger than St Ewe. Indeed it was at Polgooth that the main economic factor of the parish was located, its productive tin mine which, according to early gazetteers produced tin of the highest quality and employed many in the parish. The wider parish was largely pastoral, the proximity of the sea and wetness of the climate not being especially conducive to arable methods. A notable Cornish tourist attraction sits midway between St Ewe and Mevagissey, the "Lost Gardens of Heligan" and, indeed, tourism today is the major feature of the parish. St Ewe is drained southwards by a deeply incised stream which soon meets the English Channel at Porthluney Cove. St Ewe is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in the depths of an incised plateau, the general surface being at or slightly higher but cut into by streams swelled by glacial melt at the end of the last ice age, several high points exceed 100 metres with a 119 height close to Polgooth being the highest. As already mentioned St Ewe parish was rather extensive, covering a little over 5,900 acres it was more typical of a northern upland parish and largely because of the tin mining it supported a population of around 1,450 parishioners. Whilst St Ewe, itself, was not mentioned in Domesday Book several of the manors within the wider parish did so have entries, Trelowth, close to Sticker, Lanhadron, Trewarrick & Tocoyse were all held by Count Robert of Mortain and offered 7 ploughs, pastures and woodland; Towan, held directly by the King could contribute a further 28 ploughs together with meadows, pastures & woodland, the collective being amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in the book.

The Church

All Saints' church sits within the village of St Ewe tucked away behind fronting properties and to the south of the main lane that wanders through. Most churches in Cornwall are relatively late by English standards, All Saints is an exception with the tower & spire being of the 13th and early 14th centuries. It is unusual to see Early English Gothic in a Cornish church but that is manifest here together with the later Decorated styling. The tower is a mighty construction, Pevsner calls it "almost a solid square of masonry" and has narrow early 14th century windows albeit restored in Victorian times. The 13th century is also seen in the archway to the northern transept and traces of what once would have been a southern equivalent. Evidence for an even earlier church is shown by the 12th century Norman style font. The southern aisle, also an early medieval piece, is Perpendicular and dates from the late 14th century. Once completed the church did not sit for long before major changes were wrought, a date-stone of 1636 shows work on the chancel from the 17th century, a further engraved date of 1727 shows work progressing into the 18th but restoration work culminated in a major phase of 1881 from which much of the church's features date. By the entry to the church the lane through the village widens into a triangular plain allowing parking for the fortunate. A pathway leads south to the churchyard which has been extended westwards behind those properties. Unfortunately for the photographer the southern aspects to the church are crowded with trees whilst neighbouring properties encroach to the west making for a challenging subject to adequately record.