St Stephen-in-Brannel
| St Stephen-in-Brannel | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 The Queens Head pub with St Stephen's church tower beyond | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SW944533 |
| Location: | 50°20’38"N, 4°53’28"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | PL26 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
St Stephen-in-Brannel (known locally as St Stephen's or St Stephen) is a village in central Cornwall, about four miles west of St Austell on the southern edge of Cornwall's china clay district.
In the Middle Ages the parish lay within the royal manor of Brannel.[1] St Dennis and St Michael Caerhays were daughter churches. From the 16th century the rectors resided at the latter so that it came to be regarded as the mother church.[2] Other hamlets in the parish include Whitemoor, Currian Vale and Nanpean.
The church was dedicated to St Stephen by Walter Bronescombe, Bishop of Exeter on 20 August 1261. The church has a nave and two aisles; the exterior stonework is all of granite. The tower is built of granite blocks and contains a peal of 8 bells, originally cast by Taylor's of Loughborough. The font is Norman.[3]
The village
The growth of the village meant that it soon sustained many services including: a police station, bank and bakery at different times.
St Stephen continues to grow, with new housing schemes being proposed and accepted. The need for affordable housing in the village has seen the use of greenfield sites surrounding the village, which has met with some controversy between residents and developers because of the impact on privacy and wildlife.[4][5]
In 2012, the post box outside the post office was painted gold by the Royal Mail to honour local Paralympic swimmer Jonathan Fox. [6]
Mining
Mining has had a large impact on the growth of the area. St Stephen grew with the discovery by William Cookworthy of clay deposits in the surrounding area during the 18th century.[7] Uranium was mined at South Terras Mine, a short distance from the village between 1870 and 1930 and in 1996 the mine was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[8][9] Tregargus Quarries to the north west of the churchtown is a Geological Conservation Review site and designated a SSSI in 1951.[10]
Recreation
The recreation ground was opened in 1924, and houses a number of clubs and organisations including the village football, cricket and bowls teams, and also Telstar Youth Club.
The ground is equipped with a football pitch, cricket wicket, bowls green, all weather pitch and sports pavilion which can be used for sports including football and tennis.
In 2007 the recreation ground opened a new playground and skateboarding facilities after fundraising to replace the old equipment.
Clubs and societies
The parish is home to many sports teams, societies and clubs.
Sports clubs include a bowls team who play on the bowling green at the recreation ground, a cricket team who play their home games at the recreation ground and make use of the new pavilion opened in 2001, and two football teams within St Stephen FC, who play their home games on their pitch in the recreation ground. There are also a number of other sports clubs which make use of the sports hall and other facilities at Brannel School.
St Stephen also has Scout group, 1st St Stephen, who share a meeting place with 1st Treviscoe-St Stephen Guide group at Trethosa.
St Stephen Pantomime Company produce a show annually, which is performed in the community centre hall and can attract audiences of up to 200 people per night.
See also
Two other villages in Cornwall are dedicated to St Stephen; St Stephen-by-Launceston and St Stephen-by-Saltash.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stephen-in-Brannel St Stephen-in-Brannel) |
References
- ↑ 'Brannel' (Cornish Bronel) is first recorded in 1201 and means "place of hills". Weatherhill, Craig (2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-names. Westport, Mayo: Evertype; p. 1
- ↑ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 197
- ↑ Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall; 2nd ed. Penguin; p. 202
- ↑ http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Village-scheme-cheaper-homes-gets-ahead/article-1581308-detail/article.html
- ↑ http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Committee-shrugs-objections/article-1762276-detail/article.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-19433071
- ↑ http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/famous-cornish-people/cookworthy.htm
- ↑ http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/mines/st-austell/south-terras.htm
- ↑ "South Terras Mine SSSI". Natural England. http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000096.pdf. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ↑ "Tregargus Quarries". Natural England. http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000625.pdf. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
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