Barncoose mine, Barncoose, nr Carn Brea, Tolskithy, Illogan Highway

The Ecclesiastical Parish

The ancient ecclesiastical parish of St.lllogan (hereafter sometimes simply referred to as Illogan), as distinct from the recent and much smaller Civil Parish of Illogan, was the 11th largest in Cornwall. In early times much of its outlying parts were rough, uncultivated, land so that its bounds were not always clearly defined, being located only by reference to some prominent feature such as a burial mound, Celtic cross or stone. More accurately, Illogan was bounded on the north by the seacoast that ran from an ancient bank named Keasak Vres (‘the great dry hedge’ just east of Hell’s Mouth) as far as Porthtowan. From about the early 14th century Illogan’s coastal bound had been extended beyond the Portreath stream, the original eastern limit of Tehidy Manor, in order to encompass the Nancekuke area. Nancekuke was originally in Tywarnhayle Manor that belonged to the Celtic monastery of St. Petroc at Padstow, and later Bodmin: probably, because of its isolation, it was ra-tional to ‘tack it on’ to Illogan parish because otherwise St.Agnes was its nearest, but more distant, church. From near Bridge village the bounds followed a tributary of the Portreath stream separating Illogan and Redruth parishes, thus passing near Barncoose to the eastern shoulder of the Cam Brea granite outcrop. By and large to the south of Carn Brea they followed the line of the highway through Fourlanes to the headwaters of the Red River near Nine Maidens, thence northwards down the river valley and through Tuckingmill as far as Belake, near Magor Farm, where they turned upwards to the sea again at Keazak Vres. Following changes in the mid 19th century parts of the original Illogan parish were relinquished to form the newer ecclesiastical parishes of Tuckingmill (1844) and Mount Hawke (1846). There were other changes more recently and it was not until 1995 that it officially became known as the Parish of St.lllogan to distinguish it from the civil parish. The Parish of St.lllogan remains one of the largest in Cornwall being in size over 3800 ha (14.8 square miles) with a population of 11,500 in 2011. The circumference of the bound-ary is 35 km (22 miles). Barncoose Hospital, Cornwall College (which is linked to six other campuses including Duchy College), the Heartlands leisure complex, RAF Portreath and the former Tehidy Hospital at the site of the Basset mansion are all found within its bounds. Within the parish are the daughter churches of St. Mary’s, Portreath, which was built in 1963 to replace a Chapel of Ease, built and consecrat-ed in 1842 and dedicated to St.Mary, and Trevenson Church at Pool. Trevenson was built and endowed by the Right Hon. Francis, Lord de Dunstanville, in 1806 and opened for divine service on 7th July, 1809, consecrated by Bishop Pelham (Lord Bishop of Exeter).