Kenwyn
Encyclopedia
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and is situated half-a-mile (1 km) north of the city centre. It gives its name to one of three rivers that flow through the city.
History and toponymy
It is likely that the church of Kenwyn is very early and in fact the mother church of Truro. The original dedication is doubtfully St KeyneSt Keyne
St Keyne is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The parish lies between the parishes of Liskeard and Duloe.In Victorian times the holywell in St Keyne had the reputation of conferring supremacy to the marriage partner who first tasted it.The church is dedicated to Saint Keyne...
(Keynwen is the earliest form of the name which would be 'Keyn' and -wen' (white/blessed): by the 15th century it was assumed to be St Kenwyn (no medieval records have it with the prefix 'Saint'). Subsequently the dedication was attributed to St Cuby. The manor of Kenwyn was held in the 12th century by Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci was first noted as Sheriff of the County of Essex, then he was made Chief Justiciar of England.- Biography :His wife Rohese, who is named in several documents, was a sister of Faramus of Boulogne...
after it had been confiscated by the King. Apparently the borough of Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
was established by the lord in part of the manor and this was the beginning of Truro as a town, then called Triuereu. In Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
the manor of Kenwyn appears as Tregavran (in later usage Trehaverne). It was in the possession over many centuries of the families of Lantyan, Beville and Grenville, and Enys.
The earliest form of the name is Keynwen (1259), from keyn ridge and gwen white but the modern Cornish form has been interpreted as "Splendid Chief".
Notable buildings
Kenwyn Parish Church is more or less 14th and 15th century in date: (south aisle and tower 15th century). RestorationVictorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
s (1820 to 1862) have reduced the interior to its present uninteresting state. The churchyard provides a fine view over the city of Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and above the lychgate is an upper chamber (probably a schoolroom).
Lis Escop (the Kenwyn Vicarage of 1780) became after the establishment of the Diocese of Truro
Diocese of Truro
The Diocese of Truro is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury.-Geography and history:The diocese's area is that of the county of Cornwall including the Isles of Scilly. It was formed on 15 December 1876 from the Archdeaconry of Cornwall in the Diocese of Exeter, it is thus one...
the bishop's palace.
Notable residents
Paul RobinsPaul Robins
Rev. Paul Robins , was a Cornish Bible Christian. He was born on 6 September 1804 in Kenwyn, Cornwall, United Kingdom to Paul Moyle Robins, a tin mine manager and Agnes Rule. In the spring of 1819 he was converted to the Bible Christian church by Ann Cory...
, the Bible Christian pioneer in Canada was born in Kenwyn. Joseph Antonio Emidy
Joseph Antonio Emidy
Joseph Antonio Emidy was a West African born slave in early life, but later became a famous and celebrated violinist and composer in Cornwall.-Life:...
, the composer and former slave is buried here, as is Charles Foster Barham
Charles Foster Barham
Charles Foster Barham, M.D. , physician—the second Christian name was rarely used—was the fourth son of Thomas Foster Barham, and was born in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom on 9 March 1804.-Education:...
, the physician and antiquarian. The Rt Revd Edward Harold Browne
Edward Harold Browne
Edward Harold Browne was a Bishop of the Church of England.The second son of Col. Robert Browne of Morton House, in Buckinghamshire, and of Sarah Dorothea Steward, he was educated at Eton and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After securing his B.A...
(Bishop of Winchester) was Vicar of Kenwyn, 1849–1857, and also held the living of Kea
Kea, Cornwall
Kea is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a "large straggling parish" in a former mining area south of Truro.Kea village is situated just over one mile southwest of Truro....
, and from 1854 the Norrisian Chair at Cambridge. John Rundle Cornish
John Rundle Cornish
John Rundle Cornish was an Anglican bishop, the inaugural Bishop of St Germans from 1905 to 1918.Born on 7 October 1837 he was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he was 14th Wrangler in 1859. He was a Lecturer then Fellow at the College before studying for ordination...
was also Vicar of Kenwyn and subsequently Bishop of St Germans
Bishop of St Germans
The Bishop of St Germans is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Truro, in the Province of Canterbury, England....
.Conrad Meyer
Conrad John Eustace Meyer
Conrad John Eustace Meyer was an English Catholic priest and a former Church of England bishop.Meyer was the son of William Eustace Meyer. He was educated at Clifton College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was...
was a later vicar who also went on to become a bishop.