Euny

Last updated

Saint Euny or Uny (6th century) is the patron saint of the churches of Lelant and Redruth in west Cornwall, England, UK. [1]

Contents

Life

William Worcester in his account of travels in Cornwall in 1478 records that St Uny, the brother of St Herygh, was buried at the parish church of St Uny near the town of Lelant, and that his feast day was 1 February. According to him Uny and Herygh (patron of St Erth) were the brothers of St Ia, patron of St Ives (St Ia was an Irish princess who evangelised part of Cornwall). This account is the first record of the spelling "Uny", no doubt because it was recorded as spoken rather than written. The correct spelling is "Euny" though the spelling "Uny" is used after the mid 16th century.

As well as being the patron of Lelant and Redruth Euny is the joint patron of Crowan. In all three churches the feast day is the Sunday nearest to 1 February, the day mentioned by William Worcester. In some 18th-century documents there is evidence that the parish of Crowan was called Uni-Crowan and this may be connected to the fact that the parish was in two parts, one in Penwith and one in Kerrier Hundred. The Kerrier portion was once a separate chapelry and may have had St Euny as its patron saint. [2]

Lelant was the centre of Euny's missionary work and the focus of the cult after his death; it was until the Middle Ages an important port at the north end of the short land crossing to St Michael's Mount. Redruth church stands below Carn Brea where there are remains of a prehistoric town. The town must have been the capital of the district 2000 years ago. This collocation suggests that St Euny was able to convert the chieftain of this land and was given a site for the church.

Legacy

One of St Euny's wells, St Buryan One of St Euny's wells, St Buryan parish - geograph.org.uk - 2862860.jpg
One of St Euny's wells, St Buryan
The holy well of St Euny, Sancreed The holy well of St Euny - geograph.org.uk - 5986220.jpg
The holy well of St Euny, Sancreed

In the parish of Wendron is a farm called Marooney. (It was recorded as Mertharuny in 1751 and Metheruny in 1756.) In a circular garden still known as "the churchyard" in which human bones have been dug up are the remains of a small chapel. Nearby is "a magnificent Celtic cross of an enriched and most original design". This chapel is on the site of a very ancient church in honour of St Euny. After the Reformation it was allowed to decay. In Brittany are two parishes, Plevin and Plouyé; their names have been interpreted by Joseph Loth as containing the names of St Euny and St Ia. [3]

There are several holy wells dedicated to St Euny in West Cornwall, [4] including the famous holy well called Chapel Euny in the parish of Sancreed.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redruth</span> Town and civil parish in Cornwall, England

Redruth is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan and several satellite villages, stood at 55,400 making it the largest conurbation in Cornwall. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road, and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west of Falmouth. Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an urban district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camborne</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Camborne is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carn Brea, Redruth</span> Place

Carn Brea is a civil parish and hilltop site in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Carn Brea including Bosleake and Church Coombe was 8,013 at the 2011 census. The hilltop site is situated approximately one mile (1.6 km) southwest of Redruth. The settlements of Bosleake, Brea, Broad Lane, Carn Arthen, Carn Brea Village, Carnkie, Four Lanes, Grillis, Illogan Highway, Pencoys, Penhallick, Piece, Pool, Tolskithy, Tregajorran, Treskillard, Tuckingmill and West Tolgus are in the parish.

Breage or Breaca is a saint venerated in Cornwall and South West England. According to her late hagiography, she was an Irish nun of the 5th or 6th century who founded a church in Cornwall. The village and civil parish of Breage in Cornwall are named after her, and the local Breage Parish Church is dedicated to her. She is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church.

Charles Gordon Henderson was a Cornish historian and antiquarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundreds of Cornwall</span> Historical administrative divisions of Cornwall, England

The hundreds of Cornwall were administrative divisions or Shires (hundreds) into which Cornwall, the present day administrative county of England, in the United Kingdom, was divided between c. 925 and 1894, when they were replaced with local government districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Day</span> Civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

St Day is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is positioned between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner had a population of 4,473 according to the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sancreed</span> Human settlement in England

Sancreed is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately three miles (5 km) west of Penzance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulval</span> Village in Cornwall, England

Gulval is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Although historically a parish in its own right, Gulval was incorporated into the parishes of Ludgvan, Madron and Penzance in 1934, and is now considered to be a suburb of Penzance. Gulval still maintains its status as an ecclesiastical parish and parts of the village church date back to the 12th-century. Together with Heamoor, Gulval still retains its status as an electoral ward. The ward population at the 2011 census was 4,185.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penwith Hundred</span> Ancient administrative unit of Cornwall, England

Penwith Hundred was one of ten ancient administrative hundreds of the county of Cornwall, England, UK. The ancient hundred of Penwith was larger than the local government district of Penwith (1974–2009) which took its name. Daphne du Maurier in Vanishing Cornwall suggests that the name, Penwith, has three renderings, "the last promontory," "promontory on the left, and "the headland of slaughter," thus suggesting that this area might have been the site of prehistoric invasions of sea-borne fighters, or perhaps tribal battles. The eastern part became part of Kerrier District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lelant</span> Human settlement in England

Lelant is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the Hayle Estuary, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) southeast of St Ives and one mile (1.6 km) west of Hayle. The village is part of St Ives civil parish, the Lelant and Carbis Bay ward on Cornwall Council, and also the St Ives Parliamentary constituency. The birth, marriage, and death registration district is Penzance. Its population at the 2011 census was 3,892 The South West Coast Path, which follows the coast of south west England from Somerset to Dorset passes through Lelant, along the estuary and above Porth Kidney Sands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crowan</span> Village and parish in Cornwall, England

Crowan is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about three-and-a-half miles (6 km) south of Camborne. A former mining parish, all of the mines had shut by 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendron</span> Human settlement in England

Wendron is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately 3 miles (5 km) to the north of Helston and 6 miles (10 km) to the west of Penryn. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,743. The electoral ward of Wendron had a 2011 population of 4,936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winwaloe</span>

Winwaloe was the founder and first abbot of Landévennec Abbey, also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of Brest in Brittany, now part of France.

Erc mac Dega, also known (incorrectly) as Herygh, was an Irish saint. He was active in Cornwall. Tradition ascribes the foundation of the original monastery on the Hill of Slane to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ia of Cornwall</span> Cornish evangelist, saint, and martyr

Ia of Cornwall was an evangelist and martyr of the 5th or 6th centuries, flourishing in the area of St Ives, Cornwall. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Uny's Church, Lelant</span> Church

St Uny Church, Lelant, is the Church of England parish church of Lelant, Cornwall, England. It is dedicated to Saint Uny who is also the patron saint of Redruth. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ia's Church, St Ives</span> Church

St Ia's Church, St Ives, is a parish church in the Church of England in St Ives, Cornwall, UK. It is dedicated to Ia of Cornwall, a 5th- or 6th-century Irish saint, and is a Grade I listed building.

Saint Constantine is the name of one or many British or Pictish saints.

Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:

References

  1. ↑ Doble, Gilbert H. (1960) The Saints of Cornwall; part 1. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 79-88
  2. ↑ Doble, G. H. (1960) The Saints of Cornwall; part 1. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 97-99
  3. ↑ Doble (1960), pp. 70-86
  4. ↑ "St Euny Feast", Kernow Bys Vyken!
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.