ePARISH history
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The Saint, Patern (or Padern) has had several candidates, which has become mixed and confused over the ages. It is believed that the actual St. Patern to which the Parish's of North and South Petherwin are dedicated to, was actually the father of St. Constantine, a Cornish King who gave up his throne to become a monk. St. Patern and St. Constantine have thus always been indelibly linked, with dedications always being near one another (a Celtic practice when Saints are related or work together). St. Constantine Church at Milton Abbot being the case in point for South Petherwin. With the assumption that that Dunheved (Now known as Launceston) was the seat of the Celtic Kings of the area and that when Constantine became a monk he gave his territory to the Celtic Church, the Parish, along with North Petherwin and Lawhitton (Landwithan), would have been administered by the Celtic Bishop of St. Germans Monastery. With the Saxon invasion, the new Saxon King created a new diocese in the South West based at Sherbourne. The lands which were controlled by the Celtic Bishop, were conceded to the new Bishop's control, to finance his work in Cornwall. It is with the Saxons that both Petherwin's began to dominate the region, with the river Kensey being the natural divide. North Petherwin in the North with the new monastery of St. Stephens (a Saxon minister being appointed to quell the Celts), and South Petherwin to the south of the Kensey. The Saxons allowed the decline of Dunheved as a means to crush the Celtic will. The Diocese moved first to Crediton from Sherbourne, then on to Exeter. |
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The next radical change came with the Normans who seeked to suppress the Saxon's control. First St. Stephen's was reduced as a minister with the priory being moved across the Kensey to Newport. Then the ruined ancient fort of Dunheved was rebuilt as a Castle and walled town. |
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South
Petherwin then became the mother Church for Launceston, and
it is for the Church's importance in providing a valuable
source of income to the church as a whole, that accounts for
the size of the Church when it was rebuilt in the fifteenth
century. Its significance is also shown by the existence of
five roads which all congregate at the Church. (Three
still exist as normal tarmac roads; one is a footpath
leading across fields from Tregadillet, with a fifth road
from Trecrogo, which is now sadly blocked off.) The
estate was much larger than the present Parish and also
included Trewen, hence the Medieval association between St.
Michaels Church, Trewen and St. Paternus Church, South
Petherwin (A link now ended with the consolidation of
Parochial charges)
St. Michaels Church, Trewen
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 St. Paternus Church, South Petherwin |
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The parish is now situated in the Hundred of East and deanery of Trigg Minor. The Church consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and vestry. The chancel was restored in the 19th century. The arcades each consist of six four-centred arches, supported on monolith granite pillars. There are north and south porches. The tower has three stages, and is buttressed on the square; it is wholly built of local stone apart from the battlements and pinnacles which are of granite. The belfry contains five bells and a clock. There was a Holy Well in a field at Oldwit Farm, where water was collected and brought to the church each time a baptism took place.
The current Methodist Chapel Over the years there has been many Methodist Chapels, with the present one being built in 1872. The stone was quarried from the nearby Bangors Slate quarry, which at the time, provided employment for many within the parish.
Beacon Farmhouse |
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For many
years the Parish was serviced by one pub called the
Brandreth Arms, which is now Beacon Farm. This was also
situated within the main village just down from the Pump.
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The
Pump for many years was the only main source of water for the Village.|
Parishioners queue at the Pump during a water shortage believed to sometime in the 1950's From Left to Right Alfie 'Chips' Cheeseworth (Local Carpenter), Hilda Wilton, Archie Couch, Charles Barber, ?, Ian Bennett
BLIGH OR
BLIGHT PROPERTY
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| Below are some photographs taken in the 1911's &1930's. To view the full size picture just click on the thumbnailed picture. |
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| Due to the fact that there is little information available on the Parish's history, a major research is being performed into this subject. If anyone has any information or old photographs it would help the project immensely. Please contact us at southpetherwin@tiscali.co.uk |
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As the
Information is gradually put together it will be posted to this page
so keep checking for the updates
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