CORNWALL ONLINE PARISH CLERKS - helping bring the past alive


The parish of

ST TEATH

St Teath Parish
Sketch plan showing approximate positions of nearby Parishes
lies between the Atlantic Ocean and Bodmin Moor (west of the A39 between Camelford and Wadebridge) and covers an area of almost 6000 acres. St. Teath was in the Camelford Registration District until 1974, since when it has been in the Bodmin Registration District. The Parish is located in The Anglican Diocese of Truro and is attached to the deanery of Trigg Minor and Bodmin in the Archdeaconry of Bodmin.
 
Employment has been in agriculture, some silver-lead mining and slate quarrying. Treburgett was the main mine, at one time a large employer in the area. For further detailed information see the St. Teath village website.
 
The world famous Delabole Slate Quarry has continued to produce top quality slate for more than 6oo years. At the end of the 19th century approximately one thousand men and boys were employed in quarrying, splitting, dressing and shipping slate. The Old Delabole Slate Company was formed in 1841 when the five quarries that existed within the vicinity of the present pit formed themselves into a single controlled unit. It became the present limited liability company in 1898.
 
The Parish Church is dedicated to St.Tetha and dates from about 1380. A Norman church, built about 1100, previously stood on the site and remains of this include the lower stage of the tower and the old font on the floor inside the North Door. A large Celtic cross stands in the cemetery and the fact that the church land is in the shape of a rough circle indicates that there was probably some kind of place of worship here in Celtic times.
 
St. Tetha’s Church served the whole parish until the Church of Saint John the Evangelist was built at Delabole in 1879. The first baptism recorded there was on 7th August 1881. It has a unique slate altar built from Delabole slate.
 
Photos and details of the history of St. Teath Methodist Church and Cemetery, including photos of memorial inscriptions, can be seen on the St. Teath Village Website.

St Teath Church
St. Tetha's Church
Delabole Slate Quarry
Delabole Slate Quarry
St John the Evangelist
St John the Evangelist's Church

Cornwall Online Parish Clerks

The Online Parish Clerk for St Teath is Philippa Stout, who can be contacted by Email.


PARISH INFORMATION

CENSUS:

Information can be found at COCP - the Cornwall Online Census Project - which is complete for 1841 to 1891 and has been verified, FreeCen at Rootsweb, which has a very good search engine and information from COCP, as well as GenUKI, which has more reference information and alternate resources.

REGISTERS:

For Parish Register information, please see our online searchable database (C-PROP) which is updated frequently and GenUKI. The C-PROP parish coverage page is here.

DIRECTORIES:

For information, see the University of Leicester's Historical Directories website.

OTHER:

A wealth of interesting and useful information can be found on both the St. Teath and Delabole village websites.
 
In the History section of the St. Teath Village website there are detailed pieces about Nicholas Ennor, fundraising in the past, St. Teath and the Railway, Treburgett Mine, Old Buildings in the Village and Memories of St. Teath. While in the Family History section there are plans and photographs of the Memorial stones in the New Cemetery, which was opened in 1869, and of the Methodist Church cemetery in Trevilley Lane.
 
On the Delabole village website under 'Places' there is information on Tregardock, Trebarwith, Bodmin Moor and Delabole Windfarm. In the 'People' section there are many interesting stories about people and places in Delabole, and in the 'Photographs' section there are old and new photos of Delabole. The 'Information' section has a map of the Delabole area.
 
Stone and Quarrymen of the West Country. A database with over 67,000 entries. A personal collection by Joan Taber.
 
Delabole Slate. The website for the Delabole Slate Quarry with details of products, tours, history etc;

Voters Lists:

  1. 1851/52 Voters List for this parish.
  2. 1852/53
  3. 1856/57
  4. 1864/65

Indentures, Wills and Bonds:- (These often name the local Justices of the Peace, Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor, as well as those people mentioned below.)

  1. a Bastardy Bond, dated 1 Mar 1784, naming William HAWKEY of this parish.
  2. the Will of Hugh BAWDEN, dated 11 Nov 1794.
  3. an Apprenticeship Indenture, dated 13 Oct 1795, naming Giles BAWDEN of this parish.
  4. an Indenture dated, 26 Mar / 17 Apr 1847, involving some people from this parish.
  5. a Bastardy Examination and Warrant, dated 27 Mar 1805, involving Thomas SMITH, shopkeeper, of this parish.
  6. an Indenture, dated 21 Feb 1852, between William WESTLAKE, William BURGESS and William REED.
  7. an Indenture, dated 7 Jul 1854, naming Benjamin JACOBS, his children Celia Martin, Jonathan and Benjamin the younger, and Robert NUTE.

Other transcribed documents (covering multiple parishes including St Teath) link from here.

For more information regarding history, population, etc., visit GenUKI.

MAPS:

For a Parish Locator map, please click here. St Teath can be located at coordinates H - 7.

To see a current, zoomable Ordnance Survey map, please visit MultiMap, or for maps and satellite images use Google Maps.

For a zoomable and printable map of Cornwall please visit Cornwall Council’s mapping website.

ADJACENT PARISHES:

Tintagel, Lanteglos by Camelford, Minster, Michaelstow, St Tudy, St Kew and Endellion (pre-1913).

SUGGESTED READING:

Delabole - The History of the Slate Quarry and the Making of its Village Community by Catherine Lorigan
Pengelly Press
ISBN 978-0-9554792-0-5

Connections – Aspects of the History of North Cornwall by Catherine Lorigan
Pengelly Press
ISBN-13 978-0-9554792-1-2
The first chapter is devoted to the Wills of St. Teath parish in the 17th century. Other chapters cover topics that are in some way connected to each other.

Both books are exhaustively researched and fascinating.

ONLINE BOOKS:

St Teath is included in The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume IV by Davies Gilbert, William Hals, Thomas Tonkin, Henry Samuel Boase, originally published in 1838. Also downloadable as a pdf.