St Ewe () is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which may be named after an Englished version of Saint Avoye. The village is situated approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of St Austell.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth
Antiquities Evidence of early medieval habitation is in the form of a roadside Celtic cross that once stood near Nunnery Hill (Charles Henderson in 1925 refers to it being at Lanhadron). However, the crosshead and shaft were thrown down in 1873 by a farmer looking for buried treasure, and both pieces were afterwards lost. The base has survived in situ with an inscription in insular script, unreadable except for the word crucem; Elisabeth Okasha dates the construction of this monument between the ninth and eleventh centuries.See the discussion and bibliography in Elisabeth Okasha, Corpus of early Christian inscribed stones of South-west Britain (Leicester: University Press, 1993), pp. 129-132
There is another cross at Corran, about half a mile east of the churchtown.Langdon, A. G. (1896) Old Cornish Crosses. Truro: Joseph Pollard; pp. 80-81 This cross is also known as Beacon Cross since its site is known as the Beacon. There is a cross at Heligan known as Bokiddick Cross; it came from Bokiddick Farm in the parish of Lanivet which was then owned by the Tremaynes who also owned Heligan. The cross in the churchtown stands on a massive base which is the only original part of it. The stones forming the cross came from elsewhere and nothing is known about the design of the original cross.Langdon, A. G. (2002) Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; pp. 35-36
Churches The parish church is dedicated to St Ewe, a female saint of whom very little is known;Doble, G. H. (1970) The Saints of Cornwall: part 5. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 30-32 it has been argued that she is the same as Saint Avoye of Sicily, although traditions about the latter's life vary in content. The church was originally a Norman cruciform building: the tower and spire were added in the 14th century and the south aisle in the 15th. There is a Norman font and a fine 15th-century rood screen.Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 94 The small manor of Lanewa was for a long time linked to the advowson of the church; it was probably the secular successor to a Celtic monastery.
At Tucoyse was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, and there were formerly Bible Christian chapels at Polmassick, Paramore, Kestle and Lower Sticker.
Heligan The Heligan estate is located at the eastern edge of the parish of St Ewe, overlooking the small port of Mevagissey. The long-term home of the Tremayne family, the estate is now best known as the location of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, a recently restored Victorian garden.
Notable people Henry Hawkins Tremayne (1741–1829), landed family member, created the gardens around Heligan House, now named the Lost Gardens of Heligan Thomas Luny (1759–1837), an English painter who specialised in marine art. Arthur Tremayne (1827–1905), a Crimean War soldier and Cornish MP for Truro, 1878 to 1880. Lionel Martin (1878–1945), businessman who co-founded the company that became Aston Martin
Language St Ewe was surveyed for the Survey of English Dialects.
Notes
External links
The St Ewe Parish Website: http://st-ewe-parish.co.uk
Genuki Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Ewe