(Including the modern parish of Halsetown)

• Statistics
• “Online Parish Clerk”
• Links
• The Domesday Book (1086)
• Glebe terriers 1679 & 1727 see Lelant
• Tinner’s Grain Riot (1729)
• Hals’ History of Cornwall (c1730)
• Tonkin’s Natural History of Cornwall (1739)
• The Universal British Directory (1791)
• Lysons’ History & Topography (1814)
• Pigot’s Directory of Cornwall (1823)
• The Topographical Dictionary of England (1831)
• Pigot’s Topography and Gazetteer of England (c1841)
• Pigot’s Directory of Cornwall (1844)
• Kelly’s Directory (1856)
• Blight’s Churches of West Cornwall (1864)
• Lake’s Parochial History (1868)
• Kelly’s Directory (1873) also Halsetown
• Kelly’s Directory (1883) also Halsetown
• Matthews’ Guide (1884)
• Matthews’ History (1892)
• Kelly’s Directory (1893) also Halsetown
• Historical Sketch by W. Badcock (1896)
• The Diary of John Tregerthen Short of St. Ives
• Detailed Map of the Parish
• The Parish in Context (44K)
• Gazetteer
• Picture Gallery Old, Modern, Postcards
• Baptism Registers (Transcript 1807–08, Transcript 1868–1901)
• Marriage Registers (Transcript 1837–1900, alternative Transcript 1860–1900 also Halsetown 1860–1901)
• Burial Registers (Transcript 1653–1753)
• Monumental Inscriptions (Index to Barnoon Cemetery)
• Methodist Circuits (Transcript of Baptisms, Primitive Methodist Circuit 1832–1903)
• Methodist Chapels (Transcript of Baptisms, Methodist New Connexion Chapel 1860–99)
• Other Churches and Chapels
• Census 1841
• Census 1891
• Public Houses (including Inns Taverns and Hotels)

A famous little rhyme/riddle learned by school children, remembered by Julie Paynter Rice and posted to CORNISH-L on 11 Apr 2001.

As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?

There are other variations e.g. “Lives, kits, cats, wives.” It is possible that this rhyme is about the other St. Ives in Huntingdonshire/Cambridgeshire, but who cares! Note that the “Other St. Ives” is named after a different saint.

From “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”:—

• Arthur: “Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh”.
• Bedevere: Do you think he meant the Camargue?
• Galahad: Where’s that?
• Bedevere: France, I think.
• Launcelot: Isn't there a St. Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh’s in Cornwall?
• Arthur: No, that’s Saint Ives.

Statistics

With the current boundaries the area is now 1,890 acres including the ecclesiastical parish of Halsetown that was separated off in 1849. [GENUKI 2002]. In 1868, Polsue had a very similar figure of 1876A.

The main figures are from GENUKI (2002), the ones in brackets are from other sources (and I can't reconcile them at the moment). The later figures were obtained from from the Country Socio-Economic Statistics as the sum of Halsetown and St. Ives sub-parishes.

Online Parish Clerk

A new (Jan 2001) initiative that has started in Cornwall is the Online Parish Clerk. One person is encouraged from the CORNISH-L or CORNISH-GEN-L mailing list to be the custodian of historical records, including transcripts of registers, for each parish and will supply extracts to researchers as they need them. This person may be geographically distant from the parish, but their heart will be there. The volunteer for St. Ives is myself and links to data will be found on these pages as it becomes available. Parish information, Halsetown

Links

The Historic Town of St. Ives Cornwall Official Website has some interesting pages about the history etc.

The St. Ives Parish site has current and historical information about St. Ives churche.

Spooky St. Ives is a light-hearted look at the area by a resident. He has stuff on the Knill celebrations, St. Eia’s festival and lots on Doom Bar beer. This is no longer updated (he has moved away) but is kept online for interest.

The St. Ivean Weblog is the area’s very first Blog covering News, Views and the Arts edited by Roy Bland. Note, this is a new address (Jan 2008)—please don't use the old one as the advertising site that has taken over that address is riddled with viruses.

The St. Ives Archive Study Centre are an independent research group based in the St. Ives Library on Gabriel Street and in the Wesleyan Church, Carbis Bay.

Cornish Light, the Travel and Tourist Guide, have a page devoted to St. Ives.

The Tate St. Ives gallery and the Barbara Hepworth Garden Museum are attractions of the highest international standard.

SOSKernow (link broken 17 Mar 2015 friends of Cornwall) have a detailed history of St. Ives church (link broken 17 Mar 2015).

The St. Ives Harbour website advertises some apartments and restaurants in the town but also has a very nice street map in PDF format with a lot of detail. Beware though, it is over 500KB and may take a while to download.

The St. Ives Society of Artists based in the Mariner’s Church, just off the Wharf and with another gallery in Norway Square.

The Treloyhan Manor Hotel has a fine history of their building.

There is a good history of the Old Halsetown Vicarage which is now the Old Vicarage Hotel. They have some pictures of some of the vicars and an early painting and plan.

History of Trowan (link broken 17 Mar 2015).

Church of the Vine (link broken 17 Mar 2015), Elim Pentecostal.

See also the general West Penwith Links.

Domesday & other notes

Domesday Book, folio 121c, chapter 5, section 1, paragraph 7 [James 1861].

Translation — The Count [of Mortain] himself holds TRENOWTH [or TRENWIT]. Abbot Sihtric held it in the time of King Edward [before 1066], and paid tax for 2 hide [240 acres]; 6 hides there, however. Land for 40 ploughs; In lordship 5 ploughs [with, perhaps, 8 oxen each]; 16 slaves; 30 villagers and 30 smallholders with 12 ploughs. Woodland, 40 acres, pasture, 1000 acres. Formerly 12 silver marks [£2]; now it pays £25 18s 4d. Exon Domesday adds that there were “21 unbroken mares; 12 cattle; 200 sheep”. [Thorn 1979].

It is quoted by some, including Hals that the manor of Trenwith (which includes Amall Veor in Towednack) is this TRENOWTH but [Thorn 1979] puts this manor in the Liskeard area. There is some discussion of the manor in [Matthews 1892] and the conclusion that I come to is that the bulk of this very large and rich manor cannot have been in St. Ives as it would have overshadowed the next largest, Ludgvan Lees, which plays such a prominent role in the history of the area. It is always referred to as the ‘Manor and Barton of Trenwith’ and it is possible that a smaller farmstead (the Barton) was near here and when the main manor broke up, the family that took on that satellite adopted the surname Trenwith. Research continues.