St Breward ( ) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located on the western side of Bodmin Moor.

The parish name derives from Saint Branwalader. Until the 19th century it was commonly known by the corrupt form of the name: 'Simonward'.

Local amenities

The village has a footpath which takes you in a loop past the holy well, the aviaries, and the church. It has a shop, a snooker club, which is connected to the village hall, a football club (Brake Parc FC), two playgrounds (one at Rylands, and the other in Penvorder), a Methodist chapel and Sunday school, an Anglican church, a pub (The Old Inn), and a war memorial hall.

Parish Church

The church is situated at the northern end of the village and is dedicated to St Branwalader (or Brueredus). It is a substantial building of the Norman period to which a south aisle and western tower were added in the 15th century (these additions are of granite). It was restored in the 19th century, and only parts of the Norman north arcade remain. There were in the mediaeval period three chapels in the parish: at Hamatethy the manorial chapel of the Peverells, St Michael's Chapel, Roughtor, and another at Chaple. Thomas Taylor the historian was vicar here and edited the parish registers.

War Memorial Hall

Situated further towards the bottom of the village, the War Memorial Hall is used for monthly events such as the gardening club. It has a small kitchen with a microwave, kettle, and cutlery, two toilets, a large carpeted room where meetings are held, and a larger room with stage sets and lighting rigs. When this larger room is not being used for drama productions, there are two table tennis courts that can be used by members of the public. In November 2008, it was announced that the younger people of the village were no longer allowed to use the memorial hall. This was met with bitter dismay from those who had enjoyed utilising the hall and were now banned. The ping pong room was free to use by any member or the local community, and the key for the hall could be obtained by asking for it at the local village shop. There was a collection box for those who used the ping pong tables and wished to give a donation, and it was asked that the hall was tidied and returned to the state it was found in after every use. According to an anonymous source, the hall had been left untidy and therefore all of the younger people were banned from using it from then on.

History and antiquities

The moorland area of the parish is notable for prehistoric remains, including the earthwork known as King Arthur's Hall. For many centuries St Breward's main industry was the mining of granite which has been used in Cornwall and exported to many other places. The most important quarry is De Lank which produces granite of very high quality. More recently china clay has also been quarried there. There is another important china clay works at Stannon. The most important prehistoric remains are the earthwork already mentioned, the Fernacre stone circle and two other stone circles (one 2.5 miles north-east and the other near Leaze Farm). Langdon (1896) records seven crosses and six cross-bases in the parish: two of the crosses are at Lanke. In 1998, 1999 and 2000 three seasons of archaeological recording work were undertaken at the china clay works on Stannon Down to learn more about the numerous Bronze Age remains to be found there.

Parts

In the 17th century St. Breward was two separate villages, Churchtown (higher) and St. Breward (lower). More houses were built and slowly the villages merged into one.

There are several main parts to the village: Churchtown, Rylands, Limehead, Wenford, Penvorder, Higher Penquite and Lower Penquite. The moorland area includes the highest point in Cornwall Brown Willy; Rough Tor nearby is also in the parish.

External links; bibliography

1. Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford
2. Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books
3. Jones, Andy M. (2008) Settlement and Ceremony: archaeological investigations at Stannon Down, St Breward, Cornwall, in: Cornish Archaeology; 43-44 (2004-05), pp. 1-140

• Maclean, John (1872-79) The parochial and family history of the deanery of Trigg Minor. 3 vols. London: Nichols & Son