St Breock

• The Cornwall Family History Society have published Monumental Inscriptions on-line for the Parish Church - 2520 entries.

Census information for this parish (1841 - 1901) is held in the Cornwall Records Office. The Cornwall Family History Society offers a census search service for its members.
Specific census information for this parish is available as follows:

• 1841. The 1841 Census of St Breock (HO107/149), Enumeration Districts 7 to 9, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1851. The 1851 Census of St Breock (HO107/1905), Enumeration Districts 1a, 1b and 1c, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1861. The 1861 Census of St Breock (RG9/1541), Enumeration Districts 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census Project.
• 1871. The 1871 Census of St Breock (RG10/2254), Enumeration Districts 10 to 12 [including Merchant Shipping], is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census Project.
• 1881. The 1881 Census of St Breock (RG11/2295), Enumeration Districts 10 to 12 [including Merchant Shipping], is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.
• 1891. The 1891 Census of St Breock (RG12/1818), Enumeration District 10 to 12, is available on-line from the Cornwall Online Census project.

• Anglican. The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SW9771 and was dedicated to St Briocus in 1259. The 13th century church was of cruciform shape, however all that remains of this in the present day church are parts of the tower, the walls at the west end and possibly part of the wall to the right of the High Altar. During the 15th Century, the Church was substantially enlarged. The Font made of stone from the Padstow cliffs dates from this time. The church was extensively rebuilt in 1677, because it had fallen into a parlous state of disrepair. The estimated cost was £1050, but an appeal to other Cornish Churches only raised £10.
  The church comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle and a north transept called the Pawton aisle. The arcade is of six arches of Bath stone supported on monolith granite pillars. Near the chancel is a vestry with a priest's door. There is a little used south porch; the main entrance is by a north porch. The tower is of three stages, battlemented, and contains five bells.
  In 1965, a major flood with 4 ft 9 inches (1.45m) of water inside damaged the church. In the subsequent restoration the pews were treated, the sanctuary slightly extended, a row of choir stalls was moved from each side of the chancel and the altar brought forward. In 1982 the South Transept was made a Chapel of St Michael.
  Burlawn hamlet is 2 miles south-east from the church, and has a mission chapel, opened in 1888 and seating 80.
  The United Benefice of Egloshayle and St Breock was created in 1984. It comprises these two churches plus their daughter churches of St Conan's in washaway and St Mary's in Trevanion Road, Wadebridge.
• Roman Catholics. The Church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel; it is located in Trevanson Street, Wadebridge. Church tradition has honoured St. Michael as a special guardian of souls in the fight against evil and especially at the hour of death. The feast of St. Michael together with SS. Gabriel and Raphael is celebrated on 29th September each year.
• Non-Conformists.
  • A Wesleyan Methodist chapel, seating 300, was built in Wadebridge in 1877/1879, and one for the Free Methodists was built in 1848. There was another Wesleyan chapel at Washaway.
  • A Congregationalist chapel was built in 1836, and a Bible Christian chapel was built in 1852.
  • There had been a chapel here belonging to the Society of Friends (Quakers); this but was converted to a school in the mid-19th century; the Quakers now meet in the John Betjamin Centre in Wadebridge.
  • There were also chapels belonging to the Methodist Free Church at Egloshayle and at Wadebridge.
  • According to Hugh Peskett's Guide to the Parish and Non-Parochial Registers of Devon & Cornwall (p 184), a Prebyterian meeting place or chapel was licensed at St Breock in 1672 but had ceased to function by 1690. Peskett suggests that no registers for this assembly have survived.

• LDS Church Records. This parish is NOT included in the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI).
• The Cornwall Record Office holdings: Baptisms 1563 - 1905, Burials 1561 - 1905, Marriages 1661 - 1962, Boyd's Marriage Index 1561 - 1812, Pallot's Marriage Index 1790 - 1812.
• Other Non-Conformist Records. OPC Coverage of Non-Conformist records of this parish is available.
• Baptisms.
  • The Cornish Forefathers' Society have published on CD baptisms 1715 to 1840 for this parish which can be purchased on Parish Chest
  • Wadebridge United Methodist Free Chapel baptisms 1865 to 1884 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
• Marriages.
  • Marriages 1561 to 1591, Phillimore's Marriages 1561 to 1812, 1654 to 1714, and 1879 to 1909, are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of: Parish Marriages 1561 to 1837, which is available in Book, CD or downloadable .pdf file formats.
  • 1813-37 Marriages are also on-line.
• Burials.
  • Burials 1644 to 1709 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility - (C-PROP).
  • The Cornwall Family History Society have published on-line transcripts of: 1813-37 Burials.

The parish of St Breock was originally in the St Columb Registration District. There were sub-districts at Newlyn East, Padstow and St Columb Major. It is now in the Bodmin Registration District. Parishes within the old St Columb district were: Colan, Crantock, Cubert, Little Petherick, Mawgan-in-Pydar, Newlyn, Newquay, Padstow, St. Breock, St. Columb Major, St. Columb Minor, St. Enoder, St. Ervan, St. Eval, St. Issey, St. Merryn, St. Wenn.

The Superintendant Registrar of Bodmin can be contacted at: Lyndhurst, 66 Nicholas Street, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL31 2AG. Tel: 01208 73677.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from St Breock to another place.

• OPC Assistance. The On-line Parish Clerk (OPC) scheme operates a service to help family historians; the OPC page for this parish is available on-line, from where the OPC can be contacted by email.

The Domesday Settlements of Cornwall, a study undertaken by the Cornwall Branch of the Historical Association, has identified and located settlements listed in the Exeter and Exchequer Domesday Survey of AD 1086. The following places have been identified in St Breock ecclesiastical parish:

• Pawton (Pawtona, Pavtone), Grid Reference 770238.

• Map of the Bodmin Registration District in which the parish lies.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SW982707 (Lat/Lon: 50.50085, -4.847663), St Breock which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• Malcolm McCarthy, and his team of helpers, have transcribed numerous documents relating to people who have lived in St Breock and surrounding parishes. The alphabetical index of surnames in the documents which have been transcribed so far are available on-line. NOT ALL are on this website yet. Apart from personal names, this index incorporates place and field names commemorating former occupiers as well as some strays. The latter often relate to war-time refugees from Greater London.

Apprenticeship Indentures for St Breock (1742 - 1834) can be found in the Cornwall Record Office.

• St Breock parish was part of the St Columb Major Union for Poor Law administration and parish relief. However in 1898, Wadebridge town became part of the Bodmin Union.
• Some Bastardy/Filiation Documents are on-line, courtesy of the OPC.
• Overseers' Accounts (1665 to 1791, 1807 to 1837), Settlement Papers (1672 to 1849) and Bastardy Bonds (1680 to 1827), are available in the Cornwall Record Office.

Part of parish was transferred to civil parish of Wadebridge in 1898. In the 2001 Census, St Breock was enumerated as part of Wadebridge.

In the May of 1641 it was agreed and ordered that every Member of the House of Commons and House of Lords should make a protestation (declaration of loyalty) to the crown. The Protestation was printed and then distributed by the Members to their counties. The Protestation was to be made by everyone and the Rectors, Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor, had to appear before the Justices of the Peace in their Hundred to make their protestation and, on returning to their parishes, any two of them were to witness the taking of the Protestation Oath by all males over the age of 18 years. All names were listed and anyone who refused was to be noted.

The Protestation Returns of 1642 for St Breock are available on-line.

The Wadebridge Old Cornwall Society News Page is on-line.

The parish comprised 4740 acres of land, 8 acres of water, 41 acres of tidal water and 200 acres of foreshore.

Voters Lists for St Breock, Polling District of Bodmin, are on-line as follows:

• 1851/52.
• 1853/54.
• 1864/65.