Sennen
| |
|---|---|
 Sennen parish church | |
  Sennen Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 921 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SW358256 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Penzance |
| Postcode district | TR19 |
| Dialling code | 01736 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°04′12″N5°41′42″W / 50.070°N 5.695°W /50.070; -5.695 | |
Sennen (Cornish: Sen Senan orSen Senana) is a coastalcivil parish and a village inCornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately eight miles (13 km) west-southwest ofPenzance.[1]
Sennen parish is bounded by the sea to the west and bordered by the parishes ofSt Just to the north,St Buryan to the east,St Levan to the south.[2] TheLongships, a group of rockyislets situated off Lands End, are also within the parish.[2] The main settlements are Churchtown,Trevescan,Carn Towan,Sennen Cove andLand's End.
For the purposes of local government Sennen elects a parish council every four years. The main local authority isCornwall Council.
Sennen parish is situated at the western tip of thePenwith peninsula[1] and is exposed to prevailing westerly winds from theAtlantic. Geologically, it is located on the Land's End Granite, one of the five majorgranitebatholiths that make up the spine of Cornwall (seeGeology of Cornwall). Consequently, the parish has a bare moorland-like character with very few trees and no woodland.[1]
The parish consists of 2,284 acres (9 km2) of land, 6 acres (24,000 m2) of water and 64 acres (260,000 m2) of foreshore. The population was 829 at the 2001census.[3]
Thechurch town, Sennen, is the most westerly village in mainlandEngland and is 315 miles (507 km) west-southwest ofLondon. Below the village is the harbour settlement ofSennen Cove.
Sennen parish church is dedicated to St Sinninus but has also been dedicated to StJohn the Baptist. There has been a church here since at least the 15th century.[3] A visit by members of thePenzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society on their annual excursion in August 1893 translated aLatin inscription on a stone at the base of the font as ″In the year of the Lord 1441 [2, 3, or 4], this Church was dedicated on [the festival of] the beheading of St John the Baptist″.[4] The present church has a chancel and nave, a south aisle and a north transept. A wall-painting depicting two round embattled towers was uncovered duringrestoration in 1867. There is also a headless alabaster figure representing theVirgin Mary in the transept. The church has a three-stage battlemented tower housing a ring of three bells.[3]
There are five Cornish crosses in the parish. One is at Escalls and another at Sennen Green. Trevilley cross is one of only two crosses with a crucifixus figure on a cross carved onto the stone (there is a cross on the other side of the head). A cross on the churchyard wall came from a site near the Giant's Stone. A fine cross in the cemetery adjoining the churchyard was found in use as a footbridge near Trevear and moved to the churchyard in 1878. About 1890 it was moved to its present position.[5]
On theold Christmas Day in the 1830s (and before) the farmers of St Sennen assembled for the festivities. One of the dishes was a pie made from 24blackbirds. At midnight the young men went out to see the ‘cattle kneel’ and on their return they threw rushes onto the fire. The number of crackles, or the particular form assumed, told the fortunes of those who threw them into the fire.[6]
