Meneage

50°04′34″N 5°10′28″W / 50.07609°N 5.17456°W / 50.07609; -5.17456

Outline map of civil parishes in part of the hundred of Kerrier

The Meneage /mɪˈneɪɡ/ (Cornish: Menaghek[1] or Manahek)[2] is a district in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. The nearest large towns are Falmouth and Helston.[3] (Note: the coordinates above are the approximate centre of the Meneage district.)

The meaning of the name Meneage is "Monkish (land)" and the probability is that in the post-Roman period the land was in the possession of a confederacy of small Celtic monasteries. These may have been founded by missionaries from Brittany. "The north-eastern half of the Lizard peninsula ... has, for the last 1000 years at least and probably for a considerable time longer, gone by the popular name of Meneage, pronounced Menāgue. This name, like Roseland, has no official significance."—Gilbert H. Doble.[4]

The Meneage district is located south of the Helford River and is divided into four parishes and part of a fifth. From west to east these are St Mawgan in Meneage (part), St Martin in Meneage, Manaccan, St Anthony in Meneage, and St Keverne.

  • St Mawgan in Meneage. The church is dedicated to St Mauganus; St Martin's is a chapelry belonging to this parish. Part of the parish is not in the Meneage district.
  • St Martin in Meneage. The church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours and is a chapelry of Mawgan in Meneage (right of sepulture was granted in 1385). The ancient estates of Barry Mylor and Mathiana adjoin the church and the two names indicate that in early times there were chapels of two Breton saints here. Of St Melor at Merther Mylor (Barry Mylor) and St Anou at Merther Anou; the modern forms being variously corrupted.
  • Manaccan. Though St Manacca was recorded as the patron saint in 1308 it is probable that the name has the meaning of Monks' Church. The form of the dedication in use today is to St Manaccus and St Dunstan.
  • St Anthony-in-Meneage. The village is at OS Grid ref SW782256. The church is dedicated to St Anthony and is somewhat away from the village near Gillan Harbour.
  • St Keverne. The monastery here remained in existence after the Norman Conquest but subsequently fell into the hands of a layman. The church is dedicated to St Akeveranus. In the parish is Lesneague which can be derived from Cornish lis (court) and manahec (monks' land) which would indicate that it was once the seat of a local chieftain.[5]
  1. ^ First recorded as "Manahec" in 1269. Weatherhill, Craig (2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-names. Westport, Mayo: Evertype; p. 1
  2. ^ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  3. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth ISBN 978-0-319-23149-4
  4. ^ Writing in Saint Perran, Saint Keverne and Saint Kerrian, 1931. Doble, Gilbert H. (1962) The Saints of Cornwall: Part two. Truro: Dean and Chapter; p. 54
  5. ^ Henderson, C. (1933) "Helston", in his: Essays in Cornish History. Oxford; Clarendon Press; p. 68