PARISH OF ST ALLEN

St Allen Church Altar

The parish of St Allen was in the western division of the Hundred of Powder, in the deanery of Powder; it is now in the Carrick district and is situated to the north of Truro. An old parish, it was not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1089. The parish is mainly farmland with some areas of woodland and former mine workings to the North. There are a number of small hamlets and farmsteads dotted around the parish. St Allen now comprises only a few houses.

The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Alunus. While the church is supposed to be from the 15th century,. the tower appears to date from the 12th century. There are three bells. The church was extensively restored in 1873-74, and further restoration work undertaken in 1989-1990 includes new additions.. The ecclesiastical parish of St Allen united with Kenwyn on 1 July 1991 by an Order in Council.

In 1801, there were 360 persons living in the parish; in 1991, 380. The peak of population was in 1871, when it reached 774, and it stood at 453 in 1901. St Allen was in the SubDistrict of St Clement, in Truro Registration District.

Zelah Chapel
Photograph by Steve Beazley, © Copyright 2002 - 2008

The principal settlement in the parish is at Zelah. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it had a school, both Wesleyan and United Methodist Chapels, and a Missionary Church built in 1883. This church, because of the remoteness of St Allen, was used for evening services, especially in winter, and for weekday events such as classes of all kinds, missionary events, and other lectures. The main road - later the busy A30 - passed through Zelah until 1992, but the creation of a by-pass was too late to save the remaining Methodist Chapel and the shop. The school had long since closed, and the mission church had been disused for some years.

I have begun transcribing St Allen Parish Registers which I have begun publishing online. Please use the links below to check my look-up resources and further links for St Allen.

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