St Veep

St Veep is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated above the east bank of the River Fowey about three miles (5 km) south east of Lostwithiel. It is bordered by the parishes of St Winnow to the north west, Boconnoc to the north, Lanreath to the east Polperro to the south east and Lanteglos to the south. The River Fowey forms its western boundary. The parish is named after Saint Veep of whom little is known (not even whether the saint was male or female). Part of the village of Lerryn is in St Veep parish. The hamlets of Cliff , Higher Penpol , Middle Penpol and Lower Penpol are all within the parish.

The parish church was originally dedicated to Saint Veep, but when it was rebuilt in 1336 it was rededicated to Saint Quiricus and Saint Julietta. Following the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, a number of well known Cornish figures and priests were murdered or hanged in Cornwall. These included Richard Bennet, vicar of St Veep, under the direct orders of Anthony Kingston, Provost Marshal serving under King Edward VI. Valuable church silverware, which had been deposited with Lloyds Bank of St Austell and subsequently lost, was rediscovered in 2015 at a storage facility near Glasgow. Items included a communion cup (dated 1579), silver flagon tankard (1737) and a silver plate (1738).

A small cell or priory was built by the side of Penpol Creek, today the site is referred to as "St Cadix's Priory" but it has also appeared as St Ciric, St Carroc, St Cadokys, St Carrett and St Karroc. There is some uncertainty as to which saint the priory was dedicated to; either 6th century Celtic Saint Cadoc or Cyricus son of Saint Julietta, who the parish church is dedicated to. Little remains of the priory today and a farmhouse was built on the site in 1710, but there are some remains of a crucifix and ecclesiastical stones dated at 1150 onwards. In 1100 the priory was granted to the Benedictine Cluniac Montacute Priory in Somerset by William, Count of Mortain. Before that a small cell or holy well had existed. It remained the priory's until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. For most of its time just one monk and prior lived there. Three priors are known: Robertus (1339), Wilhelmus Smythe (1385) and Laurence Castleton (1536). After dissolution the freehold of the site was granted to Laurence and Dorothy Courtenay on 3 September 1545. They leased it to the Cavells who leased it to Burchard Kranich a German silver smelter and adventurer. Kranich borrowed £500 from Mary Tudor, £150 from William Godolphin and more from several others to build a "melting house" in Lerryn which cost about £300 to build. Later he was lent £300 by Queen Elizabeth I, who ordered the repair of the bridge in Lerryn. Between 1556 and 1583 at least 2,000 ounces of silver were smelted with ore coming from mines in Tregardoke, Padstow, St Delion, Portysyke, Peran and St Columb.

Buried within the churchyard is the British stage and film actor Eric Portman (1901 – 1969) who lived in Penpoll Cottage, St Veep. Also Captain Robert Edwin Phillips VC (11 April 1895 – 23 September 1968) of the 13th Battalion, The Warwickshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross for an action at the River Hai, Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia on 25 January 1917.