Phillack

Village in west Cornwall, England

Phillack is a village (and formerly a parish) now in the parish of Hayle, in west Cornwall, England. It is about one mile (1.6 km) northeast of Hayle and half a mile (0.8 km) inland from St Ives Bay on Cornwall's Atlantic Ocean coast. The village is separated from the sea by a range of high sand dunes known as The Towans.

In 1891 the civil parish had a population of 4673. In 1894 the parish was abolished and split to form "East Phillack" in Phillack Urban District and "West Phillack" in Hayle Urban District, Phillack became an urban district which contained the parish of East Phillack, on 1 April 1934 the urban district was abolished and merged with West Penwith Rural District. Phillack parish was originally in Redruth Registration District but the village now comes under Camborne Redruth Registration District. There is some dispute over the origins of the name. In the 17th century, Phillack was believed to refer to the Irish Saint Felicitas who is said to have founded Phillack church in the 6th century. However, a 10th century Vatican codex mentions a Saint Felec of Cornwall who is believed to have lived about the same time and may be dedicatee of the parish church.

St Felicitas and St Piala's Church, Phillack was originally the parish church also of Hayle: it was built in the 15th century and rebuilt in 1856 by William White but the tower is original. It is part of the Godrevy Team Ministry The font is probably not medieval; half a coped stone is in the churchyard. There were over a 160 year period from 1763 to 1922 four rectors of Phillack belonging to the Hockin family: William (1763 1809), William (1809 1853), Frederick (1853 1902) and Arthur (1902 1922), probably unique among English parishes.

Two early stones have been found embedded in the original village church. One bears a 'Constantine' form of a Chi Rho cross which may date to the 5th century; it was afterwards rebuilt into the wall directly above the apex of the arch of the doorway of the new church. The second is simple memorial stone bearing the name of "Clo[tualus] [son of] Mo[bra]ttus", dated between the fifth to eighth centuries, and now stands in the churchyard. Arthur G. Langdon (1896) recorded the existence of six stone crosses in the parish, including two in the churchyard. The others were at Copperhouse, at Bodriggy, in a field and in the rectory garden.