St John, Cornwall

Geography

The parish is opposite Plymouth, separated from it by St John's Lake, an inlet of The Hamoaze in Plymouth Sound. To the north, the parish is bordered by St John's Lake and to the south by the sea. To the east, the parish is bordered by Millbrook, to the south-east by Maker-with-Rame and to the west by Antony parish.

A few hundred metres north of St John village is an area of high ground called Vanderbands, the site of an Iron Age castle mentioned by John Norden (an English topographer who wrote a series of county histories) in his description of Cornwall published in 1728.

The St John's Lake SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) is designated mainly for its bird interests, with 6000 wildfowl and 10000 waders overwintering on the mudflats. There is an unusual tidal ford on a minor public road. Part of the land designated as St John's Lake SSSI is owned by the Ministry of Defence.

Parish church

The historic records for much of this area were kept at Mount Edgcumbe House but were destroyed during the war, however, a church existed here in 1080.

The present church was built in about 1150. It was originally dedicated to St John the Evangelist but was later, probably in about 1490, changed to St John the Baptist. It stands in St John village at .

The church was a Norman foundation but only the low western tower survives from the Norman period. The chancel and nave were rebuilt in the 15th century and subsequently restored.

Notable residents

Charles Adolphus Row (1816–1896), a Christian preacher and moral philosopher, was born here.

References

References

1. [http://www.cornishplacenames.co.uk/#places Maga Cornish Place Names]
2. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' {{ISBN. 978-0-319-23146-3
3. "Parish population 2011".
4. ''John Norden's Manuscript Maps of Cornwall and its Nine Hundreds'', Ravenhill, University of Exeter, 1972
5. (2 May 1986). "St John's Lake". [[Natural England]].
6. (2020-10-06). "Mapping the habitats of England’s ten largest institutional landowners".
7. Historic England (1968), CHURCH OF ST JOHN, [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1161834?section=official-list-entry 1161834], in [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/ The National Heritage List for England]
8. [http://www.caerkief.co.uk/Churches/John.html Cornish Parish Churches website]
9. Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 113