St Merryn

St Merryn was a Welsh saint born around AD 496 who went to live in Brittany. On his way, he founded a small church, where the present St Merryn’s Parish Church now stands. Dating originally from the 13th and 14th centuries, it was partially restored in the 20th century, when the windows, floor, pews and roof were replaced, but there is still much of the earlier church to be admired. The font came from the ruins of the nearby St Constantine’s Church.

In the garden of a private house in this small village is a modern day Celtic monument that is as impressive as any of the many prehistoric sites found in Cornwall. The Angel’s Runway, three large, granite standing stones with a huge, flat capstone, was built in 1987, and is a direct copy of a Neolithic chamber tomb. There are other copies of famous Cornish stone circles and rocking stones to be seen here. The parish of St Merryn has no fewer than seven unspoilt beaches on its seaward boundary.

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