| Country: | England |
| Map Type: | Cornwall |
| Coordinates: | 50.28°N -4.839°W |
| Official Name: | St Ewe |
| Cornish Name: | Lannewa |
| Static Image: | All Saints church, St Ewe (geograph 3234464).jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | All Saints' Church |
| Population: | 568 |
| Population Ref: | (2011 census) |
| Civil Parish: | St Ewe |
| Unitary England: | Cornwall |
| Lieutenancy England: | Cornwall |
| Region: | South West England |
| Constituency Westminster: | St Austell and Newquay |
| Post Town: | ST AUSTELL |
| Postcode District: | PL26 |
| Postcode Area: | PL |
| Dial Code: | 01726 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SW978461 |
St Ewe (Cornish: Lannewa) is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which is believed by hagiographers to have been named after the English moniker of Saint Avoye.[1] The village is situated approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of St Austell.[2]
Evidence of early medieval habitation is in the form of a roadside Celtic cross that once stood near Nunnery Hill (Charles Henderson in 1925 refers to it being at Lanhadron). However, the crosshead and shaft were thrown down in 1873 by a farmer looking for buried treasure, and both pieces were afterwards lost. The base has survived in situ with an inscription in insular script, unreadable except for the word crucem; Elisabeth Okasha dates the construction of this monument between the ninth and eleventh centuries.[3]
There is another cross at Corran, about half a mile east of the churchtown.[4] This cross is also known as Beacon Cross since its site is known as the Beacon. There is a cross at Heligan known as Bokiddick Cross; it came from Bokiddick Farm in the parish of Lanivet which was then owned by the Tremaynes who also owned Heligan. The cross in the churchtown stands on a massive base which is the only original part of it. The stones forming the cross came from elsewhere and nothing is known about the design of the original cross.[5]
The parish church is dedicated to St Ewe, a female saint of whom very little is known.[6] She is believed by hagiographers to be Saint Avoye of Sicily, although traditions about her life vary in content. The church was originally a Norman cruciform building: the tower and spire were added in the 14th century and the south aisle in the 15th. There is a Norman font and a fine 15th-century rood screen.[7] The small manor of Lanewa was for a long time linked to the advowson of the church; it was probably the secular successor to a Celtic monastery.
At Tucoyse was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, and there were formerly Bible Christian chapels at Polmassick, Paramore, Kestle and Lower Sticker.[8]
The Heligan estate is located at the eastern edge of the parish of St Ewe, overlooking the small port of Mevagissey. The long-term home of the Tremayne family, the estate is now best known as the location of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, a recently restored Victorian garden.[9]
St Ewe was surveyed for the Survey of English Dialects.
The St Ewe Parish Website: http://st-ewe-parish.co.uk