| St Stephen-in-Brannel | |
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St Stephen-in-Brannel
St Stephen-in-Brannel shown within Cornwall |
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| Parish | St Stephen-in-Brannel |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Cornwall |
| Ceremonial county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | PL26 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
St Stephen-in-Brannel (known locally as St Stephen's or St Stephen) is a civil parish and village in central Cornwall, United Kingdom. St Stephen village is four miles (6.5 km) west of St Austell on the southern edge of Cornwall's china clay district.[1]
In medieval times the parish lay within the royal manor of Brannel.[2] St Dennis and St Michael Caerhays were daughter churches. From the 16th century the rectors resided at the latter so that it came to be regarded as the mother church.[3] Other settlements in the parish include Whitemoor, Currian and Nanpean.
The church was dedicated to St Stephen by Walter Bronescombe, bishop of Exeter on 20 August 1261. The church has a nave and two aisles; the exterior stonework is all of granite. The tower is built of granite blocks and contains a peal of 8 bells, originally cast by Taylor's of Loughborough. The font is Norman.[4]
Mining has had a large impact on the growth of the area. St Stephen grew with the discovery by William Cookworthy of clay deposits in the surrounding area during the 18th century.[5] Uranium was mined at South Terras Mine, a short distance from the village between 1870 and 1930 and in 1996 the mine was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[6][7] Tregargus Quarries to the north west of the churchtown is a Geological Conservation Review site and designated a SSSI in 1951.[8]
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The growth of the village meant that it soon sustained many services including: a police station, bank and bakery at different times.
St Stephen continues to grow, with new housing schemes being proposed and accepted. The need for affordable housing in the village has seen the use of greenfield sites surrounding the village, which has met with some controversy between residents and developers because of the impact on privacy and wildlife.[9][10]
Amenities in the village include the Brannel Surgery, St Stephen Churchtown Primary School, Brannel School (secondary), a community centre, two public houses and two shops, one of which is also the post office.
The recreation ground was opened in 1924, and houses a number of clubs and organisations including the village football, cricket and bowls teams, and also Telstar Youth Club.
The ground is equipped with a football pitch, cricket wicket, bowls green, all weather pitch and sports pavilion which can be used for sports including football and tennis.
In 2007 the recreation ground opened a new playground and skateboarding facilities after fundraising to replace the old equipment.
The parish is home to many sports teams, societies and clubs.
Sports clubs include a bowls team who play on the bowling green at the recreation ground, a cricket team who play their home games at the recreation ground and make use of the new pavilion opened in 2001, and two football teams within St Stephen FC, who play their home games on their pitch in the recreation ground. There are also a number of other sports clubs which make use of the sports hall and other facilities at Brannel School.
St Stephen also has a Scout group, 1st St Stephen, who share a meeting place with 1st Treviscoe-St Stephen Guide group at Trethosa.
St Stephen Pantomime Company produce a show annually, which is performed in the community centre hall and can attract audiences of up to 200 people per night. The pantomime features cast, chorus and relies on backstage help from people only in the village and the immediate surrounding area, and usually starts performing on the last week of January annually.[11] In 2010 the pantomime celebrated its 65th anniversary with the performance of "Sinbad the Sailor By Alan P Frayn. The next show will be a Noda Pantomime Little Red Riding Hood By Ron Hall. This will take place on 1st - 4th February 2012. [12]
From the start of St Stephen Pantomime the Company put on shows in the Old Church rooms until 1997 when they moved to the Community Centere for their 1998 Production "Sinbad The Sailor"
Recent Pantomimes:
1999 Mother Goose
2000 Cinderella (55th Anniversary)
2001 Robinson Crusoe
2002 Aladdin
2003 Goldilocks and the Three Bears
2004 Dick Whittington
2005 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (60th Anniversary)
2006 Babes in the Wood
2007 Alibaba and the Forty Thieves
2008 Jack and the Beanstalk
2009 Sleeping Beauty
2010 Sinbad the Sailor (65th Anniversary)
2011 Cinderella
St Stephen incorporates two schools, one catering for primary years and one for secondary.
St Stephen Churchtown Primary was opened in 1984, after the school moved from the centre of the village to a new school building, which has continued to grow over recent years. The school currently has over 250 pupils across 11 classes.[13]
Brannel School opened in 1961 and currently has over 700 pupils on roll. The school recently revealed plans for a new building, involving the demolition of structures on the old site. This was completely separate to the government programme 'Building Schools for the future' and therefore became unaffected when the coalition government scrapped the programme. The new school will cater for up to 750 pupils which includes pupils who may require access to the Area Resource Base (ARB) - a special wing of the school to cater for pupils with special educational/medical needs. This area is fully integrated in to the new school giving its pupils the individual support they may sometimes need, while still allowing access to the main school when able/required. Brannel was named a 'Beacon School' by the government in 2000, and became a specialist college for English and the Performing Arts in 2005.[14]
Two other villages in Cornwall are dedicated to St Stephen; St Stephen by Launceston and St Stephen by Saltash
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