“Sancreed is a land of stone circles and cave-dwellings, crosses and cromlechs, barrows and menhirs, Holy wells and ancient oratories. In no other part of the country are there so many relics of what is popularly called the prehistoric age. Myth and romance, legend and folklore gather about its grey stones. Where so much is hidden in the mists of antiquity, recourse must, on occasion, be had to conjecture in piecing together the story of the past.” (Anon)
Sancreed (Cornish: Eglossankres) is an inland parish in the Hundred of Penwith, about three miles from Penzance and can trace its foundation by a legendary saint, in this case St Credan or Sancredus, a follower of St Petroc of Bodmin and Padstow. The church itself is pre-dated by the holy well and baptistry of Sancreed, located a few hundred metres west of the church: the site was rediscovered by the vicar of Sancreed in the late 19th century.
Photographs of the old cemetery at Sancreed churchyard, West Penwith, Cornwall.
