|
|
The parish of Baldhu is situated in the Deanery of Powder. It is named after
the Cornish for Black Mine. It was formed on 1st January 1847 from parts
of Kea parish. The parish church is the burial place of Billy Bray, the
revivalist preacher. The village is a mining village situated above the Carnon
Valley to the West of Truro. All of the mining in the area has now ceased but
there is much evidence of its past. The mine at Wheal Jane was the most recent
one to close in the late 20th century. The area has many buildings once occupied
by the local miners.
A little to the south of the Truro to Chascewater road, in the old parish of St.
Kea, lies a church in an isolated spot. Hardly a house stands anywhere nearby.
The building is reached by a narrow road and one almost stumbles upon it. The
rooks crow in the surrounding trees. No bells are ever heard. The doors are
locked and the windows vandalized, while all the ornaments and valuables have
been removed. There are no times of service in the south porch for no services
are ever held here. The atmosphere is one of desolation and decay. The people
have departed; the organ no longer peals forth its music. Visitors come only to
seek the grave of the miner evangelist preacher Billy Bray, who lies buried on
the south side of the Victorian Gothic building. The place is St. Michael and
All Angels Church, Baldhu.
In 1984, the ecclesiastical parish was united with All Saints, Highertown,
Truro.
|
|
