Lezant (Cornish: Lannsant)[1] is a civil parish and village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Lezant village is about five miles (8 kilometres) south of Launceston.[2] The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 751, increasing slightly to 765 in the 2011 census.[3]

Lezant
Lezant Church
Lezant is located in Cornwall
Lezant
Lezant
Location within Cornwall
Population756 (United Kingdom Census 2011 including Carthamartha)
OS grid referenceSX339791
Civil parish
  • Lezant
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLAUNCESTON
Postcode districtPL15
Dialling code01579
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°35′17″N 4°20′53″W / 50.588°N 4.348°W / 50.588; -4.348

Geography

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The parish of Lezant is in the Launceston registration district. The county border with Devon forms the parish's eastern boundary. It is bounded on the north by South Petherwin and Lawhitton.

Greystone Quarry and Bridge

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A historically important road crossing of the River Tamar is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village at Greystone Bridge; the arched stone bridge was built in 1439.[4] Greystone Bridge is the site of a large aggregate quarry operated by Bardon Aggregates. The quarry walls are designated as the Greystone Quarry SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), for its geological characteristics.[5]

Churches

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Lezant parish church is dedicated to St Briochus and was considerably restored in 1869. There was formerly an ancient chapel at Trecarrel (or Trecarrell) (see below) dedicated to St Mary Magdalene but it no longer exists.[3]

The parish of Lezant lay within the bishop's peculiar manor and deanery of Lawhitton. The high altar of the church was rededicated in 1336; part of the chancel dates from slightly earlier than that. The rest of the spacious building is of the 15th century and there is a fine tower. In medieval times there was a chapel of St Lawrence (mentioned in 1447) and at Landue a chapel of St Bridget. There was an oratory of the Wyse family at Greystone in 1329.[6]

Trecarrel

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At Trecarrel is the hall built by Sir Henry Trecarrel (now used as a barn) very early in the 16th century. The carved stones intended to embellish the hall were afterwards used in the building of the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene at Launceston. The hall is impressive with fine Perpendicular windows and oak wagon roof; the chapel was still in existence in 1925.[7] King Charles I arrived in Cornwall and spent the night at the house of Ambrose Manaton at Trecarrel on 1 August 1644.[8]

Notable people

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View towards Lezant

References

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  1. ^ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 Plymouth & Launceston ISBN 978-0-319-23146-3
  3. ^ a b GENUKI website; Lezant; retrieved 10 February 2015
  4. ^ Engineering Timelines website; retrieved April 2010
  5. ^ "Greystone Quarry" (PDF). Natural England. 1994. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  6. ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 143–44
  7. ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925)
  8. ^ 'Parishes: Lawhitton - Luxulion', Magna Britannia: volume 3: Cornwall (1814), pp. 193-206.
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