|
|---|
| St. Ives enters recorded history with the arrival of St. Ia or Hya, the Irish princess who introduced Christianity to this area in the 5th Century. The legend tells how St. Ia, a Virgin Saint of noble birth went to the seashore to depart for Cornwall from her native Ireland along with other Saints. Finding that they had gone without her, fearing that she was too young for such a hazardous journey, she was grief stricken and began to pray. As she prayed she noticed a little leaf floating on the water and touched it with a rod to see if it would sink. Lo, as she looked it grew bigger and bigger. She saw that God sent it to her and, trusting to Him, she embarked upon the leaf and was straightaway wafted across the Channel, reaching her destination before the others. The legend goes on to say that she founded an oratory in a clearing of a wood on the site of the existing Parish Church that is dedicated to her. |
||||||
Interestingly, during construction of the new lifeboat station adjacent to the Parish Church, the contractors excavated a peat bog, which is surprising when one considers the excavations were in St. Ives Harbour. Many famous people have lived in St. Ives from time to time; Turner, Whistler, Henry Moore, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Bernard Leach and Virginia Woolf. Henry Irving lived in the nearby village of Halsetown. These are just a few of the famous people who found the magic that is St. Ives. |
||||||
|