Welcome to the website for St Sennen Church
in the Land's End Benefice
in the Deanery of Penwith
in the Diocese of Truro
The united benefice of St Buryan, St Levan and Sennen is the most westerly in England, three parishes steeped in the earliest history of Christianity, boasting some of the most beautiful and spectacular coastal scenery in Europe and the destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world each year.
About the Parish of Sennen
The most westerly parish in England, Sennen, is bounded on its seaward side by a magnificent stretch of coastline running from Gwynver round the sweep of Whitesands Bay and on past the Land’s End. Inland it encompasses Sennen Churchtown, some small residential areas, several scattered settlements clustered around ancient farmsteads and the old fishing village of Sennen Cove. The parish is very rural. Scattered over its acreage of 2291 it has a population of 829. This number is greatly increased during the season when the second homes, holiday cottages and the caravan and camping sites are occupied.
At almost extreme ends of the parish lie the two churches of the parish, Escalls Methodist Church and the Parish Church, dedicated to St. Sennen, Grade 2 listed with a capacity of 96. Between these, along the A30, are some residential areas, Sennen Primary School, the Community Centre, the Village Stores with Post Office, the Fish and Chip shop and the Churchtown Hall. The Parish Church stands beside the old hostelry, the First and Last Inn, with which, by courtesy, it shares a large car park.
Next to the church is the Sennen Churchtown Hall. The Land’s End School of Art meets there as well as the Sennen Junior Youth Club, yoga and keep fit classes. Lettings, table top sales, auctions and car boot sales help its committee to maintain the hall for community use.
Behind the school is the Community Hall where the highly successful and prize winning Sennen Farmers’ Market takes place each Tuesday. A wide variety of stalls offer residents and visitors a splendid opportunity to buy locally produced goods. A charity café offers local organisations the opportunity to raise funds, either for their own use or to support a designated charity of their choice.
The historic old fishing village of Sennen Cove has a small working harbour for fishing boats and a fine modern lifeboat house. The Cape Cornwall Pilot Gig Club is based in the Cove and their boat is launched from the harbour. There is an old inn, a beachside restaurant, the Sennen Surf School, a village stores and a gallery. The former Men’s Institute is now the home of Sennen Surf Club and the Gig Club. As an extremely popular holiday destination it is very busy in the summer and for surfing enthusiasts it provides an all year venue. The towering cliffs between the Cove and Land’s End provide a challenge to the many serious climbers who come to practise their sport.
The Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station has a long and proud record of life-saving in the waters around the Land’s End. There has been a lifeboat operating out of the Cove since 1853. Today the men and women who form the boat and shore crews still mostly live locally but come from many different walks of life. There are two boats, the Tamar Class R.N.I.B ‘City of London III’ and an inshore lifeboat ‘Amy Brown’. Support for the work of the R.N.L.I. is, in part, funded by the fund raising arm of the station the Sennen Cove Lifeboat Guild. The Priest in Charge of St. Sennen is, by tradition, Chaplain to the Station.
Sennen and Sennen Cove are blessed with a comprehensive and information packed website where browsers can find out about life in the community. See www.sennen-cove.com