Crowan

Crowan is a rural parish between Helston and Camborne, largely agricultural with scattered farmsteads and small hamlets. Praze-an-Beeble, close to the parish church, is the largest of its settlements, alongside Nancegollan and Leedstown. The medieval church is dedicated to St Crewenna, one of the many Celtic saints commemorated across Cornwall.

The Clowance estate, on the parish’s eastern side, was the seat of the St Aubyn family, baronets from 1671, until the family’s ownership ended in 1923. Clowance House, largely rebuilt after fires in 1837 and 1843, is now the centre of a holiday park. Crowan Beacon, a granite hill above the parish, carries ancient burial cairns and views across the parish; the area was a mining district through the 19th century.

The parish lies on the western side of the Carnmenellis granite upland. Helston is about 5 miles south, with Camborne about 4 miles north. The Lizard is accessible to the south, and the Mount’s Bay coast at Praa Sands and Porthleven is within 6 miles. Holiday accommodation here is typically in converted farm buildings and rural cottages.