Cardinham

Cardinham is a rural parish on the eastern edge of Bodmin Moor in mid Cornwall. Ancient, quiet and largely unchanged, it is the heartland of the Renals family story.

The Parish

Cardinham parish encompasses a landscape of granite moorland, deep wooded valleys and traditional Cornish farmsteads. The village itself clusters around the medieval parish church of St Meubred, whose records have been kept with remarkable continuity across the centuries.

The Renals Connection

The Renals name appears persistently through the Cardinham parish records across several centuries — in baptisms, marriages and burials that trace the arc of ordinary Cornish lives lived close to this land.

The Parish Records

Cardinham is fortunate to have well preserved parish records. These have been carefully researched and compiled, providing a detailed picture of the families who called this parish home.

Location

Cardinham lies a few miles east of Bodmin, the historic county town of Cornwall. The parish is bounded by the wild openness of Bodmin Moor to the north and east, and the gentler farming country of mid Cornwall to the south and west.

Parish research for Cardinham has been generously supported by David Coppin, online Parish Clerk for Cardinham.