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St Allen Parish Council plants Landmark tree to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

St Allen Parish Council have planted an oak tree at St Allen Church to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  The tree which was grown and donated by the Forest for Cornwall project was planted by Alfie, one of the youngest members of the community.  Alfie was helped by Kate Holborow, one of the Queen’s deputy lieutenants for Cornwall, local MP Cherilyn Mackrory and Jonathan McCulloch, the Chairman of the Parish Council.  Many members of the local community gathered to watch the event.

The tree will become part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project, which encourages communities and individuals to plant a tree for the jubilee.

Rev. Chris Parsons, the vicar of St Allen, blessed the tree and wished it a long and healthy life.

Jonathan McCulloch, the Chairman of the Parish Council, thanked the Church for allowing the tree to be planted in the Churchyard, and said “In time this sapling will become a piece of history, a link to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.  The oak may well live for over 500 years and when mature could host over 2000 species.  I am delighted that once again St Allen Parish Council is planting trees, and look forward to planting many more in the coming years.”

St Allen is a rural parish in Cornwall, lying between Truro to the south and Perranporth to the northwest. The main settlement is the village of Zelah.  Zelah once had two public houses, one the Half Moon Inn that was demolished in the early 19th century and the Hawkins Arms named after the Elizabethan adventurer Sir Richard Hawkins, who fought against the Spanish Armada. Today the main A30 trunk road bypasses the village.

In the 13th and 14th centuries St Allen belonged to the bishops of Exeter, taxed and administered by the major centre of ecclesiastical power at Glasney College, Penryn. The College was dissolved by Henry VIII and the property sold off.

In the 19th century the parish provided for miners working at East Wheal Rose mine, which lies in the adjacent parish of St Newlyn East. The primary ore extracted was Galena (lead), with commercial amounts of silver and zinc. In July 1846 the mine flooded during a heavy thunderstorm, drowning 39 miners.

The church of St Allen is thought to have been constructed in the mid 13th century, with enlargement in the 15th century. It is dedicated to St Alunus, possibly a Breton bishop. The tower is believed to be 13th century.  There  were also several nonconformist chapels in the parish.

Today the parish is mainly agricultural, with wooded valleys and some forestry, and with development of solar farms.