Padstow, in the hundred of Pider, is bounded to the west by St.
Merrin, to the north and east by the sea, its own harbour, and the
river Alan, to the south by Little Petherick.
Leland (Itinerary, vol. ii. fol. 75), speaking of the town here saith,
“this town is ancient, bearing the name of Lodenek in Cornish, and in
English after the true and old writings Adelstowe, Latin, Athelstani
locus, and the town there taketh King Adelstane for the chief giver of
privileges unto it.” In Tax. Benef. 20 Edw. I. it is also called
Eccles’ de Aldestowe, and valued――the rectory in 106_s._ 8_d._ and the
vicar in 13_s._ 4_d._ being appropriated to the priory of Bodmin.
Notwithstanding which I take it that it has its name from the famous
St. Petrock, an abbreviation of Petrockstow, St. Petroc’s Place, to
whom this church is by all allowed to be dedicated, and who most
probably was born here; as more certain it is that he was buried in
St. Petroc’s church in Bodmin, as you may see there.
But Fuller (Worthies in Wales, p. 13), from Bale calls Petrok, a
Welsh-Irish-Cornish man, as having his birth in Wales, his breeding in
Ireland (according to the custom of that age), from whence after
twenty years’ studying he came into Cornwall, and fixed himself at
Petrok’s-stowe, now corruptly Padstowe, from a small oratory so called
from him; that he wrote a book of Solitary Life, whereto he was much
addicted, and flourished anno 560; but Collier from Harpsfield, whose
authority I prefer, makes him to go from Cornwall into Ireland, so
that as I said before we may claim the honour of his birth.
This church is a vicarage, valued at £11. 3_s._ The patronage in
Edmund Prideaux, Esq. the impropriation of the sheaf in Sir John
Prideaux, of Netherton in Devon, Bart.; the present incumbent Mr.
Charles Guy.