This church is situated in a very isolated spot near the cliffs of North Cornwall. It dates from the 12th century, but there was almost certainly a church on this site in the 10th century dedicated to St. Gennys or St. Genesius. There were many such holy men who came over to Cornwall from Wales and Ireland in the first millennium – they would set up in such a spot near a source of water (for baptism as well as nourishment) and hold services in the open air. They would often live as hermits, and in time the water source would become a “holy well” of which there are many in Cornwall, one being located very close to this church.