Saint Gorran

Saint Gwrin was a 6th-century Cornish and Welsh saint and a companion of Saint Petroc, the patron saint of Cornwall. He had two churches in Cornwall: one in Bodmin and the other in Gorran Haven. In Powys, he is commemorated in the church and village name of Llanwrin. The manner in which Petroc found the hermit Gwrin is described in the manuscript Life of Saint Petroc by Saint Méen; after Petroc left Saint Wethnog, he discovered Vuronus, a "remarkably holy hermit," and received food and shelter from him. Soon after, Gwrin left the place, and Petroc himself became responsible for it. The Gotha MS describes the place more fully, noting that it was "in a valley... and because monks were the first to live there... the place is called Bothmena (i.e., Bodmin: 'dwelling place or 'bod' of the monks')." It also notes that "Wronus" moved to a place that was a day's journey to the south, where he spent the rest of his days; there is a place called Saint Gorran six miles south of St Austell, and there is a St Gorran's Well in the churchyard of Bodmin church.