BURIAN (ST.), a parish in the hundred of PENWITH,
county of CORNWALL, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Penzance,
containing 1495 inhabitants. The living is a rectory,
and a royal peculiar, rated in the king's books at
£48. 12. 1., and in the patronage of the Crown. The
church, which stands on an eminence, and serves as a
land-mark to mariners, is a spacious edifice, containing
some interesting monuments: it had a handsome carved
screen and other relics of antiquity, but these were removed
on its reparation in 1814: there is a small ancient
cross near the south porch. St. Burian is a place
of considerable antiquity, having been noted for a collegiate
church founded by King Athelstan, in honour
of St. Buriena, or Beriena, who had an oratory and was
interred here, and on which he bestowed the privilege of
sanctuary and other immunities: in the 20th of Edward
I. the society consisted of a dean and three prebendaries.
This establishment constituted the basis of
the present independent deanery, which comprises within
its jurisdiction the parishes of St. Burian, St. Levan,
and Sennan: it was for a long time annexed to the
bishoprick of Exeter, but was severed from it during
the episcopacy of. Bishop Harris, who thus became the'
first independent dean: every vestige of the collegiate
buildings has disappeared. There is a charity school
under the direction of trustees, who allow the master
eight guineas a year, and a residence rent-free.