St Ewe was a Celtic Saint, although no-one knows which sex. His or her name is variously spelt YWA, EUWA, and later ST TUE. St Theo of Bodeo in Brittany may also be the same person. Whoever he or she was, the early missionaries probably sailed up the river in Cornwall from Porthluney (Caerhayes Castle) which was then navigable up to Polmassick and, for safety, established a settlement on high ground to the South West of the present church (St Ewe) at Lanewa (now Lanau). The prefix "Lan" indicates a burial ground which was frequently established by the early Christians even before that built a church. The saints name is also preserved elsewhere in the parish of St Ewe as in Bosue (the house of Ewe) and Trelewack, a nearby farm. We know there was a Celtic monastery at Lanua in the sixth century.