Coordinates: 50°16′N 5°04′W / 50.267°N 5.067°W
Kenwyn (Cornish: Keynwynn) is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and is situated 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre. It gives its name to one of three rivers that flow through the city.
It is likely that the church of Kenwyn is very early and in fact the mother church of Truro. The original dedication is doubtfully St Keyne (Keynwen is the earliest form of the name which would be 'Keyn' and -wen' (white/blessed): by the 15th century it was assumed to be St Kenwyn (no medieval records have it with the prefix 'Saint'). Subsequently the dedication was attributed to St Cuby. The manor of Kenwyn was held in the 12th century by Richard de Luci after it had been confiscated by the King. Apparently the borough of Truro was established by the lord in part of the manor and this was the beginning of Truro as a town, then called Triuereu. In the Domesday Book the manor of Kenwyn appears as Tregavran (in later usage Trehaverne). It was in the possession over many centuries of the families of Lantyan, Beville and Grenville, and Enys.
The earliest form of the name is Keynwen (1259), from keyn ridge and gwen white but the modern Cornish form has been interpreted as "Splendid Chief".
Arthur Langdon (1896) describes a Cornish cross in the manor house grounds at Eastbourne, Sussex, which was originally at Kenwyn. Davies Gilbert, a former resident of the manor house removed it from a roadside gate west of Truro where it was in use as a gatepost and had it transported to Eastbourne in 1817. The shaft is ornamented on all four sides.