By Myghal Map Serpren
The ancient town of Penryn in Cornwall stands by the river bearing its name and around a mile inland from Falmouth.
Penryn is a Cornish placename translating into English as ‘hill spur’ or ‘promontory’ and there have been substantial archaeological finds from as early as Neolithic times in the district.
The settlement was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 although there is ample evidence of human activity in the area dating back to the dawn of human history.
The town grew in importance and was the home of Glasney College, a Collegiate Church and renowned centre of learning, founded by Bishop Walter Branscombe (b. c1220 d.1280) in 1265.
By 1322, the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary had been built in Penryn.
In the mid 1300s, half the local population were Bretons with whom the Cornish shared close affinity and the town flourished becoming an important trading port.
Tragedy was to strike in 1548 when as a result of King Henry VIII’s (b.1491 d.1547) dissolution of the monasteries, Glasney College was destroyed resulting in enormous loss of literature and learning, the near death of the Cornish language, the college having produced many written documents, books and religious plays in that tongue, as well as the destruction of the Chapel of Saint Mary. Further, the town’s population fell foul to the Black Death and was utterly decimated.
The Cornish rebellion broke out in 1549 in resistance to the imposition of the Church of England and many from Penryn left to join the Cornish ‘Prayerbook Rebellion’.
It is known that a Mediaeval (1066 to 1539) fish market building once stood at the junction of Saint Thomas Street with Broad Street in the town centre.
A ‘Fish Cross’ is mentioned in a survey of 1788 and the actual market still existed in 1895 by which time the building’s demolition was commenced and the granite Mediaeval cross which had stood on the site was moved around 330 feet to the Eastern end of Penryn Town Hall and mounted on a modern base where it has remained to this day.
Still known as the ‘Fish Cross’, the monument now stands to an overall height of around four feet four inches of which the rounded top cross stone measures one foot three inches.
The monument measures a little over eight inches in thickness, the face has been cut back, and an equal limbed cross created with arms each measuring four inches. The sides and reverse face have been left without any decoration.
The cross head appears to have been subject to modification over the years and was probably originally mounted on a shaft. As previously noted, the current base dates from more modern times.
Immediately behind the cross, Penryn Town Hall is home to the eclectic and fascinating Penryn Museum which contains a wide range of exhibits dating from the earliest to rather more recent times.
The 18th century building was a former market house, served as a town gaol and stands on the site of the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary which was destroyed during the Reformation.
The displays which are changed from time to time, feature architectural artefacts recovered from the nearby Glasney College site, various archaeological finds, exhibits relating to the local police and fire services, personal effects donated to the museum, reference books and much more besides, including a mummified rat said to have been one of those responsible for the introduction of the Black Death to the town!
A visit is highly recommended and entrance is currently free of charge with donations being welcomed and books available for sale.
We are grateful to the volunteer curator Charles Wenmoth and his team for welcoming us to the museum and a link to the Penryn Town Museum website may be found here with opening times published therein: http://penrynhistory.co.uk/
Both the Fish Cross and Penryn Town Hall are Scheduled Listed Buildings.
References
- Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
- Penryn Heritage Trail – Vicky and John Kirby, Penryn Town Museum, Cornwall 2010
All images author’s own, except where stated.
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