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Myghal Map Serpren continues our look at the church and churchyard of Mabe, near Penryn in Cornwall.
The Mediaeval Cross
A Mediaeval (1066 to 1539) wheel-headed wayside cross is situated in the churchyard of Saint Laudus just to the left of the South porch of the main church building.
This granite monument stands on a modern base and measures approximately three feet three inches in height with the cross head being around one foot three inches in diameter and the shaft a little over a foot in width with an overall thickness of eight inches.
The cross was first recorded during the 1890s as being set against the wall of the nearby vicarage and its original site remains unknown. It was placed in its current position and orientated East-West during the 1920s.
Each side of the monument displays a very fine Latin cross set in relief with the lower limb extending down the shaft further on one side than the other.
It seems likely that the cross was re-cut quite possibly when it was removed from an earlier site to the then vicarage.
The Prehistoric Menhir
A Prehistoric menhir stands in the churchyard of Saint Laudus around thirty feet South of the church tower.
This standing stone has been dated to between 500000BCE to 42 CE and two very small equal armed crosses measuring around four inches across and by between five and six inches in height were cut into the South West and North East sides on an undetermined date during the period 410CE to 1539CE.
Standing at a little over six feet six inches in height and measuring approximately one foot six inches across each side, later work carried out at the top of the stone appears to have been carried out to allow for a lantern to be mounted on it possibly during the 19th century.
It is very possible that this ‘Christianised’ standing stone has stood here since long before the arrival of the religion and remained during the construction of the lann and later, the church. Of granite, it would represent a considerable effort to move the monument and so the carving of crosses into its faces may have occurred to make its presence more acceptable.
Saint Laudus Church is now a Listed Building as is the Mediaeval cross and Prehistoric menhir, and the site remains as a place of active Christian worship with beautiful views across the valley and reservoir below.
References:
Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
The Cornish Church Guide and Parochial History of Cornwall – Charles Henderson, D. Bradford Barton 1964
Norman Architecture In Cornwall – A Handbook To Old Cornish Ecclesiastical Architecture – Edmund H. Sedding FRIBA, Ward and Co. B.T. Batsford and Co. London and J. Pollard, Truro, 1909 https://archive.org/details/normanarchitectu00sedd/page/n5/mode/2up
The Buildings of England: Cornwall – Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, Newhaven and London, 1951 et al. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300095890/mode/2up
Stone Crosses in West Cornwall – Andrew Langdon, The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 1999
News that HS2 have given their tunnel boring machine an adoptive name, in an unashamed bid to humanize the destructive process, we think readers may welcome the opportunity to name each of the westbound and eastbound tunnels National Highways are seeking to bore at Stonehenge.
Where HS2 have named their tunnel boring machine after named after a Nobel Prize-winning chemist, we suggest the Stonehenge tunnel boring machine be named ‘Cameron’s Clanger’, after the Prime Minister who gave the current A303 Scheme the go-ahead. As for the eastbound and westbound tunnels that Cameron’s Clanger will create at Stonehenge – over to you dear readers.
Please keep suggestions clean.
By Myghal Map Serpren
The Parish and Toponymy
The village and parish of Mabe lies just to the West of Penryn in Cornwall.
The place where the parish church of Mabe now stands overlooking Argal Reservoir was recorded as “de Sancto Laudus” in 1201, translating from the Latin as the “Chapel of Saint Laudus”. However, the settlement also had a name in the Cornish language which was recorded in 1524 as “Lanvabe” which translates into English as “church enclosure of Mab” with Mab being a personal name and possibly that of an earlier Saint. The use of “lann” indicates that an early Mediaeval Christian religious enclosure existed on the site now occupied by the much later church building which stands here today. It is entirely possible that a small oratory and monastic community existed on the site during the very early Christian period.
In 1308 Walter Stapledon (b.before 1265 d.1326), Catholic Bishop of Exeter from 1308 until his death, consecrated the cemetery and an ordination in the Chapel of St. Laud then recorded as “Capella Sanct: Laudy in Cornubia”, with Cornubia being the Roman and post Roman name for Cornwall.
Saint Laud, also known as Saint Lo, was the French Bishop of Coutances during the years 525 to 565 who was beatified after his death and the city in Normandy named after him became a place of pilgrimage and later became Saint Lo during the 8th century.
Saint Laudus Church
Part of the church fabric seen today dates from the 13th and 14th centuries and it is thought that the chancel and nave represent the earliest remaining parts of the building. The North aisle and tower were added during a period of enlargement which occurred during the later 14th century with the South aisle and porch being added around 50 years later during the 15th century.
Constructed mainly of locally sourced granite and other stone, the church building was constructed in the Perpendicular style of architecture and does have some imported Caen stone from Normandy included in its structure.
As has been the case with many other churches in Cornwall, the building suffered a devastating lightning strike in 1866 and this resulted in extensive restoration work being carried out during1868 and 1869 under the direction of the renowned architect, James Piers St Aubyn (b.1815 d.1895) following generous donations made by two local benefactors. This saw the North aisle being virtually rebuilt and the roof timbers completely replaced.
The church is entered by a fine porch constructed between 1500 and 1520. A stoup is set in to the recess in the wall to the right of the inner door. The inner doorway itself is constructed of stone imported from Caen in Normandy and is decorated in a cable and leaf pattern probably dating from the 15th century. Immediately over both the outer porch door and the inner door are now empty niches intended for the mounting of statues of Saints.
The nave has arcades of six arches with those on the North side being marginally taller than those on the South. The bases of the pillars of the two arcades also differ and the archways themselves are irregular in both size and shape.
It is believed that the chancel rests on the foundations of a far earlier structure.
The stained glass in the chancel which depicts the Transfiguration of Christ dates from around 1880 and was designed by Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake FSA (b.1833 d.1921) a specialist in stained glass.
The Reredos contains fragments of a 15th century alabaster Reredos which were discovered during the 19th century having doubtless been hidden to preserve them from the destruction which occurred during the Reformation.
A recess in the North wall of the chancel was probably a Sedilia and the Piscina adjacent to the altar dates from the 15th century.
A local tradition tells of the original font being buried beneath the existing chancel floor as the current font is relatively modern.
The South Aisle and Lady Chapel was probably built during the period 1480 to 1500. A ‘Bishop’s Chair’ dating from 1700 is found in the Lady Chapel and a small priest’s door is found in the outer wall together with nearby Rood stairs which allowed access to the Rood Loft, long removed.
The beautiful stained glass dates from around 1880 and as with the Chancel stained glass was made by Nathaniel Westlake’s firm following funds donated by local benefactors. This stained glass depicts events from Good Friday to Easter Monday and the eventual resurrection.
The church’s North Aisle was largely rebuilt during the 19th century although the tracery in the windows dates from the 15th century. The stained glass was funded by a local benefactor and depicts King Solomon and Saint Dorcas, also known as Saint Tabitha, an early female disciple of Jesus who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as clothing the naked and feeding the starving.
The 15th century tower of Saint Laudus Church is in three stages and stands to a height of 60 feet. 50 internal steps in a spiral staircase lead to the top and the tower now contains six bells which were recast during 1876 from the original bells.
The tower’s pinnacles were repaired as recently as 1999 at the great expense of £30,000.
Next time: We’ll look at some of the features external to the church…
References
- Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
- The Cornish Church Guide and Parochial History of Cornwall – Charles Henderson, D.Bradford Barton 1964
- Norman Architecture In Cornwall – A Handbook To Old Cornish Ecclesiastical Architecture – Edmund H. Sedding FRIBA, Ward and Co. B.T. Batsford and Co. London and J. Pollard, Truro, 1909 https://archive.org/details/normanarchitectu00sedd/page/n5/mode/2up
- The Buildings of England: Cornwall – Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, Newhaven and London, 1951 et al. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300095890/mode/2up
All images author’s own, unless stated.
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Helland is situated around three-quarters of a mile South of Mabe in Cornwall.
Standing on the wall at the edge of the garden of Helland House and overlooking the minor Brill to Lamanva road, a little granite wheel-headed wayside cross is found.
The settlement at Helland was first recorded during 1323 as ‘Hellan’ although it was certainly a place of human occupation for countless years before that.
Helland is a Cornish place name derived from the Cornish language ‘hen’ and ‘lann’ so translates into English as ‘old cemetery’ or ‘old religious enclosure’.
Lanns are common in Cornwall and indeed Wales and date from the early Christian period between the 5th and 7th centuries. These were settlements which comprised an enclosure surrounding a consecrated area. Domestic habitations, a chapel and indeed a cemetery were often found in lanns and a large number of churches were later constructed on such sites.
Again, an examination of toponymy reveals much for a lann did indeed exist at Helland and the site is marked as a graveyard on the 1908 Ordnance Survey map.
The great antiquarian, Arthur G. Langdon writing in his ‘Old Cornish Crosses’ published in 1896, informed of the garden at Helland House as once being the site of an ancient chapel and graveyard. It appears that he had a discussion with a local farmer, a William Rail, who related carrying out work in the garden and uncovering the cross, an old font bowl and a quantity of old roofing slates which he suspected belonged to the lost buildings. It was Mr. Rail who erected the cross on its present site
Writing of the site in 1925 and again in 1930, the Cornish historian and antiquarian Charles Henderson (b.1900 d.1933) recorded the existence of an Early Mediaeval (410 to 1065) chapel and burials of a so-called ‘primitive’ nature with a rather charming local tradition of children visiting the chapel each Spring time, bringing flowers.
The cross as seen now stands at around three feet eight inches in height with the head measuring around one foot ten inches in diameter. The cross shaft tapers out slightly from 13 inches at its neck to 16 inches at its base. The monument is between nine and ten inches in thickness.
In terms of decoration, there is an incised Saint Andrew’s cross enclosed by a double bead on the outward face and this bead extends down the shaft where a rectangle has been carved with diagonal lines running from corner to corner. Just below the head and on the upper part of the neck bosses have been carved. The reverse side has been carved with an incised equal limbed cross with shallow holes at the ends enclosed by an incised ring which extends down the shaft.
Charles Henderson proposed that the cross was pre-Norman in date but in ‘Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall’, the authors Ann Preston-Jones, Andrew Langdon and Elisabeth Okasha suggest it dates from post-Norman Conquest date probably of the 12th or 13th centuries.
Both the cross and the wall upon which it stands are now Scheduled Monuments.
References
- Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
- A Guide to Cornish Place-Names – R. Morton Nance, The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies 1956
- Mabe Church and Parish – Charles Henderson, the King’s Stone Press, 1930
- The Cornish Church Guide and Parochial History of Cornwall – Charles Henderson, D.Bradford Barton 1964
- Stone Crosses in West Cornwall – Andrew Langdon, Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, Cornwall 1999
- Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall – Ann Preston-Jones. Andrew Langdon and Elisabeth Okasha, University of Exeter Press, 2021
- Old Cornish Crosses – Arthur G. Langdon, John Romilly Allen, Joseph Pollard Pub. of Truro, Cornwall, 1896 (available on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/oldcornishcrosse00lang/mode/2up)
All images author’s own, except where stated.
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By Myghal Map Serpren
This menhir of locally sourced granite standing to a height of just under eight feet has had something of a chequered and indeed controversial recent history. It can be found on farmland set on the South Eastern side of the B3291 road at Eathorne Farm in the Parish of Mabe in Cornwall.
The name ‘Eathorne’ merits toponymical consideration. Even the recognised expert in this field, the late Craig Weatherhill found the name baffling and his research established that it was recorded as ‘Eytron’ in 1392 and later ‘Ethron’ in 1417. He suggested that the second syllable notably ‘thorne’ may derive from the Cornish language ‘tron’ meaning a ‘nose’ or ‘hillspur’.
Described by many as “slim and regular in shape with a curiously bent top” – a comment originally made by the late Craig Weatherhill in his book ‘Cornovia – Ancient Sites of Cornwall and Scilly’, current thinking indicates that this menhir was first erected in the Bronze Age (2500BCE to 801BCE), possibly fell or was moved and later re-erected during the Roman or post Roman period (43CE to 409CE).
A very public outcry resulted following no less than three accounts of a recent occurrence regarding the menhir:
- One informs that in June 1991, the landowning farmer determined the stone to be ‘an obstruction to the plough’ and removed it to behind a barn in the farmyard.
- A second account records that the stone was removed by the farmer in 1992 as he felt it a pagan artefact and an offence to his Christian beliefs.
- A third report has it that the same farmer removed the stone because ‘he felt uneasy about it’.
Whatever the actual facts are, doubtless somewhere between all three accounts, as a result of protest, the Eathorne Menhir was re-erected on 3rd October 1992, during ‘Archaeology Alive Week’ by members of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, the Cornwall Archaeological Society and staff of Tehidy Country Park.
The Cornwall Archaeological Review of 1992 to 1993 recorded “the stone, which had been taken down by the farmer, is now near but not in, its original position”.
It appears that it had been placed close to a hedge so allowing it to become lost in vegetation and covered in fencing wire and that it had incurred damage as a result of the various moves.
By 2005, Eathorne Farm had undergone a change of ownership and the incoming farmer indicated support for the menhir being restored to its rightful spot.
Aerial photographs obtained in 1946 by the Royal Air Force and later in 1989 by Cornwall Council firmly identified its original position, so on 14th August, 2005, an eclectic team from the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall Council, the Cornwall Archaeological Society and the Cornwall Earth Mysteries Group undertook the work.
A mechanical digger was employed to remove the topsoil which revealed the original site, and during this operation, six flints, a number of pebbles and also notably charcoal was uncovered the latter of which was carefully retained to allow for radiocarbon dating.
The menhir was then re-erected in the correct position.
The subsequent radiocarbon procedure revealed the charcoal to have been oak and in the date range 120CE to 220CE with a 56% probability or 70CE to 240CE with a 95% probability. The results of this process has been used to date the menhir as previously discussed.
Said by some to be standing at a ‘sacred energy point’, the Eathorne Menhir does not appear to enjoy any form of scheduling or legal protection and whether there is some esoteric significance or not, it is of great historic and archaeological interest and one can but hope that the monument remains secure having finally returned to its original site.
References
- Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
- The Eathorne Menhir – paper by Andy M. Jones, Principal Archaeologist, Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall Council, 2006 in collaboration with Steve Hartgroves, Graeme Kirkham and Rowena Gale and Anna Lawson-Jones to which a link here: https://www.academia.edu/6605488/The_Eathorne_Menhir
- Cornovia, Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly 4000 BC – 1000 AD – Craig Weatherhill, Halsgrove, 2011
All images author’s own, except where stated.
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By Myghal Map Serpren
Situated in an area abundant in ancient monuments, the Tregiffian Barrow is an entrance grave dating from the later Neolithic Period or earlier Bronze Age (2350BCE to 1501BCE) found at the side of the B3315 road about one and a half miles South East of Saint Buryan in West Cornwall.
Forming part of a sacred area containing several burial mounds, menhirs and the Merry Maidens Stone Circle, Tregiffian Barrow originally measured some 40 feet in diameter although a substantial part of the cairn was sadly lost due to road works carried out during the 1840s.
A kerb of large stones originally surrounded the tomb with 11 remaining, some to a height of two feet seven inches.
Access to the burial chamber is through a gap in the kerb thence by a short passage to a small chamber covered by four granite slabs, these measuring nearly ten feet in length with one now fallen into the chamber and there probably being five capstones originally.
The funerary chamber contained within the cairn measures some 16 feet in length with walls of large slabs and dry stone walling at the rear. The chamber is around six feet in width and some three feet high.
There are two portal stones at the entrance to the chamber one of which is decorated with 25 artificial cupmarks. However, the cupmarked stone at Tregiffian now is a replica as the original was removed to the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro where it remains on public view.
A cup mark is also found on the upper part of the Northern capstone.
Tregiffian was excavated by William Copeland Borlase FSA (b.1848 d.1899) during the period 1868 to 1871, by Dorothy Dudley MA FSA (b.1885. d.1975) during 1967 and 1968 and by Arthur Massey Apsimon PhD FSA (b.1927 d.1919) in 1972 when some restoration work was carried out.
The excavations conducted by Borlase revealed ashes and bone fragments above and below a fallen capstone near the entrance and a flint flake above the stone.
Beneath another slab, a small pit had been lined with sand and shells and filled with bone and ashes contained in a collared urn.
The archaeological work has also established that it was likely that there had been two periods of construction work at Tregiffian.
Ten samples of cremated human bones obtained from the site have resulted in a Carbon 14 dating showing use of the burial chamber commencing from 1780 to 1510BCE and ending in 1595 to 1425BCE.
Of 93 recorded examples of entrance graves such as Tregiffian in Britain, 79 are on the Isles of Scilly and 14 in the Penwith district of Cornwall although they are also found in the Channel Islands and Brittany.
Tregiffian is a Scheduled Monument and is now under the management of the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
Access to the site is open and free but the original cupmarked portal stone contained in the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro is only available to view during the museum’s opening times and upon payment of an admission fee.
References
- Cornovia, Ancient Sites of Cornwall and Scilly 4000BC to 1000AD – Craig Weatherhill, Halsgrove, 2009
All images author’s own, except where stated.
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By Myghal Map Serpren
The Parish, Village And Toponymy
Sithney is a village and parish in West Cornwall between Marazion and Helston and is one of several other hamlets and villages in the parish notably St Johns, Penrose, Mellangoose, Lower Prospidnick, Dowga, Sithney Common, Sithney Green, Coverack, Crown Town also known as Gudna, Lowertown, Chyreen and Lower Tregadjack.
Writing in his ‘Wendron and Sithney in 18th Century’ published in 1930, the Reverend Canon Gilbert Hunter Doble MA (b.1880 d.1945), who in addition to being a clergyman was a historical writer and researcher of some note, suggested that Sithney once had an Iron Age or Romano British Round (800BCE to 400CE) situated near to the site of the present church. He based this finding on a field there having the name ‘Parc an Gear’ translating from the Cornish as ‘Field of the Fort’. Such field names are common in Cornwall and frequently can indicate what originally existed in the location. No trace of the structure remains but it does tend to suggest that what is now known as Sithney has a long history of human habitation.
Sithney was recorded as ‘Merthersythny’ in 1320 from the Cornish language ‘merther Sydhny’ meaning ‘St Sythni’s grave or reliquary’.
By 1623, the presence of the church saw the placename ‘Egloseynncy’ in use derived from the Cornish language ‘eglos Sydhney’ translating into English as ‘St Sythni’s church’.
Some sources refer to the settlement at Sithney being possibly first recorded in 1140 as ‘Merdreseni’. Care should be taken though, as this doubtless refers to the fair of Merthersythney, which since the 13th century is held on 5th August annually at Goldsithney some seven miles distant, with the name ‘Goldsithney’ actually translating from Cornish ‘gol Sithney’ into English as ‘Sithney Fair’.
The Legend Of Saint Sithney
Sithney, known as ‘Sidinius’ in Latin and ‘Sezni’ ‘Sezny’ and ‘Sezin’ in Breton, is believed to have been one of the multitude of Christian missionaries from Ireland who arrived in Cornwall during the 5th and 6th centuries bringing news of the Gospel.
He was active during the period 410 to 449, commonly referred to as the ‘sub-Roman’ era which saw the departure of the Roman Empire from Britain. In addition to Cornwall, he also had a presence in Brittany where it is said he went and where he is venerated at Guissény formerly Ploesezny and elsewhere.
One of many legends relating to Saint Sithney is an adaption of another which concerns Saint Kieran of Saighir, a monastic site in Clareen, County Offaly, Ireland.
Kieran or Ciarán is one of the twelve Apostles of Ireland and research indicates that he also undertook the journey to Cornwall in the 5th century where he became known as Saint Piran, the Patron Saint of Tinners and now widely regarded as the Patron Saint of all Cornwall.
Writing in Breton during 1636, Albert Le Grand (b.1599 d.1631), a Dominican brother at Rennes Monastery recorded the lives of 78 saints based on his research of early documents and his studies included Sithney.
His original work on Sithney was published separately in 1848 and entitled ‘Buez Sant Sezny’.
This informed of Sithney’s arrival at what is now Guic-Sezni in Brittany from Cornwall during the early Christian period and of how he founded the monastery there.
It was said that God requested that Sithney act as patron saint for young maidens who were seeking a husband.
Whilst showing humility, Sithney declined informing God that he would much prefer to care for mad dogs than for young women.
And so it was to be and the saint’s Holy Well provided water to dogs which were sick or mad and Sithney remains the patron saint who is called on to cure dogs of rabies, of the resultant hydrophobia and of madness, as well as having the patronage of Sithney in Cornwall.
His canonisation occurred before the adoption of formal processes and so he became a saint more by custom owing to his virtuous and holy life.
Sithney is believed to have died during 629 and is variously referred to as a Monk, Confessor, Abbott and Bishop and his feast day occurs on the 4th August in the village which now bears his name, on the 6th March in Guisseny, Brittany, and 19th September to avoid celebration during the Lent.
The Monastery of Guic-Sezni in Brittany now claims to have custody of Sithney’s relics said to include one of his arms. Writing in 1478, the chronicler William Worcester, also known as William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (b.1415 d. c.1482), informed that his body laid within the church in Sithney where a long-held tradition has it that he is interred beneath the North Transept.
The Parish Church Of Saint Sithney
Of the early Celtic holy site at Sithney, nothing remains.
Current ecclesiastical records show that in a later period, during 1230, the church belonged to Roger de Antrenon and Nicola his wife, after whom Antron at Mabe near Penryn is named, who attached to it a charge of four shillings per annum to the priory of Saint Germans.
By 1267 it was appropriated to Glasney College at Penryn, the last rector ceded his benefice to the college in 1270 and the Bishop appointed the first vicar, Alan de Hellestone who is thought to have come from Saint John the Baptist’s Hospital which had been established during the early 13th century near Helston.
The Church of Saint Sithney seen today is mainly of granite and dates mostly from the 15th century with some exceptions and can broadly be described as being in the Pointed Style of architecture.
The church was consecrated in 1497 and stands on the foundations of an earlier Norman building.
The building consists of a chancel with North and South aisles, a nave of four bays, a shallow North transept below which it is said Saint Sithney was interred, a South transept, a porch to the South with the porch on the North used as a vestry and priest’s door. The East end of the chancel probably dates from the earlier church building. The windows are mainly Perpendicular in style.
The three-stage embattled tower with pinnacles stands to an overall height of 67 feet and contains three bells cast in 1771 and recast in 1950.
The South East pinnacle has a carved statue of Saint Sithney which faces in the direction of Brittany where he had very strong links with some sources informing that he came from earlier rather than Ireland.
At Guisseny in Brittany, a carved wooden statue of Saint Sithney stands above the door of the church earlier bearing his name and looks across the waters to Saint Sithney in Cornwall.
A copy of the statue of Saint Sithney stands in his church in Cornwall. This work was carried out by Rene Bagout, a Breton wood carver and presented to the church during Easter, 1986 by seven priests from Brittany who were visiting Sithney.
Every year, the statues in both churches are crowned with a garland of flowers on the feast day.
A carved depiction of the head of King Henry VII (b.1457 d.1509) who reigned from 1485 until his death in 1509 adorns the South West pinnacle.
The church was almost wholly re-roofed during the latter part of the 19th century, the interior was replastered and the original 15th-century roof and many of the original fittings were removed. Recent restoration work in 2018 revealed the skeletons of many parishioners interred beneath the church floor.
The South porch dates from the Elizabethan period and houses a stoup, a granite basin for the storage of Holy Water. Careful examination also reveals ornamented stones dating from the earlier Norman church incorporated into the porch wall with other such original stones being visible inside the church building.
The church flooring is of note although comprising Victorian quarry tiles in the main, Mediaeval floor tiles are in place near the altar and these were made at the now-lost Glasney College at Penryn.
The window in the Baptistry incorporates stained glass roundels dating from the 13th or 14th century. By chance, they survived the destruction wreaked on churches during the Cromwellian period and were mounted in the windows in 1851. Initially, this window was situated behind the organ but work carried out in 1925 saw the window moved to its current site and the stained glass is again visible.
A wooden pew end dating from 1480 has been fixed to the Baptistry wall.
On the North wall of the Lady Chapel are rood stairs which originally led to the gallery above a rood screen.
A large four-framed panel is suspended from the roof of the North aisle, painted with a copy of a letter of thanks written by King Charles I (b. 1600 d.1649) and addressed to the people of Cornwall for the support they gave him during the Civil War and written by him during 1642 whilst he was at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire. The beautiful work was carried out by local men Henry Arundell and Samuel James.
The Font
The font in the Parish Church of Saint Sithney has a bowl dating from the Norman period, specifically 1080 to 1100. It was carved from Greenstone, a form of volcanic rock found in Cornwall. It has an outside diameter of approximately 19 inches, an inside diameter of around 14 inches and stands just short of 13 inches in height. It is decorated with a chevron-carved rim and cable moulding under the font and stands on a granite pedestal dating from around 1750.
The font was discovered during the works of 1853 beneath the Sanctuary where it had been employed to support the floor, and was immediately passed to the church being constructed at Carnmenellis which was being constructed because of the burgeoning population there brought about by mining.
The church at Carnmenellis fell into disuse following the decline in mining, and the font was restored to Saint Sithney’s church in 1922.
The Coffin Slab
Now found on the North wall and directly facing the South door, a granite slab which served as a coffin lid dates from the 13th century or indeed far earlier.
In 1918 this was situated in a boundary wall at the base of Saint John’s Hill, Helston close to the site of the former Mediaeval Saint John’s Priory and hospital and the then landowner, the Duke of Leeds gave consent for the artefact to be moved to the church.
Standing around five feet seven inches high, it is thought that the stone was the lid of the sarcophagus of Prior Penhalurick and that it may actually date from the 9th century.
With its extended and flared carved Latin cross and bearing in mind the hospital which then existed at the priory, the lid appears very Templar-like indeed.
With the dissolution of the monasteries during the 16th century, the priory and hospital at Saint John’s were vandalised and by 1545, lay in ruins.
The ‘Wheal Fortune’ Mediaeval Cross
Now found in the churchyard at Saint Sithney Parish Church, this wheel headed cross head of granite later mounted on a pillar dates from the Mediaeval period (1066 to 1539) and was rediscovered during the 1940s at Wheal Fortune Farm, Carnmeal Downs, situated in the nearby Breage Parish.
The head measures one foot five inches in diameter and is seven inches in thickness. Mounted on an inscribed granite pillar during 1977, it stands to an overall height of around five feet eight inches.
One face of the artefact bears an equal limbed cross with a small depression near the centre but the reverse face was completely hollowed out to a depth of just over four inches to allow for it to be used as an agricultural feeding bowl. This terrible act of vandalism has occurred with crosses elsewhere.
Having been purchased on discovery for two shillings and sixpence, it spent a time in the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro before being moved to the churchyard at Saint Sithney’s and mounted on a pre-existing modern pillar bearing the inscription ‘Unveiled by John Williams on his Ninetieth Birthday 12.11.1972 A.M.D.G.’ (A.M.D.G. not A.M.D.C. as cited in some references; Latin: ‘Ad maiorem Dei gloriam’ – ‘For the greater glory of God’). Mr Williams was a longstanding church warden and the pillar was originally donated by a Mr N.T. Richards. Coupled with the now mounted cross, the monument was dedicated by the Reverend John Pearce.
The Oliver And Other Memorials
There are many memorials to local and influential families and clergy on the internal walls as well as in the surrounding churchyard, family vaults and fine examples of 15th century stained glass.
Many of the memorials date back to the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries and more recently and all bear witness to the fascinating lives led by those commemorated.
One such which has drawn attention is the pillar memorial in the churchyard dedicated to John Oliver of nearby Trevarno, erected during 1741 by his son, Doctor William Oliver (b.1695 d.1764), inventor of Bath Oliver biscuits which are a dry biscuit or cracker normally consumed with cheese. Designed by the noted antiquarian, geologist and clergyman, Reverend William Borlase (b.1696 d.1772) a friend and associate of Doctor Oliver, the memorial carries an epitaph by the poet Alexander Pope (b.1688 d.1744) an acquaintance of both.
A centre of Cornish wrestling tournaments in the past and home to many wrestling champions of the past, Sithney and its parish church are worthy of a visit. The church is now a Grade 1 Listed Building and continues as a place of worship with services occurring on a regular basis. The church is often open for public access.
References
- Placenames in Cornwall and Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Wessex Books in association with Westcountry Books, Launceston, Cornwall 2005
- The Cornish Church Guide and Parochial History of Cornwall – Charles Henderson, D.Bradford Barton 1964
- Norman Architecture In Cornwall – A Handbook To Old Cornish Ecclesiastical Architecture – Edmund H. Sedding FRIBA, Ward and Co. B.T. Batsford and Co. London and J. Pollard, Truro, 1909 https://archive.org/details/normanarchitectu00sedd/page/n5/mode/2up
- The Buildings of England: Cornwall – Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, Newhaven and London, 1951 et al. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300095890/mode/2up
- The Parish Church of St. Sithney – Alan Todd, St. Sithney Parish Church, 1995
All images author’s own, except where stated.
See similar articles by Myghal Map Serpren
The Heritage Action Megameet has had a patchy history in recent years. This has been due to several factors; the geographic spread of our members, the inability to agree on a suitable date for everyone, family and health issues, and more. However, with the recent loss of our previous chairman Nigel Swift, it has been decided that we should all make an extra effort to get together in his honour and hold a mega-Megameet!
Following discussions and a poll in the Megameet Facebook group, a date has now been agreed upon, and it is our hope that many ‘modern antiquarians’ will gather in Avebury stone circle in Nigel’s memory on August 17th this year.
As with previous meets, the plan is to assemble in the NE quadrant near the Cove for a shared picnic in the hour or so before midday. Expect lots of friendly chat about ‘big old rocks’, landscape ‘lumps and bumps’ and associated topics, as well as many stories and memories of Nigel and the origins of Heritage Action and the Heritage Journal. There will also be the traditional ‘book swap’ as part of the day, so bring along any heritage/archaeology books you may no longer require.
If the weather is inclement, we shall assemble instead in the Red Lion – although I expect we’ll end up in there for a toast to Nigel at some point regardless of the weather!!
All readers of the Heritage Journal are cordially invited, and we hope to see as many of you as possible there on the day.
The recently issued January/February 2024 edition of the Cornwall Heritage Trust’s newsletter contained the news that the Trust has now assumed the management of the Duloe Stone Circle on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall.
The Duchy owns numerous historic and ancient sites and some, notably the profit-making castles, have been placed under the less than satisfactory management of English Heritage.
However, it is encouraging that an increasing number of sites are now owned or under the faultless and careful management of the Cornwall Heritage Trust whose annual acquisitions have now raised the total number of sites the body administers to 16 following an impressive five gained in the past 18 months.
Those 16 monuments in the care of the Trust represent a wide span of historic periods from the Prehistoric, through the Mediaeval era and into Victorian industrial times.
Duloe is a village between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall and just to the South of the settlement, a small oval stone circle is located, comprising eight white quartz monoliths of which seven continue to stand.
The circle has a varying diameter measuring just over 38 feet by 33 feet 6 inches thus making it the smallest of Cornwall’s circles.
The circle dates from the Bronze Age (2500BCE to 801BCE) and the use of white quartz for all the stones makes it unique amongst stone circles in Cornwall.
The stones are of various heights ranging from three feet three inches to seven feet ten inches and the four largest stones which stand at the cardinal points of the compass have been estimated to weigh up to nine tons each.
A field hedge bisected the circle until 1858 when it was removed and in 1863, three of the stones were re-erected during which a Bronze Age urn containing cremated human bones was recovered.
This find resulted in the Cornish antiquarian William Copeland Borlase FSA (b.1848 d.1899) suggesting in his ‘Nænia Cornubiæ’ published in 1872 that the circle originally retained a low barrow and thereafter the site became known as ‘The Druids Circle’.
However, the late Cornish historian and archaeologist Craig Weatherhill (b.1950 d.2020) thought the stone circle appeared too large to have retained such a barrow.
With tourism, housing and roadbuilding development virtually out of control in Cornwall resulting in damage and even loss of some ancient sites, and with Duloe having been at risk from tourism-related development as noted in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Heritage Environment Record, its management by the Cornwall Heritage Trust cannot have come too soon.
This is not the first instance of the Trust having saved historic sites and coupled with its impressive public and educational schools outreach programme, increasing membership and popular campaigns, it continues to grow in stature in Cornwall, and is far more principled than other heritage bodies which place profit and the ‘Disneyfication’ of Cornwall’s unique heritage over and above care for the monuments.
A link to the Cornwall Heritage Trust website can be found here: https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org
Reference:
- Cornovia: Ancient Sites Of Cornwall & Scilly – Craig Weatherhill, Halsgrove, 2011
Image:
- Duloe Stone Circle – Philip Halling – Creative Commons – geograph.org.uk
In what is becoming far too frequent an event, another ancient monument has been damaged in Cornwall due to the carelessness of a driver.
The Trevellan or Trevellion wheelheaded cross is one three ancient crosses located in Luxulyan parish, in the village of Lockengate. The cross has previous damage, possibly due to its earlier movements. First recorded in 1870 at Trevellion Farm in use as a hedging stone, it was moved to the Mission Chapel in 1902. When the chapel was sold in 1972, the cross was placed in its current location at the roadside at Lockengate.
This wheelhead cross is rough-hewn and has similar cross designs on both faces. It was mounted on a modern base and stood nearly 2m high.
But the cross has now been dislocated from its base due to a vehicle reversing into it, judging from tyre tracks in the following photo, supplied by Cornwall Crosses expert Andrew Langdon, to whom we are indebted:
Luckily, the cross shaft does not appear to have been fractured, so it should be able to be re-set without too many problems.
Questions remain though: was this just carelessness, or a deliberate act? And why do so many of our ancient monuments get damaged by vehicles every year? It’s not just our wayside crosses (Cornwall is blessed with several hundred such monuments) but also our ancient bridges and other scheduled buildings. It is a fact that many Cornish roads and lanes are narrow, and modern vehicles are larger than at any other time. But the A391, on which this monument stands, is not a minor lane but a fairly busy road, leading from the A30 to St Austell. The cross is not close to the roadside, but set back, on a junction:
There is therefore no obvious reason why a vehicle would need to use the grass verge in a reversing manoeuvre. So was it hit head-on, by a driver who possibly lost control trying to turn left too late or too fast? Unlikely but possible…
Negotiations are underway to have the cross re-erected and we can only plead with all drivers: Please take care and treat our ancient monuments with the respect they deserve. Most all of them pre-date the motor vehicle age and should be allowed to delight and educate future generations to come.
The Heritage Journal 
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