Church Cove January 2024: Part 5

It looked like it was going to another windy day and one that was not particularly conducive to walking along the coastal footpath. As it turned out, it was a lot brighter than we thought but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We completed our tour of the churches on the Lizard with those that are in the Meneage sector of the peninsular, the “land of the monks”. In the process, we continued our hagiography with some well-documented saints, and also some that are rather obscure. So obscure, in one instance, that they did not actually exist.

A field of daffodils. The heralds of Spring are here in profusion. None in our garden yet but we have a few snowdrops.

St Anthony in Meneage lies near the Helford River, where the church sits on Gillan Creek, just above high water mark. It is approached along what is described at the start as a 'weak road'. I'm not too sure what that means exactly but it skirts the creek and, apparently, must be forded at high tide. It is an experience driving it but meeting an on-coming car must be hugely problematic..... we didn't!

The church sits next to a boatyard; the site is idyllic, but the church building, rather unexceptional. Its survival, for many hundreds of years, at this high water mark, is remarkable as its tenuous hold on dry land has necessitated many rebuilds over the centuries. It is medieval in origin but much altered over the years. The tower is fifteenth century. To which St Anthony the church is dedicated is not certain, probably a Franciscan ascetic of Padua, also of Lisbon as he was born Portuguese, but there are a few alternatives.

You never know what tragedies lie behind a headstone. Take this very artistic slate one denoting a very sad series of events. Louis Rushworth-Lund was born in 1987, and tragically fell into a deep pond at a garden centre in Chacewater in March 1990 and drowned, aged just 2½. His parents, keen sailors, decided to cross the Atlantic to help them come to terms with their loss. On the Dutch Caribbean island of St Maarten, just 2 months later, Louis’ father Crispin was murdered by robbers, leaving his wife Belinda and young daughter Alice with 2 deaths to grieve.

In the west door is an unusual “dog flap”, allegedly to allow comings and goings of shepherds’ dogs whilst their masters prayed. Nice story but the flap looks a little small for any reasonably sized sheep dog.

A nice etched glass window, dedicated to Willie Jenkin, a former organist and church warden

The carved granite font is thought to be 13th Century.

The  carved oak pulpit, installed in 1950 is the work of the talented Violet Pinwill.

The church of St Mannacus and St Dunstan at Manaccan, a tiny church in a tiny village. St Mannacus almost certainly didn’t exist and the name Manaccan originates from 'land of the monks'. But St Dunstan definitely did; he was Bishop of Worcester, then London and finally Canterbury in the 10th Century.

Before getting into the building, I was amazed by the bizarre appearence of a thriving fig tree growing out of the wall. Here it is, in winter and exfoliated, but it’s roots are clearly in the mortar and foundations. The stone and the trunk are clearly in harmony and although its origin is unknown, it has been there for some 250 years

Rather unusually, possibly uniquely, there is no church porch. You enter the church through an excellent Norman arch.

Inside the 12th Century church there is a fine reredos, the remains of an old rood loft stair, a good side altar and window endowed by the Vyvyan family, and a Loyal Coat of Arms to Charles I. This is a common sight in West Cornwall, which was fiercely loyalist in the Civil War. But it was so cold, with very few sources of heat visible. Wrap up warm if ever you visit.

Manaccan’s most unlikely claim to fame is having Titanium ore named Manaccanite. The element was first identified in 1791 by the scientist/cleric Reverend William Gregor. He was vicar near Grampound Road but was brought some interesting mine spoil from Manaccan and in which he identified a “new element”.

Saint Melanus, Mullion. Wonderfully warm church in the attractive, but very quiet, village of Mullion. What you see is mainly from the 15th Century but there are relics of the older 13th Century church. Saint Melanus himself is a Breton (of course he was) Saint of the 6th Century; he took office as Bishop of Rennes 519 AD.  

And almost the first thing we come across another sheep dog flap in this impressive church. Shepherds clearly attended services with their dogs and the latter were obviously free to enter and exit to relieve themselves at will. We love stuff like this!

The interior of the church is light but some think it is rather dominated by the full width 20th Century 'Arts and Crafts' rood screen which has quality but does rather cut the three altars off from the congregation. I can see what they mean but it doesn't act as much of a distraction for me.

The carved oak bench ends are considered to be the best in Cornwall, but run very closely by those at Alternun. They date from the 15th century, and the craftsmanship is amazing.

There are some common themes on the bench ends: royalty, village life, symbolism are all there. They have been extensively analysed and there is a comprehensive catalogue of them on display.

One bench end that amused me was this one, purported to be 'Jonah and the Whale', but more recently thought to be someone vomiting into a pot. That I can see.

More fine carving by the Pinwill sisters. I do love running my fingers over the delicate tracing and envying those with the skills to produce something like this.

The late afternoon sun illuminating the Royal Coat of Arms

The centre aisle with the rood screen. We looked very closely at it, from all angles, and concluded that the only way up was via a ladder.

Church Cove January 2024: Part 4

 A stormy and cold day which put us doing our planned walk along the coastal footpath. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather permits. We are getting too old and cautious to take any chances along narrow cliff paths with high winds. Instead, we visited a few places in the locality - Porthleven, Coverack and Kennack Sands. All very pleasant and all cold!

Let's start off with a video of Church Cove at high tide. Turn your sound up and enjoy the waves crashing in.

A mural on the doors of the old lifeboat station which was last used in 1929. It was painted in 2018 by the urban artist Sketch. For those who are in the know, the characters painted are recognisable as members of the old lifeboat crew.

Surfing off Porthleven.

And again with a different surfer.

Members of the Porthleven Bluetits Chill Swimmers enjoying a late morning swim. And the best of luck to them. Not something I would contemplate doing in a million years.

Porthleven Inner Harbour.

Coverack Harbour.

Kennack Sands, with the video version below.

Church Cove January 2024: Part 3

 A relaxing walk - 3 churches, 1 holy well, 3 coves, 1 pub, 1 cafe, coastal footpath, mud and sun. Who could ask for more.

The route from Church Cove, took us inland to Grade and Cadgewith and then back along the coastal footpath. About 5.5 miles. Reasonably energetic , with the first half being made more 'interesting' because of the mud.

Just up the lane from Winch House is The Mariners. Built in the 17th Century, it was originally three cottages. In the early-mid 1800s the middle cottage obtained a license to become a public house and was known as a ‘kiddlewink’, a nickname that came from the fact that the pub was only licensed to sell Ale and not spirits but smuggled spirits were kept in a jug or kettle on the bar and a customer would look at it and wink and say ‘a drop of your special’. Fact or fiction? Who cares. It's a great story.

Church #1: St Wynwallow. We skirted past this today and did not repeat our visit of yesterday.

Every now and again some gymnastics were called for to get over muddy patches. In other places, it was a case of wading through to the occasional comment of "couldn't you have chosen a route along lanes?".

Church #2: the Church of St Grada and the Holy Cross at Grade. Not quite the most southerly church in the UK but almost. Not only historic but also rather interesting, slightly mysterious and quite difficult to find. It is remote with no direct access. A rough lane takes you there and, for that reason, it is only open during Spring and Summer. Well, that and the fact that there is no electricity or heating so it's deemed too cold to hold services over that period, But it is open for visitors all the time.
Saint Grada (Grade, Grace) is another obscure but unique Cornish saint. She is accepted to be local, female and a maiden; that’s all we’ve got. The full dedication is to St Grada and the Holy Cross, and the original dedication was simply to the Holy Cross since an early parishioner brought back a piece of the “True Cross” from an early pilgrimage to Jerusalem (more on this next). When, and indeed why, the dedication changed to St Grada is not recorded but records suggest the early 13th Century, not long after its construction. The tower is 13th C and the body of the church was a century older but needed an extensive 19th Century rebuild. 

Coming back to the 'holy cross' dedication. A sixteenth century version of a legend tells how Sir Roger Wallysborough of Cornwall made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where he stole a piece of the Holy Cross - apparently he hide it in his thigh!. On his return, his ship was wrecked off Cornwall and he was cast ashore. During his ordeal he vowed to give a piece of the relic to the church of the parish where he landed safely - guess where that was. Grade is the only church  dedicated to the holy cross on the coast, and in 1553 mention is made of a silver box “of the Holy Cross” amongst the parish possessions. If it was ever there, it's been long stolen and/or lost. I should point out that there are other versions of this story that add in a few fantastical elements, such as doves acting as prescient messengers and Sir Roger dying in a nearby field.

Following my usual practice when I come across an interesting military grave, I tried to find what I could about J P Newman. It turns out that his name was Jack Paul but, for some reason, he served under the alias of 'Newman'. His next of kin was his father, H Paul, of Norwich. Jack's service record shows that he worked on airships and a little more research shows that there was an airship base, RNAS Mullion, not that far away at Cury. I didn't know that airships were used to track and attack German submarines in WW1. The base was dismantled in 1919 and very little of it remains now. I couldn't find out the cause of death for Jack Paul but I'm assuming that he died in an accident at the base. 

A rather sad headstone: "In loving memory of SUSIE beloved child of N & E BOULDEN who died Oct. 15th 1896, aged 3 years". I can't find out anything else about her, except for the fact that the Boulden family have been present in the graveyard for generations. When I come across headstones like this, I often wonder who was the last person to think about them and remember them. At least, I've remembered Susie and given her some substance for a while. And you will as you read this.

A very pleasant church to visit and one with a very peaceful atmosphere. It is small but not the smallest we'll come across on the walk.

Some of the staned glass on the south wall.

The obligatory piece of serpentine, a rather fine pulpit.

Three ways of getting into the graveyard - a wooden stile, a steeped granite version (probably the original entry point) and a gate. Take your pick. We did and used the wooden stile.

A holy well - St Ruan’s Well - and water for baptisms at St Grada used to be fetched from this well. Think of the many people who, through the centuries, have come to pray here. And here's a little more of the fantastic: Oral tradition cites St Ruan as being a werewolf who was invulnerable to wolves and credits him with driving them from Cornwall.

Church #3. The smallest church we've come across: St Mary’s Church, Cadgwith. It is not very old and was originally built as Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church. It became St Mary’s in the Anglican diocese of Truro in 1926. It was originally constructed of wood before being clad in corrugated iron when bought by the Diocese of Truro; just when it turned a lovely shade of blue is not recorded.

It’s original construction was in 1895 when the fishermen of Cadgwith were having difficulty finding brides. A consignment of brides was procured in the Republic of Ireland but they were all Catholic and before they settled in Cadgwith the Methodist fishermen had to build their new wives a Catholic church. Within a generation the Catholic congregation had shrunk and in order to maintain the church the Diocese of Truro took it over. Rather unique, eh?

It is still well used with regular services. Small but perfectly formed!

I know you've been looking out for it and here's the serpentine feature.

A pleasant surprise. I thought it was a Stonechat or a Chaffinch but it turns out to be a Bullfinch. Something I have not seen for a long, long while.

Just a seed-head in monochrome. I like it.

Cove #1: Working fishing boats at Cadgwith Cove. Refreshments at the Cadgwith Inn - recommended.

THV (Trinity House Vessel) Galatea is a lighthouse tender operated by Trinity House, the body responsible for the operation of lighthouses and marine navigation aids around the coasts of England, Wales and the Channel Islands. Trinity House, itself, was founded in 1514, during the reign of Henry VIII.

What a shame! I missed this by a couple of weeks. If I had been here on Christmas Day, I might have been the first in the water. And pigs might fly.

Lobster pots at Cadgwith Cove.

The Devil’s Frying Pan on the way.  This 200 feet deep hole was once a cave, the roof having collapsed leaving a bar of rock and an archway through which the waves pound.

Looking westwards towards Church Cove.

Cove #2: Church Cove now.

Church Cove then. About 100 years ago. Hasn't changed much, has it?

Cove #3: Light levels dropping at Poldhu Cove. The beach cafe is recommended.