Mawgan-in-Meneage
Meneage
I give Mawgan-in-Meneage, hidden away on The Lizard, its full title to avoid confusion with St. Mawgan, whose full title is Mawgan-in-Pydar, near St. Columb Major. I visited the village for its Daffodil Festival in February 2017, on a day when I had first been to Helston for another look around. On my way to the church I stopped first on the village green (unusual for Cornwall) for a photo of the Inscribed Stone (below left). At the church I was most impresssed, not just by the displays of daffs - which were lovely - but also by the organisation by the local ladies. Parking for the disabled was close to the church; regular parking was in a nearby farmyard with short access to the church by a cattle stile into the graveyard. Teas were available and for those in need of something stronger, the Ship Inn is just down the lane.
Mawgan Inscribed Stone
Daffodils in Mawgan Church
Daffodil Crosses in the Graveyard
Mawnan, Mawnan Smith, Budock & Constantine
In early June 2017 I made a couple of expeditions down to the other side of Falmouth. I was actually looking for a memorial stained glass window by Glenn Carter, commemorating someone named Steve. Jane's sister, who spotted the item in a newspaper, thought it was in Mawnan Smith church. This is a Victorian church just off the road to Mawnan. Although there was some passable Victorian glass, the Glenn Carter window was not there. I wonder where? Except for an odd little bell tower at the west end, the church was otherwise of little interest. On to Mawnan, where the first thing I noticed was the lovely view from the south side of the churchyard over the mouth of the Helford River to Nare Head. The first thing to take your notice is the lych gate, complete with coffin rest and a Cornish inscription which translates as "It is good for me to draw nigh unto God". Inside is a 15th century octagonal Font, a 17th century Alms Box and part of a 15th century Screen. There is a Cornish Cross in the churchyard. I was in the area on a couple of occasions and also visited churches at Budock and Constantine. At Budock there are three Cornish Crosses and some interesting tomb markers. There are, unusually, two lych gates; the rear one has collections of primitive lawn mowers and watering cans. Constantine church has panelling from a former screen, a simple font and a finely carved pulpit. Rood stairs are still in place.
Mawnan
Mawnan Smith
Budock
Constantine
Photographs
More in Towns & Villages
Menheniot
I only discovered Menheniot [the name means Hyniet's land according to Craig Weatherhill, St. Neot's place according to Julyan Holmes - take your choice] towards the end of April 2016. Jane wanted to see an exhibition of Norman Hartnell's designs and materials, being held in the church. I drove her there and quite liked the look of the village so, a week later, I had an outing to explore the village. It was a dull day so photos were disappointing but I still enjoyed the village. There are some good homes and cottages: I particularly liked the Poads Trust cottages and the old Police Station. The church is typically Cornish in that it has nave and two aisles, Perpendicular windows and fine wagon roofs with carved bosses. Less typical is the spire, not seen on many Cornish churches, set on a tower old than the body of the church. Sadly, inside little that is original remains thanks to over zealous Victorian restoration. However, the font, of Caen stone, is medieval and a brass by the pulpit dates from 1386, perhaps Cornwall's oldest. Memorials mostly commemorate Trelawneys. The churchyard is of little interest - no Cornish Crosses - but does contain a grand Vestry building. There is, apparently a holy well to the south of the church but somehow I missed it.
Merrymeet and St. Ive
St. Ive
Merther Uny
According to one authority Merther translates as the burial place (perhaps of a martyr). In this case, referring to the tiny settlement in the middle of nowhere near Helston and Gweek, it probably refers to a chapel of St. Uny which once stood here. Uny, or Euny, appears elsewhere in Cornwall. The Georgian church in Redruth Churchtown is dedicated to St. Euny, as is a well and iron age settlement, Carn Euny, to the east of Chapel Carn Brea. The church in Lelant, near St. Ives, is dedicated to St. Uny. Merther Uny is an isolated place, reached by what OS103 shows as a bridleway though it is actually a perfectly good track. It consists of Merther Uny Farm, substantial and attractive Merther Uny House, which apparently incorporates part of the former chapel, and a couple of cottages. The old Chapel is long gone but, where it stood is now woodland with a probably extremely ancient four-hole Cornish Cross, possibly in fact originally a pre-Christian inscribed stone. Another, simpler, Cornish Cross stands about 200 yards south of this, on a lane running east-west. Confusingly, there is another Merther, this one with the disused and neglected church of St. Cohan, on the east side of the Tresillian River.