St. Ewe
Ewe
I visited St. Ewe, not far from the famed Heligan Garden, at the end of December 2016. My first purpose was to photograph a Cornish Cross on the road to Gorran Churchtown. This I found easily, complete with a handy layby and an easily opened field gate. The cross itself, known as Beacon Cross, was somewhat obscured by hedge growth but I was able to get an acceptable photo. I then parked in St. Ewe village, again no problem as there is ample church parking. It is an attractive small village, notable for three things: a church with a most unusual, for Cornwall, octagonal broach spire; the remains of what must surely be an old market cross, complete with mounting block on one side; and a first rate pub, the Crown Inn, which does a superb value fish-and-chip lunch on Fridays. The church, apart from its spire, disappoints somewhat, the ancient bench ends having been destroyed by the Victorians. However, there is a good Norman font and fine woodwork in the carved pulpit and elaborate screen. There are good memorials to William Williams and William Mohun.
St. Ewe Market Cross
Octagonal Broach Spire
Crown Inn, St. Ewe
St.
Photographs
More in Towns & Villages
St. Gennys
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St. Germans
Tucked away, just off the main Liskeard to Plymouth road, on the tidal River Lynher - but with relatively little obvious access to the water - is the straggling village of St. Germans, once the estate village to Port Eliot house, stately home of the Earls of St. Germans. As you enter the village, you pass charming Tudor Moyles Almshouses with ambulatories on both floors but the real surprise is the church at the far end of the village. A cathedral in Saxon times, then an Augustinian priory under the Normans, its domestic buildings are now the heart of Port Eliot house. The church has two west towers, one square, one octagonal, and a superb Norman west door. Inside is glass by William Morris and Burne Jones and a grossly 'over-the-top' Eliot memorial by sculptor Rysbrack. Port Eliot house holds a literary festival in summer, proving to be more successful each passing summer. Until 2008 the house was not open to the public but, as a result of an inheritance tax gift in lieu, it is now open from March to mid-June. In addition to the house, with its John Soane rooms, its fine furniture and collection of Joshua Reynolds portraits, you can wander freely in 600 acres of gardens and grounds. The Eliot Arms pub looks attractive and claims fine food but, when we visited the house in March 2008, we had already eaten at the disappointing Crooked Spaniards at Cargreen.
St. Issey
Issey