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PARISHES OF ST JUST DISTRICT RESEARCH GROUP
OTHER DETAILS
– MARAZION,
alias Market Jew; a borough within a Chapel of Ease of ST HILARY, the
curate nominated by the corporation and approved by the Vicar of St
Hilary; no marriages or burials here, all at ST
HILARY, and no separate Register of Baptisms before 1813.
Now a modern Parish. ST
MICHAEL’S MOUNT,
extra-parochial, apart from military interludes, only a very small
population before 18th Century (10 houses ca 1540, 1 cottage
ca 1690); entries relating to this place occur in the Registers of St
Hilary MORVAH,
a Chapelry of MADRON, in
which Registers of all marriages 1772 – 1812 are recorded. PAUL,
includes larger part of fishing port of NEWLYN,
Registers prior to 1595 lost when Church and houses were burnt by
Spanish raiders that year. MOUSEHOLE is in this Parish. PENZANCE,
alias Buriton; a borough but a Chapelry of MADRON
where all marriages should have occurred, but GULVAL
being nearer, many are found there.
As at PAUL, the town
was burnt by Spaniards in 1595; although a medieval Chapel existed here,
the present Chapel of ST MARY
(made a modern Parish 1871) was consecrated 1680; other modern Parishes
here ST PAUL 1866 and ST JOHN
BAPTIST 1881. Fragments
of a Register of the Chapel starting 1693 exist, but entries therein
appear to be duplicated at MADRON. PERRANUTHNOE,
alias St Piran Uthno; GOLDSITHNEY is in this Parish. TOWEDNACK,
alias Wennack; a Chapelry of LELANT
until 1901. ISLES OF SCILLY,
some 40 islands but only 6 inhabited at relevant dates; in the diocese
and archdeaconry (wills commonly proved by commissary at PENZANCE) but not in civil county of Cornwall.
Comprise a single Parish, ST
MARY, with mother Church on that Island; Chapels of ease with some
separate Registers on Islands at ST
AGNES, BRYHER, ST MARTIN and TRESCO
(alias ST NICHOLAS). SAMPSON
also inhabited but no Chapel there. NB : For full details of Parishes and their records consult “Guide to the Parish and Non-Parochial Registers of Devon and Cornwall 1538 – 1837”, by Hugh Peskett, published 1979. ==================================================== Convener & Research Officer / EditoR
These records are the result of historical research carried out
mainly by Susan Morrison of Jamberoo, NSW, with input by other members of
the CAV and put onto a word processor by Geoff McKee, Susan’s father.
The format is done in family groups which are placed in
alphabetical order by surname, then the father’s christian name, and
then in chronological order of the date of marriage.
This is an ongoing project, comments and corrections or additions
are most welcome ====================================================
From
“Grey River Argus” (New Zealand) 12 February 1920 PROTEST
AGAINST BUTTER PRICES
London February 9. The
Town Crier of St Just,Cornwall called out the miners, who marched in
procession through the neighbouring villages, inducing the residents to
join in a demonstration against the prices of butter. The demonstrators on reaching Penzance flung empty churns from motor lorries into the roadway and emptied 2 full churns into the harbour. The miners declare that unless the farmers reduce the price, railwaymen will refuse to carry the milk and butter. ====================================================
St
Hilary,
(Cornish: Gorlynn), is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Penwith. It
is bounded on the north by the parish of St
Erth, on the east by Breage and Germoe, on the south by Perranuthnoe and
the sea, and on the west by Ludgvan. It is named after the dedication of
the local church to St Hilary of Poitiers, a 4th century bishop. The
parish of Marazion
was created from part of this parish in 1813, but the separate civil
parish of St Michael's Mount has always remained part of this parish
ecclesiastically. The
church of St. Hilary, situated on an eminence, and rebuilt in 1853, is an
edifice of granite, in the Decorated style, from designs by Mr. W. White,
architect, and consists of chancel with aisles and arcades of three
arches, nave of four bays,
quasi-transepts, aisles, south porch and a western tower with spire
78 feet high, and containing 3 bells, two dated 1674 and one dated 1804; the previous church, erected in the
reign of Henry VII in the Perpendicular style was destroyed by fire on the
night of Good Friday, 1853, the small tower which originally belonged to
the cruciform church of the reign of Edward III, alone escaping : two
inscribed stones then found in the old walls are now placed near the south
entrance; one of these, though much worn, is believed to read thus
:-"Imp. Caes.
Flav. Val. Constantino
Pio. Nob. Caes.
Divi. Constantini Pii. Avg. Filio:"
In
1863 a memorial window was erected in the south aisle to John Maughan
Connell, buried at Montmartre, Paris, 16 Sept. 1845: in
1891 a memorial east window was erected to the Rev. Sampson
Kingford M.A. for 20 years vicar of this parish (1870-90): there are 450 sittings: the churchyard is exceptionally
distinguished by its numerous and costly tombs and monuments, including
one to the family of Davies, 1699, and others of modern date to those of
Penneck, Blewett, Cole, Maugham, Millett and others; interments have
ceased except under certain conditions. The register dates from the year
1692. ==================================================== BOSTRASE,
ST HILARY
by Joan HOWELLS This is the story of a house, a home, to nine, possibly ten generations of our LAITY family, which started way back before facts and figures were recorded, and which I have been trying to piece together with various snippets of our family history. The first recorded John LAITY was buried at St Hilary in 1709, so he must have been born in the mid 1600’s and was living at Bostrase with his wife, Honour. Son John was born in 1673. Although King Charles was supposed to have hidden in nearby Godolphin Manor at this time, it is most unlikely that politics affected this small community of peasant farmers. There is no evidence as to when Bostrase was built, but it is known that the LAITY name concentrated on the adjoining parish of Perranuthnoe at the end of the 16th century, and there is a Matthew LAYTIE in the protestation returns of 1641 for St Hilary. Maybe he built the house in the early part of the century, but this is pure conjecture. The old house was probably much the same then as when I was born in it, although the furnishings were slightly different. The main living room would have had a huge open fireplace with a bread oven and spit, with furze (gorse) being used as the principle source of heat. The end wall was well over 6 feet thick and I well remember my father removing parts of this wall to enlarge what we then used as the sitting room, and saying “you could have put a horse and cart in there”. With the cobb walls and thatched roof it would have been, like so many hundreds of other Cornish houses, so warm in winter and cool in summer. The 2 outside doors were never locked whilst we were there. The back door with the old fashioned latch that Alderman and Future, the two foxhounds, could always open, and the wide front door with its huge key and the lock that was upside down. The 10 steps of the stairs led to a landing where one could touch the ceiling, and woe betide anyone who didn’t duck on turning the corner to the ‘big’ bedroom. With 5 bedrooms, the house must always have been full - in fact, there were 39 children in 4 generations, and of the 30 born since 1780, all survived, usually to a ripe old age. Going back to the 2nd John, he left a will in 1744 with an inventory of his goods. The family would have been fairly self-supporting, but only had 2 cows, 4 pigs, 6 sheep and 1 mare. With 1 feather bed, one dreads to think how the other members of the family fared. Still, they did have 8 pewter dishes, 3 quart flagons and a pasty pan, so they had their priorities right. 2 brass candlesticks and 2 iron kettles and pots were also listed so the living could hardly have been sumptuous. They still managed to have 7 children and reared 6. Apparently, when the old John was on his deathbed in the spring of 1744, there must have been a terrific family row, which culminated in court proceedings at Helston. The proceeding were brought by the 2nd daughter, Honour, as she believed that her inheritance had been reduced from £10 to £8 because of her brother’s interference. Also, Elizabeth, John’s youngest sister added fuel to the fare as, according to the details of the court proceedings, the questions asked was “did not the party … carry his sister be force out of the house, and lock or fasten the door against her and being a window which the said Elizabeth had left open in order to prevent her coming into the house again, and strike her with a stick in a violent manner on the arm, on her attempting to enter the same house again”. Happy families ! However, Honour lost the court case and let’s hope that poor Elizabeth’s arm mended quickly. There is another item at the bottom of this will which John must have added as an afterthought, which is that should his wife, Mary, remarry, she should “have but one shilling”. Maybe that was his son’s idea. Who knows ? On then to John No. 3, born in 1714, who married one of a respected family from Perranuthnoe, Grace Polkinghorne. John seems to have been slightly better off, building a new house in Lower Downs and owning land at Halamanning. The ‘great brass pan’ mentioned again in his will, obviously an heirloom, having been passed down from his father. His “dearly beloved wife Grace” had his new house and his “red mare called Tibby” left to her. Thomas was the only one of the 3 sons to survive and he took over the running of Bostrase. This was then part of Retallack Farm, of the Lanhydrock Estate, much of it being croft land, and I believe only amounted to 35 acres in all. Thomas LAITY was described as a yeoman, thought with only 35 acres, maybe it was wishful thinking. Perhaps with the extra land left him by his father, it brought him into this category. We are now in the mid-18th century, and already the old house has seen 5 reigns, * but nothing much has happened politically that has changed life here. Tin mining was becoming more and more important, with tin streaming in the vicinity of Wheal Leeds, and the mining proper with its engine house and burrows of spoil beginning to do the landscape. As far as I can make out, none of our LAITY family ever became miners, obviously preferring to keep their heads above ground. Ralph LAITY, born in 1790, seems to feature in many LAITY family trees, and his descendants are throughout the world. As Bostrase was only large enough to support one family – about 60 acres at this time – it was usually the eldest son who stayed, but in this case it was the 3rd son. During this period, Ralph’s brothers farmed 6 farms surrounding Bostrase – Retallack Farm, Retallack Mill, Trennal, Halamanning and Higher and Lower Colenso. And so to the 5th generation, the time for emigration, when life was very hard for the small farmers. Five of the 8 children went abroad, never to see the old house again – or their parents. The 4 boys went to Australia, where they are all buried in the old cemetery at Ballarat, whilst the daughter, Joanna, decided on the United States. Today, her great granddaughter is one of the stalwarts of the Cornwall Family History Society in Wisconsin. This is the generation in which my great grandfather, Joseph, married the granddaughter of the famous smuggling family – the Carters of Prussia Cove. During this time at Bostrase, there were several improvements, such as a large barn, incorporating a stable and bullocks’ house and the rent, according to the deeds, was reduced accordingly. However, the washing was still done in the wash house, well after my parents were married, albeit by a washer-woman, but I well remember my mother having to light the boiler fire at an early hour and the steam and heat, and the old bath and the mangle for pressing the clothes Of course the cooking was done on the Cornish slab, but Mother insisted on having a new one when she married ! Father also had put down a new kitchen floor which had previously been flagstones, so things were quite up to date. This was in 1926, when my grandparents moved to the “Top House”, just about 200 yards away, with their 3 daughters. The lime trough was in the yard and whenever necessary rock lime was mixed with water, which made it bubble and boil, and this was used to whitewash the house and outbuildings. I think that in the old days many of the room indoors were limed as well. The drinking water came from a well by the back door, and the original pump is still a feature in the garden today. The well had never been known to go dry, but for a special treat we would go the short distance to the boil, or boiling well, where the water was icy cold. Water carts would often be filled here for farmers’ domestic use from the surrounding district. Father’s pride and joy in the garden were his begonias. They were huge, and he brought them out year after year. The orchard in the background had the original old Cornish apples: Ben’s reds, Keswicks, Russets and also a Pear and a Medlar tree. Father was also famous for his rhubarb. Thirteen acres of it, and 2 forcing sheds. Of course this was all very labour intensive, together with the market gardening and anemone growing. I have a copy of a wage sheet in 1945 which shows the workers earning from £1 10s a week to £4 10s. All the men lived in tied cottages so there was no rent, and the cost of living was comparative, but few luxuries. Organic was a word that we had never heard of then, but even so, practically everything was organic. Seaweed was pulled from Praa Sands by horse and cart and this was mixed with the cattle manure and allowed to rest throughout the winter. There was also something called “shoddy”, which was cotton waste from the northern mills and also used. There is so much more that I could write, but I did want it to be a story of a farm, and we now come to the end of this wonderful home. It had stood from Commonwealth times, through 15 reigns* to Elizabeth II, with 9 proven generations of the LAITY family being born, working and dying there, and from John No 2 with his 2 brass candlesticks, it succumbed to the modern improvements of the 20th century and was destroyed by fire in January 1958.
I hope I’m not being too sentimental when remembering Kipling’s
lines: * ‘reigns’ means duration of time that 15 Kings or Queens ruled in London. Editor’s note: Joan Howells was from Goldsithney, Cornwall, and is a cousin of Fran Rusch. Fran’s great-grandmother Joanna LAITY, wife of James Eade, was born there. ==================================================== This
is a story about 4 people named – Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that. Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody, when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. ====================================================
The first of the West Penwith feasts is that of Paul, a parish
close to Penzance, which has not the Apostle Paul but St Pol-de-Lion for
it’s patron saint. It falls
on the nearest Sunday to 10th of October.
An old proverb saysm “Rain for Paul, Rain for All”, therefore,
should the day be wet it is of course looked upon by the young people as a
bad sign for their future merry-makings.
An annual bowling-match was formerly held on feasten Monday,
between Paul and Mousehole men (Mousehole is a fishing village in the same
Parish); the last of them
took place 60 years ago. Up
to that time the bowling-green, an artificially raised piece of ground,
was kept in order by the parishioners.
No one in the neighbourhood now, knows the game; the Church schools
are built on a part of the site, and the remainder is the village
playground. If there were
ever any other peculiar customs celebrated at Paul feast, they are quite
forgotten, and the Monday night’s carousal at the public-houses has
here, as elsewhere, given place to Church and Chapel teas, followed by
concerts in the school-rooms, although there are still a few
“standings” (stalls) in the streets, for the sale of gingerbread, nuts
and sweetmeats, and one or two swings and merry-go-rounds, largely
patronized by children. oooooooooo
St Just feast (which, when the mines in that district were
prosperous, was kept up with more revelry than almost any other) is always
held on the nearest Sunday to All Saints’ day.
Formerly, on the Monday, many games were played, zia – “Kook, a
trial of casting quoits farthest and nearest to the goal, now all but
forgotten” (Bottrell), wrestling, and kailles, or keels (ninepins),
&c, Much beer and
“moonshine” (spirit that had not paid the duty) were drunk, and, as
the St Just men are proverbially pugnacious, the sports often ended with a
free fight. A paragraph in a
local paper for November 1882, described a St Just feast in those days as
“A hobble, a squabble, and a ‘hubbadullion’ altogether”.
Rich and poor still at this season keep open house, and all the
young people from St Just who are in service for many miles around, if
they can possibly be spared, go home on the Saturday and stay until the
Tuesday morning. A small fair
is held in the streets on Monday evening, when the young men are expected
to treat their sweethearts liberally, and a great deal of “foolish
money” that can be ill afforded is often spent. ==================================================== On the nearest Saturday to Hallowe’en, October 31st, the fruiterers of Penzance display in their windows very large apples, known locally as “Allan” apples. These were formerly bought by the inhabitants and all the country people from the neighbourhood (for whom Penzance is the market town), and one was given to each member of the family to be eaten for luck. The elder girls put theirs, before they ate them, under their pillows, to dream of their sweethearts. A few of the apples are still sold: but the custom, which, I have lately been told, was also observed at St Ives, is practically dying out. On “Allantide”, at Newlyn West, 2 strips of wood are joined crosswise by a nail in the centre; at each of the 4 ends a lighted candle is stuck, with apples hung between them. This is fastened to a beam, or the ceiling of the kitchen, and made to revolve rapidly. The players, who try to catch the apples in their mouths, often get instead, a taste of the candle. Many other customs were formerly observed in Penzance on Shrove Tuesday, peculiar, I believe, to this town. Women and boys stood at the corners of the streets, with well-greased, sooty hands, which they rubbed over people’s faces. I remember, not more than 30 years ao, seeing a little boy run into a house in a great hurry, and ask for what was he wanted. He had met a woman who had put her hands affectionately on each side of his face, and said, “Your father has been looking for you, my dear”. She had left the marks of her dirty fingers. The butcher’s market was always thoroughly cleaned in the afternoon, to see if the town hose were in perfect repair, and great merriment was often excited by the firemen turning the full force of the water on some unwary passer-by. People, too, were occasionally deluged by having buckets of water thrown over them. Every Shrove Tuesday after dusk, men and boys went about and three handfuls of shells, bottles of filth, etc., in at the doors. It was usual then for drapers to keep their shops open until a very late house; and I have been told that boys were occasionally bribed by the assistants to throw something particularly disagreeable in on the floors, that the masters might be frightened, and order the shops to be shut. This last was done even as far down as 1881. ==================================================== November 1989, with their kind permission MRS M W MATTHEWS - At the time of her death in September at the age of 96, Mrs Matthews had been Pendeen’s eldest inhabitant. Born in 1893, she and her twin-sister Mary, were the youngest of Joseph Shakerley and Sarah Ann Rodda’s 13 children. Although (surprisingly) somewhat frail, she was involved in farming all her life and while a young student of the County Dairy Instructress, Miss W Nicholas, won the cheese-making championship at the London Dairy Show. During the 1914-18 war, she farmed ‘Carn View’ with her mother while her surviving brothers and sisters served as soldiers and nurses. In 1927 she married Henry Matthews of Boscaswell and together they farmed ‘Carn Roa’. Sadly he died leaving her with 4 very young children. However, intrepidly Mrs Matthews continued farming, improving and recording her herd of Guernseys until they were producing the highest butter-fat content in Penwith. Always a source of strength and serenity to all who knew her, she held firmly to her Christian faith all through her long life. In her younger days she was a staunch member of the Church. Her father and grandfather served as Church Wardens and her son Arthur continues in that service. We extend our sympathy to Arthur and Winifred, Joan and Joseph and their family. December 1990, with their kind permission. Pendeen Feast 40th Celebrations In the last century Pendeen did not have its own Feast celebrations; everyone went to the Mother Church at St Just and joined in the activities there. It wasn’t until about 1950 that Pendeen started to have its own Feast Sale – started primarily because the Church desperately needed money for the repair of the roof. This year, then, is the 40th anniversary and it was a highly successful day from start to finish. Regretfully abandoning any attempt to go and watch the meet at St Just, the ladies of the Church went up to the Hall in the morning and set up the stalls for the sale of cakes, fruit and vegetables, bric-a-brac, books, fancy hand-knitted and embroidered items, Christmas goods, good quality (!!) jumble, etc. While the men went and enjoyed themselves building the bonfire under the direction of engineer Peter Colliver – a 30 ft high edifice with a guy on top (most of the wood kindly provided by Geevor). Due to open at 2.30 pm, crowds were thronging into the hall soon after 2 pm, but the stall holders were firm and no sales were allowed until the event had been officially opened by Miss Betty Fitch who, describing herself as a “incomer” of 4 years, paid tribute to the friendliness of the Pendeen people, their community spirit and their hard work in keeping traditional events such as “Feast” going. She was presented with a beautiful posy of carnations by Bryony Westfoot – looking charming with her lovely fair hair and a very smart violet dress. The Sale raised over £400 for the Church’s Renovation Fund. In the evening the bonfire was lit by Peter Colliver and nearly 300 people came to enjoy hamburgers, beefburgers and soup cooked and served by Janet Guy, Jane Colliver, Linda Jenkin, Jean Towlson and Sheena Harvey – all bravely enduring the smoke. A fireworks display by the Rev. Jim Harpet and Ken Patrick rounded off a very happy day -- and happily the S.J.A.B. volunteers on duty were not needed Sepember 1990, with their kind permission PENDEEN LIGHTHOUSE - 90th BIRTHDAY A large brass plate fixed to the wall in the base of the Lighthouse at Pendeen bears the legent :- “This Lighthouse and Fog Signal were erected by the Corporation of Trinity House in the year 1900 Captain H.R.H. Duke of York RN, Master Captain George Rawlinson Vyvyan, Deputy Master. T Matthews, Engineer in Church “ The plate was unveiled at the Commissioning ceremony on the 26th September 1900 by the Deputy Master accompanied by the Engineer in Chief. One man who was expected to be there but wasn’t, was Mr Arthur Carkeek, Builder, of Redruth. Mr Matthews designed the Station and the construction was entrusted to Arthur Carkeek who had done work for the Corporation before. The Lantern was designed and built by Messrs Chance Bros of Smethwick. At the beginning of 1900, the work on the buildings was only half complete whilst the Lantern makers were raring to go. Arthur Carkeek was told in no uncertain terms to “get a move on” and get the Tower finished as soon as possible. When the opening ceremony took place however, the buildings around the Tower were far from complete and Arthur Carkeek deemed it wiser not to attend. Captain Vyvyan was, to say the least, disappointed for he so wanted to have a ‘little chat’ with him. It was not until 1902 that the Station took on the appearance that it has today when in April that year a Foreman painter and 6 men began painting the exterior a gleaming white. There must have been something in the cement Stucco coating the rubble – stone walls that reacted adversely with the paint because it had to be re-painted in 1904 and again in 1906. To try and overcome the problem another firm was contacted and on July 12th 1907, Messrs Perkins and Caldwell from Penzance were awarded the contract to ‘scrub-off’ and paint all over again! The original Fog Signal was a ‘Blast’ of 7 seconds every 2 minutes. By December 15th 1900, the interval had been shortened to one and half minutes. The engines driving the air compressors that operated the signal were semi-diesel Ruston Hornsby single cylinder water cooled types. The cooling water was pumped from underground storage tanks, around the engine, then, as hot water, on to the roof of the Engine House where it ran across ridged tiles acting as a cooling system before being returned to the underground tanks again. Instructions as to when to sound the Fog Signal were laid down as :- When Carn Du Point distant 1 1/2 miles to the Westward of the WHITEWASHED MARK ON PORTHMOINA CLIFF to the Eastward are not visible”. The first ‘Lamp’ was an Argand 5 wick burner which became the ‘Stand-by’ Lamp on the installation of the ‘Matthews Single Mantle Incandescent Oil Burner’ in January 1906. The 5 wick burner was removed altogether with the introduction of the 75mm ‘Hood’ Petroleum Vapour Burner on July 27th 1922. Duration a visit of inspection on 11th November 1911, the Superintendent commented on the bad state of the road approaching the Lighthouse and said that he would be writing to “The Davy Brothers of Manor Farm” to do something about it. In November of 1912, the Superintendent noted that the approach road was worse than at his previous visit and said that he would go and interview the Davy Brothers. No doubt, that during the interview, the brothers said “that they would do it dreckly”. They did. In November 1913 ! During the First World War, the light was maintained by using local ‘Temporary Keepers’, men who had missed out on military service due to being old or infirm or both. The length of time that each of these men was employed at the lighthouse was very short and there was quite a turnover in personnel at this time – no doubt due to their age and infirmities. By 1924 new engines were being installed to replace the ageing Rustons. These were Garner 22’s: a more up-to-date multi cylinder engine designed to run also Electric Generators. On August 4th 1926 Pendeen went Electric !!! What a sight it must have been to see the beams increase in power overnight from 750,000 candle power to 2 million candle power. The Generator churning out 100 volts of electricity to supply the new 3,500 watt Tungsten Filament Lamp was seen as progress by many but was greeted rather less enthusiastically by the Keepers for there was no electricity to be supplied to their dwellings. THEY had to continue to make do with oil lamps. They were however supplied with new lamps … in 1932. The interval between the blasts for the Fog Signal was reduced to 1 minute in September 1926. Not a great deal of note happened during the 1930’s. Oh! We did lose about 480 gallons of oil one day. The Keeper on duty had opened a vale at the main oil tank to fill a small tank when something distracted him. Going to attend to this other event he forgot to close the vale. Inevitably the smaller tank overflowed, first into the drainage channels thence over the cliff side through an outlet. The story goes that the Keeper only remembered that he’d left the vale open when he observed the oil floating away towards Levant ! Another Keeper who came for training was R J Simon. He arrived in April 1936 all keen and eager to place the Principal Keeper, Mr F Squibb. Reginald returned as Principal Keeper himself in 1962 and remained until 1971 when he was transferred to the Isle of Wight. On the 7th October 1938 the flagstaff was badly damaged by lightning but there are no records of any damage caused by the ‘Pendeen Hurricane’ the following month. The transfer to Wartime status in 1939 proceeded smoothly and, strangely, it was not until August 1940 that Commander Rudyard Helpman RN, arrived to advise on the scheme of camouflage painting. In common with most of the population some difficulty was experienced in 1943 obtaining a supply of blackout material for the window of the Engine House and the dwellings. On 2nd January 1946 Messrs Arundels – Contract Painters from Bradford – arrived to remove the camouflage paint and restore the Lighthouse to its pristine whiteness. “Digging for Victory” must have taken its toll at Manor Farm for in 1947 the approach road was again repaired but this time not by the Davy Bros but by Mr T Eddy. That same year the Board of the Corporation of Tinity House agreed to replace the granite sinks in the kitchens of the houses with modern ones … in time ! The oil lamps were again changed, this time with Tilley Lamps supplied, the latest thing for the posh living room … for it was not until August 19th 1952 that mains electricity was laid on to the dwellings Up until now the water supply for each dwelling is what can be stored in undergrounds tanks in the yards having been first collected as rain water on the roof; but, in 1960 rumours were circulating that piped water was being laid in the vicinity and rumour became fact when, in November 1961, a water main was laid right down to the Lighthouse. Each house now had a tap … ON THE WALL OUTSIDE !! 1964 was the year of the ‘Great Upheaval’. Comprehensive updating of the Fog Signal and Engine House began with the installation of new Ruston Hornsby 6 Cylinder Diesel engines and a new Standby Generator which started automatically in the event of a mains failure. This year also saw the complete modernization of the dwellings including ‘indoor plumbing’. But what of the future ? In 1989 a new form of ‘Lamp’ was tested in the Lens System and measurements taken of its performance from Levant and Gurnards Head with further readings from THV ‘Mermaid’ some miles offshore. The new Lamp was a 400 watt Mercury Discharge Lamp giving an output of some 500,000 candels (candle power) as against the 100,000 candels of the present 3,500 watt Filament lamp. The existing lamps have a life expectancy of 1000 hours, whereas the new lamp will last for at least 10,000 hours. The probable outcome will be that the light will be left on for the length of its life with the lens continuously rotating thus avoiding the need for complicated automatic switch-gear. The Fog Signed -- should it be decided that one is necessary – will be electrically operated and controlled by an electronic ‘Fog Detector”. The proposed ‘de-manning’ of Pendeen Light was expected to take place in 1991 but that is now said to be ‘unlikely’. Hopefully, it seems there will be need for the ‘Human Element’ for a couple more years at least – but no longer. Trinity House has planned to have the whole of the South West – from Plymouth to the Bristol Channel – under computer surveillance from the Base Station at the Lizard by the end of the decade. H Bluer B.E.M. Note : The Duke of York – Captain RN – Master of Trinity House in 1900 was created Duke of Cornwall the following year and became King George V on 6th May 1910. July 1989, with their kind permission I was standing alone, in the hill fort of Trencrom, on a sunny evening during the late summer of 1986. The hills of Penwith were casting lengthening shadows from the west but to the north and east beyond the blue St Ives Bay the hill of mid-Cornwall – Carn Brae, the St Agnes Beacon, Caen Marth and other – were reflecting back the sun’s rays enticingly. I had been walking over the moors when I suddenly wondered “but why stop here? Why not go on up over those hills one day – and why stop at mid-Cornwall: Why not go on over Castle-on-Dinas, St Breoc Downs, Bodmin Moor, right up to the Tamar? And then, why stop there, why not continue over Dartmoor and Exmoor: Why not, in fact, devise a long distance path, using the uplands as far as possible, right up to Salisbury Plain?” Thus was born to Sunset Trail, so named because of the conditions in which it was first conceived and because West Penwith was called “The Land of the Sunset” by the Celts who lived here. During the days which followed, the idea grew more real and exciting. I am a keen amateur archaeologist, very interested in “old stones and things” and it seemed to me that the walkers’ map of Britain was short of a route connecting 2 such important archaeological sites as Penwith and Salisbury Plain and its environs – particularly using the Uplands where Primitive Man generally lived, worked and travelled. I set to work buying and then poring over maps of the country between Land’s End and Avebury, the latter being chosen as the site of perhaps the finest archaeological site in Britain. I decided, early on, that I would endeavour to use only existing public rights of way and to eschew roads wherever possible. As a walker I did and do not wish to become entangled in disputes as to trespass. Nor did I (nor any other walker in my experience) want to have to share a route with cars for obvious reasons. Connecting rights of way with other rights of way, avoiding roads, lakes, rivers, built-up areas, golf links, airfields and other man-made hazards whilst sticking to the uplands was a most complex and frustrating job and many times one had to retrace one’s path on the map to avoid some form of blind alley. For instance, I very early decided that Glastonbury was a must on any route which had pre-historic pretensions, but try as I might, I could not approach it from the west without passing through Bridgewater, along the A39 at Street, or getting lost amongst the tangled pattern of “rhynes” which drain Sedgemoor. Thus, although the appropriate approaches to Glastonbury from the east are numerous and easily followed, I had to cut out that ancient town from the trail. I very early alerted every relevant Authority and interest I could think of – Countryside Commission, County Councils, Tourist Boards, the 2 National Park Authorities, Ramblers’ Association, Long Distance Walkers’ Association, Landowners’ and Farmers’ Union etc., etc. I also sought help from our MP, the media, archaeologists and friends. One of the latter objected that whilst a logo depicting a sunset would be fine for someone walking westwards, it was hardly what one would expect to see if one was walking towards the east – and I had to agree. Accordingly, after some discussion, the title was changed to its present one – “The Land’s EndTrail”. I later approached various “environmental” charities such as Shell without affect, but a letter to Peter de Savary drew an immediate and generous response, as did one to the West Country Tourist Board, both of them are part funding the project. It has taken all this time (almost 3 years) to devise a satisfactory, continuous path and even now there are Authorities who are not yet prepared to adopt “their part” of it. The Park Authorities, for instance, do not want large numbers of walkers eroding a swathe across their territories. This is very understandable but as the Trail sticks rigidly to already existing public rights of way which are marked as such on the appropriate maps it might be thought the Head Ranger at each Park might prefer walkers using the well-mapped paths to their getting lost and wandering over privately held land (most of both Dartmoor and Exmoor is still privately owned). Other Authorities, and County and District Councils in particular are devising their own routes in order to attract tourists and some of these parks run either parallel to or coincidentally with parts of the Trail. Where the latter happens, the relevant Authorities will ensure the path(s) are maintained, but elsewhere there is no such commitment. The result is that whereas there now exists, on paper, continuous track from Land’s End right through Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire, it is not possible to way mark all of it, nor is it possible to walk its length as parts have been ploughed up, hedges, stiles and gates destroyed, barbed wire erected across lengths of it, etc., etc., and I am generally told there is insufficient money and/or manpower to put things right and maintain them that way. I’m not sure where to go from here. The project has become too big for one person, part-time, to handle. I don’t blame the Countryside Commission for choosing to spend their limited funds on other paths, just as I can’t blame over-worked and under-funded rights of way officials for spending their small allocations on other projects. I do think that, one day, some Authority will adequately support those concerned with the everyday maintenance of the long distance path I have worked out. Then the Land’s End Trail will become a challenge and a source of pleasure to thousands who will want to walk by an upland route such as might have been used by our ancestors from the great cliffs of Land’s End, along the spine of Cornwall, over Dartmoor and Exmoor and the lush Devon Vale, past the mysterious Somerset Levels, through the ancient Royal hunting forests of Wessex and over the open, rolling downlands of Wiltshire to the great stone circles of Avebury. Hugh Miners ==================================================== ST.
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