Wow—have we had a busy day! Driving all over the single track roads of Cornwall and through endless tree tunnels and enjoying the gorgeous patchwork fields of Cornwall. We saw so many things that my head is spinning. Ray is fast becoming an expert at maneuvering on the narrow roads like a race car driver.
First I should acquaint you with the legends regarding Cornwall and Jesus. Legends exist telling of Jesus traveling all over the world—India, Tibet, Nepal, Egypt. But according to the people here in Cornwall, the strongest and most persistent traditions tell of a young Jesus in Cornwall and the Isle of Avalon near the town of Glastonbury.
It is said that Joseph of Arimathea, a tin merchant, came here to Cornwall and brought the young boy Jesus with him. There are supposedly crosses here in this area that have on the reverse side a young boy wearing a knee-length tunic and holding out his hands in blessing. These tunic crosses appear only here, nowhere else in the world. There are many places where Jesus was said to have come ashore, so we were off in search of these places. We had already visited Falmouth where the legend states that "Joseph of Arimathea landed at the Strand, crossed the stream, and went up Smithick hill."
Our first challenge today was in search of the Ding Dong Mine. There is a legend that Joseph of Arimathea visited the area, and that he brought the young Jesus to address the miners. I never knew about tin mines and was so intrigued by the process by which tin was extracted form the earth. We walked up a muddy road to get to the mine and look down into it. The legend tells of how Joseph taught the young boy Jesus how to extract the tin and purge it and how Jesus, on other visits here, taught the miners how to extract tin from the ground and purge it of the ore wolframite. Old ordinance maps of the western part of Cornwall show two mines called Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) and Wheel of Jesus (wheel is old Cornish for mine).
The Mên-an-Tol is a small formation of standing stones nearby. It is also known locally as the "Crick Stone.” The name Mên-an-Tol is Cornish Language, literally meaning "stone and hole.” It consists of three upright granite stones: a round stone with its middle holed out with two small standing stones to each side, in front of and behind the hole. When seen at an angle from one side, the stones form a three-dimensional "101." These stones may have been the entrance to some now vanished tomb, but it is also possible that they were part of some ancient calendar.
Mên-an-Tol is supposed to have a fairy guardian who can make miraculous cures. In one case a Changeling baby was put through the stone in order for the mother to get the real child back. Evil piskies had changed her child and the ancient stones were able to reverse their evil spell. Local legend claims that if, at full moon, a woman passes through the holed stone seven times backwards, she will soon become pregnant. Another legend is that passage through the stone will cure a child of rickets. For centuries, children with rickets were passed naked through the hole in the middle stone nine times. Its curative powers actually are reflected in its name.
Lanyon Quoit is also near the mine. It is a dolmen standing near the road. In the 18th century, the structure was tall enough for a person on horse back to stand under. The capstone rested at 7 feet high with dimensions of 9 feet by 17.5 feet weighing 13.5 tons. The monument is thought to be a burial chamber; perhaps a mausoleum. In 1815, Lanyon Quoit was torn down by a storm. Nine years later enough money was raised by local inhabitants to re-erect the structure. During the storm one of the uprights was broken in half. Thus, there are only three uprights today and the structure does not stand as high as it once did. Before the collapse of the structure, it was said to be aligned with the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). This gives historians and archaeologists reason to believe that the structure was used for ritual activity.
Then we headed to Truro Cathedral to try to find the stone said to be there that was taken from a Cornwall tin mine and is inscribed with the Aramaic name of Jesus. Unfortunately our search revealed nothing.
Then we headed to Place Manor. Here the legend says that Jesus and his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, were in a boat that got into difficulties during a storn and was washed ashore on the headland where the modern St. Anthony’s Lighthouse now stands. The operators of a local trading post managed to bring Joseph’s damaged boat into the sheltered side of the headland, by Place, where repairs were carried out. Joseph and Jesus stayed at the trading post while the boat was being repaired. The pictographs over the Pre-Roman stone arched doorway tell this story and say that before they left the area, they erected a stone with an account of their visit here.
It is a well-known tradition that Jesus came to St. Just in Roseland. One version is that "Joseph of Arimathea and Our Lord came in a boat, and anchored in St Just Creek." There is supposedly a certain flat stone, with curious but unintelligible markings on it, which they used to point out as "the stone on which Christ stepped" when he landed. This stone was found in 1932 when workers were cleaning out a culvert that was blocking the flow of water to the Christening Well. St Just in Roseland Church is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen.
The 13th century church is built right beside the water on a tidal creek. The vegetation in this sheltered spot is tropical. There are paths leading through the church gardens with rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, bamboos, wild garlic and bluebells. St Just in Roseland church is on the site of a 5th century chapel. The churchyard slopes steeply upwards behind the church. For some 400 years after its foundation, the church was served by Celtic clergy from the adjacent cell of Lanzeague until Roseland was taken from the Celtic Church by the Saxon Bishops of Cornwall, Crediton and Exeter.
The tower is buttressed at the angles, and contains three bells. There are north and south entrances to the churchyard through Lych gates. There is also a simple Holy Well down a secluded path.
We then went in search of the Jesus Well. One story is how Jesus and Joseph often anchored their ship in the natural harbour at the mouth of the Camel River to come ashore and collect water for the ship. Nearby is an ancient well that since olden times has been known as Jesus’ Well. It is said to have healing powers and for centuries, pilgrims came to the well and the remains of a chapel erected over it. Records of it go back to the 13th century. Supposedly you can still see it, but it appears to be on private land and we couldn’t find it.
Since we were near the west coast, we decided to go for a peek at Tintagel Castle. WE easily found the Camelot Castle Hotel, built in 1899, and looking down from the car park, we were able to see the ruins of the castle perfectly. The castle has a long association with the Arthurian legends, going back to the 12th century when Geoffrey of Monmouth in his mythical account of British history described Tintagel as the place of Arthur’s conception. According to the tale told by Geoffrey, his father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin’s sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, the husband of Ygerna, Arthur’s mother. Tennyson made Tintagel the place of Arthur’s birth in his writings. The ruins of the castle are amazing to see.
After a short break, we headed to the Temple Church in Temple. St. Catherine (of Alexandria)'s Church is located in the tiny hamlet of Temple, on Bodmin Moor, and stands on the site of what was the earlier Templar chapel from 1120. It formed part of the medieval Preceptory of Trebeigh and was a lonely, remote church on desolate Bodmin Moor, far away from other Templar Preceptories. It was not known to be particularily prosperous; it most likely was a key training centre for Cornish knights.
Temple derives its name from the hospice founded by the Knights Templars who built a refuge for pilgrims and travellers, en route to the Holy Land, in the 12th century. On the suppression of the Templars it passed into the hands of the Knights Hospitallers in 1312 who held it until the religious houses were suppressed by Henry VIII. Temple Church became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or licence. An act was passed in 1753 declaring such marriages to be illegal . After this point, the Temple church lost its congregation and fell into serious disrepair; no services were held for nearly a century. The roof finally caved in, killing a tramp who was sheltering inside. In 1774 the church first came under episcopal jurisdiction. By the mid 19th century, it had become a ruin and was rebuiltin 1883.
The new plans followed as closely as possible those of the original Templar church that formerly stood there. The ancient tower arch was kept and wherever possible, relics and other stones were used. The base of the old Norman font is preserved in the inner doorway, and various stones bearing the engraved crosses of the Templars and the Hospitallers can be discovered in the fabric of the building. The ancient silver communion cup and plate, dated 1577, which had been removed to nearby Blisland for safekeeping before 1764, were finally returned.
Local tradition has it that pilgrims travelling from Ireland were in the habit of avoiding the hazards of sailing round Lands End, by going up the Padstow estuary, probably as far as Wadebridge, and then overland to the Fowey river. Padstow was an important port and Fowey probably the busiest harbour on the South coast, from which many travellers from the West Country would have embarked for Europe.
So, perhaps it was natural for the Templars to build their church and refuge on the moor to accommodate travellers who passed over this wild stretch of country on their way to the Holy Land.
The base of the old Norman font is preserved in the inner doorway, and various stones bearing the engraved crosses of the Templars and the Hospitallers can be discovered in the fabric of the building. The ancient silver communion cup and plate, dated 1577, which had been removed to nearby Blisland for safekeeping before 1764, were finally returned.
Very near our hotel is Roche Rock, an entirely natural phenomenon. The ruined chapel on the summit of the Rock's center crag was dedicated to St Michael in 1409. Below the ruined 2-storey chapel at its summit once lay a hermitage. Here, in the tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult, Ogrin is said to have given the lovers refuge, hiding them from Iseult's husband (and Tristan's uncle) Mark. Others though, have sought refuge here from more terrifying foes.
Famous Cornish 17th-century bad man, the cursed Tregeagle, was chased to the Rock by a pack of headless hellhounds. The crooked ex-magistrate had previously been sent to the underworld for his wrongdoings, including robbing an orphan of his estate, but was needed back on Earth when another court case required him as a witness. Tregeagle's ghost promptly appeared and admitted his guilt, effectively saving an innocent man from conviction. The court took pity on his troubled soul, and ordered him to carry out arduous and impossible tasks so his return to Hell would be delayed indefinitely. His first duty was to empty the waters of Dozmary pool using a shell with a hole in it. Understandably tiring of the task, Tregeagle did a runner one stormy night, fleeing to the sanctuary of Roche Rock. Unfortunately, he got wedged in the chapel window and his pursuers, the headless hounds of Hell, got their fangs –there appears to be a bit of an inconsistency here – into Tregeagle's backside. For an unspecified period of time, Tregeagle's screams rang out, terrifying the chapel priest just as much as the priest's praying terrified Tregeagle. Eventually, the priest saved the beleaguered Hell-dodger and sent him to a beach to make a rope out of sand.
Some of The Omen – The Final Conflict was filmed here – specifically, the scene in which a group of priests ambush someone whom they believe to be Antichrist Damien Thorne; another scene was shot at the nearby Goss Moor.
But there is a nice story to do with the rock: Afflicted with leprosy, and not wishing to pass it on to his family, a young lady named Gundred's father left his mansion and riches to take hermitage atop Roche Rock. Yet the devoted Gundred was undeterred by his brave sacrifice. She followed him to the lonely crag to tend to his ailments, occasionally immersing him in a nearby well. This Holy Well is now, of course, dedicated to St Gundred, and popular traditions from the nearby village of Roche once saw young girls throwing in pins and pebbles and predicting coming events by the sparkling of the rising bubbles.
I think you will agree that it’s been a pretty full day. Ray is already snoring away while I finish the blog for the day. Tomorrow is Glastonbury and Wells Cathedral.
pictures from top: Ding Dong Mine; Ray at Lanyon Quoit; Me at Lanyon Quoit with Ding Dong Mine in background; Ray at the Men-an-Tol & Ding Dong Mine on hill; Men-an-Tol.
