Go to Merry Maidens Stones from St. Buryan nearby.
19 girls became after, these stones to go them there instead of the church, the legend danced in the field.

The Merry Maidenslie in a field adjacent to the B3315, the Newlyn-to-Land's End road. This is the best known and preserved circle in Cornwall: it is believed to be complete, which is rare. Its nineteen granite stones are not large (the tallest, 1.4m high, is in the south west, and the shortest directly opposite), but neat and regular, and form a perfect circle of 23.8m (77ft 10in) diameter. The stones are regularly spaced and exactly at the east there is a gap (an entrance or the site of a missing stone).
The Merry Maidens are also called Dawn's Men. This name has nothing to do with sunrise: it is a corruption of Dans Maen, or Stone Dance in Cornish: a story of nineteen maidens dancing on a Sunday who were transformed into stones. The pipers that had played for them were petrified too: the two standing stones called the Pipers are in a field to the north-east of the circle. This legend was probably initiated by the early Christian Church to stop the pagan Cornish peasantry continuing old habits.

We passed the church St. Buryan away to the Trelissik Garden. There we wanted to climb the tower opened the next day only again.
How proved this church has the heaviest bells of the world.

St. Buryan Parish Church

THE SAINT

St Buryan church and parish is said to take its name from Bruniec, the daughter of an Irish king, who came to Cornwall in a coracle with St Piran about AD 400 to convert die local inhabitants to Christianity.

According to William Hals of Truro(1655-1737) the name "Bury-an" appears in the Domesday Tax records for this area and actually means a burying place for human creatures. He says that at the time of Domesday not one church in Cornwall was given the appellation of Saint, so in his view the claim that the village derives its name from an Irish woman is wrong. Others think it may be closer to the truth to suggest that Bruniec took her name from the village. Buriana meaning a woman of Buryan.

However, local legend still insists that St Buryan took its name from the Trish Saint and one of the older spellings of her name, Berriona, could derive from the Latin word for Ireland in the 5th century, Hiberione, which gives us Hi beriona - 'the Irish Lady.' In Cornish the name becomes Beryona or Beryon; so perhaps local people called her that: Beriona - the Irish Lady.

The earliest known record of Buriana is to be found in the 1 lth century Exeter Martyrology which states - In hibernia sancte berrione virginis cuius seritis Filius regis gerentii a paralisis so(rbo) curatus est - (In Ireland there is a commemoration of St Berriona die virgin, by whose merits the son of King Gerentiu,s was cured of the disease of paralysis.)

In 1593 her name appears as Burrian (which is how people in the parish now pronounce the name) and then in the modern form of Buryan in Carew's Survey of Cornwall 1602. In the 1740's in John Wesley's Diary it is recorded as Beryan.

The other modern version, Buriana, which occurs today in official lists
(Croceord's, the Truro Diocesan Directory and im the banner in thechancel) occurs in John Leland's writings, 'St Buriana, a holy woman of Ireland who sometime dwelled in this place and there made an oratory.' He visited the parish in 1538 and may well have read about the saint's life.
Her Feast day in the Exeter Martyrology is the I st May, but it is kept here in the parish on the Sunday nearest 13th May, the old May Day. In the Roman Calendar she is commemorated on 4th June and in the Irish Calendar, St Bruniec Feast is kept on 29th May.

THE LEGEND OF ST BURIANA

The Comish legends of St Buryan link her name with St Piran as well as with Gereint, the local Chieflain, and tell how she was admired and desired for her beauty by Gereint, who carried her off by force to his stronghold at Trevorgans.St Piran and his companions hurried to the castle to beg for her release, only to be refused and told that their request would only be granted if the chieftain should be awakened the next morning by the note of a cuckoo calling in the snow.
St Piran and his companions withdrew and stood all night in prayer outside the castle walls, while the snow feil coveringall the ground, except the spot where they were standing As the dawn broke over the snow- covered countryside the call of the cuckoo could be heard within the castle walls. St Piran and his party were hurriedly summoned by the terrified Gereint, who humbly craving their pardon, handed ab• over to them hisprisoner. But while they were still on the wayhome the chieftain, like Pharaoh, hardened his heart and set out to recapture St Buriana. But, as he put out his hand to take her, she died.......

The prayers of St Piran and his companions restored her to life again, all of which so impressed Gereint that he and his family embraced the Christian Faith. Almost the same legend comes from Ireland but the cuckoo is replaced by a swan.



THE CHURCH

The centre of St Btuyan village is dominated by the massive granite tower and church of St Buryan. The building seems unusually large and significant for such a small community but the site of St Buryan Church is one of the most important in West Penwith and the churchyard itself, almost circular in shape, is a good example of a pre-Norman enclosure. There are considered to be more relics from the hon age, Bronze age, and early Christianity in this parish than anywhere else in the country.

An inconclusive survey, by Cornwall Committee for Rescue Archeology during road widening along the eastern boundary in 1985, suggested traces of part of a wall and defending ditch of an hon Age/Romano-British round. It is still not clear though whether the site is a typical early Celtic Lan or whether it makes use of an existing hon Age enclosure.

St Buriana's 5th Century Oratory

Nothing remains today of St Buriana's small prayer oratory but it would have been a very small building, and the cross in the churchyard, which dates from the 6th century, was probably erected to mark the enclosure as consecrated ground.

Athelstan's 10th Century Church

In AD 930 Athelstan, a Saxon King who came west to drive out the Danes, took communion in Buriana's Oratory before crossing to the Isles of Scilly. He vowed that, if he won his battle against the Danes on the islands, he would build and endow a church on the site of Bwiana's oratory as a thanks offering.
On his return he fulfilled his vow and ordered a church to be built. This King's free church consisted of Canons Augustine or regular priests, and three prebendaries who might enjoy the revenues but must not many.

Athelstan's charter and founding are partly confirmed by 1086 in the Domesday Book; This records that The Canons of St Berriona hold Eglosberrie and that before 1086 it was free from "payment of geld". The arches (now filled in but still easily visible) on the north side of the sanctuary may represent all that remains today of Athelstan's church; a small building extending westwards, perhaps as far as the present rood Screen.

The 13th Century Church

On 26th August 1238, a new larger church building was consecrated by Bishop Briwire. He claims to have actually seen King Athelstan's charter at St Btuyan and, because it was in a deplorable state, ordered copies to be made and filed in the Exeter Registry, where they still reside today.

This church lasted for two hundred years but by 1473 was in such a deplorable state (because of the non-residence of the Dean and Prebends) that Edward IV appointed a commission of clergy to report on the state of the Deanery in general.

Today's 15th Century Church

It was decided to rebuild the ruined church, although the tower was built before the old church was demolished. The new church was then built up alongside the 92 foot tower in the late 15th or early 16th century. In true mediaeval fashion tower and nave are not properly aligned.
The lower courses of the East wall and the South Chapel are all that remain of the 13th century church. The rest of what you see today is 15th century and has a Grade 1 listing. The chancel is unusually long for a village church, but this was to accommodate the Dean and College.

Around 1750 the whole of the north wall of the church had to be rebuilt (it is still bowing slightly) and a small lean-to King's Chapel on the north side of the chancel was pulled down. The- romanesque arches were then filled in with rubble. One stone in the centre of the eastern arch, about eight foot high, still has a consecration cross etched into it.

The First Restoration

In 1814 the church was restored. All the old benches, with their ornate carved ends, were cut down and much of the woodwork taken by farmers for their outbuildings. Joseph Polsue records that carved figures were to be seen as chimney ornaments in the houses of some of the parishioners.

Two bench ends only were saved and made into a Litany desk; on one of these a carving of two memien can still be seen and on the other two horses heads. The kneeler at the base of the desk reflects these carvings.

In 1825 almost all of the medieval screen was taken down, reportedly because the clergyman of the time said it interfered with his preaching. This could have been Revd Uriah Tonkin who was curate at the time under an absentee Dean.

In 1851/7 the singers' gallery at the west end was cut down; it was of the same date as the screen and of this not a stick can be found. Permission had been received from the absent Dean Stanhope to dismantle the gallery as it was in such a state of disrepair and dangerous. He gave permission for the wood to be sold by the churchwardens and the money used to defray the expense of taking down the screen. Any excess was to be used for the benefit of the church.

Another Major Restoration

In 1874 the church was again restored. This time all the old flooring was torn up and all levels altered; those in the nave were lowered and the chancel raised. Architects plans and elevations were drawn up by Edmund Sedding in 1864 and are held in the Diocesan Records Office at Truro but the restoration seems to have been supervised by a Mr Butterfield, a High Church architect from London.
Between 1914 and 1918 the oak tower screen was put up in memory of Private Geoffrey Coles killed in action in 1915. The tower arch was screened in 1990 and a room provided in the tower in memory of a much loved rector, Fr Cecil Vaughan Lawson.

THE ROOD SCREEN

The screen, is one of the most splendid in Cornwall and even in the entire West Country. lt may well have come from a Devon workshop and dates back to medieval times.

Judging by the two coats of arms carved on the original beam it was the gift of die Killigrew family and the Godolphins of Boskenna, possibly to celebrate the marriage of John Godolphin to Elizabeth Killigrew in the mid to late 15th centtuy. Their son, also John, was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1504. It is interesting to note that the wood carver has put a dolphin on the crest of the Godolphin shield instead of an eagle displ:sa: perhaps because the Killigrew arms also consist of a double headed eagle.

In 1814, when the church was restored, it was cut down and some of the pieces thrown into the tower. Others were stored in a ehest in the vestry.
thrown into the tower. Others were stored in a chest in the vestry.

The original pieces of Rood screen that could be found, mostly from the centre section, were gradually replaced between 1880 and 1909 and dedicated by the Bishop of St German's on 7th January 1910. The Lady Chapel section was restored a few years later by Belgian refugees and the Northem end restored in 1922 as a memorial to those who died in the first World War.

The Lady Chapel section has two completely new bays and one odd panel of original dado, two sections of transom and two posts. Here are to be found a fire-breathing hound and a left hand (whose?). The running ornament is original. The paint on two thirds of the height of one bay of dado and the panel to the right is original.

The nave dado is all old except for one panel of the door. There is more original paint on the top two thirds of the right panel of the south bay and the two panels of the south half of the door, on the bottom half of one panel of the north half of the door, on four panels of the second bay from the north and the adjoining posts. Parts of the tracery are also original and rather more than one bay of vaulting panels in the centre.
The Aaron's rod on the transom, in the north bay of the nave, has some rare azurite blue paint. There is more blue in the tracery, vaulting and running ornament. Azurite was widely used in medieval painting but it cannot be mixed with oil like other pigments. It was used in a water soluble glue medium which has been destroyed in nearly every screen by washing with water or linseed oil.

The running ornament is the splendour and exceptional feature of the Screen. There are two rows between candy stick mouldings; the upper of knotted vines and the lower of fantastic beasts amongst twining foliage. All but one small section is original.
The lower trail does not repeat itself anywhere: there are black stags with golden anders, spotted green serpents devouring unhappy little beasts, greedy black demons stuffmg their red mouths with blue and gold striped birds, more gold birds pecking at fruit, and sometimes demon faces stalking them through the foliage, the odd human face, brown and blue cows with gilded horns, a great white hound with a gold collar and two smaller black ones pulling down a black deer with golden anders, followed by the hunter slipping another hound from the leash, a speclded unicorn fighting with a winged dragon and irmumerable other strange fauna tightly entwined together across the entire width of the church.
lt will be noticed that there is some disagreement about the height of the screen vaulting; the top of the stairs in the Lady Chapel is nearly three feet below the present floor of the vault. It may mean that the original screen was about three feet lower than the present.

THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

St Buryan has four beautiful stained glass windows. The High altar window was dedicated in 1872 to Charles Dacres Bevan, the judge of the District County Court, who lived of Boskenna. The window in the Lady Chapel was dedicated in 1897 to Revd. Thomas Coulson, Rector of this parish and nephew to the High Sheriff. Just below the screen on the south wall is a window dedicated to the Permewan family in 1910. Down in the South west corner is a window dedicated in 1920 to the memory of Revd Uriah Tonkin and Revd John Tonkin, both curates of this parish.

THE FONT

The 15th centtuy base and prayer step is made of Sparkling Ludgvan granite. The bowl is 13th century and has three angels supporting shields. On the fourth shield there is a plain Latin cross on two steps and on the opposite side there is a small Maltese cross between two angels. Notice the size of the bowl - large enough to dip a child.

THE ORGAN

The organ was built and installed by Heards of Truro in 1895 and was one of their best two manual instruments, very well constructed from good quality materials and excellent new pipework and was probably built under the direction of W.J. Brewer.
Since it was built it has had a few minor alterations and improvements - two stops (the double Diapason and the Mixture) were added on the swell department shortly after it was constructed; the blower was added after the 1939-1945 war and a modern pedal board added in 1962. A balanced swell pedal and an additional stop to the swell which had been originally intended was eventually completed in 1991.

The organ, which probably replaced an earlier instrument, was paid for by an that the original screen was Mr James Hawke Dennis the brother-in-law of the Rector at the time, Revd Richard James Martyn. Mr Hawke Dennis also gave a large sum of money towards the construction of one of the Towers of Truro Cathedral and in 1901, on the accession to the throne of King Edward VII, paid for a new Tenor bell for St Buryan church and the re-hanging of the Treble, 2nd and 3rd bells.
The St Buryan organ is as good as any church organ in the area. One of the finest stops is the Pedal Open Diapason - a vely large wooden stop which can be seen on the right-hand side of the organ.

ST BURYAN HYMN

St Buryan must be one of the few churches to have its own Hymn, sung every year on Feast Sunday. Dr. Maurice Jago rernembers it being written in the early twenties, either during the Revd Arthur Comish's Sabbatical or during the Interregnum between the ministries of Revd Cornish and the Revd Crofts, when the pastoral duties of St Buryan were administered by a priest called H. L . Haines.
Revd Haines wrote the words of the St Buryan hymn and a paying guest, who lived at the Rectory for some time, composed the music. His name was E. Fagg Gower and being musically minded he signed his name 'E F G'

St Buryan's Hymn

In this thy house 0 God, in our thanksgiving
we sing a festal songFor thou, who art the life of all things lovest the Saintly throng,

(Chorus) The Saints of God His glory are;
Cantate Domino, Alleluia,

Long years ago across the western water
winds brought to this our shore
One glorious within, a king's own daughter,
to teach our land Christ's law,

Throughout her days God's little flock she
tended, a faithful shepherdess,
Leading the sheep her patient love defended
against the wilderness,

A King there came long after. As he
pleaded beside her resting place
He vowed to God, if but his pray'r were
heeded, a temple of His grace,

From battle sore in victory returning
the längly warrior came,
And bade be built a fane and house of
learning called by St Buryan's name,

From out the earth anon was hewn and
riven the giant strength of stone,
Trees of the wood bent downwards to be
given in service as God's own

The steadfast walls, to patient toil replying
rose up to crown the hill,
And rounded arch, on pillar strong relying
grew to the craftsman's will,

Still in this house there lives the ancient
story how faith and love kept tryst,
The very stones tell forth St Buryan's glory
and how she served Lord Christ,

0 God, who art man's end and man's beginning, grant this our end shall be, Like saints of old, by grace heaven'spathway winning to come at last to Thee.

THE PREBENDAL STALLS

The only relic of the Deanery days are the four prebendal stalls inside the
screen and the patronage of all three Parishes which remains in the hands ofthe Duke of Cornwall, to whom it was granted by Charter, dated 17th March 1336, by Edward III, 'to remain to the same Duchy for ever so that from the same Duchy they may at no time be in anywise seperated.

The stalls, two on either side of the centre aisle were said to be for the Dean;
he prebendary of Respemell; the prebendary of Trithing; and for the holder of the Prebenda Parva. Each stall had a moveable seat which when turned
up revealed a rounded ledge which served as an occasional rest for the occupant. Only one of these seats will still lift.

THE KNEELERS

The beautiful, handmade kneelers beginning to fill the church have all been made by members of the congregation, many taught by Sheila Hosking how to embroider. All the kneelers have an original design and are usually in memory of someone or commemorating a special event.
The long kneeler at the High Altar rail was made by Sheila and pictures the nine Land's End saints. It took her over 6 years to embroider and was dedicated in 1992.
The kneeler at the Lady Chapel altar rail was made by Eileen Jenkin and dedicated in 1997.

THE HIGH ALTAR

The high altar and reredos is by Miss Pinwell of Plymouth, responsible for much of the best wood carving done in the west country in the early part of die 20th century. They are dedicated to Canon Martyn who was rector of St Buryan from 1882 to 1913.
There is a lovely story told by his Great Grandson, Timothy Scott Saunders; Canon Martyn used to combat the reluctance of farm labourers who refused to attend Sunday Services by challenging them to a boxing match. If they won they could absent themselves, but if he won they had to go to church. Being a Cambridge Blue he always won.
During sermons he stood no nonsense, he would order someone to stop eating or tell granny to sit up and pay attention.

THE LADY CHAPEL

The Lady Chapel was restored in 1956 and is the gift of John Franldin Tonkin in memory of his uncle Robert Edmund Tonkin of Treverven. The oak paneling was formerly in the manor house of Boshan in the parish of Manaccan and local carpenter Harold Thomas reports that they had to shorten it quite a bit to fit it into the Lady Chapel.
In 1980 some of the oak benches from the North corner of the church were moved into the Lady Chapel and fitted by William Roberts of Rospletha. This work was the 0i of Mrs Gillian Green in memory of her father, John Franklin Tonkin of Treverven.
The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the chapel. The aumbrey was placed there in 1960 by the congregation of St Buryan and die Lugg family. William Lugg celebrated 65 years as Altar Server and 39 years as Churchwarden before he died in 1993.

THE BELLS

In 1638 R. Pennington was given an order to cast eight bells, the first peal of eight in the County but when Dunkin visited St Buryan to obtain details for his book "Church Bells of Cornwall"ublished in 1878 he found only three bells dated 1638, 1681 and 1738. We can see from the dates of these bells that there had been at least two "restorations" between 1 1638 an Dunkin's visit. Dunkin's visit.
Although five bells had disappeared there remained two links with the original eight bells. The second of the three was the old seventh; and the tenor which, although it had been recast in its centenary year of 1738, was noted by Dunkin on the evidence of the inscription as "evidently reproduced from an earlier bell"

The 1738 recasting of the Tenor was done locally. The Churchwardens accounts for that year lists some 30 items bought in connection with its recasting, such as bricks, clay, lime and wood. In addition there were journeys recorded to Penzance with horses for the goods by twelve men and eight boys, and in addition there were the important items of lowering the bell, its weighing and casting, its being "rowld" into the tower and the record of the day it was "put up into the tower" with the help of the parishioners; in all a total of £33 19s 11d.

This recasting by Mr Pennington Junior does not seem to have been very satisfactory for there was a so called "jlaw" in the casting, said to have been caused by a "man jumping from a hedge before the metal had cooled" (probably a stone fell into the molten metal).

In 1901 Warners of Cripplesgate, London were given an order to restore the bells and to cast a new tenor which was to be "the heaviest in Cornwall" all paid for by MT James Hawke Dennis (brother-in-law of the Rector of St Buryan - the Revd. Richard James Martyn).

The treble of the old three was retuned, the other two were recast and all were then rehung in a new heavy duty steel frame. The four bells, which became the heaviest peal of four in the world, were dedicated on the 31st July 1901 to the great delight of the parishioners as the village was festooned with flags and bunting.
After the dedication day, when a band of five men from St Mary's, Penzance rang a tauch of Bob Minimus, the bells were never rung full circle again and soon became unringable.

In 1981 the Rector decided it would be appropriate to mark the wedding of H.R.H. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer by ringing the treble bell full circle. This would also coincide with the bell's 300th birthday. Local craftsmen and a neighbouring ringer combined their efforts and the goal was achieved.

In October 1990 Chris Venn moved to the area from London. Having been fascinated with the bells of St Buryan since learning the art of ringing some thirty years previously, he thought "it was about time these unique bells should be ringing again" After four months work replacing wheels, stays, sliders, pulleys etc. and erecting a large steel supporting structure under the bell frame, the worlds heaviest peal of four rang out over the village on 16th February 1991, the first time for ninety years.

At the same time a nationwide appeal was launched to raise the necessary £80,000 to rehang, tune and augment the bells to six with the addition of a treble and a heavy Tenor to fulfill the previous benefactors wishes for St Buryan to have the county's heaviest bell. A record which was currently held by Truro Cathedral's Tenor bell of 33cwt 3qtrs 10lbs

The old four rang out for the last time on 14th June 1992. All the work was completed in the tower ready for the arrival of five bells from Whitechapel in October 1992. These were dedicated on 22nd November 1992. In January 1994 the order for the new Tenor bell was placed with the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

In a little over 350 years St Buryan has had the first peal of eight bells in Cornwall, the heaviest peal of four in the world, the third heaviest peal of five in the world, and now the heaviest peal of six in the world. The dedication of the tenor took place on Saturday 28th May 1994.


The Bells Today:

Treble: 2001 Whitechapel 9.111 cwt. in A # Dia 36"
Inscription: I ring out God's love and lead the mighty five
and rest with Solomon by my side. from Holy Trinity.
On the other side: C. Venn Captain, J. Thomas Secretary

2: 1681 R Pennington 8.1.0 cwt. in G # Dia 38"
Inscription: Mr Richard Davis Sampson Hutchins Wardens

3: 1992 Whitechapel 13.2.10 cwt. in F Dia 43"
(1638 R.Pennington; 1901 J.Warner; 1992 Whitechapel;)
Inscription: Vocem ego do vobis date verba deo
(I give my voice to you: you give words to God.)
Donated by Venn Bros Ltd (Cornwall) in memory of Eva Venn.

4: 1901 J.Warner 13,3.1 cwt. in E # Dia 45"
(1638 R.Pennington; 1738 R.Penningtoir, 1901 J.Warner,)
Inscription: Virginis egregiae vocor campana Mariae
(I am called the bell of Mary the Glorious Virgin)

5: 1901 J.Wamer 20.3.2 cwt. in D # Dia 50"
Inscription: Richard James Martyn Rector.
This bell was given to commemorate the accession of King Edward VII by James Hawke Dennis, Benefactor to St Buryan Church.

Tenor: 1994 Whitechapel 37 cwt. 2 qtrs. 9lbs in C # Dia 59" Inscriptions: On the first side: St Solomon pray for us Christopher J. Venn (Tower Captain and Restorer)
Joan Thomas, Revd Dr. R. Legg, B. S. Cheek, Christine Jago, K. Gilbert, Helen Gilbert, J. Ellis, Sarah Veal

On the other side: In fond memory of T.W.Trevor Hitchens 30.12.24 - 23.12,92 Part cost of this bell was met by T.Neil and Jane M. HitchensIn gothic lettering round the base, as used on Big Ben, the words chosen by the Spurr Trust who donated more than half of the cost, Calcar sit quo deus laudetor vox mea (Let my voice be the spur with which to praise God) A George Buchan Custos et Jeffery C Burr advocatus MCMXCIV

THE TOWER

This very fine four stage Tower was completed in 1501 after taking 21 years to build using local Lamorna cut granite, (the same used centuries later to build London Bridge - now in Arizona). Some of its fine stones weigh over two tons each and give the tower massive strength. Indeed a 1991 survey showed that even with all the bells swinging in the same direction the 90ft tower only moved 0.005 inches.

lt is double buttressed at each angle, and has a N.E. stair-turret topped with a battlemented tunet, rising to the height of the pinnacles.

Over the tower doorway is the monogram I.H.S.

THE SOUTH PORCH

The south porch should be noticed as one of the best examples of its type and it shows how the workers of those days could tum out an effective piece of work in granite. Beginning at the base, there is a bold plinth, then a string course carried round the buttresses; above this the buttresses have a plain set off and finish with characteristic capping cubes with their angles beveled, thus presenting five triangular surfaces. From this rises a pinnacle, panelled and crocketed.. These crockets are peculiar: there is no attempt at a real crocket, a budding leaf, because moor stone will not allow this; they are merely billets showing the good sense of the designer. The graceful flowing lines produced in free stone could not be rendered in granite, so the mason stopped when it was unsafe to go further.Within the porch there are stone and slate benches on either side. Over the door remains the bracket for the figure of the Patron Saint and on the east wall the mutilated holy water stoop can still be seen.

THE SUNDIAL

Our sundial is one of the finest in the county and yes, it still works!. The hours have a line radiating from the top of the gnomon (the brass bit), and are divided in the border into quarters. Read the dial using the shadow cast by the upper edge of the gnomon, the straight edge, not the one with the curlywigs. The "four" in the Roman numerals is 1111 rather than IV; this feature is common among Cornish dials. The scale begins (top left) at a little after six (VI), and it ends (top right) just after six in the evening.

Unusually, this sundial also gives you a calendar, and a solar azimuth scale. Both of these use a special feature on the upper edge of the gnomon, a small saw-cut. This nodus picks its way over the azimuth scale to show in compass terms how far round the landscape the sun has moved. The scale starts from the noon line (the one down through XII, twelve) which is naturally the line for South, the direction in which the sun stands at local noon. As the sun goes round there are further vertical lines for the shadow of the nodus to land on, one by one. lt is hard to find any use for this scale.

The calendar feature on the dial is more useful. It uses the seasonal changes in the general height of the sun to send the shadow of the nodus up and down. Every day the nodus point will sweep across the dial from left to right along a curvy line, but the line is slightly different each day and it ranges over the whole network in the course of a year. These daily tracks work their way down the face of the dial over a six month period starting about Christmas, retreating back up over the same ground during the second half year.

The lines marked are not for a conventional monthly calendar but for the celestial zodiac which conventionally begins with Aries in March, at the Spring Equinox. The symbol looks like a pair of ram's horns, on the left of the only straight line among the curvy set running across the slate. Below, that are the lines for the start of Taurus, Gemini, etc., down to the bottom, which line shows the sun to be at its highest, making midsummer.
From Cancer the crab on the bottom line, six further jumps take you up on the right, passing the straight line again but this time for the autumn equinox (sign of Libra), up to the top line where the winter solstice (just before Christmas) bears the sign for Capricorn. Lastly, the signs on the left take the year and the sun's declination back down to where we started, ready for the start of a new astrological year.

No other Cornish church dial has the inscription 'Pereunt et Imputantur'. It franslates directly as 'They perish and are recorded', though as well as the cold listing of the naines of the departed there is a sense of reckoning-up and evaluation. It reminds us of the awesome Day of Judgement to come, and presses us to use properly such time as is left.

The craftsman hasn't signed his work on the dial face, which is unfortunately characteristic of most Comish dials. He was a good carver, but possibly not altogether literate, from the mistake in the motto. He evidently mistook the length of the word hnputantur and had to tack on the omitted syllable, which is more likely to happen with those who can't read well and have accordingly to mechanically copy letter by fetter from a pattern.
THE CHURCH PLATE

In 1549 the certificate issued to the Augmentation Office stated; "Ornaments, jewels or plate belonging ta the possession of the parish church of St Beryan : None."

The plate now consists of a silver chalice weighing 15oz, and locally known affectionately as "The Buryan Bucket" the gift of Dr. Nicholas Phillips in 1684. A silver paten weighing 12oz, the gift of Francis Hocken in 1740. Two flagons of pewter were presented by Dr. Phillips at the same time as the chalice.

Two silver chalices, one Victorian 1875, a chased silver ewer (1875) and a silver ciborium are in regular use. Two silver wine and water cruets were given in 1989 in memory of Fr Cecil Vaughn Lawson.

THE CHURCH REGISTERS

There are no very early registers belonging to die church and those in existence are in a poor state, badly written and often carelessly kept. This may well have been because die parish was a Peculiar with no proper diocesan supervision. The earliest registers date from: 1653 for Baptisms, 1654 for Marriages and 1653 for Deaths.

The Churchwardens account books, giving each farm in the parish, with the owner and occupier, and die amount of the church rate to be collected from each, together with their expenditures are complete from 1674 to 1872 when the Churchwardens ceased to be overseers of die poor.These registers and other documents not in actual use are now kept in the Diocesan Record Office, County Hall, Truro TRI 3AY. Tel: 01872 273698 for a viewing appointment.

TOMBSTONES & MEMORIALS

Only one coffm slab of early date remains; it is now mounted, out of place, on the wall inside the north east corner of the church. There is no date on the stone, but the floriated cross and inscription in Norman French are of 13th century style. Hals, in his Parochial History' teils us that in about 1665 the sexton of this parish, while sinking a grave four feet deep in the churchyard, met with this large flat stone which he lifted out of the ground. The inscription reads:

*Clarice Ja femme Cheffrei be l3oileit git id:
Dev be lalme eit merce:
ke pvr pvnt bi lot be parövn avervnb

+Clarice the wife of Geoffrey de Bolleit lies here:
God on her soul have mercy:
who pray for her saul shall have ten days pardon

On the west wall of the church, inside near the font, is a very fine example in slate of 17th century work. lt was erected to the Memory in 1671 of Arthur Levelis who was the last of a long line to hold the estate of Trewoof in this parish. The inscription reads:

This worthy family hath flourished here
Since William's conquest
full six hundred year
And longer such it might,
but that the blest
Must spend their seavenths
in a blessed rest
But yet this gentleman last of his name
Hath by his virtues eternized the same
Much more than children could
or bookes for love
Records it here in hearts, in life above.

In the Churchyard, just to the east of the south gate stands a stone errected in 1867 to the memory of William Simpson Parish with this inscription.

Our life is but a winter's day
Some only breakfast and away.
Others to dinner stay and are full fed,
The oldest only sups and goes to bed,
Large is his debt who lingers out the day
Who goes the soonest
has the least to pay.
Just outside the south porch are some very fine examples of 18th, century writing on slate.

An Emperor is Buried Here!

At the foot of the Tower, just to the west of the entrance to the church porch, is the tomb of Augustus Smith 1804-1872. For thirty five years he was Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly and sometimes known as 'The Emperor'. Augustus was a man of extraordinary energy and abilities and he changed the lives of Scillonians from wretched poverty to widespread prosperity.
From Tresco he loved to view through his telescope St Buryan Tower glinting in the morning sun. His wish was to be buried there, very privately, of six in the morning. It was expected that ahnost no-one would attend the funeral but so greatly was he loved that a huge procession followed his coffin from Penzance to our churchyard.

STONE CROSSES

The church possesses two Celtic
crosses. One stands in the churchyard just outside the south porch and is thought to be 8th century. It does not look as though it ever had a lang shaft.

The steps on which it now stands are 18th century. One side of the cross shows the crucifixion and the reverse five hemispheres, a common symbol for the five wounds of our Lord. It is a very fine example of the Churchyard Cross.
Standing just outside the south gateway is an 1 lth century cross on a solid base of granite given to the church by Robert Edmund Tonkin, Lord of the Manor of St Buryan. A Charter of Edward 1 (1302) "grants to the Dean of the King's Free Chapel of St Berian and his successors a market every Saturday at Iris Manor of St Berian and three days fair on the Vigil, Feast and Morrow of St Berian and another on the Vigil, Feast and Morrow of St Martin in the winter." (Patent Rolls) This cross is the Deanery Market Cross and is still held by the Rector and churchwardens.

Many more crosses will be noticed on the road sides. St Buryan is said to possess more than any other parish in Cornwall, but many are out of place. Several more still stand in the fields and many fields in all parts of the parish still retain the names of Cross Field or Park an Grouse.

St Buryan not only had sanctuary rights, as did most churches, but it also had the privilege and ordinance of Chartered or extended sanctuary. In AD 930 King Athelstan provided that any thief or robber who had fled to any church sanctuary could obtain his freedom by paying a fine or returning the stolen goods. If he had committed a capital crime he could remain in the chartered sanctuary provided he behaved himself and obeyed the church's officers. This chartered sanctuary possibly extended about one to one and a half miles around the church and could account for the unusual number of crosses.

Careful study reveals both an inner and an outer ring. The outer ring would have marked the extent of the Chartered Sanctuary and the inner ring the approach to the precincts itself.

A SHORT PARISH HISTORY

When Athelstan arrived in St Buryan about AD 931 he found a well organised Christian community, served by a body of clergy/canons living an
easy monastic life, "Canonici Sanch Berrione tenent Eglasherrie". According to tradition it was here that he made his communion and vow before sailing to the isles of Scilly.
There are only two copies of King Athelstan's charter left in existence, one made in 1238, at the orders of Bishop Briwire and now in the Exeter Episcopal Registry; the other given by Dean Knollys in his Register of St Buryan College 1473, in a very much shorter form now in Cambridge University Library.
The original charter wasdestroyed in a fire that burnt out the Deanery House in 1287. Doubt has been thrown on die copy of 1238; it is said to be a medieval forgery and that there was no earlier copy. Many difficulties and errors areproduced as evidence offorgery, and these doexist, hat the majority ofthem are mistakes that no forger would make; others could easily be the result of copyists' errors.
The following is the short form of the charter, from Dean Knollys Register:

Ego ethelstanus rex angelorum etc., pro petitione nobilium meorum bebi quonbam porticulam terre ecclesie sancte ßerine ea vibelicet conbicione ut libera sit ab omni censu nisis ab oratione quam clerici mich; promiserunt ib est centum missas etc contum psalteria et quotibionas oraciones.

Ego Athelstanus rex totius Drittannie hoc cirographum cum Cigna sancte crucis corroboravi.

Ego buselmus archiepiscopus consensi et subscripsi. Et ego Cclietset archiepiscipus offirntat,' et subscripsi cum pluribus allis. Et ego Cityeistanus bit; testis. Et ego Elsihe bit; testis cum pluribus aliis.

Translation -

I Athelstan, King of the English etc., have on the petition of my nobles granted a certain parcel of land to the Church of St Buryan, on the condition, be it understood, 'that the aforesaid land be exempt from all secular assessment, except from the Tendering of the Prayers which die clergy have promised se, that is 100 masses, 100 psalters and daily Prayers.
I Athelstan, King of all Britain, have radfied this document with the seal of the holy Cross +.
1 Wulfhelius, archbishop, have affirmed and signed I Ecketset, archbishop have affirmed and signed with many others. Ami I Etheistanus, duke, witness. And I Elsihe, duke, witness with many others.'

The very such longer form in the Exeter Episcopal Registry gives the boundaries of the property given to the church and many of the names can be found today, one of them spelt letter for letter the same - Treverven. There are also the names of one more Bishop, Donanus (probably Conanus) of St Germans, and fourteen court officials as witnesses and of these thirteen names are found as witnesses to documents about AD 932. The longer form is also dated very carefully by the regal year, the year of our Lord, the exact and cyclical year, but it is almost impossible to make them agree.

The words 'exempt from all secular assessment' were the cause of a law suit between the Crown and Bishops of Exeter. This began in 1301 and in 1351 a decision was given in favour of the Crown, quite against all the evidence. The court mied that by these words the parish was a Royal Peculiar, Sinecure and Donative and that the Bishop and Archdeacon had no jurisdiction, with disastrous results for the spiritual welfare of the people.

The Bishops refused to visit the Parish as they had no jurisdiction. Matters went from bad to worse until the Black Prince, patron of the living, wrote to the Bishop and asked him to go to St Buryan to grant holy orders, confirmation for children and Chrism - the holy oil of baptism.

In 1328 trouble broke out between the Dean, John de Maunte, a thoroughly unscrupulous Frenchman, and one of the Prebends, Richard Beaupre. Both the Dean and the Prebend were arrested by the Sheriff as the result of a free fight when the Prebend broke the church door to take away his tithe, which was being withheld by the Dean. On 4th November 1328, Bishop Grandisson excommunicated all who had laid violent hands on Richard Beaupre, and interdicted the church and churchyard polluted by the shedding of blood.

For the next few years the King was issuing writs to the Bishop and the Bishop was replying that he was afraid to meddle with St Buryan Tor no one belonging to him dares to go there for fear of death and mutilation '(Exeter Episcopal Registers.) In 1336 the Bishop, after the death of Beaupre, visited the Parish and received back the rebellious parishioners into the bosorn of the Church. De Maunte did not make his submission until a month later when the Bishop impounded the fruits of his deanery.

This was the Bishop's dying effort; the Crown won its way and the parish suffered until 1850 when an Act of Parliament restored jurisdiction over the Parish to the Bishop of Exeter, the Crown resigning all the peculiar rights. lt abolished the Deanery and set up St Levan and St Sennen as separate parishes in place of the prebends of St Buryan who had once been in charge of them.

THE ABSENT DEANS OF ST BURYAN

The history of the Deans of St Buryan makes sad reading. They were all of them holders of royal office and pluralists. They rarely resided in the parish, thus leaving the daily affairs to prebendaries and minor clerks. When they did reside in the parish the fact is referred to as a matter of surprise. Between the years 1301 and 1850 only two Deans seem to have resided in their eure; they were both French. They lived here for a few months only so that in 1538 Leland could write. 'there belongeth to St Buryan a dean and a few Prebendaries that almost never be there.'

WALTER de GRAY
The earliest appointment to come to light is that of Walter de Gray. According
to the records he was already_the King'sChancellor when he w a s appointedJ Dean by King John in 1212. Howard Jewell says that King John and his Lord Chancellor crossed over from Ireland and landed on Sennen beach. They spent the night at the monastery of St Buryan and King John gave the living to Walter de Gray.Two years later he was also made Bishop of Worcester. He was very prominent in affairs of State and went on to become Archbishop of York.
His tomb, the most beautiful of all in York Minster was opened in 1963. It contained his ring, crook and pateri, and on the back of the wooden lid of the coffin was a full length portrait, in splendid condition, of Walter de Gray. This now hangs in The Treasury in York Minster.

PATRON : THE DUKE OF CORNWALL

In 1252 it appears that the Patron was Richard, King of the Romans, Earl of
Cornwall and the rule set in that the patronage of St Buryan belongs to the Duke of Cornwall.

WILLIAM de HAMELDONE

The Dean who did the most harm to the parish was William de Hameldone, appointed in 1300 by King Edward I. He was an important officer of state, Chancellor and Dean of York, with livings sans noibre. The Bishop, Thomas de Bytton of Exeter (1292), was upset by this and refused to install him. At Hameldone's suggestion the Crown began to claim the Deanery as a Royal Peculiar, Donative and Sinecure, exempt from all episcopal and archidiaconal jurisdiction. The Bishops contested the claim in the Courts, but the case was given in favour of the Crown and the following mandate was issued to the Bishop:

Co thomos, Bishop of Exeter and his official:
Inbibition of his doing anything that may in ony wise prejudice the Ring or his Chapel of St Buryan in Cornwall, as the Church of St Buryan ought to be the Ring's free Chapel ann has been the free chopel of bis ancestors an Progenitors, Rings of England, from old time, and ought to be wholly exempt, with the prebends onnexed to it, from all ordinary jurisdiction and the Chapel has now newly reverted to the Crown as to its founder. The Bishop is Ordered to conduct himself so in die premises that the Ring may not have to apply another remeby.

The claim that die parish was free from episcopal jurisdiction "from old time,' was gurte false, as up to and including Hameldone the Dean had always been appointed by the Earl of Cornwall or the King, instituted by the Bishop of Exeter and inducted by die Archdeacon of Cornwall.

MATTHEW de MEDENTOR

The next two Deans were Frenchmen, ahnost the only ones to have taken up residence. The first, Matthew de Medentor, belonging to the household of Queen Margaret and appointed on the 10th March 1303, refused to allow the Bishop to hold Ins visitation whereupon the assembled clergy of ten neighbouring parishes marched upon St Buryan, broke down the church door and proceeded to hold their own visitation.
Meanwhile, Bi shop Grandi sson was busy fighting in the courts that there was nothing to justify treating St Buryan as a royal peculiar outside of his discipline. In 1310 he imposed an embargo on supplies of Christa, Holy Oil for anointing. He tried to impose two outside clergy but they were ignored so he finally decided to visit in person but he was also ignored. Grandisson managed to get bis 'own man in as one of die three prebends.

JOHN de MAUNTE

In 1318 Queen Isabella, wife of Edward 11 put in a second Frenchman John de Malmte (or de Medinta). He was heavily in debt but claimed the benefit of clergy and quickly spent all his revenues. His first objective was to get rid of the Bishop's man, prebend Richard Beaupre, and there was a fight in the churchyard. Blood was spilt (possibly not seriously) and 43 people, including the Dean, were arrested and the Bishop put the parish under interdict suspending all sacraments and implying the excommunication of any who resisted Beaupre.

But resist they did and in 1328 Cirandisson came as close to St Buryan as he dared and from the top of St Michael's Mount he pronounced the Greater Excommunication against the people of St Buryan. Some of the parishioners offered their submission to obtain absolution„ but de Matmte continued to collect his revenue and refused to hand over anything. In July 1336 the Bishop paid another visitation and found the parishioners ready to submit to his authority so he absolved them from their censures. A General absolution was declared and they sang the hymn 'Come Holy Ghost'. The Bishop preached, the theme of his sermon being 'All ye, as sheep, have gone astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls'. He then requested that the sermon be repeated in the Cornish tongue, the priest from St Just acting as interpreter. By August 1336 Maunte conformed and took an oath of obedience to Bishop Grandisson and his successors in the See of Exeter.

JONATHAN TRELAWNEY

The continuation of absentee Deans went on. In 1663 the Deanery was annexed to the Bishopric of Exeter which had been very badly impoverished by the Civil War, so the Bishops of Exeter became the Deans of St Buryan. Seth Ward (1663), Anthony Sparrow (1667), and Thomas Lamplugh (1676) were followed by one of the more famous of St Buryan's Deans, Sir Jonathan Trelawney from 1685 to 1707. He was one of the seven bishops imprisoned in the Tower of London, and the subject of the Cornish Anthem 'And shall Trelawney die?.
During this Period we have the strange situation of the incumbent of the Parish being unable to minister to his people. As its Ordinary he was forbidden by the Crown to interfere in the King's Free Chapel.
In 1716 the Deanery was separated from the See of Exeter.

FITZ-ROY STAN HOFE

The last Dean and non-resident incumbent appointed was Fitz-roy Stanhope in 1817. He was an army officer who had lost a leg at Waterloo and applied to his Commander-in-Chief The Duke of York, for a pension. His list was full so he passed Stanhope to his brother, The Prince of Wales, who had nothing to offer except the Deanery of Buryan.

Seals ordered to be transfer Bodmin. The three new parisl the Bishop of Exeter and afb distinctive red cassocks, tradit today in the choir.
Between 1966 and 1970 the Benefice with one rector of all Rectors of St Buryan can beNow he had to be ordained. lt was with the greatest difficulty that any bishop could be found who was willing to ordain him so that he could enjoy his pension - the fruits of the Deanery. One day when the Bishop of Cork was on holiday in London Stanhope was sent to see him with a letter which read
'Dear Cork, please ordain Stanhope, yours York'

Some hours later Stanhope returned to his Patron with the following letter.... Dear York, Stanhope is now ordained, yours Cork' This was in 1817 and Stanhope held the deanery for the next 47 years during which he collected some £60,000.

He appeared in the Deanery just once, long enough to read the 39 articles. The further he got into the reading of the Articles the worse his temper got. At times he forgot he was not on the parade ground. Eventually in a flaming bad temper he rushed out of the church, and speaking to no-one climbed on his horse from the mounting block and rode away to London, never to be seen again.

ABOLITION OF DEANERY

St Buryan was by now one of only two Collegiate churches lett in Cornwall ( the other one is St Endellion) to have survived through the 16th and 17th century changes. But finally, at the death of Stanhope in 1864, the Deanery was abolished by an Act of Parliament and its revenues taken to form the three rectories of St Buryan, St Levan and St Sennen.
All Peculiar and Exempt Jurisdiction was taken away and all die Wills and Seals ordered to be transferred to the Registry of the Archdeaconry at Badmin. The three new parishes were of course restored to the oversight of the Bishop of Exeter and after 1877 to the Bishop of Truro. However the distinctive red cassocks, traditionally worn in a Royal Peculiar, are still seen today in the choir.
Between 1966 and 1970 the three Parishes were re-formed as a United Benefice with one rector of all three Parishes. A full list of all the Deans and Rectors of St Buryan can be seen hanging on the wall of the North aisle.

We made our obligatory picnic in the garden of Trelissik and strolled then through the marvellous garden with gigantic hydrangeas.

Trelissick Garden

Trelissick is made by its setting: a sloping, wooded peninsula embraced by Lamouth Creek to the north, the winding estuary of the River Fal to the east, and Channal's Creek and the Carrick Roads to the south. Water is everywhere. As C.S. Gilbert wrote in 1820:

The views from every part of the grounds are beautifully varied, and the eye, whilst it glances over the winding of the soft, transparent, and navigable waters, catches in a variety of directions the fleeting sails of shipping, sometimes open to the view, and at others nearly hidden by protruding points, and masses of lively foliage.

Like many Cornish maritime gardens, Trelissick usually enjoys a mild climate and high rainfall, which enable a wide range of tender plants to be grown in the lime-free soil. But because of its high and exposed position, the garden has suffered from periodic gales (the most recent were in 1990), and also from frost and drought.

The basic framework of the woodland that shelters the garden from the Atlantic winds was planted in the t9th century. However, the special character of Trelissick only emerged in the 1930s, when Mr and Mrs Ronald Copeland began laying out a complex network of open lawns and specimen trees, broad flowerbeds and formalpaths, towering shrubberies and shady dell. The planting emphasises variety of colour and scale — with red rhododendrons and blue 'lace- cap' hydrangeas providing key accents, and delicate candelabra primulas contrasting with the tall specimen conifers. All contribute to making Trelissick a real plantsman's garden.

The Development of Trelissick Garden

The Lawrences (by 1705-1805)
John Lawrence, a captain in the Cornwall Militia, built the first house around 1750, laid out a small park and began planting trees.

The Daniells (1805-44)
In 1805 the estate was sold to Ralph Allen Daniell, whose father, Thomas 'guinea-a-minute' Daniell, had made his fortune out of tin and copper mining in Cornwall and by marrying the heir of Ralph Allen, creator of a famous landscape garden at Prior Park, Bath (now also the property of the National Trust). Ralph immediately set about enlarging the park by planting Carcaddon and Round Wood, and created new pleasure grounds and a kitchen garden beside the house.
His son Thomas succeeded in 1823 and two years later commissioned Peter Robinson, a pupil of the Neo-classical architect Henry Holland, to remodel the house in a severe Greek Revival style, adding a huge Ionic portico based on the Erechtheum in Athens. He also expanded the park to the north and west, and built the water tower, probably in the 1820s. Unfortunately, the cost of the new house and the mining slump of 1832 drove him into bankruptcy. He was forced to sell Trelissick to Lord Falmouth, whose great house at Tregothnan can be seen across the River Fal on the skyline

The Gilberts (1844-99)
After a period of uncertainty, Trelissick was bought in 1844 by John Davies Gilbert. His son Carew, who inherited in 1854, was a constant traveller, bringing back exotic trees and shrubs from North and South America, Japan and southern Europe. He planted the large Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) on the main lawn, but also native species like beech, lime, sweet chestnut and elm, and many of the bigger specimen trees such as the maritime pines and the deodar and holm oaks. He built the circular rustic summer-house and created a typical late i9th-century woodland garden over zo acres, with underplanted shrubberies of Rhododendron ponticum.

The Cookson and Cunliffe Era (1899-1937)
In 1899 Trelissick was let to George Cookson, who laid out a good deal of the garden, including a croquet lawn, which later became the tennis court. When he died in 1913, the estate was re-let and then sold, in 1920, to Leonard Cunliffe.

The Copelands (1937-55)
Cunliffe's step-daughter Ida Copeland inherited Trelissick in 1937. With her husband Ronald, she transformed the garden over the next zo years. They introduced more hybrid rhododendrons from Lord Aberconway's famous garden at Bodnant, being particularly fond of such red-flowering varieties as `Gwilt King' and 'Earl of Athlone', and the Rh. griersonianum hybrids 'Fusilier', 'Tally Ho' and 'May Day'. Many appear on the Spode china produced by W.T. Copeland & Sons Ltd, of which Ronald Copeland was managing director. The Copelands also planted many camellias and white -flowering Japanese cherries, which had become popular in the 1940s.
In 1955 Mrs Copeland generously gave 376 acres of garden, park and woodland to the National Trust. The mansion remains the family home, where a collection of Copeland and Spode china is shown to visitors by prior appointment twice a year. The family name is perpetuated in the garden through the daffodils 'Irene Copeland' and 'Mary Copeland', which can be seen in the Dell each spring.

The National Trust (1955—)
The National Trust has now looked after Trelissick for over 40 years. Gardens never stand still, and because of the recent storm damage, substantial new planting has been essential. The Trust has thickened the protective shelter belt of woodland, and introduced more rhododendrons, hydrangeas and maples, replacing frost-damaged tender evergreens. The Hydrangea Walk, Fern Garden and Parsley Garden have been developed with plants chosen that will extend the flowering season beyond the traditional spring flourish.
In 1937 Ronald Copeland developed the western half of Carcaddon, the area to the north of the road to King Harry Ferry, by planting numerous rhododendrons, camellias and cherries. The eastern half was originally an orchard, which became overgrown during the Second World War. In the 196os the then head gardener, Jack Lilly, with the help of the Trust's Gardens Adviser, Graham Stuart Thomas, redesigned Carcaddon as an informal garden of
exotic trees and flowering shrubs, divided by lawns and covered with carpets of bulbs in spring. In 1995 the Trust re-established two acres of orchard with old Cornish varieties of apple.

The Water Tower (2)
The conical twin roofs of the water tower have become the emblem of Trelissick. The building was put up, probably in the i82os, by Thomas Daniell, in order to provide water pressure for the house and garden in their elevated position. Carew Gilbert added the squirrel weathervane from his family coat of arms in the late i9th century. The tower is now rented out as a holiday cottage.

The Stables (8)
These were built in the early 19th century, when the parkland rides were being developed. The Copeland horse appears on the weathervane. The harness and tack rooms contain a magnificent collection of carriage and heavy horse harness and other equipment. There is also a small exhibition devoted to the history of the estate in the Ladder Walk. (The stable yard is not open.)

The Fig Garden (9)
This triangular bed, to the right of the entrance path, was filled with Brown Turkey figs until they were destroyed by frosts of —15°c in 1979. Eleven different cultivars have been replanted, and the shady, north-facing wall behind is covered with ivies.

The Parsley Garden (1o)
The warmer bed on the left was originally used for growing early vegetables, flowers and herbs for the house. Parsley is still grown here, together with unusual climbers, shrubs and flowering plants, many of them fragrant.

The Entrance Walk (12)
This border is backed by the south-facing wall of the old kitchen garden. In spring it features old Chinese and Japanese wisterias, arabis and Copeland tulips, and Viburnum x juddii, with its distinctive scent of cloves. They are followed in summer by warm- coloured Canna iridiflora, dahlias, old fragrant varieties of heliotrope (a special favourite of Ida Copeland), the scented Trachelospermum jasminoides and the large, late-flowering Clematis flammula. Opposite is a small fern garden, which features a statue of a Piping Boy, given by Mr and Mrs Spencer Copeland to commemorate the centenary of the National Trust in 1995.

The Main Lawn (13)
A big clump of Rhododendron 'Cornish Red' stands on one side of the entrance to this area. Sloping away from you is the broad lawn — an unusual feature for a Cornish garden — and the eye is carried to the trees and shrubs on the far slope known as Carcaddon (22). The lawn is dominated by the spreading branches of the Cryptomeria japonica planted by Carew Gilbert in 1898. The deep mixed borders which surround the lawn contain a wide range of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, designed to create interest throughout the year. The border, backed by the high wall of the kitchen garden, is mainly confined to soft colours, while that near the sunken road, facing south, contains bolder shades.

The Shaded Walk (14)
The paths to the right of the lawn lead into the old part of the garden east of the house. At the first crossroads summer-flowering shrubs dominate: groups of hydrangeas, hebes, cistus, hypericum and the autumn-flowering eupatorium. Here is the first view of the mansion with a granite memorial stone dedicated to Ronald and Ida Copeland. The bottle oven symbol recalls the Copeland china factory, the Scout fleur-de-lis Mr Copeland's involvement in the movement. Mrs Copeland was an MP and District Commissioner for Guides: hence the Houses of Parliament and the Guide trefoil.
The Shaded Walk is at its best in early spring with daffodils, crocuses and hellebores mingling with wild flowers. Camellias, rhododendrons and mahonias provide colour under the trees.

The Summer-house (15)
The rustic Victorian summer-house overlooks a former tennis court which commands magnificent views of the Carrick Roads, stretching out towards Falmouth. The view was enhanced when the Trust removed a park fence and constructed a ha-ha. The shrubs which surround the tennis court are selected for their tolerance of salt winds: escallonias, olearias, Rhododendron ponticum, Bupleurum fruticosum, phormiums and kniphofias. Another summer-house was built nearby in 1996 in memory of Jack Lilly.

The Celtic Cross (16)
Legend has it that from here the local priest preached to the fishermen in their boats below, the acoustics being especially good.

The Tregothnan View (17)
The curved seat commands a view of Tregothnan, the home of Viscount Falmouth, which can be seen on the skyline. This part of the garden faces north, and so suffers less from early morning sun damaging frosted blooms of the camellias and rhododendrons for which the garden is renowned. Look out here for white hydrangeas, eucryphias and orange kniphofias.

The Woodland Paths (18)
The visitor often overlooks these paths, which lead to some unusual rhododendrons and camellias, with underplantings of cyclamen, erythronium, anemone, maianthemum, primroses and foxgloves, mingling with native wild flowers.

The Hydrangea Walk (19)
The theme of hydrangeas overhung with flowering cherries created by the Copelands has been retained, complemented by evergreen spindles and a fine Halesia carolina (Snowdrop tree). In spring the grassy banks are covered with narcissi, Pseudo-narcissus 'Princeps' and the old `Barrii' varieties, and several rhododendrons give added interest at this season. Glimpses of the River Fal and the King Harry Ferry can be enjoyed from here.

The Dell (20)
This area is at its most beautiful in late spring and summer. The large-leaved rhododendrons such as the white johnstoneanum and brilliant yellow 'Mary Swaythling' are underplanted with astilbes, filipendulas, rodgersias, ferns and candelabra primulas. The higher banks are left to wild flowers and daffodils, while the lower, bog garden is dominated by Gunnera maincata and Himalayan bamboo, with hostas, skunk lily and Himalayan cowslip. The daffodils 'Irene Copeland' and 'Mary Copeland' were propagated by Ronald Copeland's brother William and are named after his daughters. The Australian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) give a tropical flavour to this part of the garden.

The Bridge (21)
The rustic bridge, which connects the two parts of the garden,
crosses the road to King Harry Ferry (26). The road itself is seen only from the bridge and from most parts of the garden is hidden from view. The bridge is a recent replacement in wood of a brick and concrete structure, its rustic design reflecting the thatched summer- house in Carcaddon.

Carcaddon (22)
The Cornish prefix 'Car' or `Caer' denotes a fortified place. The eastern end of Carcaddon was brought into the garden proper in the early 1960s, having previously been an old orchard and nursery. It is now beginning to establish itself and contains mass plantings of daffodils followed by camellias, magnolias (including M.`Trelissick'), rhododendrons, viburnum and many other shrubs. Deutzia gives an early summer show, and 'lace-cap' hydrangeas offer colour well into the autumn. The latter are a particular feature of Trelissick, with more than 150 kinds being grown. Hydrangeas and hybrid rhododendrons were extensively planted by Ronald Copeland before the Second World War, and the range has been extended by the National Trust. Beyond is the recently planted wild flower meadow, which is interspersed with Cornish daffodils and apple trees.

The Park (24)
The parkland forms an integral part of the estate and is a perfect foreground to the views of the Carrick Roads. Separated from the garden by a ha-ha, it is a fine example of the English landscape style. A booklet describes riverside walks through the woodland to Lamouth Creek and Roundwood Quay.

Temperature: ca. 20°C - marvellous weather

Driven miles: 90 = 145 km