Ludgvan

Ludgvan (/ˈlʌdʒən/ LUJ-ən; Cornish: Lujuan)[1] is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, UK, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) northeast of Penzance. Ludgvan village is split between Churchtown, on the hill, and Lower Quarter to the east, adjoining Crowlas.[2] For the purposes of local government, Ludgvan elects a parish council every four years; the town elects a member to Cornwall Council under the Ludgvan division.

Ludgvan Parish Church
Vegetable crop south of Ludgvan

History

Like many communities in Cornwall the legendary origins of Ludgvan are attributed to the arrival of its patron saint, in this case Saint Ludowanus. However, the place-name appears to derive from the Cornish for place of ashes or burnt place.[3] Evidence for it being a saint's name includes documents in which it is named St Ludgvan and records of its name as Lewdegran and Ludewon. In recent times Ludgvan feast has celebrated St Lewdegran.[4]

Ludgvan was mentioned in the Domesday Book (under the name "Luduhan")[3] as falling within the manor of Ludgvan Lese, which at the time of record covered more of what is now the Penwith district including some parts of the modern parish of St Ives.[5] The Lords of the manor of Ludgvan Lese kept certain shipping rights within the port of St Ives up to and possibly beyond the 19th century. Ludgvan Lease now exists as a hamlet within the parish. At the time of Domesday Book the manor had 3 hides of land and land for 15 or 30 ploughs. It was held by Richard from Robert, Count of Mortain; there were 12 ploughs, 8 serfs, 14 villeins and 40 smallholders. There were 300 acres of pasture, 27 unbroken mares, 22 cattle, 17 pigs and 140 sheep. The value of the manor was £3 sterling though it had formerly been worth £5.[6]

On 12 January 1319, probate records indicate that the Church of St. Ludevon was in the town of Treguwal.[7] Perhaps Treguwal (etymology: Tre = farm, place; Guwal, gweal = arable land) is either the nearby village of Gulval or a medieval name of Ludgvan's lower quarter.

Parish church

The church is dedicated to Saint Ludowanus and later jointly with Saint Paul the Apostle. It is probable that the original idea of a Saint Ludgvan began in the eleventh century. In 1316 it was referred to in probate records as the Church of St. Ludevon.[8] The church was rededicated in 1336. Early spellings of the place-name vary between forms with and without 'Saint' referencing and differentiating the church and its surrounding churchtown. The building was originally cruciform and Norman but was rebuilt in the 15th century with a tower. In 1840 a south aisle replaced the previous transept and porch. The feast traditionally celebrated in the parish is the Sunday nearest to 22 January, in observation of the Conversion of St Paul.[9][10] The last church services conducted in Cornish were in Ludgvan in the late 17th century (this claim is also made for Towednack).

There are four Cornish crosses in the parish; one is at Crowlas, another at White Cross (this has a cross on one side of the head and a crude crucifixus figure on the other) and two are in the churchyard.[11]

  • The tall Cornish cross in the churchyard
    The tall Cornish cross in the churchyard
  • The short Cornish cross in the churchyard
    The short Cornish cross in the churchyard
  • The cross at Crowlas
    The cross at Crowlas
  • The cross at Whitecross
    The cross at Whitecross

Mining

There was once a number of mines within the parish. Rospeath mine closed (in circa) 1856 and made large returns for the investors. There was no adit and the mine only worked to 4.5 fathoms (8.2 m) depth. The mine was reopened in December 1879 with an adit being cut, machinery erected to pump out the water and to sink a shaft. The width of the lode in the shaft is from 2+1⁄2 feet (0.76 m) to 3 feet (0.91 m). The mine is bounded by Wheal Bolton on the west, Wheal Fortune on the east and to the south Wheal Darlington, Wheal Virgin and others known as the Marazion Mines.[12]

Governance

Ludgvan elects a parish council every four years and the principal local authority is Cornwall Council. The civil parish population at the 2011 census (including Brunnion) was 3,261,[13] whereas the electoral ward population which also covers the above plus the surroundings up to the North Cornish Coast at Zennor was 4,145 at the same census.[14]

Rogers' Tower

To the north west of the parish and erected on the southern rampart of the ancient hill fort of Castle-an-Dinas, circa late 1700s is a gothic style folly called Rogers' Tower. The stone used to build the folly was apparently robbed out of the encampment walls.[15] The tower was used by the admiralty as a navigation mark during the 1800s[16].

Rogers' Tower

Tremenheere
A group of walkers near Lower Tremenheere

At Tremenheere is the Tremenheere Sculpture Garden.[17] The meaning of Tremenheere is "Standing Stone Farm" (Tre = place/farm, Menhir = standing stone) and there is another place of the same name in St Keverne.[18]

Culture and sport
A St Michael's Way waymark on a public footpath within Ludgvan civil parish

The St Michael’s Way pilgrim trail, established in 1994,[19] has more than half of its 12.5 miles (20 km) length on public footpaths and minor roads within Ludgvan civil parish.[20] The trail enters the civil parish from St Ives on a footpath just north of Bowl Rock. The route then splits at Ludgvan parish church. The longer variant heads west out through Tremenheere, leaving the civil parish to Penzance CP on Long Lane near Gulval, then re-enters Ludgvan CP from the west, coinciding with the South West Coast Path until it leaves to Marazion CP at the new bridge over the Red River. The shorter route strikes out to the south-east from Ludgvan church, crossing the A30 south of Ludgvan Leaze and then the A394 near Bog Farm; the trail then crosses the Penzance-to-St Erth railway line at a pedestrian level crossing at Marazion Marsh before leaving the civil parish to Marazion CP at the old bridge over the Red River.

The village pub is The White Hart and is situated below the church. It is Grade II listed. [21]

The village has an Old Cornwall Society.

Ludgvan Football Club currently play in the St Piran Football League West at their home ground of Fairfield.[22] Ludgvan Cricket Club are in County Division 1 of the Cornwall Cricket League and also play at Fairfield. Ludgvan Cycling Club generally meets at the Community Centre on Sunday mornings.

The local community radio station is Coast FM (formerly Penwith Radio), which broadcasts on 96.5 and 97.2 FM.[23]

Cornish wrestling

There have been Cornish wrestling tournaments in Ludgvan over the years including at Ludgvan Lease Farm.[24][24][25]

John Roberts (1820-1892)[26] known as "Johnnah" or "John-a" and born at Newtown, Ludgvan, was a famous champion heavyweight wrestler in the 1840s and 1850s, that more than once beat the famous wrestler, Gundry.[26][27][28] After one such occasion, at the Penzance tournament, he was marched from one end of the town to the other accompanied by the mayor, several dignitaries and a band.[29][30]

William Treglown (1827-1864) from Ludgvan, weighed between 200 lbs and 220 lbs,[29] was about 5 ft 6in high[31] and was the champion of Cornwall in 1853,[32] 1854,[33] 1856,[34] 1858,[35][36] 1861[37] and 1862.[38] He won the London title in 1854[39] and 1859.[40] He won the West of England title in 1853.[41] He was the American champion in 1856.[34] He also wrestled in Europe.[42][43] He died of consumption in St Mewan.[44]

See also Cornish wrestling at Crowlas.

Legends

It has been claimed that Ludgvan was the home of the last native wolf in Great Britain.[45]

Notable residents
  • William Borlase the antiquary and naturalist, was Rector of Ludgvan from 1722 to 1772.
  • Reverend Canon Arthur Boscawen (1862–1939) rector of Ludgvan 1893 to 1939, created an anemone garden and was instrumental in founding the Cornish anemone industry. He also introduced broccoli as a commercial crop from imported German seed.[46]
  • Also within the parish of Ludgvan lies Varfell which was the ancestral home of the Davy family, including Sir Humphry Davy.
  • James Hosking (or Hoskin) was a Ludgvan farmer (of Treassowe) who visited the United States in 1811 and wrote an account of his experiences. He returned to Treassowe where he was a tenant of the Rogers family of Penrose, Sithney. This house, now Grade II listed, still exists.[47][48]
  • Claud Morris, a British newspaper owner who sought to make peace between Arabs and Israelis was born and died at Angwinnick.
  • Dr Oliver (William Oliver), FRS, inventor of the Bath Oliver biscuit, and founder of the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, Bath was born here.[49]
  • Robert Trewhella (1830–1909), railway engineer and contractor, was born here.[50]

See also

References
  1. Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  3. Mills, A. D. (1996). The Popular Dictionary of English Place-Names. Parragon Book Service Ltd and Magpie Books. p. 217. ISBN 0-7525-1851-8.
  4. Ellis, P. B. (1992) The Cornish Saints. Penryn: Tor Mark Press; p. 18
  5. Thorn, C. et al. (eds.) (1979) Cornwall. (Domesday Book; 10) Chichester: Phillimore
  6. Thorn, C. et al. (eds.) (1979) Cornwall. (Domesday Book; 10) Chichester: Phillimore; entry 5,3,27
  7. Great Britain. Public Record Office (1 January 1904). "Calendar of inquisitions post mortem and other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office". London, Printed for H. M. Stationery Off. by Mackie and to be purchased by Eyre and Spottiswoode – via Internet Archive.
  8. "Full text of "Calendar of inquisitions post mortem and other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office"".
  9. Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 10
  10. Ellis (1992), p. 18.--The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle is a feast celebrated during the liturgical year on 25 January.
  11. Langdon, A. G. (1896) Old Cornish Crosses. Truro: Joseph Pollard; pp. 269, 139-41, 114-15 & 207
  12. "Rospeath Mine, Ludgvan". The Cornishman. No. 94. 29 April 1880. p. 5.
  13. "Civil parish population census 2011". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  14. "Ward population at 2011 census". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  15. Abbeys Castles and Ancient Halls of England, John Times, 1870 p.404 accessed 6 July 2021
  16. Sailing Directions, English Channel, John Walker, 1858 p.114 accessed 6 July 2021.
  17. "Tremenheere Sculpture Garden". Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  18. "Tremenheere". Cornwall's archaeological heritage. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  19. "HOME - St.Michael's Way". Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  20. Ordnance Survey (2019). Map of Land’s End - OS Explorer Map 102 (Penzance & St Ives) (Map). 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey (published 17 June 2019). ISBN 9780319263648.
  21. National Heritage List for England, see "The White Hart Public House".
  22. "Hurlers and Saints go safely through". The Cornishman. 29 October 2015. p. 68.
  23. "Volunteer run Penwith Radio to change its name to Coast FM". falmouthpacket.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  24. Western Morning News, 17 August 1920.
  25. Tripp, Michael: PERSISTENCE OF DIFFERENCE: A HISTORY OF CORNISH WRESTLING, University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009, Vol I p2-217.
  26. Death of a Cornish wrestler, Cornishman, 17 March 1892, p4.
  27. A reminiscence of Johnna Roberts and Harry Williams, Cornishman, 31 March 1892, p7.
  28. Wrestlers of the past, Cornishman - Thursday 28 January 1904, p5.
  29. Tom Gundry, Cornishman, 1 November 1888, p3.
  30. Death of a famous Cornish wrestler, Cornish Post and Mining News, 19 March 1892, p6.
  31. Wrestling, Royal Cornwall Gazette, 2 November 1860, p4.
  32. The Cornish Telegraph, 28 September 1853
  33. The Cornish Telegraph, 12 April 1854
  34. The Wrestling, The Cornish Telegraph, 30 July 1856, p3.
  35. Royal Cornwall Gazette, 11 June 1858
  36. Royal Cornwall Gazette, 17 September 1858
  37. Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser, 1 June 1861
  38. Morning Advertiser, 10 June 1862
  39. Royal Cornwall Gazette, 23 June 1854
  40. Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 19 June 1859
  41. Royal Cornwall Gazette, 14 April 1854
  42. Wrestling, The Cornish Telegraph, 22 February 1854, p3.
  43. Barton RM, Life in Cornwall in the mid 19th Century, D Bradford Barton Ltd (Truro) 1971, p233.
  44. Treglown, Royal Cornwall Gazette, 25 March 1864, p8.
  45. Robert Hunt in Popular Romances of the West of England see "Wolves in Great Britain".
  46. Dudgeon, Piers (1991) The English Vicarage Garden
  47. Hosking, James (1970) To America and Back with James Hosking, 1811; ed. James M. Hosking. St Buryan: the editor (The text is reproduced in facsimile from Narrative of a Voyage from England to the United States of North America; with travels through part of eight of the states ... Penzance: pr. f. the author by T. Vigurs, 1813)
  48. Treassowe manor farmhouse and adjoining barn; Historic England
  49. Courtney, W. P. (1894). "Oliver, William (1695–1764), physician and philanthropist, by W. P. Courtney Published 1894". Dictionary of National Biography; Vol. XXXXII. Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  50. Re: Robert Trewhella, b 1836 – Zennor; GenForum
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