Mabe (variant: ''La Vabe'', ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated one mile (1.6 km) west of Penryn. The village is known locally as 'Mabe Burnthouse'. Mabe parish is bounded by

Stithians Stithians (), also known as St Stythians, is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies in the middle of the triangle bounded by Redruth, Helston and Falmouth. Its population (2001) is 2,004, increasing to 2,10 ...

and

Ponsanooth Ponsanooth (, meaning "bridge of the goose") is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about four miles southeast of Redruth and two and a half miles northwest of Penryn on the A393 road Redruth to Falmouth road. ...

to the north, Budock to the east,

Mawnan Mawnan (, meaning ''St Maunan'') is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the former administrative district of Kerrier and is bounded to the south by the Helford River, to th ...

and

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

to the south and

Wendron Wendron (; historically St. Wendron) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately to the north of Helston and to the west of Penryn. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,743. The electoral ...

to the west. Mabe parish is twinned with the Breton town of Primelin. Mabe parish population was 2,936 at the 2021 census, whereas the ward population covering a larger area was 5,802 The parish lies at the eastern edge of the

Carnmenellis Carnmenellis Hill (or just Carnmenellis) gives its name to the area of west Cornwall in England, between Redruth, Helston and Penryn. The hill itself is situated approximately three miles (5 km) south of Redruth.Ordnance Survey: Landra ...

Granite intrusion. It is surrounded by several working and closed quarries which date back to the 1800s. The Argal and College reservoirs, managed by th
South West Lakes Trust
lie to the south of the village. The settlement of Mabe Burnthouse is situated on a hill overlooking Penryn and to the southwest is the location of the parish church, the Church of Saint Laud, which is dedicated to Saint Laudus,

Bishop of Coutances The Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)''; French: ''Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Coutanc ...

History

Mabe was located in the Deanery of

Carnmarth Carn Marth () is the name of a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, near Redruth. It is high, and is well known for the granite quarried from it in the past. The name of the hill comes from the Cornish language words ''karn'' (cairn) an ...

and belonged to the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Kerrier Kerrier () was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the most southerly district in the United Kingdom, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council was based in Camborne (). Other towns in the district included ...

. Its population was approximately 512 in 1837. In addition to the chapel, there was an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

. There are granite quarries at Carnsew which belonged to the firm of Freeman & Macleod. As of 1972 the Trolvis quarry was still working. The nearby Tremough university campus - now host to several university facilities as well as spectacular historical gardens - is home t
Tremough House

Culture and Community

A Community Primary School with 176 pupils serves the area. Near the Antron Hill cross-roads, there is a pub, "The New Inn" and a Post Office General Stores. The village also benefits from a children's playground for mixed ages, and two community halls which are used for a range of events and community activities throughout the year. Mabe Ladies Choir was founded in 1931 by Edgar S. Kessell MBE and continues to this day. Other active community groups include
climate-focused action group
and a bio-diversity group
Bloomin' Mabe
The village is located adjacent to the shared campuses of the leading creative arts institutio
Falmouth University
and th
University of Exeter
situated within the parish boundary and opened in 2004.

Parish Church

The 15th-century tower and porch survived a lightning strike. The remainder of the church was re-built from 1866, under the direction of Piers St. Aubyn. Henderson, Charles (1930) ''Mabe Church and Parish''. Long Compton: The King's Stone Press In the churchyard, there is an ancient

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

and a Celtic cross. The latter was found in the vicarage garden and installed near the porch, at some time between 1919 and 1930. There is another cross at Helland, a farm where there was a garden formerly the site of an ancient chapel.Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard; pp. 323-24

Cornish Wrestling

Cornish wrestling Cornish wrestling () is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton people, Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’"Phillipps, K C: ...

tournaments, for prizes, were held in Mabe in the 1900s.West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 10 March 1947.

Notable residents

Sam Toy Sam Toy (21 August 1923 – 24 March 2008) was a British industrialist who was chair of Ford Motor Company UK from 1980 until 1986. He presided over Ford at a time it faced competition from British Leyland, and saw Ford make their last Cortin ...

, former chairman of

Ford of Britain Ford Motor Company Limited,The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are: * Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903 * Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporated 7 December 1928. Current ...

was born here, as was

Roger Hosen Roger Wills Hosen (12 June 1933 – 9 April 2005) was an English rugby union player and cricketer. Early life He was born in Mabe and he first played rugby for Penryn while still at Falmouth Grammar School. He was an all round sportsman, who ...

, the Cornwall and England rugby player. Thomas Tregosse, Puritan minister, sometime Vicar of Mylor and Mabe, was ejected from his benefices for his religious views.

Local Interest

The village enjoys a spectacular elevated position, offering sweeping views across Falmouth Bay, the

Carrick Roads Carrick Roads (, meaning "rock anchorage") is the estuary of the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall in England. It joins the English Channel at its southern end near Falmouth. Geography It is a large flooded valley, or ria, created aft ...

, and the distant

Lizard Peninsula The Lizard () is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Extreme points of the United Kingdom, southernmost point of the Great Britain, British mainland is near Lizard Point, Cornwall, Lizard Point at SW 701115; The ...

. On clear days, the panorama stretches from the rolling fields of west Cornwall to the waters of the south coast, making it a stunning vantage point for residents and visitors alike. Mabe is surrounded by scenic countryside and offers several walking routes that showcase the area's natural beauty and historical sites. The nearby Argal and College Reservoirs provide several trails popular with walkers, birdwatchers, and anglers, with views across the water and surrounding woodlands. The village is also close to the historic granite quarries of Carnsew and Trenoweth, which played a significant role in Cornwall’s mining heritage. Walkers can explore local trails, bridleways and public paths, some of which lead to the adjacent parish of

or the nearby coastal town of Penryn.

Gallery

File:DSCN0723NewInnMabe.JPG, The New Inn at the crossroads, Mabe Burnthouse File:DSCN0727Mabe Church from Treverva.JPG, Mabe Church from Treverva File:DSCN0519View-across-Argal.JPG, View across the Argal Reservoir File:DSCN0521View-of-Lamanva.JPG, View of Lamanva from Mabe churchyard File:Early Morning Mist over Argal Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 1277191.jpg, Misty Argal File:Church Road passes The New Inn - geograph.org.uk - 3215920.jpg, The New Inn, Church Road File:Gateway and track at Higher Spargo - geograph.org.uk - 4705974.jpg, Higher Spargo File:View towards Halvosso from track to Higher Spargo quarry - geograph.org.uk - 811654.jpg, Halvasso to Higher Spargo File:Pasture, Mabe - geograph.org.uk - 7335038.jpg, View over Falmouth Bay from Mabe

External links

Mabe Parish Council Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mabe Burnthouse, Cornwall Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Granite quarries