Chacewater () 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 ...
in
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, UK. It is situated approximately east of
Redruth
Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...
. The hamlets of
Carnhot,
Cox Hill,
Creegbrawse,
Hale Mills,
Jolly's Bottom,
Salem,
Saveock,
Scorrier,
Todpool,
Twelveheads and
Wheal Busy are in the parish. At the 2011 census a population of 3,870 was quoted.
Village
Chacewater sits in a valley between hills separating it from the villages of
Threemilestone,
Scorrier and
St Day. Nearby is
Wheal Busy, the
Poldice Valley and the Coast to Coast cycle route. The village has a pub and a club, the Chacewater Literary Institute. There are also a health centre, primary school, village hall and small selection of shops.
A free monthly magazine ''What's on in Chacewater'' reached its 200th issue in July 2007. It lists events and activities, such as the Football Club, a Cricket Club, a Bowling Club, the Chacewater Old Cornwall Society, the Chacewater Players, the Carnival (held in August), the Blind Club and a Women's Institute. The Kernow Microscopical Society meets in Chacewater.
Churches
The Anglican church is dedicated to St Paul; it was built in 1828 and rebuilt (apart from the tower) in 1892 by
Edmund H. Sedding. The stonework is partly of granite and partly of
Polyphant stone: the interior is lofty and the walls unplastered.
On 29 April 1880 a new organ was installed, for £120, in the Methodist Chapel by Mr Hele of
Hele & Co,
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
.
Economy and transport
Chacewater railway station was opened by the
West Cornwall Railway on 25 August 1852 but long since closed. The station closed to passengers on 5 October 1964 but continued to be served by goods traffic for many years, latterly for Blue Circle Cement. The
Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
bound platforms can still be seen, complete with a much altered station building.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
and
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
services run through the station on the
Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in Cornwall and Devon in the United Kingdom. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing from Cornwall into Devon over the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash.
It directly serves Truro, St Austell, Bodmin (by ...
.
Roseland House Nursery, which holds a
National Collection of ''
Clematis viticella
''Clematis viticella'', the Italian leather flower, purple clematis, or virgin's bower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Southern Europe and Western Asia, from the Italic Peninsula to Iran. This dec ...
'' cultivars and of ''
Lapageria rosea'', the Chilean Bellflower, is located in the village.
Cornish wrestling
There were
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 in Chacewater, for prizes, for at least the last couple of centuries.
[West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 19 July 1844.] Tournaments were held in the field adjoining the Crown Inn
[Royal Cornwall Gazette, 16 July 1908.] and the recreation ground.
[West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 18 June 1964.]
Richard Williams(1851-1892) was born in Chacewater and was known throughout the world as 'Schiller Williams' after surviving the wreck of the
Schiller and helping save some of the other few survivors. He was a famous, champion wrestler in Cornwall, the US, England,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
,
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
and Mexico.
[''Death of Schiller Williams'', Cornishman 25 August 1892, p6.] He became lightweight champion of Cornwall in 1887 after beating William Lucking in Wales.
[''Wrestling Match'', The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser, 27 May 1887, p6.] He was Western states champion in the US.
[''Letter from the Transvaal'', Cornishman, 13 May 1948, p4.] He died in Mexico.
[''Death of Richard (Schiller) Williams'', Cornish Post and Mining News, 27 August 1892, p7.]
See also
wrestling in Penstraze.
Notable people
Notable people born in Chacewater include
Jonathan Hornblower the steam pioneer,
Matthew Paul Moyle the meteorologist and geologist, and
Andrew Ketcham Barnett, Mayor of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
and president of the
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall
The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in ...
.
(See also
:People from Chacewater.)
Gallery
File:Entrance and tower of St Paul's church, Chacewater - geograph.org.uk - 919772.jpg, St Paul's Church
Image:DSCN0566ChacewaterMethodist.JPG, Chacewater Methodist Church
Image:Chacewater Literary Institute (DSCN0562).jpg, Chacewater Literary Institute
Image:Chacewater railway station in 2008.jpg, Chacewater railway station on the Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in Cornwall and Devon in the United Kingdom. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing from Cornwall into Devon over the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash.
It directly serves Truro, St Austell, Bodmin (by ...
, not reopened yet.
Image:DSCN0568ChacewaterRoseland.JPG, Roseland Nursery Garden
Image:Roseland House (DSCN0560).jpg, Roseland House
Image:"Rambling Miner" public house in Chacewater (DSCN0563).jpg, "The Rambling Miner"
Image:DSCN0567Chacewater-KingsHead.JPG, "The King's Head"
Image:DSCN0565ChacewaterBritannia.JPG, "The Britannia"
Image:Chacewater Roofscape (DSCN0561).jpg, Chacewater Village from Chacewater Hill
See also
*
Killifreth Mine – a former mine nearby
*
Wheal Busy – a nearby disused metalliferous mine formerly called Chacewater mine
*
Wheal Jane – a nearby disused tin mine
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Villages in Cornwall
Civil parishes in Cornwall