Chacewater

Chacewater () is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately east of Redruth. 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.

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 bound platforms can still be seen, complete with a much altered station building. Great Western Railway and CrossCountry services run through the station on the Cornish Main Line.

Roseland House Nursery, which holds a National Collection of ''Clematis viticella'' cultivars and of '' Lapageria rosea'', the Chilean Bellflower, is located in the village.

Cornish wrestling

There were Cornish wrestling 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 InnRoyal 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, Bolivia 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 and president of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.
(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, 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

*

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Villages in Cornwall
Civil parishes in Cornwall