Forrabury and Minster is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

on the north coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, England, United Kingdom. The parish was originally divided between the coastal parish of Forrabury and inland parish of Minster until they were united on the 1st of April 1919. The parish was in the Registration District of Camelford. It is bounded to the north by the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

; to the east by the parishes of

St Juliot St Juliot is a civil parish in north-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is entirely rural and the settlements within it are the hamlets of Beeny and Tresparrett. - plus a part of the adjacent village of Marshgate. The parish popu ...

, Lesnewth and Davidstow; to the south by

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by ...

parish (ecclesiastical parish of Lanteglos by Camelford); and to the west by Trevalga parish. The population of Forrabury and Minster parish in the 2001 census was 888, which decreased slightly to 838 at the 2011 census. Forrabury church Boscastle 7

Settlements and churches

Boscastle Boscastle ( kw, Kastel Boterel) is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Forrabury and Minster (where the 2011 Census population was included) . It is south of Bude and northeast of Tint ...

is the principal settlement in the parish of Forrabury and Minster. It is 14 miles (23 kilometres) south of

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Corni ...

and 5 miles (8 kilometres) north-east of

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena ( kw, Tre war Venydh, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surroundi ...

. Forrabury parish church, dedicated to St Symphorian, is in Boscastle at . However, the mother church of Boscastle is dedicated to St Materiana and nestles among the trees of Minster Wood in the valley of the

River Valency The River Valency ( kw, Dowr an Velinji) is a short river in north Cornwall, England, UK, with many small tributaries. After running past Lesnewth it cuts a valley before entering the sea at the harbour of the village of Boscastle. One of its ...

half-a-mile east of Boscastle at . The original Forrabury / Minster boundary crossed the river so the harbour end of the village was in Forrabury and the upriver area in Minster. The churches were established some time earlier than the settlement at Boscastle (in Norman times when a castle was built there). The Celtic name of Minster was Talkarn but it was renamed Minster in Anglo-Saxon times because of a monastery on the site. Until the Reformation St Materiana's tomb was preserved in the church. (Another spelling of her name sometimes used is 'Mertheriana' but the usual Latin form is Materiana.) In 1187 the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of Forrabury Church was granted to the newly founded

Hartland Abbey Hartland Abbey is a former abbey and current family home to the Stucley family. It is located in Hartland, Devon. The current owner is Sir Hugh George Copplestone Bampfylde Stucley, 6th Baronet. History Hartland Abbey was built in 1157 and co ...

by William de Botreaux of

, who also gave the Abbey the advowsons of other of his manors in Devon. For many years the Anglican parishes of Forrabury and Minster have been in the charge of a Rector who is responsible for a group of adjoining parishes as well as these. Minster Church was damaged by the flood of August 2004 and in the following year archaeological work was done at the church to obtain a clearer idea of the history of the building.

Notable buildings and antiquities

Minster church was built in Norman times (some late medieval additions and

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

work carried out in the 19th century): it is listed Grade I. Forrabury church also has some Norman work but the tower was added in 1750. The Rev

R. S. Hawker Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875) was a British Anglican priest, poet, antiquarian and reputed eccentric, known to his parishioners as Parson Hawker. He is best known as the writer of "The Song of the Western Men" with its chorus line of "An ...

wrote a poem on "The Bells of Forrabury": it was based on a local legend arising from the absence of a peal of bells in the tower. At Welltown in Forrabury parish is a manor house dating from about 1640 and at Worthyvale and Redevallen in Minster parish are two manor houses also of the 17th century. Not far from Worthyvale is an inscribed stone (Latini c iacit filius Macari = Latin son of Macarus lies here). This stone is popularly known as King Arthur's Grave due to the erroneous identification of Slaughter Bridge with the site of Camlann. At Waterpit Down (on the road towards Launceston in Minster parish) are the remains of a cross probably from the 10th century. Camelford railway station (now occupied by the British Cycling Museum) was built in 1893 and was closed in 1966. (Though named after nearby

it was in Minster parish.)

Views in Forrabury and Minster

File:Forrabury and Minster - old lime kiln, Boscastle - geograph.org.uk - 842707.jpg, Forrabury and Minster: old lime kiln, Boscastle File:Forrabury and Minster - Coastwatch station, Willapark - geograph.org.uk - 842689.jpg, Forrabury and Minster: Coastwatch station, Willapark File:Forrabury and Minster - Boscastle pier - geograph.org.uk - 93967.jpg, Forrabury and Minster: Boscastle pier File:Forrabury and Minster - Boscastle Old Mill or Bridge Mill - geograph.org.uk - 45664.jpg, Forrabury and Minster: Boscastle Old Mill or Bridge Mill

Bibliography

* Maclean, Sir John, ''The Parochial and Family History of the Parishes of Forrabury and Minster in the County of Cornwall'', 1873 (part of MacLean's ''Parochial and Family History of ... Trigg Minor'') *Armstrong, W. J. C., ''A Rambler's Guide to Boscastle; Together with St Juliot, Lesnewth ndTrevalga''; 2nd ed., 1931, privately printed at Boscastle

References

External links

Parish council websiteInformation about an archeological project on the area
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrabury And Minster Civil parishes in Cornwall Boscastle