St Mawgan or St Mawgan in Pydar () 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 population of this parish at the 2011 census was 1,307. The village is situated four miles northeast of

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

, and the parish also includes the hamlet of Mawgan Porth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The surviving

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

known as Lanherne House is an early 16th-century

grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building. The nearby Royal Air Force station, RAF St Mawgan, takes its name from the village and is next to Newquay Cornwall Airport. The River Menalhyl runs through St Mawgan village and the valley is known as ''The Vale of Lanherne''. It was the subject of a poem by poet

Henry Sewell Stokes Henry Sewell Stokes (1808–1895) was a Cornish poet. The Cornish poet was a schoolfellow of Charles Dickens; later literary friends included Tennyson and Robert Stephen Hawker. His great nephew, Sewell Stokes, was a novelist, biographer and p ...

History

There is evidence of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlements, though the village history proper is considered to start from the arrival of the Welsh missionary

St Mawgan St Mawgan or St Mawgan in Pydar () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of this parish at the 2011 census was 1,307. The village is situated four miles northeast of New ...

(or Meugan) and his followers in the

6th century The 6th century is the period from 501 through 600 in line with the Julian calendar. In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the prev ...

when they set up a monastery and the first church. The church was replaced by a Saxon church in the 11th century, which was in its turn replaced in the 11 and 12th centuries by the current parish church. The

Arundell family The Arundell family of Cornwall are a Cornish family of Normans, Norman origin. Lanherne The Arundells of Lanherne — "the Great Arundells" as they were styled — appear to have settled in Cornwall, about the middle of the thirteenth century, ...

"of Lanherne" have been the chief landowners in St Mawgan since the 13th century. It was a branch of the prominent and widespread Arundell family also seated at

Trerice Trerice (pronounced ''Tre-rice'') is an historic Manorialism, manor in the parish of Newlyn East (Newlyn in Pydar), near Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The surviving Tudor manor house known as Trerice House is located at Kestle Mill, three ...

, Tolverne, Menadarva in Cornwall and at

Wardour Castle Wardour Castle or Old Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in t ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. In 1794 Lanherne House, mainly built in the 16th and 17th centuries, became a convent for émigré nuns from Belgium. Many memorials of the Arundells survive in the parish churches of St Mawgan, dedicated to ''St Mauganus and St Nicholas'', including

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...

es to George Arundell (1573), Mary Arundell (1578), Cyssel and Jane Arundell (ca. 1580), Edward Arundell (c.1586). Further memorials of the Arundells survive in the nearby St Columba's Church, St Columb Major.

Parish church

St Mawgan has a 13th-century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, dedicated to St Mauganus and St Nicholas. The church was originally a cruciform building of the 13th century but was enlarged by a south aisle and the upper part of the tower in the 15th. The unusual rood screen and bench ends are noteworthy and there are many monumental brasses to members of the Arundell family; these include George Arundell, 1573, Mary Arundell, 1578, Cyssel and Jane Arundell, c. 1580, Edward Arundell (?), 1586, The Arundell brasses are mostly in a fragmentary state; parts of some of those originally in the church have been removed to

. (St Mauganus was a Welshman and is also honoured at

Mawgan-in-Meneage Mawgan-in-Meneage is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Meneage district of The Lizard, The Lizard peninsula south of Helston in the former administrative district of Kerrier. ...

, and in Wales and Brittany.)

Historic estates

Lanherne

Lanherne House was the manor house for the Arundell family "of Lanherne",

lords of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of St Mawgan, chief landowners in the parish since the 13th century, many of whose monuments survive in the parish church. They were a branch of the prominent and widespread Arundell family also seated at

, Tolverne, Menadarva in Cornwall and at

. Lanherne House has been the Lanherne Convent since 1794.

Nanskeval

Nanskeval House was on the parish boundaries of St Mawgan in Pydar (it was demolished in the mid-1970s) and

St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landran ...

: in 1277 it was spelt Nanscuvel. Nanskeval House was once the home of Liberal MP

Edward Brydges Willyams Edward William Brydges Willyams (5 November 1834 – 10 October 1916) was a Liberal MP, successively for three Cornish constituencies.Obituary in ''The Times'', Thursday, 12 October 1916 In 1892, he was appointed High Sheriff of Cornwall. Lif ...

and is still part of the Carnanton estate which is still owned by descendants of the same family. ''Nans'' means 'valley' in Old Cornish, and ''Kivell'' was thought to derive from the Cornish equivalent of the Welsh word ''ceffyl'', meaning a horse. but as the Cornish for horse is Margh this is an erroneous interpretation. Much more likely is "The valley of the Woodcock" as the Cornish for woodcock is 'Kevelek'. The surname Nankivell and its variants are thought to derive from this place.

Amenities

The village has one pub, The Falcon Inn. Also at St Mawgan is a

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

tree nursery and a Japanese Garden attraction, plus a small craft shop. There are two local cricket teams which play Sunday friendlies, the Vale of Lanherne C.C. and St Mawgan C.C.

Antiquities

Arthur Langdon (1896) recorded two Cornish crosses in the parish: one, a small cross, is at Mawgan Cross and the other at Lanherne. The Lanherne cross is a highly ornamented example and stands in the grounds of the nunnery having been brought from Roseworthy in the parish of Gwinear. "It is the most beautiful specimen of an elaborately decorated cross in Cornwall." Andrew Langdon (1994) records four crosses. These are the Lanherne cross, the churchyard cross, Bodrean Cross and Mawgan Cross. The churchyard cross is the best preserved medieval lantern cross in Cornwall. Bodrean Cross (a cross head and small part of the shaft) was found in 1904 at Bodrean Farm in the parish of St Clement. In 1906 the cross head was provided with a new shaft and set up in St Mawgan churchyard.

Gerald the Giraffe

The Village is also host to a Giraffe known locally as Gerald. Initially placed on a temporary basis the Giraffe became a popular addition with the local residents. Stories about Gerald, written by the children from the local primary school, have been featured in the local village magazine.

Climate

Cornish wrestling

St Mawgan has been a major centre for

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: ...

over at least the last few centuries. Matches have always been held on the recreation ground in churchtown.Royal Cornwall Gazette, 23 July 1868.Cornish Guardian, 20 August 1936. The St Mawgan wrestling committee was instrumental in the split of the Cornwall County Wrestling Association, helping form the East Cornwall Wrestling Federation ("ECWF") in 1934.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.''Cornish Wrestling'', Cornishman, 26 July 1934, p10.''Cornish Wrestling Championship'', Cornish Guardian, 19 July 1934, p14.''Formation of East Cornwall Federation'', Cornish Guardian 14 June 1934, p14. St Mawgan has been home to the Cawley family that have been dominant in Cornish wrestling over the last 40 years: * Gerry Cawley: Heavyweight champion 1983,The West Briton, 11 November 2010. 1984,The West Briton, 11 November 2010. 1996,West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 15 August 1996. 2002 and 2007. Light heavyweight champion: 1983, 1989, 1993, 1995 through to 2001 and 2011.The West Briton, 15 September 2011. Middleweight champion 1994,West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 18 August 1994. 1998,West Briton and Cornwall Advertise, 10 September 1998. 2011The West Briton, 8 September 2011. and 2015.The West Briton, 17 September 2015. Interceltic games: under 18s heavyweight champion 1978, under 18s champion 1979 and middleweight champion 1980. * Richard Cawley snr: Interceltic games under 16s lightweight champion 1976 * Mike Cawley: Interceltic games heavyweight champion 1982 and 1985. * Ashley Cawley: Heavyweight champion 2005,The Western Morning News, 11 July 2006. 2006, 2008, 2010,Cornish Guardian, 22 December 2010. 2011,The West Briton, 21 July 2011. 2012,Cornish Guardian, 3 Aug 2012. 2013,The West Briton, 11 July 2013. 2014Cornish Guardian, 3 Dec 2014. and 2016.The West Briton,. 15 September 2016. Light heavyweight champion: 2015.The West Briton, 15 September 2015. Interceltic games: heavyweight champion 2008,The Western Morning News, 29 July 2008. * Richard Cawley: Heavyweight champion 2009,The West Briton, 16 July 2009. 2015,The West Briton, 15 October 2015. 2017 and 2018. Light heavyweight champion: 2016.Cornish Guardian, 24 August 2016. * John Cawley: Light heavyweight champion: 2014.Cornish Guardian, 3 Dec 2014.

Education and recreation

The parish has one small

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

: St Mawgan-in-Pydar Primary School. Secondary education is provided by schools in

Notable residents

Arundells of Lanherne

* Sir John Arundell of Lanherne alias John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel (died 1379), naval commander and Lord Marshal of England * John Arundell (1366 - 1435) * John Arundell (of Lanherne, died 1423), MP for

Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency) Cornwall is a former county constituency covering the county of Cornwall, in the South West of England. It was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 17 ...

,1404,1406,1411,1414,1416,1417,1422 and 1423 *

John Arundell (1474–1545) Sir John Arundell (1474–1545) Knight banneret, Knight Banneret, of Lanherne, St Mawgan-in-Pyder, St. Mawgan-in-Pyder, Cornwall, was Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall. Called "the most important man in the county", Sir John's monumental ...

of Lanherne, Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall * Sir John Arundell (of Lanherne, died 1557), MP for

, 1554 * John Arundell (of Lanherne, died 1590), MP for Helston, Shaftesbury, Preston and Cornwall

Other

* Gerry Cawley,

champion

In Art and Literature

In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835, a poetical illustration is based on an engraving of a painting by

Thomas Allom Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical view, topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He designed many bui ...

References

External links

GENUKI website; Mawgan in Pydar

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Mawgan in Pydar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mawgan Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall *