Newsletter #7- September 2013

Welcome to our September update. At the beginning of the month we presented some of our findings at our second evening display at Trythall School. We were pleased to see many new faces, though we now think our timing was possibly a little off as many people were away catching the quiet holiday time or otherwise engaged, so, although there are no promises, there is the possibility that we might re-stage the display sometime after the clocks change. For us it was very much a two way evening as many of the people that did attend were formerly resident at Trevaylor (or ‘Trevayler’ depending on what period we are talking about) during the forties and sixties.

It was great to stand there looking at an aerial photo of the manor and have these people show us all the nooks, crannies and leats and how everything slipped into place. We are certainly hoping to walk the ground with some of these people so that we can put it all together with the understanding we need before we put it into print. We must express our thanks to Andrew and Ann Lawrey and Tony Jones for freely chatting to us and for providing some photos of great interest. We were also able to corner the likes of Michael Christopher, Roy Matthews and John Uren and chat to them about the war and the homeguard. I think it is safe to say that an enjoyable night was had by all, though I do think we are going to have to do something about cups of tea!

For those of you that don’t know, I had an interesting find in the streambed of the Rosemorran stream ...... a 24 pound cannonball. Well actually its weight was 20.96lbs but, I was reliably informed, by Leeds Armoury, that it would have been intended for a 24pound cannon. It seems the weight system of cannonball production wasn’t all that accurate for a time. How it got there we’ll never know for sure...pity.

Some of the group were given a tour of Rosemorran by Mr and Mrs Rodda, and we are very appreciative of their time. There is a story of a fougou close to Rosemorran that has been retold many times but we do now wonder if two stories have become mixed. The reason for the doubt is that the fougou that was investigated by people in the past and is now filled was not of a solid granite construction but was dug into rab, more akin to a tin-pit, and its location was within the boundaries of an old mine...BUT we have extracts from the diaries of George John, a resident at Rosemorran in the late 18th century, that states, over the course of three pages, that “whilst widening the lane in the area of the three stiles...certain discoveries were made...there such urns were found...with human bones covered by fire...”. Could this be how the story of a possible tin-pit got a far deeper history woven within it? It is with thanks to the Cornwall County Records Office that we are finding this information and it is the help of their staff which, at times, makes it all so readable and more than anything...understandable!

We are looking into two possibilities for the area of the three stiles and the site of this half fallen cromlech, as George John describes it. The Rosemorran project is in the early stages but coming together well, we would be really appreciative of anyone that may have old photographs of this area as well as that of Ridgeo, particularly before the modern houses were built, and certainly anyone that can tell us the layout of the leats and ponds between Hellnoweth and Trenow.
Stuart Emmett