Lerryn
Encyclopedia
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is situated on the River Lerryn (a tributary of the River Fowey
River Fowey
The River Fowey is a river in Cornwall, United Kingdom.It rises about north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, passes Lanhydrock House, Restormel Castle and Lostwithiel, then broadens at Milltown before joining the English Channel at Fowey. It is only navigable by larger craft for the last ....
) approximately three miles (5 km) southeast of Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739...
.
Lerryn straddles two parishes: north of the river it is in St Winnow
St Winnow
St Winnow is a civil parish situated in Cornwall, England, UK. Its name may be connected with either that of Saint Winnoc or Saint Winwaloe. It has a population of 304....
parish and south of the river in St Veep
St Veep
St. Veep is a civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom situated above the east bank of the Fowey Estuary about three miles southeast of Lostwithiel....
parish. The river is tidal up to the village and there are stepping-stones across the river which are crossable at low water.
History
The Ethy Hoard consisting of 1,095 base silver radiatesRadiate (coin)
The radiate or Post-reform radiate , was introduced by Diocletian during his reforms. It looked very similar to an Antoninianus even with a radiated crown like Sol Invictus, except it misses the XXI that numismatists believe was to represent 20 parts bronze to 1 part silver...
in a coarseware jar was found near Ethy. It has been dated to the late 3rd century and is held at the Royal Cornwall Museum
Royal Cornwall Museum
The Royal Cornwall Museum is a museum in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the oldest museum in Cornwall and the leading museum of Cornish culture. Its exhibits include minerals, an unwrapped mummy and objects relating to Cornwall’s unique culture...
, Truro.
There has been a bridge over the river at Lerryn for over 700 years and the current arched stone bridge has survived since 1573, Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
ordered the bridge built in order to have silver transported from a smelt on the south bank of the river.
Smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
was a part of village life in Lerryn, indeed one of the village lanes is called 'Brandy Lane' and it is said that a small cave which can still be found by an observant walker in Ethy woods, hides the entrance to a tunnel from the wood to Ethy House cellar; where contraband was hidden from the Excise Men
Excise
Excise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...
. In reality the cave is in fact a charcoal burners' cave and no tunnel has been discovered however, it makes for a romantic smuggling story. An alternative explanation is that it was an exploratory mine adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
. Ethy House is a Georgian house of two storeys and seven bays.
Philip Melvill, an officer of the East India Company retired to live at Ethy in 1857. Paul King
Paul King
Paul King is the name of:*Paul King , British singer and guitarist with pop group Mungo Jerry*Paul King , British rugby league footballer*Paul King , singer and VJ...
from Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry is an English rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most...
, a 1970s pop band, lived in Lerryn.
Literary associations
Kenneth GrahameKenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
may have based the book The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
or Tales of the Riverbank on Lerryn, or at least the Woods around Lerryn Toad Hall could be Ethy Manor on the hillside above the village, and the Wild Woods might be Ethy Woods and The Great Wood now managed by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. The woods do have a magical quality and near a small wooden bridge by Ethy Rock there are some willows by the banks of the river, where Grahame may have sat and penned his story. It is possible that Fowey the large port on the River Fowey of which the River Lerryn is a tributary, could be 'Troy Town'.
The Regatta and Tivoli Park
The Lerryn Regatta was a popular annual event and at one time it was called The Henley of the West. It was mentioned in the Royal Cornwall Gazette of 1870. There was a break for the first World War and the regatta restarted with a Peace Regatta in 1919. There was a second break for the second World War and the regatta restarted in 1953 and ran until 1968 when four thousand peopleattended.
Frank Parkyn, one of the members of the regatta committee and a successful miner, bought some woodland on the south of the river from the Rashleigh Estate in 1911. In about 1920 most of the trees were cut and started construction of a pleasure ground named Tivoli Park after the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
which Parkyn had visited. The park featured fountains, a pond, a cascade, obelisks plunge pool and bandstand. The park played a central role in subsequent regattas housing a fun fair, field sports and a pavilion. The park has now become overgrown but remains of the plunge pool can still be seen.
Geography
The village has a village school of about 30 pupils, a post office shop and a pub, The Ship Inn, which dates from at least 1762. Much of the surrounding countryside is an Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. The village hosts an annual 'Seagull' race, during which competitors can race any type of watercraft as long as it is propelled by a 'Seagull' outboard motor
British Seagull
British Seagull was a British manufacturer of two-stroke outboard engines from the early 1930s until the mid 1990s. The company went out of business due to the motor design not being able to keep up with more modern boat engines and increasingly tight emissions regulations...
. This event attracts competitors from all over the world who are looking for an extraordinary challenge.
A large earthwork known as the Giants Hedge runs from Lerryn to Looe
Looe
Looe is a small coastal town, fishing port and civil parish in the former Caradon district of south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 . Looe is divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe and West Looe being connected by a bridge...
, which is captured in the rhyme One day when the devil had nothing better to do, he built a hedge from Lerryn to Looe. The hedge is believed to be a defensive dyke built during the Dark Ages.
There were four lime kilns in the village which were serviced by large sailing barges that carried their cargo up river from the deep port of Fowey, the river has become silted over the years and unfortunately only small craft can now navigate the shallow waters. The limekilns are still visible, even though one has been converted into a dwelling.
The village hall was built in 1926 as a village institute and extended in the 1950s. It receive a major rebuild at the turn of the millennium and was reopened in June 2000 by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. It is dedicated to those who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars and is called the Memorial Hall.