Bowithick is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

on the northern edge of Bodmin Moor in

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 Atlantic ...

, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' Bowithick is situated near the disused Davidstow Moor airfield. The nearest villages are St Clether and

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...

(where the 2011 Census population is included). There is a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and two

clapper bridges A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country ( Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, L ...

on the Penpont Water and the 346 m (1137 ft) high hill Bray Down nearby with Buttern Hill (1135 ft) immediately to the west of it. The manor of Bowithick was recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) when it was held by Osferth from Robert, Count of Mortain. He had also held it before 1066 and paid tax for one furlong. There was land for 2 ploughs. There were one villein and 2 smallholders. The value of the manor was 2 shillings though it had formerly been worth 5 shillings.Thorn, C. et al., ed. (1979) ''Cornwall''. Chichester: Phillimore; entry 5,13,6 The area around Bowithick was busier during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

than it is today due to the presence of a

Prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

, the German prisoners being used to mine wolfram and

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

at an opencast mine in Buttern Hill immediately to the south west. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Bowithick had a near miss when a 115mm shell fired from a 155 mm M1 Howitzer as part of a shoot from the training range on

Laneast Laneast ( kw, Lanneyst) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies above the River Inny valley, about six miles (11 km) west of Launceston. The population in the 2001 census was 164, increasing to 209 at the ...

downs landed in a nearby field that was being ploughed, the ploughman escaping uninjured as he was having lunch at the farmhouse. In April 2021 two small brown crabs were found in the Ford alongside Bowithick Bridge despite being ten miles from the sea as the crow flies.

References

External links

Jossie Marie's Miscellany

Hamlets in Cornwall Manors in Cornwall {{NorthCornwall-geo-stub