The Meneage ( kw, Menaghek or ''Manahek'') is a district in west

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 ...

, United Kingdom. The nearest large towns are Falmouth and Penryn. (''Note: the coordinates above are the approximate centre of the Meneage district.'') The meaning of the name Meneage is "Monkish (land)" and the probability is that in the post-Roman period the land was in the possession of a confederacy of small Celtic monasteries. These may have been founded by missionaries from Brittany. "The north-eastern half of

the Lizard The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

peninsula ... has, for the last 1000 years at least and probably for a considerable time longer, gone by the popular name of Meneage, pronounced Menāgue. This name, like Roseland, has no official significance."— Gilbert H. Doble. The Meneage district is located south of the Helford River and is divided into four parishes and part of a fifth. From west to east these are St Mawgan in Meneage (part),

St Martin in Meneage St Martin-in-Meneage ( kw, Dydemin) is a civil parish and village in the Meneage district of the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is five miles (8 km) south-southeast of Helston. The population at the 2011 ...

Manaccan Manaccan (; kw, Manahan) is a civil parish and village on the Lizard peninsula in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is about five miles (8 km) south-southwest of Falmouth. The origin of the name Manaccan is probably derived ...

, St Anthony in Meneage, and

St Keverne St Keverne ( kw, Pluw Aghevran (parish), Lannaghevran (village)) is a civil parish and village on The Lizard in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. In addition to the parish, an electoral ward exists called ''St Keverne and Meneage''. This stre ...

. *St Mawgan in Meneage. The church is dedicated to St Mauganus; St Martin's is a chapelry belonging to this parish. Part of the parish is not in the Meneage district. *St Martin in Meneage. The church is dedicated to St

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

and is a chapelry of Mawgan in Meneage (right of sepulture was granted in 1385). The ancient estates of Barry Mylor and Mathiana adjoin the church and the two names indicate that in early times there were chapels of two Breton saints here. Of St Melor at Merther Mylor (Barry Mylor) and St Anou at Merther Anou; the modern forms being variously corrupted. *Manaccan. Though St Manacca was recorded as the patron saint in 1308 it is probable that the name has the meaning of Monks' Church. The form of the dedication in use today is to St Manaccus and St Dunstan. *St Anthony-in-Meneage. The village is at . The church is dedicated to St

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...

and is somewhat away from the village near Gillan Harbour. *St Keverne. The monastery here remained in existence after the Norman Conquest but subsequently fell into the hands of a layman. The church is dedicated to St Akeveranus. In the parish is Lesneague which can be derived from Cornish ''lis'' (court) and ''manahec'' (monks' land) which would indicate that it was once the seat of a local chieftain.

Local government

An electoral ward exists titled ''St Keverne and Meneage''. This stretches to the western

Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

coast at

Gunwalloe Gunwalloe ( kw, Pluw Wynnwalow) is a coastal civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Lizard Peninsula south of Helston and partly contains The Loe, the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall. The parish pop ...

. The population of the ward at the 2011 election was 5,220.

Geology

The geology of the district is complex and is now better understood by geologists than it used to be.

John Smith Flett Sir John Smith Flett (26 June 1869 – 26 January 1947) was a Scottish physician and geologist. Early life Born in Kirkwall, Orkney, the son of James Ferguson Flett, a merchant and baillie, and Mary Ann (née Copland). He was educated at Kir ...

described the Lizard boundary zone and Meneage breccia like this in 1933: "A vast mass ... of Lizard schists, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian (and possibly Carboniferous), driven northwards and broken up by the late Carboniferous Hercynian movements."Barton, R. M. (1964) ''An Introduction to the Geology of Cornwall''. Truro: D. Bradford Barton; p. 32 Meneage gives its name to the Meneage Formation, which underlies most of the area. It forms part of the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

Gramscatho Group, the sedimentary sequence that lies structurally beneath the

Lizard complex The Lizard complex, Cornwall is generally accepted to represent a preserved example of an exposed ophiolite complex in the United Kingdom. The rocks found in The Lizard area are analogous to those found in such famous areas as the Troodos Mounta ...

and is exposed along its northern boundary. The Meneage Formation is an

olistostrome An olistostrome is a sedimentary deposit composed of a chaotic mass of heterogeneous material, such as blocks and mud, known as olistoliths, that accumulates as a semifluid body by submarine gravity sliding or slumping of the unconsolidated sedi ...

, of

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

containing clasts of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks, which reaches up to in thickness. The sedimentary clasts include blocks of

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

that reach up to in length. In the upper part, some of the volcanic rocks appear to be in place (not as clasts) and are dated as Upper Devonian from

conodont Conodonts (Greek ''kōnos'', "cone", + ''odont'', "tooth") are an extinct group of agnathan (jawless) vertebrates resembling eels, classified in the class Conodonta. For many years, they were known only from their tooth-like oral elements, which ...

s in interbedded

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s. The sequence has been affected by very low grade

metamorphism Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of chem ...

in the

pumpellyite Pumpellyite is a group of closely related sorosilicate minerals: *pumpellyite-(Mg): *pumpellyite-(Fe2+): *pumpellyite-(Fe3+): *pumpellyite-(Mn2+): *pumpellyite-(Al): Pumpellyite crystallizes in the monoclinic-prismatic crystal system. It ty ...

–

actinolite Actinolite is an amphibole silicate mineral with the chemical formula . Etymology The name ''actinolite'' is derived from the Greek word ''aktis'' (), meaning "beam" or "ray", because of the mineral's fibrous nature. Mineralogy Actinolite is ...

facies, with the development of the assemblage pumpellyite + actinolite +

chlorite The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous ac ...

sericite Sericite is the name given to very fine, ragged grains and aggregates of white (colourless) micas, typically made of muscovite, illite, or paragonite. Sericite is produced by the alteration of orthoclase or plagioclase feldspars in areas that hav ...

albite Albite is a plagioclase feldspar mineral. It is the sodium endmember of the plagioclase solid solution series. It represents a plagioclase with less than 10% anorthite content. The pure albite endmember has the formula . It is a tectosilicate. I ...

+ carbonate ±

clinozoisite Clinozoisite is a complex calcium aluminium sorosilicate mineral with formula: Ca2Al3(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH). It forms a continuous solid solution series with epidote by substitution of iron(III) in the aluminium (m3 site) and is also called ''alumi ...

prehnite Prehnite is an Silicate minerals, inosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2. Limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most often forms a ...

in the basic volcanics. The alteration of the

plagioclase feldspar Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more prope ...

s to albite in these rocks has previously been explained as a result of

metasomatism Metasomatism (from the Greek μετά ''metá'' "change" and σῶμα ''sôma'' "body") is the chemical alteration of a rock by hydrothermal and other fluids. It is the replacement of one rock by another of different mineralogical and chemical com ...

at the time of formation, and the rocks have been referred to as

spilite Spilite (from el, σπιλάς) is a fine-grained igneous rock, resulting particularly from alteration of oceanic basalt. The term was introduced into the geological literature by Alexandre Brongniart in 1827.Manfred Schidlowski: ''Spilite and ...

s. Such early alteration is possible but most of the effects are now interpreted to be a result of regional metamorphism.

References

*Henderson, Charles (1925) "Parochial history of Cornwall", in: ''Cornish Church Guide''. Truro: Blackford **St Anthony in Meneage; p. 55 **St Keverne; pp. 117–18 **Manaccan; pp. 152–53 **St Martin in Meneage; p. 155 **St Mawgan in Meneage; p. 155

Local government

Geology

See also

References

Further reading