Gwinear () is a small village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian, in the

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, ...

district, in west

, England, UK. It is about two miles (3 km) east of

Hayle Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...

and overlooks the Angarrack valley. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1234. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished to form "Gwinear Gwithian". Gwinear village sits on a hill with expansive views from the northern end of the village down the Angarrack valley. There is a local pub, the Royal Standard, and a community hall. Gwinear is the church town of Gwinear-Gwithian civil parish.

Church history

Gwinear church is dedicated to St Winierus (in Irish Fingar), according to legend the leader of the Irish missionaries who came to this district in the 6th century. At Roseworthy there was once a holy well and chapel of the saint, which was also the site of the most splendid Celtic cross of Cornwall (now at Lanherne). The advowson of Gwinear belonged to the manor of Drannack and was sold in 1311 by the Bevilles to Sir Richard de Stapeldon in trust for his brother's foundation at Oxford, later Exeter College. The parish church of St Gwinear is of the 13th and 14th centuries (tower mid-15th century, built of granite in three stages). There are three aisles: the south aisle which is shorter than the nave, an inner north aisle, and further north the Arundell Aisle.

Feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is held on the first Sunday after 9 May. In 1880 the living was worth approximately £250 per annum and came with a large modern

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

and a "good glebe". The chapelry at

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

was built in 1828. There are three Cornish crosses in the parish; one on Connor Down and two in the churchyard. One of those in the churchyard was brought there from a road junction about half a mile east of the churchtown. Malachy Hitchins, astronomer, became Vicar of St Hilary in 1775; in 1785 he also became Vicar of Gwinear and retained both these livings till his death, which took place on 28 March 1809 at St Hilary.

Mining

A large tract of land to the south of the church and vicarage, was part of the Herland mine (also known as the Manor Mine) which had rich deposits of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, a little

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored 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, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

, and

silver ore Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. Silver is found in ...

. In 1756 the mine was worked by a 70-inch

atmospheric engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is sometimes referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam being drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating ...

and shafts went down to . A

Boulton and Watt Boulton & Watt was an early British engineering and manufacturing firm in the business of designing and making marine and stationary steam engines. Founded in the English West Midlands around Birmingham in 1775 as a partnership between the Engl ...

engine was installed in 1798 and the shaft was deep. At a rich deposit of silver ore was found and 108 tons extracted. A third engine was installed in 1815; this time designed by

Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He ...

. Described as a ″33-inch high-pressure, pole-puffer″ it was said to do the work of three of Watt's largest engines. In the 1840s Gwinear had a number of mines based on two parallel ridges running through the parish in an east–west direction. At that time Gwinear had four public houses, a thriving weekly market and

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

was a three-day affair with

wrestlers Wrestling is a Martial arts, martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling ...

from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

competing with the local men. In the 1860s the mines were employing hundreds of men, women and children but by the 1880s the mines were closed and the machinery removed. Many families had migrated to other mining districts. The population in 1861 was 2,878, reduced to 2,026 in 1871 and to 1,567 in 1881. (In 1801 the population was 1,650). A communion plate in use in the parish church in the 1880s was a product of the Herland mine.

Notable buildings

Lanyon Farm and Polkinghorne Farm (both less than a mile from Gwinear Road station) are both 17th century. The

grade II 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, H ...

Taskus farmhouse () was part of an freehold estate which, formerly owned by William Pendarves and the Penneck family, was put up for sale on 25 November 1880. The land was described as of excellent quality with arable, meadow, pasture, orchard and other land, and lying within a ring fence. At the time of sale the most recent proprietor was Robert Osborne. A redeemed

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic inefficiency, and helps reduce economic inequali ...

of £5 5s 0d was payable.

Cornish wrestling

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: ...

tournaments, for prizes, have been held in Gwinear in the 1800s.Royal Cornwall Gazette, 22 July 1809. and the 1900s.Cornish Post and Mining News, 14 May 1927. Venues included the Lanyon Arms where Gold laced hats were the main prize.West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 14 June 1861. See also Cornish wrestling at Carnhell Green.

References

External links

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{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Former civil parishes in Cornwall Mining in Cornwall