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Roche (, "roach"; , meaning ''homestead of the rock'') is a
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 ...
and village in mid-
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, ...
, England, United Kingdom. The village gets its name from the high Roche Rock, a quartz-schorl outcrop east of the village. Roche is the Norman-French word for Rock. The parish population at the 2011 census including Belowda, Bilberry, Carbis, Coldvreath and Criggan is 3,381, and the ward population at the same census was 3,867. Nearby are the towns of
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
and
St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...
, as well as the
Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...
. The civil servant Charles Knight was born in Roche and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Matthew Taylor retired there.


Roche Rock

Roche Rock () stands out as a rocky outcrop some high on the northern flank of the St Austell granite with an approximate area of x .) The rock is of interest to geologists as it is a fine example of quartz schorl; a fully tourmalinised granite, with black tourmaline crystals. The Rock itself lies approximately north of the northern margin of the St Austell granite, which is the smallest of the five main apophyses of the Hercynian
batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate ...
of Southwest England. The presence of numerous
pegmatites A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic com ...
occurring as sheets and containing abundant miarolitic cavities carrying quartz,
tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...
, zinnwaldite,
topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...
, and a wide range of other phases, is why the present outcrop of the St Austell granite is considered to have been close to the roof of the intrusion. One such pegmatite was formerly exploited for
orthoclase Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar ( endmember formula K Al Si3 O8), is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock. The name is from the Ancient Greek for "straight fracture", because its two cleavage planes are at right angles ...
feldspar at Tresayes Quarry, on the southern edge of the village and now a geological
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
of Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Part of this quarry also exploited quartz-tourmaline rock for aggregate. There is a downloadable geology trail linking Roche Rock to Tresayes Quarry along public rights-of-way. Roche Rock is considered to be of prime importance for future research, and notification by
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
as a geological SSSI occurred in 1991. On top of Roche Rock is a ruined chapel (dedicated to St Michael) which is said to have been the abode of a
leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...
or a monk. An 1881 description of the chapel, still had a considerable portion of the masonry standing and one or two windows were fairly perfect, although the steps up to the chapel are roughly cut. Roche Rock has many folk-lore tales associated with it, the two most famous being the legend of Jan Tregeagle, a 17th-century magistrate, who after death found refuge in the chapel and the other being part of the
Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...
tale. Roche Rock was used as a location in the film Omen III.


Parish church

The church is dedicated to St Gomondas / Gonandus (Gonand or Goenandus): the tower is medieval but the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1822. There is a fine Norman font and a good churchyard cross. Gonandus may perhaps be identified with the
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
saint Conan, connected to three places in the diocese of Vannes. There are two Cornish crosses in the parish: one in a meadow near the rectory garden is thought to be in situ; the other in the churchyard has ornament on the four sides of the shaft. The churchyard cross is made of a massive piece of moorland granite; it has similarities to the cross in the graveyard at Merther Uny. Glebe Cross has crosses in relief on either face of the cross head.Langdon, A. G. (2002) ''Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall''; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; pp. 63–64


Railway

Roche railway station is located approximately 1 mile north of Roche, at Victoria on the Atlantic Coast Line. Trains are operated by
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
. The station has a single track, with a marker board showing direction of travel either to
Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...
or Par.


Business

The Victoria Business Park on the outskirts of Roche is an attractively landscaped estate consisting of 28 modern units. The units are designed for light industrial, warehouse and trade uses. Most of the units have a secure gated yard.


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 were held in Roche in the 1800sWest Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 23 July 1858. and 1900sCromwell Argus, 12 April 1909. in following places: * Roche church - traditionally, in the meadow behind Roche parish church, Cornish wrestling tournaments were held. In the late 1920s this was changed to the Rectory field.Cornish Guardian, 21 June 1928. * In a field near Roche Rock.Cornish Guardian, 14 June 1907. Some famous Cornish wrestlers came from Roche. This includes: * John Truscott (1766–1848) who was a champion Cornish wrestler, competing with an 'East Cornwall' style. He won a famous match with the Giant Jordan in 1813. His grave is immediately to the left of the porch of Roche church.''Cornish Wrestlers'', Western Morning News, 22 August 1944, p6. * Harry Gregory was middleweight champion in 1928,The Times, 27 August 1928. 1929,The Times, 19 August 1929. 1930,Cornishman, 4 September 1930. 1934,Cornish Guardian, 23 August 1934. 1935Cornish Post and Mining News, 15 June 1935. and 1936.Cornish Guardian, 23 January 1936. * Francis Gregory (1904-?) was a champion Cornish wrestler in the 1920s and 1930s who won the heavyweight title 9 times in a row from 1928 and the interceltic title 7 times in a row. He was champion of Britain in 1934.''Cornish wrestling in Lady of Pendower'', Kinematograph Weekly, 28 June 1934, p37-38. He was a famous sportsman, being a professional wrestler and boxer, who played league and union rugby (including for England).Tripp, Michael: ''PERSISTENCE OF DIFFERENCE: A HISTORY OF CORNISH WRESTLING'', University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009, p127-175. He participated in the first televised wrestling match and wrestled Billy Holland in a scene for the film '' Breakers Ahead''. See also
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: ...
in
Victoria, Cornwall Victoria is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, UK. It is located in the civil parish of Roche, north of Roche village and north of the town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet 107 ''St Austell & Liskeard'', 2008, The hamlet contai ...
.


References


Bibliography

* Payne, H. M. Creswell (1948) ''Story of the Parish of Roche'', ASIN: B004ITZBWG


External links

* Notes and photos of Roche Rock fro
''The Modern Antiquarian''

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Roche
{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall