Bossiney

Last updated

Bossiney
Looking across fields towards Bossiney - geograph.org.uk - 1518343.jpg
Looking across fields towards Bossiney
Cornwall UK mainland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bossiney
Location within Cornwall
OS grid reference SX066888
Civil parish
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town TINTAGEL
Postcode district PL34
Dialling code 01840
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Cornwall
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°39′59″N4°44′24″W / 50.66639°N 4.74000°W / 50.66639; -4.74000

Bossiney (Cornish : Boskyny, meaning Cyni's dwelling) is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. [1] Until 1832 the village, with its neighbour Tintagel, returned two MPs as a Rotten Borough, for the Bossiney constituency. The beach of Bossiney Haven is located nearby.

Contents

Toponymy

Bossiney, which in Domesday Book was 'Botcinnii', has been explained in Cornish as: 'Bod-' ('dwelling') and 'Cini' (a man's name). The spelling varied in the past (Bossinney was at one time very common). Novelist John Galsworthy used 'Bosinney' as the surname of a character in the Forsyte Saga.

History

Replica of the borough seal Tintagel-visitor-centre.jpg
Replica of the borough seal

Bossiney was mentioned in Domesday Book as 'Botcinnii', a manor held by the Count of Mortain from St. Petroc's Church (i.e. Bodmin Monastery), [2] the manor at this time including Trevena. [3] From ca. 1552, two members were elected to the unreformed House of Commons by the burgesses of Bossiney and Trevena, until the Reform Act 1832 stripped it of its representation as a rotten borough. Bossiney was the Parliamentary seat of Francis Drake who in 1584 gave his election speech from Bossiney Mound. It was also the Parliamentary seat in 1584 of Sir Francis Bacon. [4]

The mace and seal of the borough are still preserved and show the name of the borough as 'Tintaioel' (they are thought to be from the 16th century). [5] Despite electing two MPs, the Borough of Bossiney in the 18th century was described as a very small place with scarcely twenty houses and those no better than cottages! [6]

Places of interest

Hendra Cross Cornish Cross at Fenterleigh - geograph.org.uk - 741981.jpg
Hendra Cross

Bossiney lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). A nearby beach is known as Bossiney Haven.

Notable buildings include the Old Borough House, Bossiney Court (both houses are 17th century and later) and the Methodist chapel (1860). [7] All these are listed Grade II. At the nearby crossroads stands Hendra Cross or Pentaly Cross (towards Trevillet): it has been moved from its former position due to road widening in 1959 ("about one and half miles north east of Bossiney, at Pentaly"). [8] [9] Sime folklore relating to this cross has been recorded: a writer in 1921 recollects that about 40 years earlier he had stopped at the cross to sketch it and was told by the farmer of the nearby fields that the cross had been overthrown some time before and when it was set up again a number of small bottles full of water containing many pins had been found buried beneath it (the bottles being a charm against being ill-wished). [10]

Willapark on the coast nearby was an Iron Age cliff castle and at Lye Rock the barque 'Iota' was wrecked in 1893 (see the Tintagel article). Willapark Manor stands in wooded grounds and is now an hotel; Jill Pool is the site of the former borough gaol.

To the east of Bossiney lie the remains of an earthen Norman fortification (Bossiney Castle), which were discovered during archaeological excavations during the 1840s. It is likely to have been a motte castle as there are no signs of a bailey. The castle is not mentioned in surviving contemporary documents, and it is uncertain when or by whom it was built. However, it was probably built in the late 11th or 12th century. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodmin</span> Town in east-central Cornwall, England

Bodmin is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tintagel</span> Village in Cornwall, England

Tintagel or Trevena is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and in recent times have become a tourist attraction. It was claimed by Geoffrey of Monmouth that the castle was the place of Arthur's conception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camelford</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. Lanteglos-by-Camelford is the ecclesiastical parish in which the town is situated. The ward population at the 2011 Census was 4,001. The town population at the same census was 865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davidstow</span> Village and civil parish in Cornwall, England

Davidstow is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is north of Bodmin Moor straddling the A395 road about 3 miles (5 km) north of Camelford. The hamlets of Hallworthy, Hendraburnick, Tremail and Trewassa are in the parish. It was formerly known as Dewstow(e).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treknow</span> Human settlement in England

Treknow is a small village in Tintagel civil parish, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom: it is the second largest settlement, and is located between Trevena and Trebarwith. It is situated 19 miles (31 km) north of Bodmin, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Camelford, and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Tintagel, grid reference SX056869

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundreds of Cornwall</span> Historical administrative divisions of Cornwall, England

The hundreds of Cornwall were administrative divisions or Shires (hundreds) into which Cornwall, the present day administrative county of England, in the United Kingdom, was divided between c. 925 and 1894, when they were replaced with local government districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrans</span> Human settlement in England

Gerrans is a coastal civil parish and village on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village adjoins Portscatho on the east side of the peninsula. The village is situated approximately seven miles (11 km) south-southeast of Truro.

Bossiney Haven is a small cove in the civil parish of Tintagel. It is on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom and a mile east of Tintagel and three miles west of Boscastle. The South West Coast Path closely follows the coast above the cove.

Trethevy is a hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardinham</span> Human settlement in England

Cardinham is a civil parish and a village in mid Cornwall, England. The village is approximately three-and-a-half miles (6 km) east-northeast of Bodmin. The hamlets of Fletchersbridge, Millpool, Milltown, Mount, Old Cardinham Castle and Welltown are in the parish.

Bossiney was a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, one of a number of Cornish rotten boroughs. It returned two members of Parliament to the British House of Commons from 1552 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linkinhorne</span> Civil parish and village in south-east Cornwall, England

Linkinhorne is a civil parish and village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village itself is situated at grid reference SX 320 736 and is approximately four miles (6.5 km) northwest of Callington and seven miles (11 km) south of Launceston. The parish population at the 2011 census including Downgate was 1,541

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Launceston, Cornwall</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Launceston is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the middle stage of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire border between Cornwall and Devon. The landscape of the town is generally steep particularly at a sharp south-western knoll topped by Launceston Castle. These gradients fall down to the River Kensey and smaller tributaries.

Trebartha is a hamlet in the civil parish of North Hill, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and in the valley of the River Lynher.

Coats of arms and seals of the County and Duchy of Cornwall, the Diocese of Truro, and of Cornish boroughs and towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevillet</span>

Trevillet or Trevillett is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located within the civil parish of Tintagel, to the east of Bossiney village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Cornwall</span> Overview of and topical guide to Cornwall

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula 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 is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.

Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone crosses in Cornwall</span>

Wayside crosses and Celtic inscribed stones are found in Cornwall in large numbers; the inscribed stones are thought to be earlier in date than the crosses and are a product of Celtic Christian society. It is likely that the crosses represent a development from the inscribed stones but nothing is certain about the dating of them. In the late Middle Ages it is likely that their erection was very common and they occur in locations of various types, e.g. by the wayside, in churchyards, and in moorlands. Those by roadsides and on moorlands were doubtless intended as route markings. A few may have served as boundary stones, and others like the wayside shrines found in Catholic European countries. Crosses to which inscriptions have been added must have been memorial stones. According to W. G. V. Balchin "The crosses are either plain or ornamented, invariably carved in granite, and the great majority are of the wheel-headed Celtic type." Their distribution shows a greater concentration in west Cornwall and a gradual diminution further east and further north. In the extreme northeast none are found because it had been settled by West Saxons. The cross in Perran Sands has been dated by Charles Henderson as before 960 AD; that in Morrab Gardens, Penzance, has been dated by R. A. S. Macalister as before 924 AD; and the Doniert Stone is thought to be a memorial to King Dumgarth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bossiney Castle</span> Norman motte castle

Bossiney Castle is a Norman fortification, built in the 11th century, following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It is in the village of Bossiney, in North Cornwall The remains of the motte are on private land with no public access, but can be viewed from the B3263, lying behind the 19th-century Methodist Chapel.

References

Fore Street, Trevena, in 1862; Plan of Bossiney Castle 264 of 'Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor, in the County of Cornwall. (With illustrations.)' (11096696765).jpg
Fore Street, Trevena, in 1862; Plan of Bossiney Castle
  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 Newquay & Bodmin ISBN   978-0-319-22938-5
  2. ↑ "Cornwall A-K". The Domesday Book Online. domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Thorn, C., et al., eds. (1979) Cornwall. Chichester: Phillimore
  4. ↑ "Bossiney and Benoath". This is North Cornwall. Kestrel Promotions. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  5. ↑ Canner, A. C. (1982) The Parish of Tintagel, pp. 62–65
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Davies (1838). The Parochial History of Cornwall, Founded on the Manuscript Histories of Mr Hals and Mr Tonkin; with additions and various appendices. London: J B Nichols and Son. p. 340.
  7. ↑ "HeritageGateway - Home *". Heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  8. ↑ Langdon, A. G. (1896). Old Cornish Crosses. Truro: Joseph Pollard. pp. 98–9.
  9. ↑ Canner, A. C. (1982). The Parish of Tintagel. Camelford: A. C. Canner. p. 16.
  10. ↑ Preston-Jones, Ann; Langdon, Andrew & Okasha, Elisabeth (2021) Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall: Cornwall's earliest, tallest and finest medieval stone crosses. Exeter: University of Exeter ISBN 1905816618l pp. 232-33
  11. ↑ Rose (1992) "Bossiney Castle", p. 141
  12. ↑ "Motte castle known as Bossiney Castle, Tintagel - 1006708 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2023.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.