Perran Round (also known as St Piran's Round) is an amphitheatre in the hamlet of Rose, midway between the villages of Goonhavern and Perranporth, Cornwall, UK. It is described as the best surviving example of a plen-an-gwary, a medieval amphitheatre used for performing the Ordinalia, or Cornish miracle plays, [1] and Cornish wrestling tournaments. [2]
Perran Round (grid reference SW778545 ) is on B3285 road between the mid-Cornwall villages of Goonhavern and Perranporth, in the parish of Perranzabuloe. The hamlets of Rose and Lower Rose are to the north-east and the round is surrounded by agricultural land. Between the round and the coast, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) to the north is the Penhale Sands, sand dune system with the buried remains of the 6th-century St Piran's Oratory (grid reference SW768563 ) and a later church (now known as St Piran's Old Church, grid reference SW772564 ). [3] Both were abandoned by encroaching sand.
The origins of Perran Round are uncertain. It has been described as an Iron Age circular enclosure, or round and the citation under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 does describe Perran Round as a small enclosure of later Iron Age and early post-Roman period. A round consists of an embanked enclosure and is considered to be the Iron Age equivalent of a farming hamlet. [4]
Henry Jenner compiled the scheduling paperwork which states that it is ″more probable″ that it was constructed as a plain-an-gwary, an open-air theatre for the performance of miracle plays although earlier structures were commonly repurposed as later 'playing places'. There are three medieval mystery plays, the Ordinalia, written primarily in Middle Cornish and dating to the late fourteenth century. Richard Carew in his Survey of Cornwall (1602) mentions ″Gwary miracles, kind of interlude, compiled in Cornish out of some scripture history.″ The round still contains a small trench, known as the ′Devil's Spoon′ for use in the performances. [5] The earliest known plan, in William Borlase's Natural History of Cornwall shows two opposite entrances and the ″Devil's Spoon″, a hollow and trench on the eastern side of the arena. The plan also shows stepped terraces, presumely for seating which are no longer apparent. [6]
The present B3205 road is shown on the 1813 Ordnance Survey map along with a track which goes through the round. The 1840 tithe map shows that the road through the round was discontinued and a new roadway constructed more or less parallel with the B3205. [7]
From 1852, the Newlyn (east) Amphitheatre was enclosed and used by the Methodists. The pit could hold 1500 people and in 1880 was described as ″... kept exceeding neat and clean, having a small house inside its boundary, fitted up with every requisite for the preparation of those tea-meetings that have given it a name″. Anyone wishing to visit the round had to obtain the key from the minister or the chapel wardens. [8] An 1880 edition of The Cornishman newspaper reported that before 1852 the round was said to be a quarry. [8] [n 1]
Before the First World War the round was used by both the Liberal Party and the Tory Party for political rallies. [9] Between the wars the round was neglected and used as a rubbish dump, and in the 1930s was cleared by the Perranzabuloe branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE).
By the Second World War it became a training ground for the Rose Platoon of the Home Guard with the tea room as the headquarters. After the war the Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorseth) held its ceremony in the round on five occasions; 1946, 1958, 1970, 1985 and 1993 and it was once more used as a theatre. [10]
As part of the Festival of Britain in 1951 the miracle play Bewnans Meryasek (The Life of St Meriasek) was performed by Gwaroryon Gernewek. Later performances of other plays included Cornish Ordinalia, in 1969, by the Bristol University Players, Gwyrans an Bys (Creation of the World) in 1973 and in July 1996 an extract from the Ordinalia. [5] Miracle Theatre, the Cornish-based theatre group first ever performance was in the round. [11]
The diameter of the interior is about 45 metres (148 ft) and the circular earth rampart is around 3 metres (9.8 ft) high. The top of the rampart is flat and about 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) wide. The 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) ditch is continuous around the outside except for a causeway 4.5 metres (15 ft) wide at the southern entrance.
In the 1960s the round was once again neglected with the southern entrance waterlogged and the round covered in scrub. In 1967 Cornwall County Council raised the level of the forecourt and paved the entrance to improve drainage as well as some scrub clearing and reseeding. Following the management work, Perranzabuloe Parish Council leased the site and in 1884–85 there was further scrub clearance and the fence replaced. Rose Community Association and later Rose Men's Institute took over the management until 1995. The following year Cornwall Wildlife Trust undertook an ecological assessment and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers cleared scrub from the outer face of the banks and the ditch. The Cornwall Heritage Trust now had the lease but did not maintain the site and in 2002, English Heritage handed the site to the current leaseholders, St Piran's Trust. [12]
Cornish wrestling tournaments have not only been held at the round in ancient times, but also more recently, for example in the 1970s. [13]
Piran or Pyran, died c. 480, was a 5th-century Cornish abbot and saint, possibly of Irish origin. He is the patron saint of tin-miners, and is also generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall, although Michael and Petroc also have some claim to this title.
Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about 64 miles (103 km) west-southwest of Plymouth and 255 miles (410 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, and Heamoor. Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200.
Perranporth is a seaside resort town on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 2.1 miles east of the St Agnes Heritage Coastline, and around 7 miles south-west of Newquay. Perranporth and its 2 miles (3 km) long beach face the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 3,066, and is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Perranzabuloe. It has an electoral ward in its own name whose population was 4,270 in the 2011 census.
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today.
St Agnes is a civil parish and a large village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about five miles (8 km) north of Redruth and ten miles (16 km) southwest of Newquay. An electoral ward exists stretching as far south as Blackwater. The population at the 2011 census was 7,565.
St Newlyn East is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is approximately three miles (5 km) south of Newquay. The name St Newlyn East is locally abbreviated to Newlyn East and according to an anonymous historian writing in The Cornishman in 1880 it was only in recent years that Saint had been added to the parish name.
Perranzabuloe is a coastal civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Perranzabuloe parish is bordered to the west by the Atlantic coast and St Agnes parish, to the north by Cubert parish, to the east by St Newlyn East and St Allen parishes and to the south by Kenwyn parish. The hamlet is situated just over a mile (2 km) south of the principal settlement of the parish, Perranporth; the hamlet is also seven miles (11 km) south-southwest of Newquay. Other settlements in the parish include Perrancoombe, Goonhavern, Mount and Callestick. The parish population was 5,382 in the 2001 census, increasing to 5,486 at the 2011 census.
Cornish dance originates from Cornwall, UK. It has largely been shaped by the Cornish people and the industries they worked in. In most cases, particularly with the step dancing, the dances were still being performed across the region when they were collected.
The River Gannel rises in the village of Indian Queens in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It flows north under Trevemper Bridge and becomes a tidal estuary, the Gannel, that divides the town of Newquay from the village of Crantock and joins the Celtic Sea. The Newlyn Downs form part of the catchment area of the river. The principle tributary of the Gannel is the Benny Stream. Since January 2016 the Gannel estuary, as far as the tidal limit, has been part of the Newquay and the Gannel Marine Conservation Zone.
The Truro and Newquay Railway was a Great Western Railway line in Cornwall, England, designed to keep the rival London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the west of the county. The line was completed in 1905 and closed in 1963.
The Ordinalia are three medieval mystery plays dating to the late fourteenth century, written primarily in Middle Cornish, with stage directions in Latin. The three plays are Origo Mundi, Passio Christi and Resurrexio Domini. The metres of these plays are various arrangements of seven- and four-syllabled lines. Ordinalia means "prompt" or "service book".
Christianity in Cornwall began in the 4th or 5th century AD when Western Christianity was introduced as in the rest of Roman Britain. Over time it became the official religion, superseding previous Celtic and Roman practices. Early Christianity in Cornwall was spread largely by the saints, including Saint Piran, the patron of the county. Cornwall, like other parts of Britain, is sometimes associated with the distinct collection of practices known as Celtic Christianity but was always in communion with the wider Catholic Church. The Cornish saints are commemorated in legends, churches and placenames.
East Wheal Rose was a metalliferous mine around three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) south east of the village of St Newlyn East and is around 4 miles (6.4 km) from Newquay on the north Cornwall coast, United Kingdom. The country rock at the mine was killas and its main produce was lead ore (galena), but as is usual when mining this mineral, commercial quantities of silver and zinc were also found and sold.
Rose is a hamlet in mid-Cornwall, UK. Rose is to the north-west of Goonhavern and east of Perranporth.
Penhale Sands, or Penhale Dunes, is a complex of sand dunes and a protected area for its wildlife, on the north Cornwall coast in England, UK. It is the most extensive system of sand dunes in Cornwall and is believed to be the landing site of Saint Piran. Dating from the 6th century, St Piran's Oratory is thought to be one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain. The remains were discovered in the late 18th century, and in 2014 the covering sand was removed to reveal a building more than a thousand years old, in a reasonable state of preservation. A restricted military area dating from 1939, Penhale Camp, is found on the northern part of the dunes.
A plen-an-gwarry or plain-an-gwary, is a "playing-place" or round, a medieval amphitheatre found in Cornwall. A circular outdoor space used for plays, sports, and public events, the plen-an-gwary was a Cornish variant of a construction style found across Great Britain. Formerly common across Cornwall, only two survive nearly complete today: the Plain in St Just in Penwith and Saint Piran's Round near Perranporth.
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:
