Mawgan in Meneage, Cornwall

Historical Description

Mawgan-in-Meneage, a village and a parish in Cornwall. The village stands on Helford river, under Goonhilly Downs, 3¼ miles ESE of Helston station on the G.W.R., and has a post office, of the name of Mawgan, under Helston; money order and telegraph office, Helston. The parish contains also part of the seaport village of Gweek. Acreage, 5453; population, 752. The manor and much of the land belong to the Vyvyan family. Trelowarren is the seat of the Vyvyan family, stands about a mile S of the village, was built early in the 17th century, is a castellated structure with achapel attached, and contains pictures by Vandyke and Kneller. A spot on the banks of the Loe Pool was formerly occupied by a seat of the Carminows, who claimed descent from King Arthur. An ancient circular camp of about 14 acres is at Gear, half a mile N of Trelowarren, commands the river, and is in a line with two smaller camps. The downs in the neighbourhood command a fine view over the circumjacent country. Urns, coins, and other relics have been found in fcarrows. The living is a rectory, united with the rectory of Martin-in-Meneage, in the diocese of Truro; value, £500 with residence. The church is perhaps the most interesting from an architectural point of view of any in this part of the county, and has the finest tower in the neighbourhood. It was most carefully restored in 1894, and contains effigies of the Carminows, a monument to Sir E. Vyvyan of 1696, and the sword which he wielded in the cause of Charles II. There are Wesleyan and United Free Methodist chapels. Near the church, on the side of the road leading to Helston, stands Mawgan Cross, which Borlase thinks belongs to the 6th or 7th century. In a field called " Gulegullas," near Trelowarren, there was discovered in the lifetime of the late Sir E. Vyvyan (1820-79) a curious cave or vault, the walls of which are made of rough unhewn stones, the layers each slightly overlapping the other, and the roof being finally closed by a flat slab; the passage, as far as it is now open, roughly assumes the form of a T, and the entrance to the side passages is by a doorway only 2 feet square, the stones of which are worn smooth by constant traffic. The passage varies in height from 3 to 6 feet, and is supposed to have been intended as a means of egress from the British camp or fort, which can still be traced, and which it for the most part follows. Owing principally to the extensive woods of Trelowarren, the seat of Sir Vyell Vyvyan, Mawgan is probably the most beautiful inland parish in West Cornwall.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Mawgan in Meneage from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Mawgan-in-Meneage (St. Mawgan))

Maps

Online maps of Mawgan in Meneage are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cornwall papers online:

• Royal Cornwall Gazette
• Cornishman
• West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
• Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser

Visitations Heraldic

We have a copy of The Visitations of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J.L. Vivian online.