Germoe
| Germoe Cornish: Germogh | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 St Germoe's Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SW585294 |
| Location: | 50°6’54"N, 5°22’44"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 549 (2011) |
| Post town: | Penzance |
| Postcode: | TR20 |
| Dialling code: | 01736 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
St Ives |
Germoe is a village in Cornwall. It is about five miles west of Helston and seven miles east of Penzance. The A394 Penzance to Helston road runs along the southern border of the parish.
The wider parish encompasses Germoe itself and also Churchtown, Balwest, Boscreege and Tresowes Green.
The parish is named after St Germocus, one of the companions of St Breage. According to legend Germoc was a king in Ireland, and his feast day is 6 May.
Historically, the largest landowners in the parish were the Godolphin family (the Dukes of Leeds).[1]
The parish is now rural in character but was once associated with mining; to the north it borders the geological formation known as the Tregonning-Godolphin Granite (one of five extrusions in Cornwall of the vast granite batholith underlying Cornwall and Devon) and the area was formerly an important source of tin and copper ore.
Tregonning Hill is the site of the Germoe war memorial.
Churches
The parish church in Germoe is mostly of the 14th century and is built on the site of an earlier Norman church. The church has a chancel, nave, north aisle, south transept, and a three-stage battlemented tower of granite ashlar. There are three long tailed monkeys carved on the porch (which local legend says is to ward off evil, and appearance suggest to be a woodcarver's fancy). There is a Godolphin family pew in the north aisle.[1] A small mediæval building in the churchyard wall is known as St Germoe's Chair. The parish of Germoe is now grouped with neighbouring Breage ina single benefice.
A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built at Balwest in 1829 for miners in the north of the parish.
Pengersick Castle
Pengersick Castle is a fortified manor house near Praa Sands which is a Grade II* listed building. [2]
The house is of late mediæval date and features one of the few towers of its type preserved in Britain.[3] John Milliton of Pengersick Castle became High Sheriff of Cornwall and Pengersick Castle was also improved around 1530 as a fortified manor house after the wreck of a valuable Portuguese ship.[4] Rumours of ghosts and devil-worship[5] surround the castle.[6]
Various lurid tales are told of this place, though sober historical research has proven some of these stories to be false: no monks were murdered there (although one was assaulted by Henry Pengersick). A 'Black Dog' ghost legend has been told, which is reported to be a myth created by 19th century smugglers to frighten people away.
Pictures
-
Pengersick Castle -
Kenneggy Methodist Chapel
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Germoe) |
- National Monuments Record: No. 424575 – Pengersick Castle
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information on Germoe from GENUKI
- ↑ National Heritage List 1311147: Pengersick Castle
- ↑ Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books; pp. 72, 134
- ↑ Pengersick Castle
- ↑ BBC Cornwall: A night at Pengersick
- ↑ Legend of Pengersick Castle