Polgigga
| Polgigga | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 The village pond | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 50°3’22"N, 5°39’58"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
Polgigga (or Poljigga) is a hamlet in western Cornwall, on the B3315 Land's End to Penzance road and within the civil parish of St Levan.
Polgigga is eight miles west of Penzance and just two miles east of Land's End. The hamlet used to have its own winery and a blacksmith's and is now almost entirely residential.[1] The poet and writer Dylan Thomas lived here for a short period in 1936.
Nearby settlements include Trebehor, Trethewey and Bottoms.
Toponymy
Polgigga is named in 1327 as Pensiger, meaning head of the Syger (a local stream). The Cornish word Syger means 'lazy', so in this case a slow moving stream.[2] The prefix pol is Cornish for 'pool' and another etymology has the name coming from legegas, the Cornish for 'heifer', referring to the small pond near the Vineries.[1]
History
At the time of the Tithe Apportionments in 1838 the parish of St Levan consisted of dispersed farming hamlets such as nearby Trebehor and Trethrewy. Apart from Trebehor Cottages, Polgigga did not exist.[3]
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas first came to Cornwall in April, 1936 and stayed at Polgigga, describing the cottage he lived in as ″We live here in a cottage in a field, with a garden full of ferrets and bees. Every time you go to the garden lavatory, you are in danger of being bitten or stung.″ His dislike of country life, shortage of money and his wish to see his future wife, Caitlin Macnamara, led him to return to London in June of the same year.[4]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Polgigga) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Polgigga" (PDF). Porthcurno.org.uk. http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/userfiles/local_history/st_levan_areas/Polgigga%20&%20Porthgwarra.pdf. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
- ↑ Weatherhill, Craig. Place Names in Cornwall and Scilly. Launceston: Wessex Books. ISBN 1-903035-25-2.
- ↑ St Levan Local History Group (2004). The Book of St Levan. Tiverton: Halsgrove. ISBN 1 84114 328 6.
- ↑ Ruhrmund, Frank (29 May 2014). "Poet's early married life 'of worries and happiness'". The Cornishman: p. 26.