Saint Just-in-Penwith Things to Do

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Make sure you have a look at this place, because it's one of the best examples left of an uniquely Cornish custom.

These 'playing-places' were created in Medieval times for the performance of Mystery plays, Miracle plays, meetings, sports and so on and so forth. They consist of a wide open space surrounded by banks, on which the audience could sit whilst the performance went on in the middle of the 'amphitheatre'.

St Just's plein-an-gwarry was recorded in the mid-1800s as having banks seven feet high, with stone seating for spectators. The stone seating has disappeared (or now lies under the grass) but it is still a pretty impressive spot.

You won't find anything like this anywhere else in the UK. The only 'amphitheatres' which remain outside Cornwall are those which were built by the Romans (e.g. at Cirencester).

So seeing the plein-an-gwarry is another excellent reason for visiting St Just.

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This is a fascinating church, dating from the 1300s and set on a very ancient holy site from almost a millennium earlier.

It i the only church I have seen where the interior plasterwork has been removed (in Victorian times) and the bare stones pointed with a mixture of pitch and mortar. The intention was to reflect the rugged, rocky local landscape and, in a way, it works.

There's a lot to seek out.

1. The Selus stone dates from the late 500s/early 600s and bears the Latin inscription 'Selvs hic iacet' (Selus lies here). It is thought that Selus was St Just's brother, Saint Selevan.

2. 'Christ of the Trades', an early 1400s secco wall painting. It shows a wounded Christ blessing the tools of the parish trades.

3. St George and the Dragon, another secco wall-painting from the early 1400s, showing St George fighting the dragon.

4. The stairway leading to the top of the rood screen (a wooden partition which divided the altar area from the main part of the church). In past times sermons were given from the top of the rood screen.

5. The Anglo-Saxon cross-shaft, intricately-decorated in typical 'interlacing' style. It now forms the lintel of an alcove, but is though to date from the late 700s or early 800s.

6. A rather beautiful alabaster reredos behind the altar, with the figure of 14 Cornish saints. It only dates from 1894 but is a lovely piece of skilful work.

7. The detailed carvings on the capitals of the pillars, dating again from the early 1300s.

If you have any interest in history then a visit to St Just's church is essential. Don't miss the ancient Celtic- style cross at the entrance to the churchyard.

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Long title? - yes and quite a long way too -either a car or change buses in Penzance.
The outdoor theatre is the Minack. I've not been to a show there but its reputation is phenomenal and its setting, which I do know, leaves nothing to be desired.
The beach is Porthcurno - lovely hard white sand and fine land/seascapes.
The telecommunications museum is at Porthcurno because it was from 1870 the terminus of the telegraph cable from India and later was probably the main communications centre in the world. Without the museum this would take a bit of believing.
The phone and website given are for the museum but 'Minack theatre' in Google gives a site for there.

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I was told this was Bollawal but it seems that 'o's and 'a's are pretty well interchangeable. It's near Carn Gloose [alternative spelling - Carn Gluze.] The distance from St Just is easily walkable but there's a car road if you prefer.

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To me Cape Cornwall is one of England's great coastal points. I've never seen the Scilly Isles from it but you can when the view is clear enough.
Just out from the Cape are two large rocks called the Brissons [rhyming with prisons.] The area is owned by the National Trust and there is adequate parking - off-season at least.

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Yes, another church - and I'm not even religious! This one is granite, like all the others in the area, but it has some interesting features.
The font dates from about 1100 and there are some spectacular pew end carvings. Outside the coffin rest in the north entrance is shaped - most being rectangular. Then there's St Levan's Stone. In early times this stone was venerated. How it became split is a matter for speculation but , if you want to, you can pick the legend about the saint. He tapped it with his staff and it split [it being well known that granite is softer than wood???] and he decreed:

When with panniers astride
A packhorse can ride
Through St Levan's stone
The world will be done.

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This may take a bit of finding but it's worth the effort. It's an iron age settlement and it's delightfully peaceful. The sites of the ancient dwellings are very clear but THE thing that makes Carn Euny is the excellent fogue [underground passage.] There are exotic ideas about its use but I'm afraid the most likely is very prosaic - storage.
Our cross-collie loved jumping across the dwelling sites and playing with Biggles, an old English sheepdog, who was 'helping' a man working there for English Heritage.

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Zennor is a very small village between St Just in Penwith and St Ives. Three things appeal:
1. The Tinners Arms - this will get a separate restaurant tip
2. Zennor Head - one of many fine headlands along the south-western coast path
3. Zennor Church - where some of the features are an ancient font, the 'mermaid' bench and a squint; i.e. a diagonal opening looking through from the south transept to the main altar.