Poughill
Coordinates: 50°50′28″N 4°31′34″W / 50.841°N 4.526°W
Poughill (pronounced "Pofil" or "Puffil") is a hamlet in north-east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is located one mile north of Bude .
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[edit] History and notable buildings
Poughill is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Pochelle. Notable old houses in Poughill include Burshill Manor (medieval), an open hall house, and Church House, dated 1525.
The village's water-mill is located on the footpath towards Bush. Lying at the foot of Trevalgus Hill in thick woodland, it is believed to have been a manorial mill for Trevalgus Manor. The mill was powered by the stream which runs south towards Stratton called the Stratt. Part of the mill building was constructed of timbers from ships wrecked along the coastline.
[edit] St Olaf's Church
At the heart of the village is St Olaf's church. The church is of exceptional interest and dates from the 14th century. It seats 300 persons and is dedicated to the Norwegian King and so-called Martyr, St Olaf (Olaf II of Norway). At the restoration in 1928 the foundations of the original Norman church were uncovered but nothing of this remains above ground. The pillars on the north side and south arch of the nave are of Caen stone (14th century); those of the south side are granite (15th century). The piscina and aumbry in the south chancel are 13th century. Inside the church is a wall of frescoes. The frescoes date from about 1470, and depict St Christopher: they were discovered in 1894 beneath the whitewash. Such paintings were once common in churches; the Poughill accounts record the washing-out of the figures in 1550 at the time of the Reformation. According to the legend, St Christopher was a heathen giant who, on turning Christian, was instructed by a holy hermit to carry travellers over a dangerous ford, and who, one stormy night carried the child Jesus on his shoulder.
[edit] The Battle of Stamford Hill
This battle was fought on the outskirts of Poughill on 16 May 1643. Each May, on the closest weekend to the anniversary, there is a two day re-enactment of the battle, fought over the Saturday and Sunday, together with a procession through the streets of neighbouring Stratton village.
[edit] Notable residents
During the latter half of his life, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, the surgeon, gentleman scientist, inventor, and pioneer of applying steam power, lived in Reeds, a small house on the outskirts of the village, until his death in 1875.
The assassinated colonial administrator, Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney was born here in 1898.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ A. J. Stockwell, ‘Gurney, Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy (1898–1951)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 accessed 21 Nov 2007
[edit] External links
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