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Coordinates: 50°09′28″N 5°01′06″W / 50.15779°N 5.01835°W
| St Mawes | |
 St. Mawes Castle (foreground) and Pendennis Castle in Falmouth (background) |
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 St Mawes
St Mawes shown within Cornwall |
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| OS grid reference | SW845330 |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Cornwall |
| Ceremonial county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | TR2 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
St Mawes (Cornish: Lannvowsedh) is a small town opposite Falmouth, on the Roseland Peninsula on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the east bank of the Carrick Roads, a large waterway created after the Ice Age from an ancient valley which flooded as the melt waters caused the sea level to rise dramatically, creating an immense natural harbour, often claimed to be the third largest in the world. The town is in the civil parish of St Just in Roseland.
St Mawes is the home of St Mawes Sailing Club. There is an excellent year-round ferry service to Falmouth, which is less than a mile away by boat, but due to its proximity to the Fal estuary it is some 30 miles away by road. The Place Ferry links the South West Coast Path and operates from Good Friday to the end of October.[1] It was once a busy fishing port, but the trade declined during the 20th century.
The town of St Mawes is a popular tourist location, with many properties in the town being holiday accommodation or "second homes". A large number of the permanent residents are pensioners; it is more affluent than other places in the district.[citation needed]
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[edit] History and geography
The town takes its name from the Celtic saint Saint Maudez (Mawe), who may have come from Ireland but is mainly venerated in Brittany.[2][3]
St Mawes Castle is a well-preserved coastal fortress from the time of Henry VIII, built to counter the invasion threat from the Continent. Charles Henderson, writing in 1925, says of St Mawes, "an ancient fishing town which in late years has assumed the different and more sophisticated character of a watering place". The seal of St Mawes was Az. a bend lozengy Or between a tower in the sinister chief Arg. and a ship with three masts the sail furled in the dexter base of the second, with the legend "Commune Sigillum Burgi de St. Mawes al Mauditt.[4]
Just outside the town is a closed British Leyland garage on Polvarth Road which retains the British Leyland logo on a hoarding outside.
[edit] Church history
The name of the town comes from Saint Maudez, a Breton saint, and there was a chapel here dedicated to him with his holy well nearby. Its existence in 1427 is mentioned in George Oliver's Monasticon and it remained in use until the reign of Elizabeth I when it was abandoned. From that time until ca 1838 there was no chapel for the townspeople until a private chapel built in 1807 by the Marquis of Buckingham was licensed by the Bishop. This was on a different site and was rebuilt in 1881. St Mawes continued however to be in the parish of St Just in Roseland.[5]
[edit] Film and TV location
The Agatha Christie film Murder Ahoy was filmed here, as was the 1964 film Crooks in Cloisters.[6] An episode of the TV series Hornblower was also filmed here.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable residents
Barry Bucknell the BBC TV presenter who popularised Do It Yourself (DIY) in the United Kingdom.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "King Harry Ferry". http://www.kingharryscornwall.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ^ Into Cornwall, St Mawes, Information about St Mawes
- ^ Doble, G. H. (1964) The Saints of Cornwall: part 3. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 57-73
- ^ Pascoe, W. H. (1979). A Cornish Armory. Padstow, Cornwall: Lodenek Press. p. 134. ISBN 0902899767.
- ^ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 115-16
- ^ [1] Filming locations for Crooks in Cloisters on the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Barry Bucknell". Making the Modern World. http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/people/BG.0028/. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
[edit] Bibliography
- Maurice Carbonnell, Saint Maudez - Saint Mandé, un maître du monachisme breton, 2009 : ISBN 2-914996-06-3
[edit] External links
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