Blydhen
Nowydh Da - Happy
New Year for 2007. We must look
optimistically at the coming year, both globally and in our own back
gardens. Of course, in the St Piran Trust our
back garden is the Oratory of St Piran, and the
next three years will see an acceleration of our efforts to uncover the
Oratory from the sand and rubble in which it has been buried since 1980.
‘We have heard all this before’,
I hear you say. Yes, indeed, we have. That is because we have now reached
the point where we started some 6 years ago, when we were assured that we
would be eligible for funding from Objective I to undertake a study of the
feasibility of uncovering the Oratory. We seem to have made a long circular
trip, a kind of Pilgrim’s Progress for those of you who know your John
Bunyan, during which we have had to overcome the snares and pitfalls placed
in our way.
At the end of December we held a
meeting with the Historic Environment Service (HES – what used to be called
the Archaeology Unit) of the Cornwall County Council. The head of the
Service, Nick Johnson, reaffirmed his strong support for our objectives, and
we agreed a course of action that would take us to the celebrations on March
5 2010 to mark the uncovering of St Piran’s
Oratory.
‘2010?!’
I hear you exclaim. ‘Why does it take so long to dig out some 400 square
feet of sand?’. Good question. The digging part
would not take so long. The problem is acquiring all the necessary
permissions and getting in place sufficient funding both for the works and
for the maintenance and care of the site once it is uncovered. As I have
pointed out before, the Oratory is on one of the most protected pieces of
land in Europe, being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in
Britain and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in Europe.
We would, of course, like to
bring the process forward, if we can. This would mean finding sufficient
funding for the feasibility study and getting it under way quickly, so that
it could be completed in 2007. I am not sure how possible this will be: we
have too much experience of the relaxed approaches of the statutory bodies
to getting things done. For example, we still await a reaction from the
various statutory bodies to the findings of the
hydrogeological survey we have been undertaking for over two years.
Our consultant is clear that the findings show that there is no
hydrogeological reason why the Oratory cannot be
uncovered.
The stated commitment of the
County Council is important, and this now needs to be translated into
action.
However, as I said, we must be
positive, and 2006 saw a lot of progress. We completed the excavation of the
Old Church and it looks good. The Round saw the first performance of a full
length play for many years, and it is also looking good. We have given talks
in schools and societies about St Piran and his
associated heritage, and there is no doubt that there is more awareness
around Cornwall of St Piran and what it means to
develop the sites. The Cornish revival is visible.
March 5 will be upon us again
soon, with the usual procession to the Oratory and the Old Church. There is
much that is different this year, and those of you who do the march will see
that we need to take care that the hundreds of people who visit the Old
Church on March 5 do not harm its fabric by climbing on the walls. We urge
you not to take a short cut into the church or out of it, and not to stand
on the walls as you watch the play!
We hope 2007 will see further
performances in the Round, and we also intend to put on another summer
evening of reading and recitation in the Old Church. Keep a look out on the
website for events.
And, as always, we are grateful
for contributions. English Heritage, which has been consistent in its
support for us, has renewed its grant for the upkeep of the Round, but we
want to make the Round more convenient for performances by connecting to
utilities. We are also responsible for the maintenance of the Old Church.
But above all, we wish to get together sufficient finance for the Oratory
project.
Finally, thanks to all of you who
supported us in 2006 by sending us messages which we really appreciate, by
sending donations, and by contributing to the excavation of the Church. We
hope before long you will be able to participate in the Big Dig at the
Oratory. Please continue your support and encouragement.
Perran
Penrose
Chairman
