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St Piran
Coming over the hill from the south-west into Perranporth on the north
coast of Cornwall, the vast mass of dunes on the other side of the small
town on the coast fills the horizon. The sheer size and volume of the
mountains of sand is breathtaking.
And you could wander among the dunes for a long time before you stumbled
across a small mound with steps leading to the top, on which a small
granite stone sits, inscribed with the words 'St Piran'. Look down from
the nearby cross, and the stone is barely discernible, so small is the
mound. Underneath are the remains of St Piran's tiny Oratory (29 feet by
16 feet), which is one of the oldest surviving Christian edifices in
Europe, and one of the most important monuments in the Comish heritage.
In this place a missionary who came from Ireland made his base, perhaps
in the fifth century, perhaps later. He may well have been St Kieran,
but it will never be possible to know for sure. The legend is that he
was thrown off the cliffs of Cork in a raging storm by a mob of
irritated pagans, after they had tied his altar, which was a millstone,
around his neck. He did not sink of course, but rather the storm ceased
and he paddled over to the north coast of Cornwall, landing on a long
stretch of sandy beach that is now Perran Sands.
St Piran, or Perran, became an important figure in Cornish life. He was
reputed to be the discoverer of tin, and became the patron saint of tin
miners, who, their lives being hard, had a taste for drink: hence the
expression 'as drunk as a Piraner'. He was also believed to be a
tolerant and convivial man: indeed, he is supposed to have died after
falling into a well at the age of 250 having had too much ale. The
Oratory was on the old pilgrim route from Padstow to Mousehole, thence
to Compostella in Spain, and what is now Perranporth was a centre of
Cornish cultural heritage. The flag of St Piran, symbolizing tin
streaming from black rock, is the flag of Cornwall.
The chapel was built on sand, and over a spring. By I500 it was
overwhelmed by the dunes, as were the hundreds of graves of parishioners
buried there. A church had been built in about 1 I50, higher in the
dunes, but by the eighteenth century it too was under threat from the
sand. In 1804 parishioners
moved the stones of the tower, pillars, font and woodwork to the site of
the present church.
The Oratory was rediscovered in the 1790s, and was buried by sand again
soon after; was re-excavated in 1 835, and then protected within a bunker
made of cement blocks in 1910. It remained thus until I 980, when the
decision was taken by the various bodies involved with its protection to
rebury it because it could not otherwise be protected from despoliation
by vandals, flooding and the weather. We now want to excavate the
Oratory, restore its fabric, and protect it so that it can be visited,
and so that it can form a central part of our cultural and spiritual
experience. The 12`" century church is also in a poor state, and we
wish also to develop the site to present the church and make its history
more accessible to visitors.
Uncovering
and preserving the Oratory and the Church - where we are now
We have formed a group to facilitate uncovering the Oratory, and
the development of the St Piran sites. The group is in the process of
forming the St Piran Trust. The membership of the group is listed at the
end of this newsletter.
With the assistance of the County Council, we are in the process of
finalising the work programme for the first stages of a Feasibility
Study.
Over the next few months specialist consultants will prepare a report on
the feasibility of excavating the Oratory. There are many difficult and
sensitive issues to take into account. The ecology of the dunes is
fragile, and there are rare plants and insects in the vicinity of the
Oratory. The whole of the sands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), and also a candidate European Special Area of Conservation
(SAC).
Moreover, little is known about the water table, and how far the Oratory
would be vulnerable to flooding when it is uncovered. If a drainage
solution is found, will it affect the nearby ecology.
In addition, if you
remember the Oratory before it was reburied, or if you have seen any of
the old photographs you will
know that the building itself is very fragile. It is a tiny structure,
and much of it has been pilfered or vandalized over the centuries.
The first stage of the Study will, we hope, determine various options
open to us. The options range from partial excavation to full excavation
and drainage.
All these are questions we hope to answer before the end of this year.
The study will also consider what can be done with the second church.
The issues are somewhat different, and will probably largely concern
archaeological options, as well as how to protect and present the
building.
Once the consultants have prepared a draft report, we will discuss with
all parties how best to proceed. Once these options are set out, we will
discuss with all the interested parties and stakeholders how best to
proceed. We will need to decide how the Oratory will be protected, and
how to make its protection financially sustainable. For example, we
could house the Oratory within a hollow artificial dune, and employ a
caretaker to look after it.
We hope also to secure approval for the improvement of the site of the
second church, so that work can begin as soon as possible.
In order to do all this we require finance. The Feasibility Study will
be financed with assistance from the County Council, the Parish Council
and English Heritage. In addition, we have received generous help from
Haven Leisure, and from Penhale army camp. But once we have agreed how
the Oratory and the Church will be developed, we will need considerable
finance. We will probably have to raise money for an endowment fund,
money that would be invested so that the interest would pay for the
upkeep.
It would be wrong to proceed if we could not guarantee long term
security for the sites: they can never again be permitted to fall
derelict. They are, after all, at the heart of Cornish culture.
Perran Penrose
Chairman
St Piran Project
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