Morwenstow and Kilkhampton Churches
Earlier this week I drove up to the very north of Cornwall to photograph and make 360° panoramas of the churches at Morwenstow and Kilkhampton. They have some of the earliest features still to be seen on any Cornish church, both having Norman arches to the south door. In the case of Morwenstow a second Norman arch (reused from another church) was added when the porch was built, probably in the 15th century. Three bays of the north aisle also have Norman arches with zig-zag moulding.
From 1834 to 1875 Morwenstow was the parish of the Reverend Robert S Hawker who wrote what has become known as the Cornish Anthem, ‘The Song of the Western Men’ (also known as ‘Trelawny’).
The Song of the Western Men
A good sword and a trusty hand!
A merry heart and true!
King James’s men shall understand
What Cornish lads can do!
And have they fixed the where and when?
And shall Trelawny die?
Here’s twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why!
Out spake their Captain brave and bold:
A merry wight was he:-
“If London Tower was Michael’s hold,
We’d set Trelawny free!
“We’ll cross the Tamar, land to land:
The Severn is no stay:
With ‘one and all,’ and hand in hand;
And who shall bid us nay?
“And when we come to London Wall,
A pleasant sight to view,
Come forth! come forth! ye cowards all:
Here’s men as good as you.
“Trelawny he’s in keep and hold:
Trelawny he may die:
But here’s twenty thousand Cornish bold
Will know the reason why!”
Kilkhampton has a great collection of over 150 bench ends with religious or heraldic imagery. Many of these date from about 1380, but some that were in a bad state of repair were replaced with copies in the 1860s.
