Villages around St Agnes

There are several outlying villages and hamlets in the parish of St. Agnes. These can make the starting points for interesting walks and quiet places to stay.

St. Agnes Regeneration Forum recently produced a pack of ten walks which is available widely in the village (Price £3) or you can look them up on the St Agnes Regeneration Forum website.

Starting in the south of the parish and working our way northwards:

Blackwater

. . . is close to the A30 and stands on the old main road. The bypass has returned peace to the village. There is still a weighbridge in the layby opposite the Post Office.

A Victorian benefactor, John Passmore Edwards was born here in 1823. As a young man Passmore Edwards sruggled to get an education and later started a free school for working men. He became a lawyer's clerk then turned to journalism and after moving to London established and ran several weekly newspapers before going on to become an M.P. Passmore Edwards was a great campaigner for causes such as International Peace, Early Closing and Anti-gambling. Having made his fortune in London, John chose to spend his money on philanthropic causes, both in his home of Cornwall and throughout the country. He was responsible for establishing seventy free libraries, hospitals, reading rooms, institutes, technical schools and art galleries for working people. He died in 1911, having refused an offer of a knighthood.

The (at the moment, unfortunately derelict) Institute in Blackwater was endowed by John Passmore Edwards and opened in 1890. At the opening ceremony he said "Nothing has given me more pleasure than to give this to my native village and within a hundred yards of my old home." The Miners and Mechanics Institute in St. Agnes is another of the buildings he gave, is still in use and plans have been approved for it to be refurbished soon as a community centre.

There are a number of barrows dating from the Bronze Age in the vicinity of the village. Two Burrows stand adjacent to the road leading from Chiverton Cross to Mount Hawke and Three Burrows can be seen in a field adjacent to the south side of the A30 just east of the Chiverton Cross roundabout. An ancient cross has also been reported in use as a boundary stone in the area of the Three Burrows.

See Walk 10 - Blackwater

Mount Hawke

. . . is named for the local Hawke family who were ropemakers (Ropewalk is the name of the lane next to the Post Office). It is thought to be a village which grew as a result of local copper mining workings. Between the village and Porthtowan, an extensive copper working area was visible until recent years. Navvy Pit, as it was known locally, formed part of Wheal Music, the largest open cast copper mine in Europe. It is reported to have made profits of in excess of £100,000 by 1843.

From 1815 to 1833, Wheal Music produced at least 4596 tons of copper ore. Unfortunately, this huge excavation was filled with rubble over a number of years including stone from Wheal Concorde Mine.

The walk to the nearest beach, at Porthtowan, passes through impressive scenery - woodland and a picturesque valley, which is crowned by a magnificent mine engine house.

The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist and is of relatively modern construction being erected in 1878. The font is believed to be Norman, removed from Trevaunance Manor chapel at St Agnes.

See Walk 5 - Mount Hawke and Walk 3 - Porthtowan, Banns Vale, Mount Hawke and Chapel Porth

Porthtowan

. . . has one of the larger beaches in the parish, and the only one with Blue Flag status. The dunes backing the beach give the village its name - "Porth" means beach or cove in Cornish and "Towan" means sand dunes. Overlooking the beach is the Blue Bar - a popular refreshment place with all beachgoers, from the bucket & spade brigade to surfers and walkers. The Blue Flag means that barbecues are prohibited and a dog ban operates from Easter to the end of September. Porthtowan is often the venue for several surfing championships, but the final choice of location and timing depend on sea conditions "on the day."

There are beach shops, a surf shop and other beach necessities such as a car park and toilets, with a Post Office and general stores further inland. This village was a popular resort in Edwardian times and had huge numbers of visitors from Redruth, Camborne and surrounding areas supporting several tea rooms, though most visitors brought their own picnics. The swimming pool built in the rocks to the side of the beach in 1915 still exists.

See Walk 3 - Porthtowan, Banns Vale, Mount Hawke and Chapel Porth

Mingoose

. . . has a cluster of very picturesque cottages and houses set in a peaceful valley setting. Note "Old Inn Cottage" and the converted Methodist Chapel, The walk down the valley to Chapel Porth is delightful.

Mithian

. . . is said to be one of the oldest villages in Cornwall. Many of the houses are three to four hundred years old and built of cob (clay reinforced with straw and horse hair). The Miners Arms pub is reputed to have been built in 1577 and said to be haunted. Nearby is Harmony Cot - the birthplace of John Opie, also known as "The Cornish Wonder" (1761 - 1807). He was a renowned portrait painter, fellow of the Royal Academy where he was a professor of painting.

Barkla Shop

. . . is named for the blacksmith's shop which stood on the main road between St. Agnes and Perranporth. It was very busy in the railway building era as horses bringing rock from nearby quarries to Wheal Liberty viaduct needed regular shoeing.

See Walk 6 - Mithian

Trevellas

. . . is now the home of Perranporth airfield, part of which lies in the parish of St. Agnes. It was used as an airbase during WWII and has a control tower dating from the 1940's.

The coast path between St. Agnes and Perranporth skirts the airfield then at Cligga head passes through the remains of an old explosives works.

See Walk 9 - Jericho Valley and Cross Coombe