Egloshayle

Egloshayle
Cornish: Eglosheyl
The Old Bridge at Wadebridge
Egloshayle  Egloshayle shown within Cornwall
Population	465 (Civil Parish, 2011)
OS grid reference	SX001719
Civil parish	Egloshayle
Unitary authority	Cornwall Council
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WADEBRIDGE
Postcode district	PL27
Dialling code	01208
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	North Cornwall
List of places UK England Cornwall

Coordinates: 50°30′47″N 4°49′16″W / 50.513°N 4.821°W

Egloshayle Church.

Egloshayle (pronounced "eglos-hale"^[1]Cornish: Eglosheyl^[2] – eglos meaning church and heyl meaning estuary) is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is beside the River Camel, southeast of Wadebridge.^[3] The civil parish stretches southeast from the village and includes Washaway and Sladesbridge.

History

Egloshayle was a Bronze Age settlement and later a river port, rivalling Padstow 5 miles (8.0 km) downriver. The trade consisted of tin, clay, wool, and vegetable crops. Egloshayle is now a residential suburb of Wadebridge.

Wadebridge developed in the parishes of Egloshayle and St Breock. A Vicar of Egloshayle named Thomas Lovibond was responsible for the construction of the first bridge across the River Camel to replace a dangerous ford. Begun in 1468 and completed in 1485, the bridge was traditionally known as the "Bridge on Wool" because it was reputedly built on wool sacks. In fact, however, it has been proven to be founded directly on the underlying bedrock.^[4]

Churches

The parish church, named after St Petroc, is built almost entirely in the Perpendicular style. It has a Norman font, a stone pulpit dating from the 15th century, and also has a fine monument to Dame Barbara Molesworth (ob. 1735). There is a peal of eight bells: the tenor bell weighs 12-1-25.^[5]

The Anglican chapel at Washaway, dating from 1883, has a font which is one of the earliest in the county. Langdon (1896) recorded that there were six stone crosses in the parish, including two in the parish churchyard and one at Washaway.

The bell-ringers of the village are celebrated in the song The Ringers of Egloshayle.^[6] The ringers named in the song are all buried in the churchyard of the village church and their names may be seen on the headstones. The song has been recorded by, amongst others, the well-known Cornish singer Brenda Wootton.

Notable buildings and antiquities

Local private properties of interest include Pencarrow House (18th century) and Croan House (17th century), each of which have seven bays. Kelly Rounds (or Castle Killibury) is an Iron Age fort on the border of the parish and has been associated with the legend of King Arthur.^[7]

Notable people

William Lobb, a plant collector^[8] spent his early life at Egloshayle.

Arthur Hamilton Norway (1859–1938), who became head of the Post Office in Ireland before the First World War, and the father of novelist Nevil Shute, was born in the village.^[9]

References

1. BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names; new ed., edited and transcribed by G. E. Pointon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983; p. 84
2. Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel. Cornish Language Partnership.
3. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 Newquay & Bodmin ISBN 978-0-319-22938-5
4. Wadebridge and the Bridge on Wool at cornishlight.co.uk
5. Dove, R. H. (1982) A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain and Ringing Peals of the World, 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers
6. "An Old Cornish Song, The Egloshayle Ringers".
7. Pevsner, N. (1970), Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books
8. "William Lobb in Ecuador and the Enigma of Solanum lobbianum". www.devoran.org.uk. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
9. 1901 Census of England and Wales

External links

Media related to Egloshayle at Wikimedia Commons