The St Piran Project
St. Piran is the patron saint of
Cornwall
, and the flag of St Piran is the Cornish flag - white
cross on a black background symbolising the discovery of tin by the saint
as the white metal flowed from the black rock.
The Oratory of St Piran has a history spanning 1500 years. For a
good many of those years, the Oratory has been buried under the sand in
the dunes of Gear Sands near Perranporth. Its previous interments were
from natural movement of the dunes (towan in Cornish) which make up one of
the most ecologically sensitive sites in
Europe
. For the last 21 years it has been buried as a result
of human decision, ostensibly that the only way to protect the Oratory was
to bury it.
The
St Piran Project has as one of its objectives to uncover the Oratory. The
other objectives include the preservation of the 12th Century
Church, and the general promotion of Cornish Culture and history.
Why
should the Oratory be uncovered?
But why should the Oratory be uncovered, if it is best preserved by
leaving it under the sand? Surely, in view of the expense and complexity
of preserving it, there is little justification for disturbing the site?
The site is secure and is vulnerable to vandals; it is not an interesting
structure and is not worth visiting; it will not be possible to secure its
future - this question is sometimes asked, and must be answered
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First, why not? It is, in
fact, an interesting structure with historical significance in
terms of its construction. It is, after all, the oldest surviving
(if burial under the sand can be so described) four walled
Christian edifice in the
British Isles
. Shouldn't it be seen?
Second, its historical
significance in terms of British history is considerable. It is
part of Celtic Britain, and a part of the cultural and spiritual
development of the
British Isles
that is often neglected in the education
system.
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 Santiago de Compostella in
Spain
, and the area surrounding the Oratory was a
centre of Cornish cultural heritage. The flag of St Piran,
symbolising tin streaming from the black rock, is the flag of
Cornwall
.
The chapel was built on
sand, over a spring. By the end of the first millennium it was
being overwhelmed by the dunes, as were the hundreds of graves of
parishioners buried there. A church was built in about 1150,
higher in the dunes; buy 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 engulfed by sand again soon
after; was re-excavated in 1835, and then protected with a bunker
made of cement blocks in 1910. It remained thus until 1980, 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.
The l2th century church is also in a poor state.
Third, and most important
in
Cornwall
, is its meaning at a time of Cornish
Renaissance. There is a growing awareness in
Cornwall
of the intrinsic value of Cornish culture and
identity; and culture and identity require symbols to focus them
and give them substance. Such a symbol brings
Cornwall
closer to Cornish people outside
Cornwall
and in the Diaspora, and makes people think
about what matters to them in respect of where they come from, and
how they see the world. Over the centuries the Oratory has been a
focus for Cornish people: and the Piran's Day processions and
celebrations on the towans have been a focal activity for
centuries.
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So it is
an interesting structure and it symbolises much that is important in
Cornwall
. It is worth uncovering in order to preserve it
properly. The second church must not be allowed to degrade further. And
the contribution that the sites will make to the Cornish Renaissance will,
we hope, be substantial.
Uncovering
and Preserving the Oratory and the Church - where we are now
We should be in a position to begin our work within a few weeks, subject
to final approval for the feasibility study.
The Study will set out the options
for uncovering the Oratory and evaluate the hydrological, geological,
ecological and archaeological problems and risks, and responses to them.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, once the site is drained, we could house the Oratory within a
hollow artificial dune and employ a caretaker to look after it. It would
become a museum in its own right. The proposed St Piran Trust would ensure
that the structure was maintained and guarded. Similarly, the second
church needs protection and better presentation.
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.
Further
Developments:
Since our last newsletter we are saddened at the death of Roger Glanville.
He was a St Piran man to the core and a staunch supporter of all our aims.
Roger loved Perran Round in particular, so it seems fitting that at
present we are in. negotiation with the owner to take over and care for
this ancient Celtic monument which at present is very badly overgrown.
To explain the Round we quote from
one of Roger's many articles on the subject....
The
one endearing feature of Rose is Perran Round.
It has been described as
Britain
's oldest
theatre. It has been the location for fetes, tea treats, wrestling matches
and the Gorsedd.
The Round is a perfect circle, 130 feet in diameter with an earth
rampart l2 feet high, surrounded by a ditch 6 feet deep. It was used for
the performance of medieval miracle plays in the Cornish Language.
The
pilgrims’ road to St Piran’s Oratory passed through the Round.
We expect the next newsletter to
describe real progress on the Round and also the Oratory.
Perran Penrose
Chairman
St Piran Project
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