St. Minver — Cornwall, England
St. Minver is a small village, as well as the parish located in Northern Cornwall comprised of Rock, Trebetherick, Polzeath and St. Minver with the latter being ideally located in the lovely woodlands that were once part of an old manor.
Although St. Minver is a small village, it is situated partially on St. Minver Highlands to the north and east, and the remainder of the village is referred to as the St. Minver Lowlands to the west. There is an "ancient" ferry that has been located on the Camel Estuary for as long as memory can recall; making the passage from the east bank of the Estuary to Port Isaac a convenience for those who wish to visit Padstow and its famous fishing port. For those who visit Cornwall for the sun and water sports there are several beautiful beaches in close proximity to St. Minver, namely Rock, Daymer Bay and Polzeath beaches.
St. Minver, as most Cornish towns, is steeped in legend dating back through the centuries, and even the River Camel has its own legend regarding the Doom Bar; a bank of sand at the point where the estuary meets the Celtic Sea on the north coast. The sand bar has always represented a hazard, with numerous shipwrecks occurring there over the centuries. Legend has it that a mermaid placed a dying curse upon all sailors navigating the sand bar between St. Minver and Padstow due to her heartbreaking love of a sailor. The legend varies, the ending is much the same in all, making this not only a subject for poets, but currently there is even a brewery that named their popular bitter for the legend.
The village derives its name from St. Mynfreda, the patron saint of the Church of St. Minver. It is believed that St. Mynfreda was one of twenty-four children sired by St. Brychan who brought Christianity here during a time of missionary expansion in the 6th century from France to Brittany, Wales and Ireland. In all probability there was a wooden church built in the same location which evolved into the later Church of St. Minver. For the historian, one can trace the interior of the present structure to reveal how the Norman edifice replaced the Saxon church. The church has a tall spire that overlooks the village, rebuilt in 1875; with the interior evidencing 13th century restoration in the chapels, octagonal slate pillars in the north aisle, evidence of Norman arches, while the south aisle is 15th century, as well as 14th and 15th century remodeling in the roof porch and carved bench ends.
At the church there is a War Memorial for those local men who died during both World War I and World War II, one stands in the north end of the churchyard and is visible from the road, while inside the church are two lists of names, one for WWI and the second commemorating those who died in WWII. Another interesting historical fact is the discovery in the church cemetery of crude slate coffins which may be evidence of pre-Christian burials. But perhaps one of the most interesting oddities connected with the church are the "Vinegar Bibles", so-called due to the famous misprints circa 1717 in which "The Parable of the Vineyard" (St. Luke, chapter XX page heading) reads as "The Parable of the Vinegar". The printer, John Baskett made many errors in this edition, thereby lending his name to the phrase "a Baskett full of errors". These Bibles can be viewed upon pre-arrangement.
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