Page:Cornwall (Salmon).djvu/213

 MARHAMCHURCH— MAWGAN This tangle of Celtic saints is most difficult to unravel. The castle, in excellent preser- vation, was built in the time of Henry VIII. This and the opposite Pendennis effectually defended f'almouth harbour. It is one of the largest castles of its kind in England. During the Civil War it was held for the king by Sir Richard Vivian, but surrendered to Fairfax in 1646. A light was thrown on ancient methods of working metal by the block of tin discovered in the river near St. Mawes in 1823. It is cast in ingot form, for con- venience of conveyance. Mnwgafi. — There are two Mawgans, though when the name is mentioned by visitors to Cornwall the Mawgan near Newquay is usually meant. St. Meugan or Maughan came from Wales, though he may have been of Irish birth ; he seems to have been both a bard and a tutor of saints, St. Mawgan-in- Meneage is about 4 miles S.E. of Helston, on a creek of the Helford River ; the church, originally cruciform, has now a N. aisle in- stead of a N. transept. S. transept and chancel are Dec. ; the rest is Perp. The pinnacled tower is an admirable specimen. In the key- stone of its western window is a figure supposed to be that of St. Mawgan himself. The fact that four noble Cornish families, the Carmi- nows, Roskymers, Vyvyans and Ferrers, lived in this district, or had connection with it, lends special interest to the church. There is a stone effigy of a Crusader and his wife, and 179