Crantock
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Crantock is a village and parish in the Restormel district of mid-Cornwall, England, UK. It dates back to 460 AD when a group of Irish hermits founded an oratory there.
The small village lies to the south of the River Gannel. The river also acts as the natural boundary between the parishes of Newquay and Crantock. The Gannel is tidal and a dangerous place to swim or wade. Ferries operate on a seasonal basis from Fern Pit to Crantock Beach. The village can be reached from the A3075 road via the junction at Trevemper.
Large parts of the parish are now in the ownership of the National Trust, including West Pentire headland which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and noted for its wild flowers and rare plants.
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[edit] History
The older part of the village is situated around its church which is dedicated to St Carantoc, founder of the village.
At one time the village was known as Langurroc which translates as - 'The Dwelling of Monks'[citation needed]. There is a Langurroc Road in the village. Langurroc was infamously (among locals) covered up in a sandstorm and may well lie beneath the sand dunes which back Crantock Beach.
The local village hall has recently undergone a transformation, with money from the National Lottery, the awarding of which was featured on ITV's Westcountry Live programme. The playing field on which the hall is situated was also given a new lease of life, and now includes a basketball hoop, numerous climbing facilities, and cricket and football pitches.
The village hall is now three times bigger in size and was the centrepiece in 2007's annual "Jazz in the parc". The village also hosts a street fair known as the "Crantock summer fiesta" which has a coconut shy, tombola, raffle, and many other stalls.
In 2006, the village held its second annual "big bale push" involving locals pushing tightly packed straw cylinders around the roads of the village, which are of course, closed for the event. They now hold the Guinness record for bale pushing.
[edit] Beaches
Like several other sandy beaches in the Newquay area, Crantock Beach is popular for surfing. There are car parks at Crantock Beach and West Pentire. The beach is backed by sand dunes.
The coastal footpath skirts all along the west side of the parish. Walking from Crantock the path leads to a sandy cove called Porth Joke known locally as Polly Joke. Its name comes from the old Cornish words for 'Jackdaw Cove' ....'Pol-Lejouack'. This cove is entirely surrounded by National Trust land and virtually unchanged over the centuries. Further along the coast path is the village of Holywell, with a larger sandy beach at Holywell Bay.
[edit] See also
Places also associated with St Carantoc include:
- St Carantoc's Church, Crantock
- Carhampton, Somerset
- Llangrannog, Ceredigion, Wales
- Carantec, Finistère, Brittany
[edit] References
- St Carantoc (1928) by Charles G. Henderson
- The Saints of Cornwall, Part 4, Gilbert H. Noble, The Holywell Press, (1965)
- Saints, Seaways and Settlements in The Celtic Lands, E. G. Bowen, Cardiff University of Wales Press, (1969)
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Crantock - Cornwall Online
- The Parish Church of St. Carantoc
- The History of Crantock
- Map of Crantock, Cornwall
- Crantock, Cornwall
- Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Crantock
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