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Mawgan In Pyder

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"MAWGAN-IN-PYDER, a parish in the hundred of East Pyder, county Cornwall, 3 miles N.W. of St. Colomb-Major, its pest town, and 8 from Padstow. It is bounded on the W. by the Bristol Channel, and includes the small cove of Mawgan Forth. The village, which is small, and chiefly agricultural, is situated in a valley, watered by a considerable stream which, about 2 miles below, falls into the sea between precipitous cliffs. At a point on the coast called Badrathan Steps, a pathway leads down the rocks to a firm sandy beach, locally known as Trevarrian, the sands extending for above 3 miles. Slate of excellent quality is procured in vast quantities from the cliffs, chiefly for exportation. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £605. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Exeter, value £590, and a glebe of 64 acres. The church is an ancient structure, and in the churchyard is a cross, with a niche, in which is an alto-relievo of the Crucifixion. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have places of worship, and there are two village schools. A court leet and baron is held annually for the manor of Carnanton. Lanherne House, one of the principal seats of the Arundel family, was fitted up by the eighth Lord Arundel as a nunnery for four Carmelites from Antwerp. Near the village are traces of ancient earthworks."