Hello chaps! not a long post this evening as been very busy today! so just to post the email that I got back from Alan this morning with some more information about St.Morwenna's church and Hawker. The more I learn about him - the more I like him. If he wasn't up to some high jinks he was causing some kind of a stir!
Info obtained today:
in 1296, the "ancient" church of St John was passed to the monks of Bridgewater. When Hawker became incumbent in 1834 he decided that Morwenstow was derived from St Morwenna - Morwenna's station, rather than place on the moor. He then constructed and elaborate fiction which you can read about in his book "Footprints of men in far Cornwall" There are more details about him and his life in "The Life and Letters of RS Hawker" written by his son-in-law Byles.
Hawker was a poet and romantic. It was he than adopted and added to all the imagery in the church, the books mentioned detail some of this.
On page 24 of the guide is some information about the window. There is a bench end in Sheepstor church which depicts (a Victorian ideal) of St Morwenna where the picture itself came from, I have no idea, but it must be conjectural.
I suggest you obtain copies of books about Hawker which will lead you into his thinking and some of his ideas about Morwenna. If you find out the origin of the picture, I would be intrested.
-end-
So books about Hawker I will read ;-) oh and a visit to Sheepstor church at some point...which is in....(quick look on the old google maps)........Dartmoor!
No comments:
Post a Comment