"The parish of Towednack, is only less wild than Zennor, and its 'church-town' (ie village round the parish church) consists of two farmhouses and an inn. The Church tower, of granite, very low and massive, is altogether unlike every other in the district, and being constructed without any attempt at ornamentation." 

(This picture shows the church prior to restoration).
Clicking on some of the pictures will show them enlarged

My father (Nick Berryman) examining a Berryman grave in Towednack churchyard.

Desolate landscape around the church

"The continuous parishes of Zennor, Towednack and Morvah are locally termed the 'high countries' and preserve much of the social aspect of former ages. Here may still be commonly seen the immense open chimney, with dried furze and turf piled up on the earthen floor of the kitchen. "  

"In the Doomsday Book, the district was taxed under the jurisdiction Amall, now Amall Veor or Trenwith………… "

"Towednack, like most of the districts situated on granite, exhibits a strange and almost unaccountable mixture of cultivated and of unreclaimed soils. On one side of a fence may be seen land producing abundance of grass and excellent for daisies, or bearing ample crops of barley and of clover hay, and on the other side, nothing better than the species or variety of furze, Ullex Nanus, and some of the more coarse grasses." 

At one time, the parish of Towednack had about 22 tin mines (the last to close was Giew in 1923), and the Berryman family doubtless had many tin miners in its ranks. "This parish has been productive of much tin near the surface; . . . . "

"The parish of Towednack also affords some interesting examples of old Cornish domestic architecture...... Trevessa(Trevisa), a primitive village in the parish of Towednack, and one of the old homes of the Stevens clan. The farmstead probably inhabited, since it was built, by the Quick family. On the lintel: ‘P.J.Q. 1702 (Paul and Jane Quick’)"  (a description of this house is on page 324 of  reference 2, and details of the Stevens family on page 451)

At nearby Amalveor farm, once owned by the Berryman family, a gold hoard, dated at about 1000 B.C, was discovered; it is now in the British Museum, and comprises two twisted torcs, four plain bracelets, and three coled bars of gold.

Nancledra is a hamlet in Towednack. In the 1327 Subsidy Roll, it was Nanscludry, which means: "The valley of the sheltered habitation

Towednack church (St Tewinnoc), was named after a 6^th Century monk, "Winnock" or "Gwynog", of royal British blood. Many years ago, it was known as the Chapel of St Ewin, and was administered from the nearby parish of Lelant.

The parish registers date to 1676 (an early volume, long since lost, was copied by a Dr Cardew). The present church, parts of which date back to the late 13th century, has an unusually squat and massive tower. "There is an old legend that, when the mason's were building the tower of this Church, the devil came every night and carried off the pinnacles and battlements. Again and again this work was renewed during the day, and as often was it removed during the night, until at length, the builders gave up the work in despair. Associated with this tower is the proverb: "there are no cuckolds in Towednack, because there are no horns on the church-tower". Perhaps this is not unconnected with the celebrated Towednack "Cuckoo Feast". The stone altar of the church is formed from a rough granite block, and probably dates from the Norman era; having been disposed of, probably during the Reformation, it was rediscovered earlier this century forming part of a wall at Churchtown Farm. There were also two bench ends from about 1633, with the names of Wardens Matthew Trenwith and James Trewhella carved upon them, but these appear to have been stolen. The font dates partly from Norman times and partly from 1720. The Church also has the distinction of being the first in modern times to hold a service in the Cornish language (1933), and in 1975 was used for the marriage and burial services in the TV series "Poldark", and again in 1979 in the film "Penmarric". "It is an unpleasant and probably erroneous tradition that the bodies in Towednack churchyard, which is very small, after having lain there for 20 years, were disinterred to make way for fresh burials, and stowed away in a charnel-house." Another Towednack legend tells of a local farmer who, at a party, caught and kept a cuckoo that flew out of a hole in a log that he had placed on the fire. He vowed that he would thereafter hold an annual feast to celebrate the event, and to this day, on the nearest Sunday to April 25th, Towednack holds its annual "Cuckoo Feast", with a fiddler leading a procession from the church door. "Crying the Neck", a ritualistic thought to have originated as a Neolithic sacrifice to the corn-spirit was, in the C19th, an integral part of Cornish culture. The ritual was observed at Towednack until at least the 1930s.

The last picture of the Church (above) is kindly contributed by Jim Thompson.
Any additional contributions (photos or information) about the parish will be most welcome.

Find out more about Towednack at June Nicholls' Website

The Berriman Family

The Berriman line in Towednack was started by Mark Berriman and his wife, Elenor (Eade) in about 1708. The name probably changed from Berryman to Berriman around the year 1690, after Mark's parents, Richard and Margaret (Thomas), moved from Porthmeor to "Churchtown", Zennor. In my branch of the family, it changed back to Berryman in about 1860.

1.   "The Parochial History of Cornwall" , founded on the manuscript histories of Mr Hals and Mr Tonkin (1838).
2  "A history of the parishes of Saint Ives, Lelant, Towednack and Zennor in the county of Cornwall", by  John Hobson Matthews, 1892.