Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne

Kowethas Kernow Goth - Gerens ha Porthskathow
DERIVAS
Kammvaow – Pluw Ruwon Lannrihorn
Stiles - Parish of Ruan Lanihorne
2019

Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Contents
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Carol and David Hughes who carried out virtually all of the fieldwork which forms
the basis for this study.
Any errors are the responsibility of the Recorder/Editor.
Introduction
Topic
Page
Acknowledgements 2
Introduction 2
Footpaths & Stiles 3
Miscellaneous Stiles 36
St Gerrans & Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society 41
In 1997 the St Gerrans & Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society carried out and published a survey report
on the Stiles of Gerrans Parish, including St Anthony. In 1999/2000 the Society completed a survey and
published a report of the stiles in the parishes of Philleigh and St Just in Roseland.
This report extends the survey to cover the neighbouring parish of Ruan Lanihorne. Ruan Lanihorne is
a rural parish in the Hundred of Powder. It is bounded by the Fal River and St Michael Penkivel Parish
to the north, and then clockwise by St Cuby (Tregony), Veryan, and Philleigh.
This survey is intended to be an historical record of Cornish stiles in the Parish. It was mainly conducted
in 2014, but with some additional material in 2019. For the sake of completeness, the location of stiles
of all types existing at the time of the survey have been included and some information on the original
use of the footpath has been given where possible. It is not a commentary on the condition of the
footpaths, obstructions or diversions of rights of way.
The footpaths of the Parish often provide direct routes between settlements, and sometimes these paths
form longer cross-county routes. For example, one such path leads from the Tregony Road, above Barn
via Ruan Lanihorne, Little Treviles, Treworga, Quoit Stile, and Lower Mill (Veryan) right through to
Pendower.
A stile is a set or series of steps for crossing a hedge, fence or wall, usually constructed so as to allow
humans but not livestock to pass. The word stile derives from the Saxon stigel, a "device for climbing,
ladder" it is related to stigen "to climb," from Proto-Germanic *stig- "to climb"
The traditional stiles in the Roseland and surrounding districts tend to be built of native killas stone, and
are of 3 main types (or modifications thereof), Cattle Stiles, Sheep Stiles and Coffen Stiles.
The most numerous are Cattle Stiles. These consist of a gap through the hedge with steps either side
and a central bar.
Sheep Stiles consist of cantilevered steps leading diagonally up on side of the hedge and down the
other.
The Coffen Stile can best be described as a stone “cattle grid”. There is a gap in the hedge, with
horizontal slabs of stone over a pit.
The style of both hedges and stiles is largely dictated by the underlying geology and the type of stone
available combined with the local customs and hedging skills. These traditional stone stiles are thus an
integral part of the local cultural and physical landscape. It is to be regretted that in recent years some
organisations have turned their back on the local culture and littered the Roseland landscape with nonnative
wooden stiles and kissing gates.
Nev Meek – Recorder: St Gerrans & Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society – mis Gortheren 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpaths & Stiles
Footpath 317/1/1 - Veryan Turn to Lambourne
Boundary 1 - SW 90100 39461
Wooden step stile and gate leading from the A3078 near
Veryan Turn (The junction with the road to Crugsillick).
Figure 1 Photo - Carol Hughes 2014
Boundary 2 - SW 89991 39516
Figure 2 - Carol Hughes 2014
The Field Boundary, at this point is accessed by a 5-bar wooden gate hung on granite gatepost.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 3 - SW 89850 39672
Figure 3 - Carol Hughes 2014
The boundary is accessed by means of a pedestrian wooden gate. Note that this is a modern boundary,
until recent years the track from Lambourne to Trestain crossed an open field at this point.
Boundary 4 - SW 89707 40000
Between Boundary 3 and 4 this path follows the route of
the farm track to Lambourne and Trestain. At this point
it meets with the road from Ruan High Lanes to Philleigh.
There is no stile or gate at the end of the lane.
Figure 4 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/2/1 – Ruan High Lanes to Lambourne
This is a short path across a field which forms a short cut to the route taken by the road.
Boundary 1 – SW 89873 39965
The boundary is crossed at this point by means of a Cattle
Stile the top tread of which is a large native stone.
Figure 5 - Carol Hughes 2019
Figure 7 - Carol Hughes 2019 Figure 6 - Carol Hughes 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 89713 40003
Figure 8 - Carol Hughes 2019 Figure 9 - Carol Hughes 2019
The boundary here is crossed by means of a Cattle Stile and emerged adjacent to the lane to
Lambourne, as detailed above.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/3/1 – Trethella to Treviles
Boundary 1 – SW 89737 41561
The footpath leads off the road between Ruan Lanihorne
and Trethella. It is accessed by means of a wooden Step
Stile and leads along a farm track.
Figure 10 - Carol Hughes 2014
The stile leading from the road onto a farm track is a
two-tread step stile, next to a modern galvanised tubular
steel field gate.
Figure 11 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 - SW 89750 41547
The stile at this point is a two-tread wooden step stile
alongside a modern galvanised steel field gate.
Figure 12 - Carol Hughes 2014
Boundary 3 – SW 89883 41250
Figure 13 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
The boundary at this point is crossed by means of a galvanised tubular steel field gate, with
waymarks on the latch-post.
Figure 14 - Carol Hughes 2014
Boundary 4 – SW 89890 41133
The boundary at this point is accessed by means of a
two-tread wooden step stile.
Figure 15 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 5 – SW 89922 40905
Figure 16 - Carol Hughes 2014 Figure 17 - Carol Hughes 2014
Figure 18 - Carol Hughes 2014
The boundary is crossed at this point by a traditional stone Cattle Stile, the top tread of which is a
substantial granite stone. There is a wooden fence on the southern side the top rung of which is
hinged.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 6 – SW 89961 40748
Figure 20 - Carol Hughes 2014 Figure 19 - Carol Hughes 2014
There is wire mesh on the north side of the boundary. The stile itself is a modified Cattle Stile, with a
large step-over stone on edge on the top of the hedge and stone treads on the southern side.
Boundary 7 – SW 89961 40748
Figure 21 - Carol Hughes 2014
This galvanised tubular steel gate is immediately adjacent to the last boundary.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 8 – SW 89960 40738
The path fords a small stream at this point. The stream
itself joins other tributaries before flowing into the Ruan
River.
Figure 22 - Carol Hughes 2014
Boundary 9 – SW 89950 40667
Figure 23 - Carol Hughes 2014
Figure 24 - Carol Hughes 2014
The boundary here is accessed by a stone-built Cattle Stile, the top tread of which is a very hefty rock.
The path here emerges on to the road between Treviles and Treworga.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/4/1 – Forge to Trethella
Boundary 1 – SW 89761 41761
Figure 25 - Nev Meek 2019
The footpath leaves the road at Ruan immediately next
to a post-medieval blacksmith’s shop, which has now
been converted into a dwelling. A modified stone Cattle
Stile accesses the field behind where there is a modern
wooden kissing gate.
Figure 27 - Carol Hughes 2014
Figure 26 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 89700 41703
Figure 28 - Carol Hughes 2014
The hedgerow at this point is a new creation, as is the wooden kissing gate which provides the route
through it.
Boundary 3 – SW 89631 41637
Figure 29 - Carol Hughes 2014
The hedgerow at this point is a new creation, as are the double wooden pedestrian gates which provides
the route through it.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 4 – SW 89585 41591
The boundary here is accessed by means of a wooden
pedestrian gate.
Figure 30 - Carol Hughes 2014
Boundary 5 – SW 89574 41573
The path down to the road at Trethella is accessed by a
flight of modern steps.
Figure 31 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/5/1 – Ruan/Tregony Road, via Barn to Ruan Mill
Boundary 1 – SW 90027 42424
The path here is accessed by climbing a hedge from
the roadside. There are wooden steps on the field side,
but these are often obscured by undergrowth.
Figure 32 - Carol Hughes - 2019
This “Ladder Stile” is unusual in Roseland, and is the
only example in the parish.
Figure 33 - Carol Hughes 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 89902 42158
The path here leads through a
modern galvanised tubular metal field
gate. This gives access to the
farmstead at Barn.
Figure 34 - Carol Hughes 2019
The Heritage Environment Record
records that the historian, Charles
Henderson, identified a granite stone
on a wall at Barn, which he thought
could be a medieval cross.
Figure 35 - Old Building at Barn, Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 36 - Green Lane from Barn to Ruan, Nev Meek 2019
The path from Barn follows a green lane which
emerges on the eastern side Ruan Lanihorne, next to
a house named Fairview, and behind the former corn
mill.
Figure 37 - Carol Hughes - 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 38 - Former Mill at Ruan Lanihorne, Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/6/1 – Ruan/Tregony Road, via Trethewey & Cregoe to A3078
The footpath leads from the Ruan / Tregony Road to the A3078 via Trethewey and Cregoe.
Boundary 1 – SW 91025 43283
Figure 39 - Track to Trethewey - Nev Meek 2019
The footpath leaves the Ruan/Tregony road via the track to Trethewey. The first part of the footpath
follows this track until it crosses the fields near to Trethewey itself.
Boundary 2 – SW 91649 43117
Figure 40 - Nev Meek 2019
At this point the footpath crosses the field boundary by means of a modern wooden two-tread step stile.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 41 - Looking back toward Trethewey - Nev Meek 2019
Boundary 3 – SW 91855 43053
From the fields the path enters a green lane with no stile or gate.
Figure 42 - Green lane to Cregoe - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 4 – SW 91924 42972
There is a modern wooden gate across the green lane near what is now named Cregoe Court.
Figure 43 - Gate at Cregoe Court - Nev Meek 2019
Boundary 5 – SW 92147 43052
The footpath continues from Cregoe Court along the main track to Cregoe to the A3078.
Figure 44 - Track to Cregoe from A3078 - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/7/1 – Ruan High Lanes/Ruan Lanihorne Road to Beruppa
Boundary 1 – SW 90388 40489
Figure 46 - Carol Hughes 2019
Figure 45 - Nev Meek 2019
The path is accessed by means of a widened field gateway from the Ruan High Lanes to Ruan
Lanihorne Road. There is a traditional granite gatepost on one side of the gateway. The latch-post is
missing.
Figure 47 - Nev Meek 2019
For part of its route the path follows a green lane down to Beruppa.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 49 - Nev Meek 2019
Boundary 2 – SW 90725 40401
The path follows the farm track from Beruppa and
emerges onto the A3078.
The gateway has a traditional granite gatepost.
Figure 48 - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/8/1 - Tregisswin to New Gonitor
Boundary 1 – SW 90610 41169
The path is accessed from the road adjacent to
Tregisswin by means of a traditional stone-built Cattle
Stile.
Figure 50 - Carol Hughes 2018
Figure 52 - Carol Hughes 2014 Figure 51 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 90420 41284
Figure 54 - Carol Hughes 2014
Figure 53 - Carol Hughes 2014
The hedge at this point is crossed by a stone Sheep Stile (aka Step Stile).
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 3 – SW 90037 41298
Figure 56 - Carol Hughes 2014 Figure 55 - Carol Hughes 2014
The path at this point emerges onto the Ruan High Lanes to Ruan Lanihorne road. The boundary is
accessed by means of a wooden two-tread step stile.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpaths 317/9/1 & 317/9/2 - Treworga to Praze Hill
Boundary 1 – SW 89654 40109
Figure 58 - Carol Hughes 2014
Figure 57- Carol Hughes 2014
The path is accessed by climbing the hedge on the outskirts of Treworga.
Boundary 2 – SW 89219 39910
The path is accessed from the road by walking over a
low hedge. There is no actual stile.
Figure 59 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/10/1 - Trethella to Trelonk
This footpath is a shortcut across a loop in the road it crosses a stream in the bottom of the valley.
Footbridge – SW 89470 41479
There is a footbridge across the stream and stone steps
at the other side.
Figure 60 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/11/1 - Ruan High Lanes to Veryan Footpath 327/22/1
The hamlet of High Lanes is in the Parish of Ruan Lanihorne, but only just! The parish boundary with
Veryan runs along the back gardens of the cottages on the south western side of the hamlet. This
footpath is a very short section from the main A3078 in High Lanes to the Veryan Parish boundary.
Boundary 1 – SW 90277 39901
Figure 61 - Nev Meek 2019
The path is accessed via a narrow path and some stone steps.
Figure 62 - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 90286 39894
Figure 63 - Wooden Stile at High Lanes - Nev Meek 2019
The path across the field is accessed by a modern two-tread wooden step stile.
Figure 64 - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 317/12/1 - Ruan village
This is a short section of footpath which winds its way through the old village of Ruan. There are no
stiles.
Figure 65 Entrance to the footpath from the lower road in Ruan - Nev Meek 2019
Figure 66 - Rout of path in Ruan - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 67 - Nev Meek 2019
The footpath passes the well at Hillside, before climbing some steps and a short path, emerging on to
the road near the Kings Head.
Figure 68 - Steps leading up from Hillside - Nev Meek 2019
Figure 69 - Point where path emerges on to road near Kings
Head - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Footpath 325/6/1 – Hay Corner to Porters
This bridleway is numbered as a St Cuby (Tregony) Parish bridleway; however, this lane forms the
boundary between Ruan and Tregony so is actually in both parishes. It is a green lane which runs from
Hay Corner on the A3078 to Porters on the Ruan/Tregony road.
Boundary 1 – SW 92138 43385
Figure 70 - Entrance to green lane from Hay Corner - Nev Meek 2019
Figure 71 - Traditional 'Jin pon Jan' (Jack & Jill, herringbone) hedging in lane between Hay Barton and Porters - Nev
Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Boundary 2 – SW 91458 44036
Figure 72 - Lane at Porters - Nev Meek 2019
Figure 73 - Bridleway Sign at Porters - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Miscellaneous Stiles and Other Features
Lychgate – SW 89465 42005
The largest stile in the Parish is the lychgate which gives access to the church and churchyard. The
word lych is from the Saxon lic ‘corpse’, since the roofed lychgate gives shelter to coffins on the way to
burial. The lychgate is also the only example of a Coffen Stile in the Parish.
Figure 74 - Lychgate - Nev Meek 2015
The horizonal stone slabs can still be seen on the floor of the lychgate although the gaps and the pit
underneath have unfortunately been filled with concrete.
Figure 75 - Lychgate interior - Nev Meek 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Quoit Stile – SW 89885 39110
Figure 76 - Carol Hughes 2019
Quoit Stile is the only named stile in the parish; it is so named because it is on the hedge of a field
named Quoit Field. It is situated on the hedge bordering the A3078 opposite the entrance of the
driveway to Trenance. It is in a significant location on a path which extends from Ruan Lanihorne to
Pendower, via Lambourne and Lower Mill. It is also at the point where three parish boundaries meet –
Ruan, Veryan, and Philleigh.
Unfortunately, this section of the path was omitted from the Definitive Map in the 1950s. Recently Carol
Hughes had to fight her way through the undergrowth to confirm that the stile still exists, and to obtain
the above photograph.
In his ‘History of the Parish of Ruanlanihorne’, the Rector, Rev. John Whitaker (1735-1808) wrote:
“On this hill and along the High Lane was a wood which has lent a name to the site of it. Coit field, and
to the access into it from the High Lane, Coit Stile. But the word Coit not being understood as
significative of a wood, and being still retained in popular use for a Quoit, vulgar fancies have laid hold
of the circumstances very naturally, to wrest the name from what they did not know, to something of
which they did. Two stones also being laid near the stile, the populace imagined one of them to be the
dominating object, because it has something of the Quiot in its appearance. They were both of a blue
aspect and appeared from that to have been cut from the cliffs at Pendour. But one of them was in the
ditch of the lane near the style set up as a pillar, fastened deep in the ground, surrounded with a little
mound of earth and rising about two feet above it; while the other was round and flat, evidently the
cover of that pillar, lying where it had fallen with its edge in the ditch and not above two or three inches
uncovered with it. The former was shaped by imagination into the jack, and the latter into the quoit
pitched near it. This indeed was rather too large for a quoit. But then what will not suit an ordinary hand
may be adapted to a gigantic one. The vulgar have therefore been obliged to conjure up a Giant for the
Quoit, who lived they not in which castle, and who threw it from they know not which point, the
churchyard of Gerrans, the top of its spire, or from somewhere else. Thus, a wood, by the copulation of
ignorance with accident became a Quoit in the first generation and a father of a most miraculous Giant
in the second! And. All the while, the Quoit and its Jack were only the cap and post set up by authority
to mark the place at which the three parishes of Ruan, Philleigh and Veryan converge to a point.”
There was another stile on this section of path, possibly over a hedge at SW 898 394, near Trestain.
According to former land, Steve Paull, the stile was a Cattle Stile. This survey has been unable to
locate it.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Polsue Cottage Stile – SW 88787 39662
There is a stile over the hedge adjacent to Polsue
Cottage on the Ruan High Lanes to Philleigh road. It
probably provided a shortcut to Trenestrall.
The stile is a traditional stone Cattle Stile.
Figure 77 - Carol Hughes 2014
Sett Bridge – SW 88743 42178
Sett Bridge is the 19 th Century bridge over the River Fal to the north west of Ruan Lanihorne. There is
a stile from the bridge down on to the west bank of the river. It is technically just in the parish of St
Michael Penkivel, but is included here for interest.
Figure 78 - Carol Hughes 2019
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Figure 79 - Carol Hughes 2019
Tuckingmill Footbridge – SW 89163 40403
Figure 80 - Carol Hughes 2014
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
Churchyard Stile - SW 89456 42061
Figure 81 - Carol Hughes 2019
A “stile” in the form of steps, from the road gives access over the lann into the north-west corner of
the churchyard.
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
St. Gerrans & Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society
The objectives of the Society are: -
1. To collect, record and share information about Cornish history, place-names, folk-lore,
traditions, dialect, music, industries etc.
2. To protect the natural beauty of Cornwall
3. To encourage the study and use of the Cornish Language
4. To preserve Cornish Antiquities and relics of the past
Members of the Society work tirelessly to collect, record and promote all aspects of our rich
Cornish history and culture.
In order to promote Cornish culture, the Society: -
1. Manages projects to survey and preserve sites of historic interest.
2. Publishes pamphlets, booklets and other material.
3. Holds cultural events, e.g. St Peran’s Celebration, Crying the Neck, Feast Day
Celebrations.
4. Holds a series of monthly talks between October and May.
5. Runs visits to sites of historic interest each Summer.
If you have additional relevant information, documents, photos, illustrations or objects please
contact our Recorder: Nev Meek
Email: nev.meek@sky.com Tel: 01872 581817
If you would enjoy the challenge of contributing to a dynamic, Roseland based, cultural
organisation please contact our Membership Secretary for more information:
Jean Rigley
Email: jeanrigley@btinternet.com Tel: 01872 501838
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Stiles of Ruan Lanihorne
This Report collates details of all of the known stiles in the Parish of Ruan Lanihorne.
St Gerrans & Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society is affiliated to the Federation of Old Cornwall
Societies.
Registered Charity No.247283
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