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Berry
Tower
Bodmin |
North Cornwall
NGR: SX 07251 67467 |
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The town of Bodmin has played a central role in the development of
Christianity in Cornwall, and tradition, legend and history combine
to suggest that the area around the Berry Tower was an early focus
of settlement. The 12th century ‘life’ of St Petroc states that the
saint built two habitations in the place that was later to become
Bodmin: one in the valley where the parish church now is, and the
other on the hill to the north – at the Berry. Here may also have
been the seat of the Cornish bishop Kenstec in the 10th century. The
site is located on a prominent spur overlooking the modern town and
may have been fortified, as the names Berry, derived from
Anglo-Saxon burh, and Dinuurin, which contains Cornish dyn, both
suggest. No remains survive to substantiate this however.
The focus of mediæval Bodmin was a long main street stretching west
from the parish church. This was a thriving, busy place, with
markets, fairs, and many religious institutions including a Priory,
a Friary, a hospital, and 13 chapels. There were also numerous
guilds – associations formed for social, religious or economic
purposes whose activities might include charitable works, raising
money for various causes or building projects, and alms giving. By
1470 there were three guilds based at the Berry, the main one being
the Guild of the Holy Rood. This guild was associated with a chapel
here and at the beginning of the 16th century was responsible for
building this tower.
Remarkably, accounts relating to the building of the tower still
survive and provide a fascinating insight into the methods,
materials and processes involved in such a project. The income for
the work came mainly from local donations and gifts, all of which
are recorded in the accounts. From the accounts we know that work on
the tower commenced in 1501 and that it took ten years to build,
growing at a rate of about 6 feet per year. Granite for windows and
quoins came from St Austell or Bodmin Moor, but the slate was from a
local quarry. During the last four years the furnishings like
floors, a bell, lead roof and window fixings were provided. At the
same time as the tower was raised, the chapel was extended with a
south aisle, whose walls were decorated with murals of St
Christopher and St Petroc.
Although work was completed in 1514, the newly refurbished chapel
was only in use for just over three decades before the cataclysmic
changes of the Reformation forced it to close. By the 18th century,
only the tower remained with the chapel reduced to foundations. The
present cemetery was established on the site by Bodmin Town
Corporation in the 19th century. An interpretation
board on the site provides detailed information about the building
of the tower.
Standing in front of Berry tower is a mediæval wheel-headed cross of
perhaps 12th or 13th century date. This was moved here in 1860 from
its original site on Cross Lane at the junction of Berry Lane.
At the foot of the hill on which Berry Tower stands is Bodmin parish
church, dedicated to St Petroc, the most important Celtic saint in
mediæval Cornwall, whose relics survive in the church, in a 13th
century ivory casket. This is one of the largest parish churches in
Cornwall, reflecting the importance of Bodmin in the Middle Ages.
Here also can be seen the holy well of St Guron, a pillar from the
Friary, a good collection of coffin slabs from both the Priory and
the Friary and the remains of another guild chapel, that of St
Thomas. In the nearby Shire Hall is Bodmin’s Museum, with displays
of finds from all these sites.
Access to Berry Tower is easy, from nearby Cross lane, where parking
is easy, and this is a good place from which to walk down Castle
Hill to the church and on to the town. |
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Ground & Aerial photographs |
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