The St Piran Trust will today launch an appeal to raise funds for a project to re-excavate St Piran’s Oratory near Perranporth.
As you will know, the Oratory is one of the earliest surviving Christian buildings in Britain. It is also an iconic structure through its association with Cornwall’s national saint – St Piran. It has been lost to the people of Cornwall since 1980, when the building was buried in the sands to protect it from damage.
The St Piran Trust is working with the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall County Council (ie. me) to develop a wide-ranging archaeological project to uncover the Oratory, conserve the remains of this important building and make it accessible once again to the general public.
The Trust is also working with all the relevant statutory bodies to ensure that the project can be undertaken with no adverse impact on the environment of the Special Area of Conservation within which it lies.
Eileen Carter of the Trust has rightly described the project as extremely important for Cornwall, our history and our heritage.
Anyone can support the appeal with a donation. These can be paid directly into the St Piran Trust Project account (sort code: 30-98-76: account number 1450689) at Lloyds TSB, 7 Boscawen St, Truro, TR1 2QT. Alternatively, cheques can made out to the St Piran Trust and sent to the St Piran Trust, Penquite House, Liskeard, PL14 5AQ. All donations will be acknowledged and donors will receive regular progress reports.
As you will know, the Oratory is one of the earliest surviving Christian buildings in Britain. It is also an iconic structure through its association with Cornwall’s national saint – St Piran. It has been lost to the people of Cornwall since 1980, when the building was buried in the sands to protect it from damage.
The St Piran Trust is working with the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall County Council (ie. me) to develop a wide-ranging archaeological project to uncover the Oratory, conserve the remains of this important building and make it accessible once again to the general public.
The Trust is also working with all the relevant statutory bodies to ensure that the project can be undertaken with no adverse impact on the environment of the Special Area of Conservation within which it lies.
Eileen Carter of the Trust has rightly described the project as extremely important for Cornwall, our history and our heritage.
Anyone can support the appeal with a donation. These can be paid directly into the St Piran Trust Project account (sort code: 30-98-76: account number 1450689) at Lloyds TSB, 7 Boscawen St, Truro, TR1 2QT. Alternatively, cheques can made out to the St Piran Trust and sent to the St Piran Trust, Penquite House, Liskeard, PL14 5AQ. All donations will be acknowledged and donors will receive regular progress reports.
1 comment:
As a zooarchaeologist with an MA in Cornish Studies, I'd be particularly interested in these excavations. Although not many animal bones may be expected from a church excavation, the potential for preservation of all bones in the sand is far greater than on the overwhelming majority of Cornish sites, where acid soils predominate.
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