Launceston
Launceston is a very attractive and historic place to visit. Once the ancient capital, it is the last walled town in Cornwall and boasts the ruins of a Norman Castle, a tower built by the Black Prince, meandering streets and green spaces.
Established by Count Brian of Brittany around 1068, the castle was at the centre of Cornwall’s government for seven centuries. Now under the care of English Heritage, in 1656, George Fox, founder of the Quakers, was imprisoned here in ‘Doomsdale’, an ominous nickname given to the lower western room, recording it in his journal as a ‘nasty stinking place’.
‘Launceston Castle’ is a poem written in 1881 by Charles Causley, which begins…
Majestic pile grey, venerable Sage,
Rich in strange legends of a distant age
String Time’s wild harp and minstrel forth the tale
Of thy long summer’s joy and winter’s gale
Sing who from bold Dunheved’s swelling hill.
Fringed with deep wood, soft mead and purling rill,
Raised thy giant form, and weird and mystic rites…
Charles Causley was a teacher, poet and author who was born in Launceston in 1917. Many of his poems, like ‘Timothy Winters’ are well known in schools, still shared and enjoyed with classes.
Causley’s birthplace is in the parish church of St. Thomas. The site of his birth is now a private house, marked by a plaque installed by the Town Council. It stands just by the River Kensey with a mediaeval packhorse bridge. Causley spent most of his life living in Launceston (apart from his war-time service, teacher-training, and time spent touring as a writer). He died in the town, at the age of 86, on the 4th November 2003 and is buried in the churchyard of St Thomas.
Nestled just behind the main church are some ancient Priory ruins, rediscovered in the 1880’s when workmen were constructing the new railway line through Launceston for the London and South Western Railway. Although nothing to do with Charles Causley, they are worth a visit if you are near, offering a quiet spot, full of history.
Causley’s poetry frequently refers to Cornwall and its legends, and he was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd in 1955. You can read about Zennor and Causley’s retelling of the legend of the mermaid here. You can walk 'The Causley Way': a scenic and poetic walk around Launceston which guides you past locations referred to in his poems- the subject of a future post!
