The monitor., 1928-07-20
WILL PRESERVE SCENE
OF ARTHUR'S BATTLES
Movement in England to
Save Historic Site.

stretch of the Cornish cliff on the
north shore of Cornwall, properly
known as Church Cliff, will soon be-
come a national monument If plans
made by Rev. A. Blissard Barnes.
vicar of Tintagel, come to maturity
this year. This stretch of cliff, about
so acres In area, stands as a bull
wark against the Atlantic rollers, and
commands magnificent views of a
countryside which is rich with legends
of Arthur Pendragon and his Knights
Of the Round Table.
Below the cliff. and within view
from its top, is the precipitous island
rock upon which are a portion of the
ruins of an ancient castle, by popular
belief the birthplace of the afterward
celebrated King Arthur. Not far
away is the stone marked Slaughter
bridge, where many say the last bat
tie of Arthur was fought, and where
the last of the Pendragons received
his fatal wound.
Doubt Arthur Ever Existed.
Milton, in his History of Britain,
ramarks: "Who Arthur was, and
whether any such person reigned in
Britain, hath been doubted heretofore,
and may again with good reason"
Scholars and historians have pointed
out that there is little evidence worth
consideration that Arthur was more
than the creation of natural myth.
Yet to many Cornishmen, and to Eng
lishmen and Americans as well, the
heroic tales of the son of Uther, re-
corded first by Nennius in the latter
half of the Ninth century, and spun
since by poets and singers into glis-
tening web of fancies and romance,
have made the figures as real and be-
llevable as those of the more authen-
tic persons of history.
The proof of this lies in the num-
Der of English tourists who visit the
ruins at Tintagel, the town at Camel
ford. the battlefield at Slaughter
bridge. and other spots closely asso-
ciated with the legend. In the last
half-decade Americans, too. have
found Cornwall In increasing num-
bers the summer tourists have invad-
ed the quiet country at the south of
England TO battle on her white
beaches at Penzance. Newquay, and
Perranporth, to visit the famous tin
mines near Redruth and Camborne,
and to stand on the ground made ia
nous by the tale of Arthur Pendragon,
Ia the north.
Ruined Castle Draws Many.
The chief interest at Tintagel, of
course, is the ruined castle, which Is
popularity referred TO as King Arthur's
castle and so represented to tourists.
Regardless of the truth of this claim,
the spot has genuine historic associ-
ations of later date, though 1t Is now
generally acknowledged that the
crumbling ruins are of a period pos
terror to the Norman conqueror. A few
English writer's, however, moved to
defend the legends of the Pendragon,
have declared it possible that the cas-
tie. or some mansion or dwelling, must
have existed there before the Con-
quest; that 1t was later restored by
the Normans In their own particular
style.
At any rate, there must have been
some sort of castle on the Island of
TintageI, or Tintagol, when Godfrey
of Monmouth, the most believable of
the early writer's, recorded his version
of the Arthurian legend, about the
year 1147. At the close of that cen
fury. it seems evident, the Norman
family of De Hornacot, seated al
Hornacot, In North Hamerton, had q
grant of the manor of Bossinney, In
Guiding, no doubt, the Island of Tin
tagel. They thereafter took the name
of Tintagel as part of the family
name, which is thought to indicate
that there was some castle or mansion
on the island for them to reside in.
The isle of Tintagel and the ruins
upon it now belong to the prince of
Wales, as duke of Cornwall. Much of
the other land of especial note In the
region is similarly protected for pos
terity. But the area along Church
cliff, which Is attached to the glebe
land of the vicarage of Tintagel, is
the property of the church, and as
such may be sold at any time, pro-
yided proper authority is obtained
from the ecclesiastical commissioners.
Since the increase In the tourist
trade of the region began, the value
of the land for building sites has
steadily gone up. Rev. A. Blissard
Barnes and others interested In the
sentimental value of the cliff front
have been alarmed lately lest an es-
pecialIy fine offer induces the church
to sell. allowing the cliffs to fall into
uriyafe hands