Golant

Golant is a small village in the parish of St Sampson on the banks of the Fowey estuary in Cornwall, England, UK. It is roughly in between St. Austell and Polperro and is a short drive away from Bodmin. Its church is dedicated to St. Sampson.

Golant railway station was situated alongside the river to the south of the village. It was served by trains on the Great Western Railway's Fowey branch line from 1 July 1896 until 4 January 1965. The station has since been demolished and the space is now used for a car park.

Annie Vernon, the Olympic rower, first learnt her sport at Golant's Castle Dore Rowing Club. [cite web|url=http://www.ara-rowing.org/athlete/annie-vernon|title=Annie Vernon|publisher=Amateur Rowing Association|accessdate=2008-09-19]

History

Until very recently, Golant has been virtually unknown except to its inhabitants and pilgrims and other walkers of the Saints' Way. Nearby there is a disused ford across the Fowey estuary, but nowadays very few people know about it. However in early times it was probably very well used. In late summer 1644 war came to Golant and the surrounding area. A large force of approximately 10,000 parliamentary soldiers fought in the peninsula between Lostwithiel, St. Blazey and Fowey against Royalist forces in the East and West. Even King Charles was in the locality at the time.

By the beginning of September, the Earl of Essex-their commander along with other prominent parliamentarians-escaped by boat to Plymouth. Around 6,000 Parliamentarian soldiers surrendered at Castledore and were allowed to leave for parliamentarian towns to the east. Despite being given a promise of good treatment only around half eventually found safety. Surprisingly despite the scale of the battle no human remains have been found locally. Several cannon balls have been found in the village and some musket balls to the east of the church but excavations at Castledore have not recorded finds from this time.

The village church, dedicated to St. Sampson, has a long history. The famous poet John Betjeman, claimed its seats were the most uncomfortable in the whole of Cornwall, however it did manage to get a mention in the book Britain’s thousand best Churches.

The village today

Pub

The Fishermans arms pub in Golant, is situated on the banks of the Fowey estuary, with views of the river's boats, wildlife and atmosphere. It provides pub lunches, and is child and dog friendly!

Carnival

2007

2008

Despite being a very wet day, The 2008 carnival was a great success, with all the races going ahead as planned.

References

See also

St. sampsons church

External links