Tintagel

Fore Street, Trevena

Tintagel, formerly Trevena, is a civil parish and village on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

The population of the parish is 1,820 people[source?]. It is about 5 miles from Boscastle and 6 miles from Camelford.

There are three churches in Tintagel: the Anglican church of St Materiana on the cliffs, and Methodist and Roman Catholic churches in the village.

In recent times, Tintagel has become attractive to tourists from many parts of the world. It is one of the most-visited places in Britain.[source?]

History

In the village is the 'Old Post Office', a building which dates from the 14th century. It became a post office during the 19th century, and is now owned by the National Trust.[source?]

The modern-day village of Tintagel was known as Trevena until the Post Office decided to call it 'Tintagel' in the mid-19th century. Until then, Tintagel had always been the name of the headland and the parish).

Scholars have found it hard to explain the origin of 'Tintagel' as a name. It is most likely from Norman French, rather than from Cornish.

References

  1. ↑ It is not found in the Domesday Book, 1087, since Bossiney (Botcinii) was the name of the manor; not until the 12th century when Geoffrey of Monmouth's history mentions "Tintagol", and in records of 1200 there is "Tintajoel". Both Henry Jenner and Oliver Padel support a Norman French origin because of the soft "g" sound ('i/j' in the earliest forms) as against the hard "g" as in modern English girl.
  2. ↑ Padel, O. J. (1985) Cornish Place-name Elements. Nottingham: English Place-Name Society ISBN 0904889114
  3. ↑ Canner, A. C. (1982) The Parish of Tintagel: some historical notes. Camelford: the Author; pp. 11-12, 97

Other websites