St Columb Major (Cornish: Sen Kolomm Veur) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, to the south west of Wadebridge and east of Newquay. It has a large church dedicated to St. Columba featuring a four-tier tower and a wide through-arch.

Twice a year the town plays host to "Hurling the Silver Ball", a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall but now only played in St. Columb and St. Ives. It is played on Shrove Tuesday and then again on the Saturday eleven days later. The game involves two teams of several hundred people (the 'townsmen' and the 'countrymen') who endeavour to carry a silver ball made of apple wood to goals set two miles apart.

1 Church history
- 1.1 Exterior
- 1.2 Interior
2 Royalty
3 Notable parish residents
4 Neighbouring parishes
5 Ancient monuments
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Church history

[edit] Exterior

The tower is a fine example of a fifteenth-century building, consisting of four stages with battlements and pinnacles. It is 80 feet high and contains eight bells re-hung in 1950. In 1920 the chiming clock was added as a memorial to the men of St. Columb who died in the Great War.

[edit] Interior

Some of the more interesting items include:

Some fine brasses, including Sir John Arundell (died 1591) and his wife (died 1633).
A fine wooden screen by the architect George Fellowes Prynne [1].
A fine organ by Bryceston Bros. & Ellis of London.
A "Letter of Thanks" to the Cornish people sent by Charles I in 1643.
Some exceptional oak benchends, dating as far back as 1510.
Two sculptures by the artist Allan G Wyon.

[edit] Royalty

Jun 9, 1909 The town was visited by the Prince of Wales (George V) and his wife, the Pricess of Wales (Mary of Teck). The visit was to open the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show. The Prince gave 2 silver cups: one for the best bull and another for the best horse. <ref>. The Times, Thursday, Jun 10, 1909; pg. 9; Issue 38982 </ref>

On May 27, 1983: The town was visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana). The visit was to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the signing of the town charter by Edward III <ref>. The Times, Saturday, May 28, 1983; pg. 10; Issue 61544 </ref>. A plaque commemorates this visit outside the Conservative club in Union Square.

[edit] Notable parish residents


Who	Image	lived	Famous for
John Nichols Thom	Image:John Tom.jpg	born 1799	Killed by British soldiers at the Battle of Bossenden Wood, on May 31st 1838 in Kent, England.
Henry Jenner		(1848-1934)	Regarded as the father of the Cornish language revival. Celtic scholar, Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival.
James Polkinghorne	Image:Polk.jpg		a champion Cornish wrestler.
Ralph Allen		1693 - 1764	As a teenager he worked at St Columb Post Office. He moved to Bath in 1710 where he became a clerk in the Bath Post Office, and at the age of 19, in 1712, he became the Post Master of Bath.
Jack Crapp		1912 - 1981	was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club between 1936 and 1956, and played in the English cricket team on tour in the winter of 1948-49
Richard Bullock		1847 - 1921	became a legendary figure of the Wild West Cowboy era. His quick-shooting deeds working on the Deadwood stage gained him the nickname "Deadwood Dick".
Wilfred Theodore Blake		1894 - 1968	Was a pioneer aviator, author and traveller.The man who led the first attempt to fly round the world in 1922. The pilot for this mission was Norman MacMillan. The aircraft was a de Havilland DH9A bought from the Royal Air Force. His ambitious round-the-world trip was cancelled after the first stage of the flight after it came to grief in Calcutta.
Dick Twinney			Renowned British illustrator and wildlife artist.

[edit] Neighbouring parishes

[edit] Ancient monuments

There are several ancient monuments of note in the parish:

Castle an Dinas, an Iron Age hillfort. .<ref>A Gazetteer of Arthurian Topographic Folklore. Retrieved on 2006-03-07.</ref>
The Nine Maidens stone row, the largest row of standing stones in Cornwall. <ref>The Modern Antiquarian site#627. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref>
The Devil's Quoit (sometimes recorded as King Arthur's Quoit).<ref>The Modern Antiquarian site#644. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref>
St. Columba's Holy Well, (found in the nearby hamlet of Ruthvoes.).<ref>St Columba Holy Well, Ruthvoes. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.</ref>
King Arthur's Stone, this long lost stone is said to be not far from the Devil's Quoit near St. Columb, on the edge of the Gossmoor. It was a large stone that could be described as a petrosomatoglyph, with four deeply-impressed horseshoe marks. Legend has it that the marks were made by the horse upon which Arthur rode when he resided at Castle An Dinas and hunted on the moors.

[edit] See also

St. Columb Minor
POW Camp 115, Whitecross, St. Columb Major
St. Columb Road
Bulldog Class locomotive was named St. Columb
List of topics related to Cornwall

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Civil Parishes of Restormel District
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom \|Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg England \| Image:Flag of Cornwall.svg Cornwall
Crantock \| Newquay \| Colan \| Mawgan-in-Pydar \| St Columb Major \| St Wenn \| St Enoder \| St Dennis \| St Stephen-in-Brannel \| Roche \| Luxulyan \| Treverbyn \| St Mewan \| St Ewe \| Grampound with Creed \| St Goran \| St Michael Caerhays \| Mevagissey \| St Blaise \| St Austell \| Tywardreath \| Lanlivery \| Lostwithiel \| Fowey \| St Sampson \|