Happy St. Piran's Day To All Our Cornish Friends.....

Happy St. Piran's Day to all our Cornish friends across this land. I hope the weather stayed dry and sunny as it has been in Cornwall today......You may wonder why my blog has become all about saints recently due to the last few postings. It's just that February and March have been busy months for celebrating the lives of noted saints. And it would be very remiss of me not to mention St. Piran being as I live in Cornwall...lol..

St Piran's Day (Gool Peran) is held on March 5th every year and is a national day in Cornwall. Today celebrates the life of one of the patron saints of Cornwall, St. Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners....

A depiction of St. Piran in a stained glass window in Truro Cathedral. The window was donated by a benefactor in 1907...

Legend has it that St. Piran originated from Ireland in the 6th Century and was cast out to sea by the ‘Heathen Irish’. They had tied him to a mill-stone and rolled it over the edge of a cliff into a stormy sea, which immediately became calm. He then floated safely over the water to land upon the beach at Perranzabuloe (Porthpyran ), Cornwall....

Dunes at Penhale Sands and Perran Beach

Once here St. Piran was joined by many of his Christian converts and together they founded the Abbey of Lanpiran, with St. Piran becoming abbot...

Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, Exeter

It is said that at his death the remains of the Blessed Martin the Abbot, which he had brought from Ireland, were buried with him at Perranzabuloe. However His own remains were subsequently exhumed and redistributed to be venerated in various places, Exeter Cathedral for one...
Remains of St Piran's Old Church

Situated in a hollow in the sand dunes of Penhale Sands and Perran Beach is the site of the original building of St. Piran’s Oratory. It was probably built of wattle and daub and is thought to be the oldest Christian site in Cornwall. The Oratory was abandoned in the tenth century due to the encroachment of sand. At a later date a replacement church was built of stone further inland but was abandoned in 1795. The Old Church churchyard however was still used for burials until 1835 before the sand enveloped it...

The Survey of Cornwall by Richard Carew

The noted 17th century antiquary, Richard Carew 1555 -1620, wrote:
‘St Piran too well brooketh his name in Sabuloe: for the sand carried up by the north wind from the seashore daily continueth covering and marring the land adjoinant, so as the distress of this deluge drove the inhabitants to remove their church. Howbeit when it meeteth with any crossing brook, the same (by a secret apathy) restraineth and barreth his farther encroaching that way. It was in consequence of this notion that the inhabitants, thinking such situation secure, removed their church only about 300 yards, it being on the opposite side of the brook'....

Building covering the partly excavated St Piran's Oratory in 1952

The oratory site was excavated in 1910 but the remains of the stone building were once again buried in the sand. The site of St Piran's Old Church and the 10th century cross next to it was excavated in 1919....

Perranzabuloe parish church, St. Piran

The old church was partially dismantled and the materials used to build a new church further inland. It was dedicated to St. Piran in July 1805...

St. Piran Cornish Flag

Many events will take place throughout cornwall today with the St. Piran flag (Baner Peran) flying proudly across the county. The flag is used by Cornish people as a symbol of identity...

St. Piran's Cross

The largest event will take place in Perranzabuloe where thousands of people will march across the dunes to St. Piran’s Cross. People are generally dressed in black, white and gold and carrying the St. Piran flag. Daffodils are also carried and placed at the cross. A play, in Cornish, of the Life of St. Piran will also be enacted at this event....

St. Piran's Day parade at Penzance 2006

Places, sites and holy wells have been named after St. Piran, with churches at Perranzabuloe and Perranarworthal dedicated to him...

Mount St. Piran in Banff National Park near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It was named in 1894 by Samual E.S. Allen after St. Piran...

Hope you all enjoyed your day....

Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx