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Linkinhorne


OS Grid ref:- SX 320 736

The village of Linkinhorne lies around four miles (6.5 km) to the northwest of Callington. Known in Cornish as Lanngynhorn, the name 'Linkinhorne' means Church site (Lann) of Kenhoarn. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is referred to as Reselton (town by the ford).

The village church of St Melor was given to nearby Launceston Priory by Reginald Fitz-Henry, Earl of Cornwall, the natural son of King Henry I, the gift was confirmed in a charter from King John dated 1199 and by another from his son and successor King Henry III in 1288. The present building dates mainly from the fifteenth century and was much restored in the 1890's. The lofty tower rises to 120 ft high making it the second highest tower in Cornwall.

Interesting features inside the church include a medieval altar slab, the thirteenth century font and fifteenth century wall paintings, considered to be some of the best and earliest examples of wall painting in the whole of Cornwall. The wall painting is located in the south aisle of the churchj and depicts the Seven Works of Mercy.

The wagon roof over the north and south aisles boasts some particularly fine bosses, including a mermaid with asplit tail and some green men, and has angel corbels at the foot of each beam.The eccentric stonemason Daniel Gumb (died 1776), a native of Linkinhorne, carved several of the gravestones in the churchyard.

The Holy Well of St Melor dates from the fifteenth century. Water pours from a groove in the front of the stone wellhouse There is a large niche in the front gable and several small ones inside. The water was considered to be a good remedy for horses sprained legs and was also used for baptism in the church.

At Plushabridge stands a fifteenth century bridge over the River Lynher. Nearby is the Hurlers stone circle, a prehistoric monument composed of three separate circles. They are believed to date from the Bronze Age. Many have speculated on the purpose of the circles from astronomical clock to a ritual meeting place. Multiple stone circles are not uncommon in the south-west area of England. Bronze Age grave goods, including a gold beaker, were discovered at the Rillaton Round Barrow, near Minions in 1837.


Daniel Gumb's Cave

Daniel Gumb, an eighteenth century eccentric who, being averse to paying rent, rates and taxes, lived in a cave near the Cheesewring. Gumb was born in the parish of Linkinhorne on 14th April 1703 and moved onto Bodmin Moor, where he worked as a stonemason.

The remains of the cave he called home are situated on the south facing slope of Stowes Hill by the Cheesewring Quarry. The large slab roof originaly measured 30 feet by 10 feet, Gumb tunneled under it placing other slabs in to support the weight untill he had three rooms. In this primitive house he brought up at least 9 children, it is thought that he had 13 but some died early. He married his first wife Thomazine Roberts in 1735. Thomazine died, possibly in childbirth, after which he married Florence Brokinshaw.

The date carved on the stone beside the house "D GUMB 1735 is thought to be the date of his third marrige and was part of the door post for the house. Daniel Gumb was fascinated with astronomy and geometry. We can still see the triangle and squares of Pythagorus's theorum carved into the roof stone. Sitting on the roof of his house he studied the stars by night and solved mathematical problems by day. The carving of Euclids theorum on the roof can also be found on other slabs of granite east of the old railway line into the quarry.

When the Cheesewring quarry was dug in the mid 1800s the home was broken up, Gumb had died in 1773, his son John continued his father's trade as a stonemason but found himself a more comfortable house elsewhere and abandoned 'Gumb's House'. Many of Daniel's offspring emigrated to the Americas. What remains now is only a small part, possibly placed in amongst the finger dumps of the quarry as a shelter to use during blasting.


Cornish Towns and Villages