KING MIRED IN LEGEND
Tintagel’s Arthurian association has had its impact on this deeply historic village. Beyond St Materiana’s Church, the coast is dominated by the mighty facade of the late 19th century Camelot Castle Hotel. Below this is a headland known as The Island where, together with a small area of mainland adjacent to it, sit the remains of a true castle: a place of legend and conjecture as well as documented history. This promontory is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and managed by English Heritage. It is to this site that King Arthur is reputedly connected. The visible ruins date from the 13th century, the castle having been built by the Earl of Cornwall in 1233. However, the site and surrounding area has a much older history; there has been more imported post-Roman pottery found on Tintagel headland than in the rest of Britain combined. Archaeological evidence, together with accounts of Tintagel in historic literature as the seat of the rulers of Cornwall, suggests that this was a significant stronghold in the 6th century. Legend relates that Arthur was conceived at Tintagel. The warlord Owain Ddantgwyn, who has been shown by some sources as a likely candidate to be Arthur, pre-dated the ruined castle by many centuries although he may have had a connection with the site during the 6th century. Owain used the epithet of ‘The Bear’. The name Arthur is thought to mean ‘bear’. Another headland just north-east of The Island, Barras Nose, was the first piece of land that the National Trust ever owned in England. Half a mile inland as the crow flies, the village of Tintagel is a busy place. At its heart sits the Old Post Office, the first building in the county to be acquired by the Trust, in 1903. It is a rare surviving example of a medieval hall house in Cornwall, with a tranquil cottage garden. “We believe it was built between 1350 and 1380,” says house and visitor services manager Joanne McGillivray. “It was only used as a letter receiving office for the village in the 1870s. The people who lived here owned many acres of land on the cliffs of Tintagel and farmed them during the mid 19th century.” In the 1600s, upper floors were added to make the two bedrooms, and the thatch was replaced with local slate. “The roof has an undulating shape due to the fact that slate is a lot heavier than thatch,” says Joanne. “During the 1992 restoration, the decision was made to keep the undulating roof line. Modern timbers, adjacent to the original’s, strengthen the structure.”