PAINTINGS
PAINTINGS
duncanreynolds.co.uk
DUNCAN REYNOLDS GALLERY
ROCHE ROCK 3
Oil On Canvas 30cm x 40cm SEPTEMBER 2023
ROCHE ROCK 3
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This is the third painting I have made of Roche Rock, one of my favourite historical 'hidden gems', just a few miles from the main A30 road, west of Bodmin, Cornwall.
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Roche Rock is a 20-metre (66ft) tall mass of granite, probably formed around 270 million years ago, that rises out of the china clay landscape.
The mystery surrounding this outcrop is heightened when you catch sight of the fifteenth-century chapel ruins nestled in the rocks.
Dedicated to Saint Michael, the chapel was built in 1409 and seems to have had a variety of roles over the centuries.
Given its striking appearance it is perhaps no surprise that Roche Rock features in many Cornish myths.
There are plenty of reports of it being used as shelter by a local hermit – giving it the alternative name of Roche Rock Hermitage.
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Others suggest in medieval times it was used by the father of the Tregarrick family, local landowners, after he had contracted leprosy and wanted to protect his loved ones from the disease. It is said his daughter, St Gundred tended to him here.
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One story tells that the rock used to be covered by earth and during Noah‘s flood the layer of soil was washed away, leaving behind this prominent crag.
Another is the Legend of Jan Tregeagle, a 17th-century magistrate with a harsh reputation who, after his death, was summoned back to this world and then given impossible tasks to complete to while away the time until Judgment Day.
He was set the task of emptying the water out of Dozmary Pool with a holey limpet shell. His hapless evil spirit was set to roam the wilds of Cornwall in eternal torment.
The story goes that whilst fleeing from his demons, Tregeagle sought sanctuary in the chapel, but in his rush for sacred ground he only managed to get his head through the window, where he became stuck with his body dangling outside. Eventually the local priest heard his calls and freed him to his next fate - spinning a rope from the sands of Gwenver beach near Land's End.
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It also features in a medieval celtic legend told in numerous variations since the 12th century, most notably associated with the poems by Thomas of England and Beroul.
The tale is a tragedy about the illicit love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult. After the doomed lovers had been discovered by Iseult’s husband to be, King Mark of Cornwall, they were offered refuge in the chapel by the hermit Ogrin.​
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Even today, the Hermitage is touched by a bit of mystical mystery. If you visit when there’s a gale, listen carefully, as it’s believed you can hear a Cornish giant howling around the rock.
ROCHE ROCK 1, 1994
ROCHE ROCK 2, 1994