Dance The Roselath Cross 9563

The Roselath Cross was devised by Henrietta Vosper of RSCDS Cornwall Branch in 1998 and is published in the RSCDS Millenium Dance Book 41 in 2000. The Roselath Cross is an old preaching cross near Lanlivery on the Saints Way which runs from Padstow on the north coast of Cornwall across the county to Fowey on the south coast. The Tune, The Roselath Cross, was composed by Kerrell Garner also of the RSCDS Cornwall Branch.

The following article by Val and John Thorne was published in London Branch’s The Reel, No 235 in February 2001:

ROSELATH CROSS

Recorded in ‘Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall’ by Andrew Langdon and ‘Ancient Crosses of Cornwall’ by Mary Henderson as the TRETHEW CROSS, LANLIVERY. Circa 11th C. Map reference SX 07345880

WHAT is The Roselath Cross, the inspiration for the dance of that name that appears in the Millennium Book 41?

These Ancient Granite Crosses were placed as markers or prayer stops at hilltops, track junctions, etc., by early Celtic Christian Pilgrims from Ireland and Wales who crossed the Bristol Channel to the North Cornish Coast, and then walked South to Fowey where they embarked on ships for France and thence over the Pyrenees to Spain. This ancient 26 mile track across Cornwall now known as ‘THE SAINT’S WAY’ was used by Bronze and Iron Age Traders who preferred the land route from Padstow to Fowey rather than risk the dangerous waters off Lands End.

Roselath or Trethew was on Church Path between the main church at Lanlivery via the farms of Roselath and Gready to the Priory of Tywardreath a few miles from Fowey. This hilltop cross stands on the public footpath ½ mile South West of Roselath Farm.

In the early 1900s the Vicar of Lanlivery. the Rev’d W.E. Wynne discovered the head of the granite cross lying near the original base, and this was illustrated by Langdon in 1906. Despite searches in the area by various historians the shaft of the cross could not be found and was probably ‘recycled’ as a gatepost or lintel. It was considered that a new shaft would detract from the character of such an ancient cross, and therefore when it was re-erected on 11th October 1941 the Head was cemented onto the Base.

Father Wynne, who had also been responsible for the restoration of another cross in the area, visited the Trethew Cross the following day and on his return wrote:- ‘The view from the stile at Trethew repaid me for climbing the hill. The distant hills in the evening sunshine looked very beautiful, so that I was glad and elevated – in every meaning of the word’.

Access: The easiest route is to follow the signs from the A30 or A39 to the ‘EDEN PROJECT’. This is about 2 miles west of Luxulyan. Follow signs to Luxulyan and Lanlivery. One mile after Luxulyan Church the road bends sharp left, and facing you is a track, the entrance to Trethew farm, and a footpath sign ‘Lanlivery ¾ mile’. (Limited parking available at this point). Follow the waymarked footpath alongside the hedge to a stile over the Cornish bank (overgrown, secateurs useful), then cross the next field alongside the hedge, to ‘The Roselath Cross’. Continuing on towards Lanlivery the stile in the immediate area of the cross is very overgrown, and there are many brambles on the path side of the wire field fence. The stile at Roselath Farm is also somewhat overgrown, but the path improves soon after passing the Farm and the last section is well used and clear of obstructions, terminating at the road next to the pub in Lanlivery .

Roselath is the name of Henrietta Vosper’s home near Saltash (the dance devisor), but she does not know its origin.

Val and John Thorne