# Merther
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{{Short description|Hamlet in Cornwall, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| map_type = Cornwall
| static_image_name = Eglosmerther (Merther church) - geograph.org.uk - 288896.jpg
| static_image_width = 250px
| static_image_caption = Merther Church
| coordinates = {{coord|50.2639|-5.0001|display=inline,title}}
| label_position=
| official_name = Merther
| cornish_name = Eglosverther
| population =
| population_ref =
| civil_parish = [St Michael Penkevil](/source/St_Michael_Penkevil)
| unitary_england= [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall_Council)
| lieutenancy_england = [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall)
| metropolitan_borough =
| metropolitan_county =
| region = South West England
| constituency_westminster =
| post_town = TRURO
| postcode_district =
| postcode_area = TR
| dial_code =
| os_grid_reference = SW862447
}}
'''Merther''' ({{langx|kw|Eglosverther}}, meaning ''martyr's church'')[{{cite web |url=http://www.cornishplacenames.co.uk |title=Cornish Language Partnership: Place names |publisher=cornwall.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2019-07-26}}] is a small [hamlet](/source/hamlet_(place)) and former [civil parish](/source/civil_parish), now in the parish of [St Michael Penkevil](/source/St_Michael_Penkevil), in the [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall_(district)) district, in the ceremonial county of [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall), England. It lies {{convert|2|mi|0}} east of [Truro](/source/Truro), on the eastern side of the Tresillian River. In 1931 the parish had a population of 150.[{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10209638/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Merther Ch/CP through time|publisher=[A Vision of Britain through Time](/source/A_Vision_of_Britain_through_Time)|accessdate=9 May 2023}}] It was formerly the [churchtown](/source/Churchtown%2C_Cornwall) of the small parish of Merther, and also the site of a manor house and medieval chapel dedicated to St Cohan (also spelt Coan). The former parish church is now in ruins.
St Coan was a martyr; there were formerly at Merther a chapel and holy well dedicated to him.[Ellis, P. B. (1992) ''The Cornish Saints''. Penryn: Tor Mark Press, p. 8] A new church was built at [Tresillian Bridge](/source/Tresillian) in 1904 (the font, bells, statue of St Anthony and pulpit from Merther were moved to the new church). The church was abandoned in the mid-20th century.
==Geography==
thumb|150px|left|Tresawsan Farm
Merther (altitude:{{convert|39|m}}) is {{convert|200|m}} from the eastern bank of the tidal, Treslllian River, a [tributary](/source/tributary) of the [Truro River](/source/River_Truro) which flows into the [River Fal](/source/River_Fal). It is {{convert|3|km}} via the modern tarmac road to Tresillian Church (which replaced St Cohan's) and the [A390 road](/source/A390_road), which connects Truro and [St Austell](/source/St_Austell). There is a shorter route to Tresillian Church, by foot via the farm at Treffry.[{{cite map|title=OS Explorer 105. Falmouth & Mevagissey|date=2015|publisher=Ordnance Survey|location=Southampton|isbn=978 0 319 24307 7}}] The former churchtown now consists of Eglosmertha, School Cottage, Rectory Cottage, Penhale and a ruined church and churchyard.[{{cite map|title=1:10000 Merther, Cornwall|date=1973|publisher=Ordnance Survey|location=Southampton}}]
'''Tresawsan''' is a hamlet in the former parish of Merther; the meaning of Tresawsan is "Englishmen's farm".[Weatherhill, Craig (2009) ''A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names''. Westport, Mayo: Evertype; p. 75] The historian [William Hals](/source/William_Hals) was born at Tresawsan.
==History==
Eglosmerther is a [Grade II listed building](/source/listed_building) on the site of a manor house, and the [barton](/source/Demesne) was held in 1311 by the Reskymers.[{{PastScape|mname=Eglosmerther|mnumber=428767|accessdate=14 April 2017}}] It is now a farm, and the farmhouse including the courtyard wall, was a rebuild in 1806–8 of an earlier house.[{{NHLE|desc=Eglos Merther Farmhouse and Courtyard Wall|num=1218916|accessdate=29 July 2018}}]
East of the parish church, in a field called ''St Coan'' ({{gbmapping|SW866448}}) which is the site of St Cohan's Chapel and well. By 1480 Cohan was regarded as a [martyr](/source/martyr) and patron-saint of Merther. He may have been killed near here during the invasion of Cornwall by [King Athelstan](/source/King_Athelstan) although there is no evidence that he was buried locally.[{{cite web |last1=Dale |first1=Elizabeth |title=Those ruined places:Merther |url=https://cornishbirdblog.com/2016/07/09/those-ruined-places-merther/ |website=The Cornish Bird |accessdate=29 July 2018}}][{{cite book |last1=Orme |first1=Nicholas |title=The Saints of Cornwall |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0 19 820765 4 |page=90}}] His chapel was destroyed in about 1750 and by 1860 the last stones removed. An effigy of St Anthony probably from the 15th-century was moved to Merther Church.[{{PastScape|mname=St Cohans Chapel|mnumber=428759|accessdate=29 July 2018}}]
The ruin of St Cohan's church is grade II listed and was built of slatestone walls with granite dressing. Dating from the 13th-century onwards it has a nave, chancel, west tower, south aisle and south porch. Said to be neglected in 1970, the church is now roofless and overgrown with vegetation.[{{NHLE |desc=Church of St Cohan |num=1291755 |accessdate=29 July 2018}}] Until 1866, Merther was a [chapelry](/source/chapelry) to [Probus](/source/Probus%2C_Cornwall), {{convert|5|km}} to the north-east; it then became a [civil parish](/source/civil_parish). The [ecclesiastical parish](/source/ecclesiastical_parish) was combined with [Lamorran](/source/Lamorran) in 1900 to form the parish of Lamorran and Merther, and the civil parish was abolished on 1 April 1934 and absorbed into the civil parish of St Michael Penkevil.[{{cite web |title=Merther Ch/CP |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10209638# |website=A Vision of Britain through time |accessdate=29 July 2018}}] In 1904 a more conveniently positioned church, at Tresillian Bridge was enlarged. The 12th-century [Pentewan stone](/source/Pentewan_stone) font, 17th-century polygonal oak pulpit and bells were removed to the new church, and St Cohan's became a [mortuary chapel](/source/mortuary_chapel).[{{PastScape|mname=St Cohans Church|mnumber=428769|accessdate=14 April 2017}}][{{NHLE|desc=Tresillian Church|num=1141054|accessdate=14 April 2017}}]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
* [http://ukga.org/england/Cornwall/towns/Merther.html Merther, Cornwall. UK Genealogy Archive]
{{Cornwall|state=collapsed}}
Category:Former civil parishes in Cornwall
Category:Hamlets in Cornwall
Category:Manors in Cornwall
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Merther](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merther) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merther?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.