Digory Triplett

Event: Anecdote 2008 •Note: Poundstock is situated in the deanery of Trigg Major and Hundred of Lesnewth. It is bounded on the north by Marhamchurch, on the east by Marhamchurch and Week St Mary, on the south by Jacobstow and St Gennys, and on the west by Widemouth Bay. The name Poundstock is Saxon and means 'cattle enclosure', and the cattle pound was a feature of the village for centuries. From time immemorial a fair was held at Poundstock on Rogation Monday, and the revel or Dedication Festival is still observed on that day, the Monday before Ascension Day. It is recorded as Pondestock in the Domesday Book of 1086. A church has stood upon this spot for 14 centuries, and the mediaeval Guildhouse, which stands nearby, is the only surviving one of its kind in Cornwall. Poundstock is a rural parish on the north coast between Bude and Boscastle. Penfound Manor to the east was given to Robert, Count de Mortain, by William the Conqueror. The Archbishop of Canterbury came to the parish in 1282, after the Rector of Morwenstow had seized the church and installed his own man as incumbent. No sooner had the Archbishop departed than his candidate was evicted. In 1357, at a time of bitter rivalry amongst robbers and pirates in the area, the assistant curate, William Penfound, was hacked to death before the altar, and it is said that his ghost may still be seen. The last of the Penfounds died in the poorhouse in 1847. There is a tale of one Kate Penfound who attempted to elope with John Trebarfoot of Trebarfoot Manor. As she was leaving, her father intervened with his sword, and in the ensuing fight all three were killed.