Rescorla, Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Rescorla is a small village in mid-Cornwall
, near St Austell
, in the heart of the Clay Country, Cornwall’s china clay
mining district. It belongs to the parish of Treverbyn
and is part of a close-knit network of villages that also includes Penwithick
, Bugle
, Rosevear, Bowling Green, Treverbyn
, Roche
and Luxulyan
.
It is about three miles from the Eden Project
and about four miles from St Austell
.
The obvious reason for calling it the “Snail Creep” is that the dance coils in on itself like the markings on a snail shell: whether there is any deeper significance to this is unclear.
, they envisage the use of this historic building as the hub of the Rescorla Festival and an exhibition, archive, resource and activity centre. The centre will serve as a base for projects on the Clay Country and rural folklore.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, near St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
, in the heart of the Clay Country, Cornwall’s china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
mining district. It belongs to the parish of Treverbyn
Treverbyn
Treverbyn is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, United Kingdom.The church of St Peter is modern as the medieval chapel was closed at the time of the Reformation. The parish was formed from part of St Austell parish in 1847...
and is part of a close-knit network of villages that also includes Penwithick
Penwithick
Penwithick or Penwithick Stents is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated 2½ miles north of St Austell in the civil parish of Treverbyn in the 'clay country' area of china clay quarrying....
, Bugle
Bugle, Cornwall
Bugle is a village in central Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is in the parish of Treverbyn and is situated about five miles north of St Austell on the A391 road....
, Rosevear, Bowling Green, Treverbyn
Treverbyn
Treverbyn is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, United Kingdom.The church of St Peter is modern as the medieval chapel was closed at the time of the Reformation. The parish was formed from part of St Austell parish in 1847...
, Roche
Roche, Cornwall
Roche is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village gets its name from a granite outcrop east of the village. Roche is the Norman-French word for Rock....
and Luxulyan
Luxulyan
Luxulyan , also spelled Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in central Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles northeast of St Austell and six miles south of Bodmin...
.
It is about three miles from the Eden Project
Eden Project
The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world....
and about four miles from St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
.
Methodist Chapel
The existing Primitive Methodist Chapel dates from around 1873 and was central to village life for generations but is now in some disrepair. It was closed in April 2001 after it fell into disuse. The Friends of Rescorla have purchased the building and are now planning its future as the “Rescorla Centre”.Rescorla Festival
The Rescorla Festival is an annual heritage festival first held in June 2008 showcasing the traditions and customs of the Clay Country. The festival brings together the celebration of folk traditions with study and research into local history and culture through literature and oral history. The cornerstone of the Festival is the revival of a traditional dance known as the Snail Creep.Snail Creep
Historically, Rescorla along with other Cornish villages including Molinnis, Roche, Withiel and St Wenn, continued a fascinating custom going under the rather strange name of “Snail Creep”. This is a dance unique to this part of Cornwall and involves a long procession of couples following a band, led by two people holding up branches – the eye-stalks of the snail. The dancers form a large circle and then spiral into the middle and back out again. There are references to it in 19th Century antiquarian journals and its origins can be traced back to medieval dance. The Molinnis Fife and Drum Band provided the accompaniment for Rescorla’s Snail Creep celebrations when they were last performed over sixty years ago.The obvious reason for calling it the “Snail Creep” is that the dance coils in on itself like the markings on a snail shell: whether there is any deeper significance to this is unclear.
Friends of Rescorla
The Friends of Rescorla is a charity formed to establish the village's former Methodist Chapel as a rural centre for cultural and educational activities. With the support of the Cornish Audio Visual Archive (CAVA) and the Institute of Cornish StudiesInstitute of Cornish Studies
The Institute of Cornish Studies is a research institute in west Cornwall: it started in 1970/71 as a research centre jointly funded by Exeter University and Cornwall County Council, with three core staff being employees of the University of Exeter...
, they envisage the use of this historic building as the hub of the Rescorla Festival and an exhibition, archive, resource and activity centre. The centre will serve as a base for projects on the Clay Country and rural folklore.