Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Second SeriesBottrell, William
General
Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Second Series
Bottrell, William
Cornwall (England : County) -- Social life and customs; Legends -- England -- Cornwall (County)
ABOUT a furlong south-west of Trove, but on a
tenement of Boleigh, is the Fuggo. It consists of
a cave about six feet high, five feet wide, and
near forty long, faced on each side with rough
stones, across which long stone posts are laid. On
its north-west side a narrow passage leads into another cave of
similar construction and unknown extent; as it has long been
blocked up by a portion of the roof having fallen in. One may be
pretty sure, however, that much of the stories about its great
length are fabulous. They say that it extends from its entrance,
at the foot of Boleigh hill, to the old mansion at Trove; in proof
of this the old one has often been heard piping under a
parlour of the house. It is supposed he meets the witches down
there, who have entered by the Fuggo to dance to his music.
Hares are often seen to enter the Fuggo which are never known
to come out the same way; they are said to be witches going to
meet their master, who provides them with some other shape to
return in.
There are also traditions of this cavern having served as a place
of refuge to some of the Levelis in troublesome times; and of its
having frequently been used by our fair-traders, as it afforded
them a secure hold for storing their goods, and to have a carouse
therein.
Old traditions about the far-reaching and unknown extent of
the Fuggo, may not, however, be altogether void of foundation.
At the annual excursion of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, in
1871, Mr. H. M. Whitley, of Truro, remarked that the bank,
just opposite the branch cavern, sounded hollow, from which he
is persuaded that there is a chamber underneath to be yet explored.
There are the remains of a triple entrenchment near, and this
subterranean passage might have been connected with it.
[28]
Old folks of the neighbourhood say that there was another
Fuggo in Trove Hill, on the opposite side of the Glen, but the
entrance has long since been closed, and no one knows exactly
where it opened.
The track of moor and croft between Trove and Boleigh has
indeed never been thoroughly examined by our antiquaries; yet
as the vestiges of ancient British habitations are generally found
in the vicinity of prehistoric monuments, the Daunce-mayn,
Menheres, and holed-stones on the hill, would seem to indicate
that this sheltered glen might be a likely place in which to find
the remains of old crellas or circular huts, similar to those of
Bodennar, Busullow, and Chysauster. And farther up, near
the brook, amidst brambles and furze may yet be discovered
traces of ancient Celtic dwellings, with ashes still on the hearth
and quern and muller beside it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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