deeds, not only of beautiful words.

CHAPTER XVIII

MORWENSTOW

There is a fine stretch of sands protecting the Bude shores, but the
background of these sands is cliff. It was this sand that made one of
the chief uses of the canal from Bude to Holsworthy, now superseded by
the railway; containing a large proportion of lime, it is valuable for
agricultural purposes. The sands have a further use now as a
playground for visitors; very few watering-places become really
popular without such a beach for the children and the bathers. But the
true coast is, of course, the background of cliff, and this continues
grandly rugged and broken to the Devon borders, and beyond. Little
more than a mile north of Bude is Poughill, pronounced Puffill. The
church, dedicated to St. Olaf, is one of the few Teutonic foundations
in Cornwall; but, indeed, this northern corner of the neighbouring
counties, with its "weeks" and "hams" and "worthies," must have been
largely held by settlements of Saxons. The value of place-names in
such matters is very great, though it must never be pressed too far.
Poughill Church, with a good Perpendicular tower, is chiefly notable
for its frescoes, somewhat glaringly restored; they resemble those of
St. Breage, in the Helston district. Both figures represent St.
Christopher bearing his sacred burden across the tide, and the details
are in an advanced stage of symbolism. Far more pleasing,
artistically, are the beautiful bench-ends of the early sixteenth
century, with their various emblems of the Crucifixion, their armorial
insignia, their symbols and initials. This church is peculiarly
attractive, and its situation is delightful. From thence the road runs
to Kilkhampton, whither recollections of the Grenvilles have already
carried us. We are now getting into the heart of the Hawker district,
but other associations are so numerous here that it seems impossible
to deal with them all in anything like an adequate manner. The
Perpendicular church of Kilkhampton chiefly dates from the Elizabethan
days when one of the Grenvilles was rector here; but it embodies the
beautiful Norman doorway from the church supposed to have been built
in the eleventh century by another Grenville. Some other Norman traces
are preserved--Rector Grenville was a judicious restorer. Of his date
are the oak bench-ends, which are as good as Poughill's, and there is
an elaborate screen. The monument of Sir Beville Grenville, erected