Saint Morwenna

This piece features the little known Cornish saint, Morwenna. Hailing from Wales, she settled on the North Cornish coast in the 6th Century, at what is now the tiny village of Morwenstow. She is credited with building the first church at Morwenstow by carrying stones up the cliff on her head. Where she rested a spring was said to have sprang up (depicted on the right). The painting is anachronistic in that it shows the 19th Century Rev. Hawker’s Hut, a well visited clifftop getaway for the Reverend of Morwenstow who was a renowned writer. Above it is the figurehead of the Caledonia, from a famous shipwreck at Morwenstow in Hawker’s time. The figurehead stood in the churchyard but now stands inside the church with a replica outside. Acrylic on canvas (20in x 40in)