Minster Wood Walk
Can you tell me in truth if you’ve ever heard of of the Green Chapel on what grounds it may stand, or of the green knight that guards it, all green in colour?
From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English
There’s a walk from Boscastle that follows the River Valency through Minster Valley where, at the head of the valley, in a shaded dell, you might stumble upon Minster Church.
With its green doors, surrounded by green ferns, rocks steeped in green alga from the dripping water and covered in green mosses it is truly a green chapel.
Built in Norman times with some late medieval additions and some restoration work carried out in the 19th century, it may occupy the site of an earlier monastery.
The church is dedicated to St Materiana, a 5th century Welsh princess and the eldest daughters of King Vortimer the Blessed, who ruled over Gwent with her husband, Prince Ynyr. It is said that her tomb was venerated at Minster Church and that her feast day was on 9 April.
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All images © W N BISHOP