View source for Probus, Cornwall

{{Short description|Village in Cornwall, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Probus st probus and st grace 001.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[St Probus and St Grace's Church, Probus]]]]
'''Probus''' (''[[Cornish language|Cornish]]: Lannbrobus'') is a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] and village in [[Cornwall]], England, in the United Kingdom. It has the tallest church tower in [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Pevsner | first = Nikolaus | author-link = Nikolaus Pevsner | title = Cornwall | year = 1951 | edition = 1st | series = The Buildings of England | publisher = [[Penguin Books]] | location = [[Harmondsworth]] | page= 128}}</ref> The tower is {{convert|129|ft|m}} high, and richly decorated with carvings.<ref>{{cite book | last = Lambert | first = J. W.| title = Cornwall | year = 1939 | edition = 1947 | series = Penguin Guides | publisher = [[Penguin Books]] | location = [[Harmondsworth]] | page = 81}}</ref> The place name originates from the church's dedication to [[Andronicus, Probus, and Tarachus|Saint Probus]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Mills | first = A. D. | title = The Popular Dictionary of English Place-Names | year = 1991 | publisher = Parragon Book Service Ltd & Magpie Books | isbn = 0-7525-1851-8 | page = 264}}</ref> The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,299,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/Probus/index.html#Population|title=Parish population 2011|access-date= 11 February 2015}}</ref> whereas the ward population taken at the same census was 3,953.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/probus-e05008273#sthash.o8zVbq3D.dpbs|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211183415/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/probus-e05008273#sthash.o8zVbq3D.dpbs|archive-date=11 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
There was a monastery here before the [[Norman Conquest]] which continued to exist until the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]]. King Henry gave the church of Probus to [[Exeter Cathedral]] and the clergy of Probus thereafter were a dean and five canons (the deanery was abolished in 1268 and the canonries in 1549). The first vicar was instituted in 1312; the parish had dependent chapelries at [[Tregony|Cornelly]] and [[Merther]]. [[St Probus and St Grace's Church, Probus|The church]] was built mainly in the 15th century but the tower was still under construction in 1523. In the church is the brass of John Wulvedon and his wife, 1512.<ref>Dunkin, E. (1882) ''Monumental Brasses''. London, Spottiswoode</ref> In the early years of the 19th century the rare custom of [[ad orientem|turning to the East]] for the [[Doxology]] at the conclusion of the recitation of each Psalm, particularly by those in choir, was observed in Probus church.
[[File:Barn at Golden Manor Geograph-1696874-by-D-Gore.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The barn at Golden Manor, a former secret chapel]]
There are records of no less than nine medieval chapels in the parish and three more of which traditions exist. Two mansions formerly existed at Golden: one of the Wolvedon family and a larger one of the [[Francis Tregian the Elder|Tregians]]. The line of Wolvedons became extinct in 1514. At the Tregian mansion the Catholic martyr [[Cuthbert Mayne]] was arrested in June 1577.<ref>''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 187-189</ref> The farmhouse at Golden contains the remains of a [[hall house|hall-house]] of the late 1530s, reconstructed about a century later, and extended in the 18th century. There is also a fine barn with original roof timbers and a first floor window.<ref>Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed., revised by E. Radcliffe. Penguin; p. 74</ref> The barn is of 15th-16th century date and was partly rebuilt in 1879.<ref>Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014) ''Cornwall''. (The Buildings of England.) New Haven: Yale University Press; p. 219</ref>    [[Trewithen House]] was built in 1723.<ref name="HE">{{NHLE|num=1141100|desc=Trewithen House|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref>

Trelowthas Cross was found in the 1940s at Trelowthas. Great Trelowthas was the site of one of the medieval chapels in the parish, recorded as licensed in 1379. Probus was one of four places in Cornwall having a [[right of sanctuary]] which extended beyond the walls of the church, the others being Padstow, St Keverne and St Buryan. The missing Carvossa cross is thought to have marked the eastern limit of sanctuary and it is likely that this cross marked the western limit.<ref>Langdon, A. G. (2002) ''Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall''; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 63</ref>

An annual market and fair was held here from 1321.<ref>Samantha Letters, "[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40409 Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516: Cornwall]"</ref>

== Education ==
Probus has one school, a primary one.

==Geography and wildlife==
Trehane Barton is the former home of the Stackhouse family and a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]. When the SSSI was notified in 1989 the barns supported the largest known breeding colony of [[Greater Horseshoe Bat]] in Cornwall and one of only eleven known colonies in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trehane Barton|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000742.pdf|publisher=Natural England|access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref> No bats were present during a visit in October 2010 to access the site which was given an "unfavourable no change" condition.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trehane Barton|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/special/sssi/unit_details.cfm?situnt_id=1003517|publisher=Natural England|access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:The Old Methodist Church, Probus - geograph.org.uk - 197343.jpg|Disused Methodist Church (coloured yellow)|thumb]]
[[File:The Manor House, Golden - scene of St Cuthbert's arrest - geograph.org.uk - 887858.jpg|thumb|Golden Manor House]]
Probus lies very close to the [[Cornish Main Line]] railway and was formerly served by the [[Probus and Ladock halt]]. It is also situated off the [[A390 road]]. Probus is served by local bus services between Truro and St Austell, provided by [[Transport for Cornwall]] with both FirstGroup and GoCornwall buses and formerly Western Greyhound (before the company became defunct in March 2015), and also by National Express providing links to further destinations.

==Culture==
The Hawkins Arms, a [[St Austell Brewery]] house, is an 18th-century pub located on Fore Street. The Comrades Club is a members' club situated on The Square.

The Probus Parish Players, formed in 1991, holds an annual pantomime in the Village Hall.

Probus has a [[Probus Club]], the Probus Club of Probus, Probus.

===County Demonstration Garden===
The County Demonstration Garden and Arboretum (six and a half acres) formerly belonged to the [[Trewithen]] estate. It was established by the County Horticultural Adviser to show what can be done in a small Cornish garden. There were a variety of gardens: for acid and limey soils, labour-saving gardens, patio gardens, shrubs for walls and plots for fruit and vegetables. Another part of the site had plants which originated in Cornish gardens such as [[Camellia]] 'J. C. Williams' and [[Ceanothus]] 'Trewithen Blue' and a series of plants arranged chronologically by date of introduction.<ref>Synge, Patrick (1977) ''The Gardens of Britain; Vol. 1: Devon and Cornwall''. London: B. T. Batsford; pp. 98-99</ref> The Garden closed in 2004 and the land used for a garden centre development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cornwallgardenstrust.org.uk/probus-gardens/|title = CORNWALL GARDENS TRUST » Journal » Probus Gardens closed after thirty-four years}}</ref>

==Sports and recreation==
Probus has a [[List of King George V Playing Fields (Cornwall)|King George's Field]], a memorial to [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]].

===Cornish wrestling===
There have been [[Cornish wrestling]] tournaments for prizes held in Probus throughout at least the last 300 years.<ref name="RCG13071805">Royal Cornwall Gazette, 13 July 1805.</ref> Tournaments have been held in a field adjoining the Cornish Mount Inn,<ref name="RCG17071890">Royal Cornwall Gazette - Thursday 17 July 1890.</ref> the Green<ref name="RCG15071871">Royal Cornwall Gazette, 15 July 1871.</ref> and at Probus College grounds.<ref name="CG11091925">Cornish Guardian, 11 September 1925.</ref>

Absalom Bennetts from Probus is described as having won well over 42 gold laced hats during the 18th century.<ref name="M Tripp Thesis">Tripp, Michael:  ''PERSISTENCE OF DIFFERENCE: A HISTORY OF CORNISH WRESTLING'', University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009, Vol I p2-217.</ref><ref name="TA09101928">''CORNISH WRESTLING'', The Advertiser (Adelaide) 9 October 1928, p14.</ref><ref name="CG30071936">''Cornish wrestling'', Cornish Guardian, 30 July 1936, p14.</ref> He also won the Probus tournament seven years running.<ref name="SJC16061808">''Gymnastics'', Saint James's Chronicle, 16 June 1808, p1.</ref>

==Notable residents==
* [[John Stackhouse (botanist)|John Stackhouse]], botanist
* [[Francis Tregian the Elder]], landowner and recusant, and his son [[Francis Tregian the Younger]], believed to be the copyist of the [[Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]]
* [[William Tresawna]], cricketer

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
*[[Thomas Shaw (Methodist minister)|Shaw, Thomas]] (1961) ''Methodism in Probus, 1781-1961''

==External links==
{{Commons category|Probus, Cornwall}}
* [http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='probus') Online Catalogue for Probus] at the [[Cornwall Record Office]]

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[[Category:Civil parishes in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Villages in Cornwall]]