Philleigh

Philleigh (including Treworlas and Treworthal). The most significant feature of the parish is the King Harry Ferry about two miles to the west of the small rural village of Philleigh. It is thought to have been named after Henry Vl and takes vehicles across the River Fal to Feock on the west bank. The ferry pulls itself across by means of two chains which are anchored at each side. The river is tidal and over 60 ft deep at high water.

There has been a ferry here since at least Norman times and until 1888 it was propelled manually and there were no guiding chains. There also used to be another small passenger only ferry upstream and the KH ferry was once known as the horse ferry to differentiate the two. Its original traffic would have been pack horses and later on horse drawn vehicles, and it was part of the route from Exeter to west Cornwall, long before the days of the A30.

In 1888 the King Harry Steam Ferry Company was formed and as its name implies it was no longer manually propelled. Since then there has been seven ever larger ferries powered by diesel engines, the latest capable of transporting about 35 cars, and it is now sometimes referred to as a floating bridge.

At Tolverne, about one mile upstream, in 1945 there was intense USA military activity during preparations for embarkation prior to D Day on June 6th. This included a visit by General Eisenhower who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force.

Although small, the village has a church, hall (formerly the school) and the Roseland Inn pub and celebrates its existence every summer with a fair. There are two hamlets in the parish, Treworlas and Treworthal, the latter having a number of lovely, thatched cottages. The western extremity of the parish includes a small part of Pendower Beach, where the remains of a lime kiln can be found.

For more detailed information see ‘Philleigh in the Roseland’ by Norman and Joyce Hicks.