Philleigh, Cornwall – Village by the King Harry Ferry

VISITING PHILLEIGH

Philleigh is a quiet little village near the top of the Fal estuary, at the northern end of the Roseland Peninsula. For many visitors it is the first village they reach on the Roseland, just a mile or two from the King Harry Ferry across the River Fal.

The ancient name of Philleigh is Eglos-Ros, meaning heath church; it later took its name from the patron saint of the church, St Felix (St Fili or Filius). The village is small – a church, a pub and a scattering of houses and farms – and the parish takes in the hamlets of Treworlas, Treworthal and the riverside at Tolverne.

At its heart is the Roseland Inn, a 16th-century pub with low beamed ceilings and a good reputation for food. In early road maps the main road from London to Land’s End ran through Philleigh, crossing the Fal by the ferries at King Harry and Tolverne.

For somewhere to stay, see Roseland Peninsula holiday cottages and holidays and short breaks on the Roseland.

Best Time to Visit Philleigh

Spring is lovely in the wooded creeks and at Trelissick across the river. Summer brings village fairs and boat trips on the Fal. Autumn colours the woods along the river, and winter is very peaceful.

THE KING HARRY FERRY

The King Harry Ferry is a chain ferry that crosses the River Fal between Feock, by the National Trust’s Trelissick estate, and the Roseland side near Philleigh. It has run since 1888, and saves a long drive round through Truro and Tresillian. The crossing takes about ten minutes, with the ferry pulling itself along on chains laid across the river bed.

The name is said to come from an old chapel of King Henry near the crossing; over time the Cornish name for the crossing was replaced by King Harry Passage. The present ferry, built in 2006, can carry around 34 cars. It runs all year, usually every 20 minutes, apart from short closures for maintenance.

Large ships are often laid up in the deep water of the Fal near the ferry, a remarkable sight in the wooded river.

D-DAY: TOLVERNE & TURNAWARE POINT

In the months before D-Day in 1944, some 27,000 American troops gathered around the Fal estuary. The shingle beaches at Turnaware Point and Tolverne on the Philleigh shore were built up as “hards” – concrete embarkation points where troops and vehicles were loaded onto landing craft for the invasion of Normandy. Parts of the concrete “mattresses” can still be seen on the shore at low tide.

The thatched Smugglers Cottage at Tolverne, a listed building dating back several centuries, was at the centre of the preparations, and General Eisenhower is said to have stayed there. For many years it housed a collection of wartime memorabilia, which was auctioned in 2012. A granite memorial stone outside the cottage commemorates the D-Day embarkations.

Turnaware Point is owned by the National Trust and is a peaceful spot today, with views up and down the river.

HISTORY OF PHILLEIGH

Philleigh is one of the old parishes of the Roseland, and is recorded in the Domesday Book. There was a church here by the 13th century; the present church of St Felix, listed Grade I, dates mainly from the 15th century and was much restored in the 19th century. St Fili is thought to have come from Wales and to have been a companion of St Kea, whose name is remembered across the river.

The Arundells had a mansion at Tolverne, with two medieval chapels mentioned in 1384. Philleigh’s place on the old main road to the west, with its ferry crossings of the Fal, made it busier in the past than it is today.

WALKS FROM PHILLEIGH

Footpaths and quiet lanes lead from Philleigh down to the River Fal at Turnaware Point and along the creeks, with views across to Trelissick. Longer walks follow the river south towards St Just in Roseland. Cross on the King Harry Ferry as a foot passenger to explore the woodland walks at Trelissick.

PLACES NEAR PHILLEIGH

• King Harry Ferry and Trelissick – a mile or two.
• Ruan Lanihorne – about 3 miles.
• St Just in Roseland – about 4 miles.
• Veryan – about 4 miles.
• St Mawes – about 7 miles.
• The Roseland Peninsula – our guide to the whole peninsula.