CORNWALL Michaelstow Beacon (sometimes called St. Syth's Beacon), which rises to a height of nearly 700 ft. Tradition tells of a chapel here, dedicated to the Irish St. Ytha. Minster (i m. E. of Boscastle) takes its name from a monastery of lienedictines, established by William de Bottreaux, ruins of which may still be seen ; the church is said to have been part of the monastic buildings. Its tower is curiously low, but tradition says that Minster had once a fine tower, and Robert Hunt says that he found remains of this among the grass of the churchyard. Seeking for an explanation, he was at last told that the tower proved a peril to seamen, who mistook its light for a beacon ; one day a party of enraged men came upon and pulled it down, in spite of the exertions of the monks. But the position of Minster does not quite favour this story. Hawker celebrated the place in one of his poems. Minver (3^ m. E. of Padstow) is a dedication to Minver or Minfre, of the Brychan family of saints. The parish, divided into highland and low'land, comprises the chapelries of St. Enodoc and St. Michael, as well as its own mother church. This church is for the most part good E.E., with some Perp. additions ; the bench- ends are excellent. Mitchell (6i m. N. of Truro) only calls for mention as having been one of the most rotten of Cornish boroughs at a time when the duchy was noted in this way. Its seven electors re- turned two members to Parliament, one of 188
