46 NOTES ON TINTAGEL CHURCH. 
could be satisfactorily proved that the present neck of the penin- 
sula was formed by the fallen débris of the upper strata, it would 
by no means follow that therefore the upper surface was also 
disunited, and that one part of the Castle was insular. 
Considering then the ruin in its present state, the nature of 
the western precipice, and of the great N.E. wall, as seen on either 
side of the chasm, and above all the geological formation, which, 
from the work of decay at the spot still going on, tells its own 
story, I can arrive at one conclusion only, namely, that Tintagel 
Castle was originally a fortress, extending without any interrup- 
tion, from the great gate-way on the mainland to that portion of 
the ruin on the island. The disunited parts, very probably, were 
for a time connected by means of some rude bridge of wood and 
iron until the ravages of time so widened the breach as to give 
this far-famed and most interesting ruin its present picturesque 
appearance. 
R. B. K. 
Tintagel, March 27th, 1871. 
IV.—WNotes on Tintagel Church. By H. MIcHELL WHITLEY, C.E. 
MONGST the Churches of Cornwall there is not one that 
possesses the interest which attaches to Tintagel. Standing 
on that border-land, between the hills and “The winding shore 
of Severne sea,” which has been invested with so much mystery 
and poetry by the legends of our famous King Arthur, it derives 
additional interest from its high antiquity ; grey, weather-stained, 
and venerable, its time-worn walls carry us back to the age of our 
Saxon forefathers. 
The church is cruciform (as will be seen from the plan), and 
consists of Chancel, Ladye Chapel, Nave, North and South Tran- 
septs, Tower, and North and South Porches. 
