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V.—Deseription of a Fresco in Ludgvan Church ; from the original 
drawing by Dr. Borlase—By Mr. W. C. Boruase, F.S.A. 
Read at the Spring Meeting, May 28, 1871. 
Aproxest the MSS. of Dr. Borlase I found the accompanying 
drawing of a fresco, discovered more than a century ago in 
the parish dam of Ludgvan ; and on referring to another volume 
(the Parochial Memoranda) I was also so fortunate as to light 
upon a description of the same, written apparently on the day 
when it was brought to light. Although it is evident that this 
painting cannot lay claim to any great antiquity, and although 
the merits of the production, as a work of art, certainly are not 
remarkable, yet any relic of Pre-Reformation times still lingering 
beneath the white-wash on the walls of our Cornish churches 
cannot fail to be a subject of interest at the present day. Perhaps 
the most remarkable feature in the picture is the sketch of what 
appears to be intended for one of those ancient chapels or oratories 
once so common in this country. The colours of the vestments of 
the priest are unfortunately unrecorded, or they might have 
afforded some valuable hints on the perplexed question of Ritual. 
The scrolls are certainly late, and seem to belong to much the 
same date as those at Mylor and Lanivet. (Journ. Roy. Inst. of 
Cornwall, 1870, plates 2 and 3). In several of the Western 
churches, frescoes have been discovered, but none so perfect as the 
Ludgvan one. Dr. Borlase’s account of it is as follows :— 
“March 14, 1740. The masons, brushing the walls of the 
Church in order to wash them afresh with lime, brought down a 
thin scale of plaister, which discovered the following picture on 
each side the North door near the Western end of the church. On 
the East side of the door is St. Christopher with his staff or flower- 
ing sceptre. Betwixt his feet is a mermaid or nymph of the sea, 
with her glass and comb, the one to dress, the other to direct her 
