An seythen ma, my a vynn kevrenna genes henwyn tyller yw ankevys. Ny yllir kavos ‘Balmenhir’ skrifys war vappa ha nyns eus arwodh ynwedh.

Yn Sowsnek, Balmenhir yw neppyth kepar ha ‘mine of the standing stone’ hag yma ev war’n fordh dhe Bol Margh, ogas Halwyn yn Pluw Wendron. Nyns eus bal po menhir omma lemmyn, saw krann war vurrow balyow koth. Mes yn-dann an krann, yma lies hwethel.

Yn termyn eus passys, war benn an vre, yth esa tri jynnji. Tyller bysi o! Mes an bal a dhegeas, ytho an dus a asas. Unn burrow bal a veu dhaswrys dhe boll pregoth. Mes wosa Nessa Bresel an Bys, an werin a hedhis ow tos omma rag Dy’Sul Klavji. Diwettha, Jypsonyon a wre kampya y’n kroft. Wortiwedh, i a asas ynwedh.

War’n run, yma chi skat yn mysk an spern du. Janey Porgy a drig omma.

This week, I want to share with you a forgotten place name. You can’t find ‘Balmenhir’ written on a map, and there isn’t a sign either.

In English, Balmenhir is something like ‘Mine of the standing stone’ and it is on the road to Pennmarth, near Halwyn, in Wendron Parish. There is no mine nor standing stone here now, only bracken on old mine burrows. But under the scrub, there are many stories.

Long ago, on the top of the hill, there were three engine houses. It was a busy place! But the mine closed, so the people left. One mine burrow was rebuilt into a preaching pit. But after the Second World War, the people stopped coming here for Hospital Sunday. Later, gypsies used to camp in the croft. Eventually, they left too.

On the hillside, there is a ruined house amongst the blackthorn. Janey Porgy lives here. She is a ghost.

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