Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

2: The Q Memorial on Penleath Point

Another permanent visual reminder of Q is a granite memorial pillar. A visit also offers a marvellous location from which to enjoy views of the harbour which figures so often in his stories and across to Whitehouse and The Haven. It is also not far from the garden which he reached so often by rowing across from his home on the Fowey side. This inscription is on a plaque below a large ‘Q’ carved in the local stone:

Erected to the Memory of
SIR ARTHUR QUILLER-COUCH
Great Cornishman . Writer . Scholar
Born at Bodmin 1863 . Died at Fowey 1944

By his genius as an author and as an editor, he enriched the literature of England and brought honour to his county and to Fowey, his home for over fifty years.

Hon. Fellow of Trinity College Oxford and Jesus College Cambridge, King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at Cambridge, he was eminent alike in learning and in his long service to both universities and to education in Cornwall.

Courteous in manner, charitable in judgment, chivalrous in action, he manifested in life as in literature, the dignity of manhood, the sanctity of home and the sovreignty of God.

O Master who payest – not by time – Take the thanks of thy servant.
O captain, receive my sword O hands – O wounded hands
Reach and resume my soul Into thy hands, thy hand
Although it can be reached by taking a boat across to the rocks below the Point and climbing up the path to the memorial, the easier way is to follow the Hall’s Walk from Bodinnick. This footpath carries on around Pont Pill and then to Polruan – with new views of the harbour at every turn ! It is a steep climb up from the Bodinnick Ferry slipway to reach the path but the end result is worth the effort!