Mary, Mary Magdalene
Lying on the wall
I throw a pebble on your back
Will it lie or fall?

From Mary, Mary Magdalene

This relief is to be found on the south wall of St Mary Magdalene church. It is said that a stone lodged on her back will bring good luck

Henry Trecarell sat up in bed
His face was white and his eyes were red,
‘I dreamed,’ he cried, ‘ that our son was dead!’
‘Lie over, Sir Henry,’ her ladyship said.

From: A True Ballad of Sir Henry Trecarell

Henry Trecarell rebuilt the church of St Mary Magdalene in 1531. A story goes that he purchased the elaborately carved granite stones for a house, but donated them to the church after the death of his young son.

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

As I went down Zig Zag
The clock striking one,
I saw a man cooking
An egg in the sun.

From As I went down Zig Zag

Zig Zag is the name of a steep footpath in Launceston. It linked the town to the railway stations.

Eagle one, eagle two,
Standing on the wall.
Your wings a-spread are made of lead
You never fly at all.

From Eagle one, eagle two

The two eagles are found at the entrance to the Eagle House Hotel. The building was originally built by a local constable from the proceeds of a national lottery. The eagles are rumoured to fly by night with a full moon.

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

Winded, on this blue stack
Of downward-drifting stone,
The unwashed sky a low-
Slung blanket-thick with rain,
I searched the cold, unclear
Vernacular of clay,
Water and woods and rock:
The primer of my day.

From: On Launceston Castle

Mr Hector Pennycomequick
Stood on the Castle Keep,
Opened up a carriage-umbrella
And took a mighty leap.

From: Mr Pennycomequick

In the Willow Gardens
Under the castle keep
A hundred town allotments
Stand beside the steep.

From: In the Willow Gardens

The allotments have since disappeared.

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

Pepper and salt his whiskers,
Pepper and salt his hair,
Pepper and salt the three-piece suit
He always likes to wear.

From: Pepper and Salt

A description of a teacher at the National School where Causley himself taught for many years.

Tom and Tim the quarter boys
On the Guildhall tower
Turn and strike the quarter-bell
Twenty times an hour.

From: Quarter-Jacks

These can be found on the Guildhall above the clock face and overlooking the castle entrance.

(Photograph: Don Harris)

(Photograph: Malcolm Wright)

I saw Charlie Chaplin
In 1924
Playing golf with a walking-cane
Outside our front door.

From: I saw Charlie Chaplin

Here we go round the roundhouse
In the month of one
Looking to the eastward
For the springing sun.

From: Here We Go Round The Roundhouse

The roundhouse is built over a broken market cross and used to be the spot where election results (often for local pocket boroughs) were announced.