Troy Town on St Agnes
49°53'20.8"N ~ 6°21'08.4"W
Troy Town Maze on St Agnes is the oldest and most famous of Scilly’s Labyrinths. Stories say that this classic Cretan labyrinth design was built by Amor Clark – son of a St Agnes’s lighthouse keeper – in 1729. However, it might be even older, as a 1988 restoration of Troy Town Maze revealed another, older labyrinth under the current design, bearing similarities to surviving Viking labyrinths in Scandinavia.
The earliest photographic record of this maze is in the foreground of a Gibson photograph of the wreck of the S.S. Earl of Lonsdale in 1885. Unlike the other mazes on Scilly, Troy Town has been very well photographed. The maze crops up again and again in archives and family albums alike, and these different images show the changing state of the maze over time. We were extremely lucky that Rowan Smith who runs the Scilly Memories Facebook Group generously sent us a treasure-trove of photographs - both from the group and from his family archive - that show how Troy Town Maze has been changed by the process of being walked by many generations of feet. If you have any other photographs or stories that you would like to share with us then please be in touch at: scillylabyrinths@gmail.com
Clockwise from the Top: a Gibson photograph of the wreck of the S.S. Earl of Lonsdale showing Troy Town Maze in 1885 ; a party of visitors walking the maze (photographer and date unknown); a Gibson photograph of the “Prince of Wales treating the Maze at Troye Town, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly” in 1911.
From right to left, top to bottom: 1) Troy Town Maze from the Scilly Memories Facebook page archive (photographer unknown), 1980; 2) Corentyn Smith at Troy Town by photographer Roger Smith, 1992; 3) Paul Morrison and Sue Grills, Troy Town, St Agnes by photographer Roger Smith, 1977; 4) Troy Town by photographer Merryn Smith, 1995; 5) Troy Town by photographer Brian Mumford from the Scilly Memories Facebook page, 1957; 6) Troy Town Maze from the Scilly Memories Facebook page archive (photographer unknown), 1988.
Troy Town Maze was restored by dowsers in 1989, a controversial move which divided the islanders and archaeologists. For more on the clash between dowsers and archaeologists keep an eye on our Blog page for updates on that story.
Despite its status as a scheduled monument, Troy Town Maze is often unintentionally vandalised by visitors taking or painting stones, who are unaware of its age or significance. Our project will raise the labyrinths’ profile across the islands, safeguarding them from further damage and neglect and preserving this heritage for future generations of islanders.
We plan to update these webpages for the different labyrinths of the islands as our project progresses and we find out more about them. So please if you have any information, stories, ideas, questions or images of any of Scilly’s labyrinths - get in touch with us at scillylabyrinths@gmail.com - we would love to hear from you.