Magna Britannia; Being a Concise Topographical Account ,the Several Counties Great BritainBEING
,THE SE VE RAL COUNT IE S
G R E A T B R I T A I N .
By the Rev. DANIE L LY SONS, A .M. F.R .S. E A. and LS.
RECTOR OF RODMARTON IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE ;
And SAMUE L LY SONS, E SQ . and F.A.S.
KEEPER OF HIS MAJE STY ’S RECORDS IN THE TOWER OF LONDON .
VOLUME THE THIRD ,
CORN PVALL.
PRINTED FOR T . CADELL AND W . DAVIES, IN THE STRAND .
1 8 1 4.
THE T H I R D V O L UME .
GENERAL HISTORY?OF CORNWALL,
Hfi or zea l E vents,
Ancient and modern Dovfon of tkoCounty, E ccle/ia/tiea l Jurfa
’ ic ‘ tion a na
’
Dwifon of tbe County, Ta ble ofPa r ifltes, Moneyter zes, College: and Hfl ita ls,
M a rket and BorouglJ Towns,
Fa irs,
Popula tion,
Longevity,
Di ‘vfon ofP roperty a t tbe Time of tloe Donzefa ’
ay Survey,
P rincipa l Land/Bolder; a t ‘va r ious Periods,
Nobili ty ofthe County, E a rldonz ofCornwa ll, Corniflo Families wbielo ba 've been ennobled,
E xti ne? Peerx, and Ba ronial Families, Noblenzen
’
Ba ronets ’ Sean,
vi C O N T E NT S .
Pa e
Geograpbica l and Geological De/cription of ibe County, clxxxi. Bounda riis, "
E xtent, E9 ’ c. , c lxxxi . Soils a nd Stra ta , c lxxxii . Surfa ce and Scenery,
c lxxx ii i . Rivers, clxxxv. Lakes, clxxx ix . Navigable Cana ls, cx c .
Roads, cxc i .
ls andM inera ls, cxc iv. Indigenous Plants, cxcviii
Bi rds, Es ’
c . cc . Minera lWa ters, and remarkable Wells, cci. P roduce, cciii
M a nifa étures, c cxiii
Tr ade a nd P orts, ibid.
fi ntzguities, c cxvi
Britifioand Briti/b-Romanfl ntiguities, ccxvi . Cir cles ofStones, ccxvn. Rounds,
c cxviii . Ba r rows, Cromlechs; ccx ix . Celts, ibid. Caves, ccxx .
Coins, Efl ’
Roman d ntiquities, ccxxm. Roman Rodds and Sta tions, ccxxv.
Ancient Cburcb Arcbite '
‘ s Screens, ED
c.
Fonts,
Ancient Sepulcbra l Monuments, Rema insofMona/tic Buildings, Ca/lles a nd Sites ofGa/iles, fi ncient M aMon—bou/es,
d ncient Croflfes, VVell-Cbapels,
Camps a nd E ar th-works, Mfi ella neous Antiquities,
Cu/z ’ oms a nd Super/titions, 350 ,
PAROCHIAJL HISTORY ,
Scilly I/la nd, Appendix , 3 3 8 .
'
cer ta ined,
fi ddi tzons a nd Cor rec‘lions, Genera lHWory, 3 42 . Pa rocbial H ‘
i/Zory, Index ofNames a nd Titles
Genera l Index,
E rra ta ,
O F P LAT E S .
Map ofCornwa l l, Curclaée Tin-mine,
View ofthe Land’s end, View ofCape Cornwa l l and the Land
’ s end,
Kynans Cove, Caftle-Treryn,
~
‘
Ornaments, Pa rt ofLauncefton Chu rch , Stone Pu lpit in Eglofhayle Chu rch , Sec. Font in Bodmin Chu rch , Anc ient Fonts in the Corniih Churches, pl. 1 .
View of St.Bene t ’ s Monaftery, nea r Lanivet,
Plan, Sec . ofLauncefton Cattle ,
'
oré Cattle , with a diftant View ofRedru th , Part of Place-Houfe, at Fowey, The Cou r t ofCothele-Houfe, from the Gateway, Anc ient Croe s,
Plan ofE art’fi works, cal led Caille Andir as an .
Burrows, ccx l ix
viii L I S T O F P L AT E S .
XXX. North View ofFalmouth, XXXI. Sou th View ofFa lmouth , XXXII. Fa lmouth Haven, 8512. from a Chart drawn 1n the reign
King Henry VIII., preferved 1n the Britifh Mufeum,
'
Mount, XXXVI . View ofLauncefion Cattle, XXXVI I. North-Eait View of Roche Rock and Hermitage, with
a Plan ofthe Chape l and Hermitage, XXXVIII. Trematon Callie, fromthe River Lynher,
C O R N W A LL.
GENERAL HISTORY .
E TYMOLOGY .
R ICHARD ofCirenceiter fays that this county took itsname fromthe Ca rnabzi
i t is more probable on the contrary, tha t thofe people took thei r name from tha t of the country they inhabited : the tru th feems to be that the country was ca l led by its antient inhabitants, Kernou, or as the We lch write i t,Kerniw, or the
Horn, from its prOJeéting promontories ; tha t it was latiniz ed to Ca rnubia or
Cornubia ; that when the Saxons gave the name ofWea las to the Britons, they diftinguifhed thofe who had retired into Kernou or Cornubia
, by the name of
Corn-wea la s; and thei r country was thus ca l led Cornuwall or Cornwa l l : that is, Cornilh-Wa les.
fl a ttent Inbabitants, Language, and Government.
FROM the map of Roman Britain, i t appears tha t the northern part of this county, as far as the river Came l and Padftow haven, was antiently inhabited by a Britifh tribe ca l led the Cimbr i the eaitern part, as far as Fa lmouth haven, by the Da nmonii, and the remainder by the Ca rnabii. Before the coming of the Romans, the Da nmonii had fubdued the two o the r tribes and ufurped thei r do minions b. When the Romans divided Britain into fix provinces, Cornwa l l formed
pa rt of Br ita nnia P r zma ; after thei r departure i t became one of the lait retreats of the Britons, who feem to have been fometimes under the dominion of the
k ings ofWa les, and fometimes to have been governed by independent fovereigns
See D r Borlal ’
e ’ s A ntiqu ities, p . 3 25, andW h1taker’sCathedral ofCornwall, I . 14, 15.
5 See W h1taker’s H1ilory ofManchefier, l . 94.
8 2
C O R N W A L L.
of the i r own, either by the names ofdukes or kings t i l l thei r country was con quered by King Athelltan, and annexed to the c rown ofEngland.
By its royal privi leges, and the re ten tion of its antien t language , Cornwa l l fli l l
continued neverthelefs to reta in fome femblance of a diltinét fovereignty. The
language , which was a dialeét of the an tient Britilh , was genera l ly fpoken ti l l the reign OfHenry VIII. , when the introdufition of the Englilh l iturgy paved the way towards its gradua l difufe .
It is faid to have been at the defire ofthe Cornilh, tha t the Englifh fervice was
enjoined in preference to that ofthei r native tongue ; whillt inWa les, a contrary
fyitem, which has proved the prefervation of the ir language, was adopted
4 . Dr .
Moreman, the learned vicar ofMenheniot, is faid to have been the firll: in thofe
days (fpeaking ofthe k ingdom at la rge), who “ taught his parifhioners and peo
ple to fay the Lord’s prayer, the bel ief, and the commandments, in the Englilh tongue, and did teach and ca techize them there in Mr. Carew, in his furvey of Cornwa l l , publilhed in the year 1 602, fpeaks of the language as then growing fall into difufe . The princ ipa l love and knowledge ofthis language,
” fays he, “ l ived in Dr. Kennall the c ivilian, and with him lyeth bu ried, for the Englilh
fpeech doth {ti l l enc roach upon i t, and ha th driven the fame into the uttermoit
Ikirts of the (h i re . Mo lt of the inhabitan ts can fpeak no word ofCornilh , bu t
very few are ignorant of the Englifh, and yet fome fo afi '
eé ‘
t their own , as to a
itranger they will no t fpeak i t ;for ifmeeting them by chance you enqui re theway, or any fuc h mat te r, your anfwer {ha l l be, Mec a navzdra cowz a Sawz neck,
’ I
”
Ha ls te l ls us that in the re ign ofCharles the Firil, fome ofthe aged people in the
neighbourhood of Penryn were quite ignoran t of the Englilh language, and that
the Rev.Mr.Jackman, vica r ofSt.Feock , wa s obliged to adminilter the fact a
ment to them in the Cornilh . Ray found onl y one perfon who cou ld wri te the language in 1 663 , but we are told by Mr. Sc awen, that not long before the year
1 67 8 , a fermon was preached in it by the Rev. Mr . Robinfon, reétor ofLande wednack . In the early part of the lafl: c entury, as Dr . Borlafe informs
- us, i t was
{ti l l genera l ly fpoken by the filhermen and market-women in the extreme fou thern
pa rt ofthe peninfula ; in his Natura l Hiltory, publiihed in 1 758 , he fpeaks ofthe
language as having al together ceafed, fo as not to be fpoken anywhere in conve r fation. Some aged people however retained i t rather la te r ; Mr . Daines Barrington gives an account of an old filh -woman ofMoufehole, the only perfon he cou ld
find or hear of, who {poke the Cornifh language , when he made the tou r of 0
Polwhele’s Cornwall, Vol. II p . 1 1 . in the notes. Treat1fc on the Cornilh
language , by W . Scawen E fq See Hooker’s Syn0plis ofDevon .
Cornwa l l
C O R N W A L LZ
Cornwal l in 1 768 , as re lated in a commun ica tion to the Soc iety ofAntiquaries.
In 1 776, in a further communication on th e fame fubje& to the fociety, i t is ftated
on the authority of a fifherman ofMoufehole , tha t there were then fou r or five
perfons b efides himfelfwho cou ld converfe in Cornilh .
Dr. Pryce of Redru th , in his preface to his Arch ‘
aeologia Cornu-Britannica,
pub lilhed in 1 790, fpeaks ofa very old man then l iving atMoufehole , as the only
perfon, to the belt of his knowledge, who was capable _
of holding ha lf an hou r ’ s
converfation on common fubjeéts in the Cornilh tongue . He afterwards fays , tha t
the re were a few othe r anc ient perfons who pretended to jabber i t, but tha t they
were very il lite ra te , and the i r fpee ch very much corrupted, a l though thei r pronun c
c iation was genera l ly correét. Mr. Whitake r, in his tour to the Lands-End , in
1 799, heard of two perfons who even then fpoke i t, but he had not an Opportu
mity of afcertaining the faét. W e find, upon inqu i ry, that there is no perfon
now who can converfe in the language, though fome old people are acqua int
ed with many words of i t, which they have learned from thofe of the
generation .
A fewMSS. are extant in the Cornilh language , the molt remarkable ofwhich
are fome interludes ‘, par t ly written in the fifteenth century, and a poem cal led Mount Ca lvary, all ofwhich were tranflated by Mr . J . Keigwin . Mr . Edward Lloyd, who made a jou rney into Cornwal l to col left ma teria ls for tha t purpofe , in 1 700, pub lifhed a Cornilh grammar, in 1 707 . Dr . Borlafe gives fome Corniih
proverbs in his Na tu ra l Hiltory ; and at the end of his Antiquities of Cornwa l l
has printed a Cornifh Vocabu lary . Dr . Pryce of Redru th , in 1 790, publilh ed
Archaeologia Cornu-Britannica , or an attempt to preferve the anc ient Cornilh language , comprifing a Corniih gramma r, a copious vocabu lary, lifts of Cornilh names of pla ces with thei r e tymology, the Lord
’ s prayer, c reed, and command
ments in Cornifh, col loqu ies, a Cornilh fong, Soc .
Itfeemsmolt probable, tha t the Dukes and Ea rls ofCornwa l l continued to poffefs tha t fhadow offovereignty which they were a l lowed to retain immediate ly after the conqueft ofthe county by Athelltan . Carew fpeaks ofi t as an entire ltate by the name ofa k ingdom, princ ipa l ity, duchy or ear ldom. W e are to ld tha t the Earls of Cornwa l l were a lways privi leged with roya l jurifdiétion and c rown rights, giving ofl iberty to fend b ungelfes to parliament, and appointing a iherilf, admi ral , and othe r officers 5” before the c reation of the duchy, which took place in the yea r 1 3 3 7 ,
when
There are two MSS ofthefe 1riterludes in the Bodleian l ibrary ; one on parchment, wi 1tten m the fifteenth century, the other on paper, written by W . Jordan, In 1 6 1 1 .
8 Carew, fo . 79. W ltl‘l rcfpeét to the appointment of fhen if, It appears that when the men
ofCornwall gave King John the large fum of marks, befides 200 mark s in l ieu often palfreys. t ’l
vi C O R N W A L L .
when Edward the Black Prince was c rea ted Duke of Cornwa l l , and the duchy
fettled by aét of parliament on the eldeft fon of the King of England. Large
revenueswere annexed to the duchy and the immediate government ofthe county vefted
to have their county disforelted, to b e exempt from the foreft laws, and other privileges one of
theic privileges was, that they lhould have a {heri tl '
from among their own c ount iymen ; tha t they lhould prefent certain ofthe belt men ofthe c ounty to the Ki ng, who lhould nominate one ofthem; tha t ifhe lhould mifbehave , he would be removed by the K ing , and another appointed in his room,
but that it ihould be one of theii own c ountrymen, ifone fhould be found fit for the office, O ther wife the King fhould appoint a fli ei ifffrom another county, but one who was not ill-affeé’ted to
wards the men ofCornwall, and wou ld b e l ikely to ufe them well . Madox ’s Hiltory of the E x
cheque r , p . 2 79. The lhenfi
'
was to b e refident . It appears that th e 200 mark s was a peac e
offeri ng to appeafe the King ’ s d ifpleafure c onc e ived againlt the men of Cornwall . See p 28 3 .
h The original revenues of the duchy of Cornwall, as granted by the charter of E dward I I I . , confi lted of the c altle, borough , manor and honor ofLaunce lton, W ith the park , & c the c attle , manor, and park of T rematon, W ith the town of Saltafli ; the c attle, b01ough, and manor of
Tintagel ; the c attle , manor, and park ofReitormel ; the manor ofClimefland, W ith the park of
Keribullock ; T ybe ita, W i th the ba iliwic k of Powderfhire ; Tewington, W i th i ts appurtenanc es ; Heliton in Kerrier, with i ts appurtenances ; Morelk , W i th its '
appurtenanc es T ywarnail, with its appu
rtenances Penkneth, with i ts appurtenanc es; Penlyn, with the park , 81 C . R illaton,with the beadlelh ip of E aft. W yvellh ire Hellton inT rigfhire , with the park ofHellelbury, Sec . Lif
keard, with the park , 8t c . Calltock , with the filhery, 810. T allk edy, with the appurtenances ; the town ofLoitwithiel, W ith the mi lls, &c . the profit ofports, W ith wreck s, 81 C . profits ofthe hundreds and courts ; the c oinage of tin, and all the Stannary profits, befides certain manors and
boroughs in Devonfhi re . The whole revenue of the duchy, as compu ted on an average of three
yea rs, after the death of the Black Prince, the la tter end of his father’s re ign, amounted to
75. 3 §d. per annum. Of this, 7 3 . 9: 1 , d arofe from the Cornifh e ltates, inc luding
i s. 4d. per annum, which was then the profit ofthe Stannaries. (See the particulars printed from the original at the Tower, at the end ofLord D e Dunitanv1lle’s edition ofCarew’
e Survey. ) Ofthe above-mentioned antient manors, Tybe ita , He lllon in Kerrier, Morefk, Tewington, Ty
warnail and Calltock , have b een fold W i thin the laft fourteen years under the powers of the land tax redemption a& . In the reign ofHenry V I I I . the honour ofW alli ngford was annexed to the
duchy, b ut the King with ing to refume it , fe ttled on the duchy in lieu thereof, the manorsofW e lt
A nthony, 'Crofthole , Landreyne , Portloo, and Port-Pighem; Northill, Trelow1a, T regameere,
Trelugan, T reverbyn -ourtney, Landulph, Le igh-D urant and Tinten, which had been forfe i ted by
theMarquis ofE xeter the manors ofA ultell, Fentrigan, T revenen, G ridiow, Porthea-Prior, and th e manor and borough ofFowey W ith the filhery there , all which had belonged to the priory ofTy wardreth ; and the manors of Carnedon-Prior, Climfland-Prior, T reworgye, Stra tton Sanétuary , E altway , Boyton, Bucklawten and Bonyalva , and the b arton ofBradr idge, with the advowfons of Treneglos,W a rb ltow, Stra tton and DaViditow, all ofwhich had belonged tb the priory of Laun
c elton. T he manors ofW e lt-Anthony, Crofthole, Landreyne, A ultell and Fowey, have been fold under the powers of the aét ofthe redemption of the land-tax .
The c lear revenues of the duchy, i n the fifteenth year ofKing Henry V I I I . , amounted to
1 i s. 9&d. , ofwhich the ilIues ofmanors and boroughs amounted to i 7s. z ed , the
profits ofthe comage of t in in Cornwall and Devon, to 3 8 . gid. other profits c onnefl ed
W ith Cornwall, 2041. 03 . 5d. It appears, that in the 44th year of Queen E li z abeth 1 2 revenues
C O R N W A L L . vii
vetted in the Duk e , who has his Chance l lor, Attorney, -and Sol ic itor-genera l , and other officers, his cou r t ofExcheque r, wi th the appointment oftherifis, 85C. 8CC.
The important concerns ofthe mining trade (which wi l l be fpoken ofmore at
large hereafter) are under a feparate juril '
diétion, at the head ofwhich is the Lord Warden ofthe Stannaries ‘ and under him the Vice-Warden, the fina l appea l be ing
to
I
revenues ofthe duchywere much diminilhed, the tum total ofthe c lear revenues being then re turned at i z s. z fid . ofthis, 1 8s. arole from the county of Cornwall and of this lalt menti oned fum the profits ofthe t in were 31. 93 . 8d the profits ofmanors, 8461. 155. 7 §d ofboroughs, 93 1. 159. 4id . ofhundreds, 551. 3 s. 8d . ; profits ofoffice s, 741. 1 3 3 . Li d . (Sir John Dodridge
’ s anc ie ii t and modern A c c ount of th e Duchy of Cornwall, Sec The preteri t grofs
amount ofthe revenues ofthe duchy ofCornwall, is ofwhich, at i les from the
tin-duty in the c ounty of Cornwall, and from rents of manors, fines, 810. in the fame county . The t in-duty, b efore the war, had been nearly per annum.
The tenants ofthe duchy manors are either free tenants, or conventionary or c ultomary tenants ( liber i convenciona ru ) the former hold their lands as freehold ofinheritance , fubjecot only to a chief, or as it is called in Cornwall, a bigh rent to the lord . The c onventionary tenants hold from {even years to teven yea i s, under a tmall referved rent, and fuit and fervice to the courts, and payment ofa heriot . The c uttomofthe manor as to delcent is, tha t the widow has an e ltate for life, and in c afe of nomale he ir, the eldett daughter inherits. Informer times there were alto bond conventionary tenants ( na tivi conveneiona r i i), the other b eing called free conventionary tenants; thete bond tenants
’ eltates
were fubjeét,on the death ofthe holders, to the payment ofall their chattels to the lord : there were tenants alto termed bond in b lood ( na tiv i dejlipitc) , who he ld upon like terms, but c ould not put
their tons to fchool, or marry their daughters, without the lord ’ s content, and the youngelt ton
inherited the e ltate . (E xtent ofthe duchy ofCornwall, 1 1 E d. I I I ., in the King’s remembrancer’s’ ofiice , E xchequer. ) i The following is nearly a complete lift of the Lord W ardens with their Vice—W ardens, from
the reign of E dward VI ., chiefly made out by D r. Borlafe
Lord Wardens. Vice-Wardens.
Temp . E dw. VI . —E dward Duke ofSomertet Si r Thomas Smith .
1553 - .Iohn E arl of Bedford Sir W illiamGodolphin.
1554.—E dward Lord Ha ltings of
Loughborough About 1560. -Franc is E arl ofBedford
1584— 1 603 . -Sir W alter Ralegh
ui 603 - 1 629.
— Ph111p E arl of Pembroke andMontgomery
i 660. —Sir John G renv1lle (after
wards E arl of Bath)
1 701 .—Charlcs E arl of Radnor
Wm. Carnfew, E fq
Sir Franc is Godolphin.
Wm. Coryton, E fq .
Wm. Coryton, E fq .
Sir Richard Prideaux . Wm. Scawen, E fq .
Sir John Trelawney , Bart . Sir Jofeph T redenham.
J . W addon, E fq .
Hugh Tp nkin, E fq .
viii C O R N W A L L .
to the Duke and his counc i l . The anc ient privi lege of the miners to be exempt fromallother jurildiftion than that ofthe Stannary courts, (except in fuch cafes as
lhould afi '
eét land, l ife , or confirmed by King Edward III. The Vice.
Warden ’
s court, held genera l ly once a month , is a court ofEqui ty for allmatters re lating to the tinmines and trade, fromwhich no wri t oferror l ies to the courts at W ettmintter, but there is an appea l to the LordWa rden, and fromhimto the Duke arid his counc i l, or, du ring a vacancy of the duchy, to the King and his counc i l .
Lord Wardens Vice-Wardens.
1 702-9- JO O GranVIlk ’ E rq , (after wardsLord Granvdle),
S i r Richard Vyvyan, Bart .
1 705. Franc isLordRialton (after E arl ofGodolphin)
1 708 . - Hugh Bofcawen, E fq . (af.
terwardsVifc .Falmouth)
c onnoc
1 76 1 .
1 776.
1 783 .
1 798 . - Si r John Morlhead, Bart .
1 800. —Rear-Admiral John W i llet Payne, Efq .
1 803 . -Tho .Tyrwhitt, E fq . (now
Sir Tho.Tyrwhitt, Kut . ) 1 8 12.—Fia nc is Cha . Seymour, E arl
ofYarmouth
Carewfays, tha t the firlt charter ofprivi legeswas Obtained by the lords ofthe tithings in Black .
more , of E dmund E arl ofCornwall ; that the Stannary courts, and the power ofholding parlia ments (though it does not appear to have been exercifed), were granted by this charter,which was to be k ep t in one of the church lteeples,but wasnot extant in his time. This he lta tes on the authority ofMr.Wm. Carnfew (Vice -warden),who had teen the charter ; by which it is faid, that the tax ofa
halfpenny to the E arl for every pound of t in wasfirlt fixed, and the coinage of it appomted. Mr.
'
ex ’ s army, in 1 644. (See Lord de D un
fianville '
John Thomas, t .
Francis Gregor, Efq .
C O R N W A L L .
Ilfues are frequent ly dire£ted by the Vice-Warden to be tried in the Stannary cou rts which are he ld at the end ofevery three weeks (ex cept in the Stannary ofFoyMore in which there is fcarcely any bufinefs for the cou rt), before the fieward of each
Stannary, and a ju ry for t rying all c ivi l act ions arifingwithin the Stanna ries inwh ich
e ither the plaintiffor defendant is a privileged tinne r . Appea lsmay be made from this cour t to the Vice-Warden, and from him as in the other cafes. King Henry VIL, when he confirmed their anc ient privileges, granted, tha t do
new laws fl eeting the mine rs lhould be enacted by the Duke and his counc i l with
out the confent oftwenty-fou r perfons ca l led Stannators, chofen fix out ofeach of
the fou r Stannaries or mining diftriéts m
. The meeting of thefe Stannators , who
are fome ofthe princ ipa l gent lemen ofproperty in the mining diftrié ‘
ts, is c al led a
Stannary parliament, and, on thei r alfembling, they choofe a fpeaker. Thefe par
liaments have been convened occafionally by the Lord Warden, as the c i rcum
fiances of the times have ca l led for new laws, or a revifion of the old. The lalt
Stannary par liament was he ld at Truro in 1 752 , and continued, by adjournments, to the 1 1 th September 1 753 .
The Stannary laws ofCornwa l l were publifhed in an oétavo volume in the reign
ofQueen Anne , and aga in in fol io with the laws and culloms of the Stannaries of
Devon, by Thomas Pearce , in 1 725 and 1 750. The Stannary prifon is at Loft
wi thie l : at the fame town were kept the anc ient records of the Stannaries which
were bu rnt in the c ivi l war.
The afli z es for the county were invariably held at Launcefion from an early
period, ti l l the time of Richa rd, King of the Romans, who, having bu i l t a
palace at Lofiwithiel, t ransferred the afii z es thither ; but on a petition from the
men ofLauncel’ton , he confented, on the payment ofa fine, tha t they fhould be
he ld as had been accultomed ; and i t fo con tinued (except du ring the ravages of
t he p lague, when the afli z es we re he ld at Saltalh), ti l l the reign ofGeorge I . In
the yea r 1 7 1 5, an act ofparl iament was pa lled, by which it was enacted, tha t after
the 20th ofMay 1 7 1 6, the affi z es fhould not be confined to the town ofLaunc efton .
In confequence of this aéi , they were he ld a l ternate ly a t Launceflon and Bodmin, ti l l the . year 1 7 27 , afte r which they were he ld folely a t Launcefton as before, t il l the fummer afliz es inthe yea r 1 7 3 8 , when the a l ternate a rrangement, which
has eve r fince continued, was aga in adopted “
the fpring alfiz es being held a t
Launcefton, the fummer at Bodmin.
From the information ofJohn Thomas, E fq . vice-warden of the Stannaries.
m Namely, Foy More , Blackmore , Tywarnhaile , and Penwith and Ke l rier . The Stannatorsfor Foy More are chofen by the may or and c orporation ofLollwith iel thofe for Tywarnhaile b y the
mayor and corporation ofTruro ; and thole for Penwith and Kerrier by the mayor and corporation ofHellion.
Judgment Roll in the King ’
s Bench .
VOL. III.
“ x C O R N W A L L .
T he quarter feflions were formerly he ld at Bodmin and Truro , the fefiions
beginning a lways at Bodmin on the Tuefday, and being adjourned to Truro on
the Friday . About the year 1 580, as we find from Carew’ s furvey, this a rrange
ment was a l tered, and the whole feflions he ld at each place a l terna te ly ; but this
having been found l iable to inconveniences, before the publication of his work i t had been arranged, tha t the feflions fhould, interchangeably, one q uar
tér begin at Bodmin and end a t Tru ro, and the nex t begin a t Tru ro and end at
Bodmin.
” The Michae lmas fefiions are now held who l ly at Bodmin, the E afier
fellions at Tru ro, and the Epiphany and Mid-fummer fefiions at Lollwithiel. This a rrangement has fubfifted many years.
The county-gao l was formerly at Launcefton, being the old prifon wi thin the
prec incts of the caftle. It is defcribed by Dr. Borlafe P as a na rrowwretched place for human c reatures to be confined in, all fuppofed innocent ti l l convict ed ; but here, he fays, the innocent and the gui l ty mull be contented to remain ti l l the i r
fa te is determined, or a bette r one is bui l t . ” This has fince been happily accomplilh
ed, a commodious and we l l-arranged county gaol , upon Mr. Howard ’
s fyflem,
from a p lan of the late Sir John Ca l l , having been erected at Bodmin, under the
powers ofan aét palfed in 1 77 8 . It was completed in 1 780.
Hgfior ira l E vents.
THE ear ly par t of the billory of this county is enve loped in obfcurity, and
mingled with monkiih fable ; few loca l events have been handed down to us, and
even thofe are to be rece ived with cau tion . Til l the time ofthe renowned Arthu r , indeed, we have l ittle more than a ca ta logue of the rea l or imagina ry names of a
long fucceflion ofprinces. Even the flory ofArthu r is to interfperfedwith fiction, tha t fome wri ters have gone fo far as to doubt his ex iltence ; and Giraldus Cam
°
. Howeve r his Ptory may have been difguifed by fable, and wha tever doubts [there may be re
fpeéting the p lace ofhis birth , the circumftances a ttending i t, as re la ted by GeEery, being fo pa lpably fict itious P, yet the ex iltence offuch a monarch is confirmed by
In hisMS. addition to Carew’
s Survey, in the pofl '
eilion of Sir John St . A ubyn, Bart . See Leland’s Colleétanea, I I . p . 7 8 .
P The fabulous c ircumfianc es relating toArthur ’
s b irth, taken princ ipally from Geffery ofMon
mou th byHals, may b e feen a t large i n Polwhele ’ sHiliory ofCornwall, I I . p . 4. An anc ient French
chronic le, tranflated by Leland, (imply fays, that Tintage l and D iv ‘
ilioc caflles, in th is county, were kept by Gorlois E arl ofCornwall againlt Uter Pendragon; that Tintagel was del ivered up to him,
and tha t he married Igerne, the E arl ofCornwall ’ s W ife . A rthur was the fon ofUter and lgerne
but all his h ifiori ans agree that he wasbegotten in adultery .
1 2
x11 C O R N W A L L.
Saxons ofDevonlhire b. Twe lve years afterwards, another levere batt lewas fough t at Henglton Hill, in the parilh of Stoke Climlland, in which the Britons and
thei r a l lies, the Danes, were put to fl ight by Egbert. The nex t remark able event, and one of the molt important in the hiftory of
Cornwal l, is the conqueft of tha t province by Athelltan. Til l this time, the Britons oc cupied grea t part ofthe weft ofDevonfhire, and inhabited Exeter, which
was not then for tified, in common wi th the Saxons. Athelltan, having defeated Howel l , King ofCornwa l l , nea r Exeter, not only drove the Britons out ofthat c ity, but obliged them to retire to the well of the Tamer . This happened, according to Florence ofW orc efter, in 926 ; nine yea rs afterwards, the Cornifh having lhown fymptoms of revol t, Athelftan entered the i r country, traverfed its who le extent withou t oppofi tion to the Lands-End, where he embarked his a rmy
, and,
having fucceeded in his intention of reducing the Sci l ly Illes, is fuppofed to have completed the conqueft of Cornwa l l .
4
In 98 1 , fome Danifh pi rates p lundered the monaftery of St. Pe troc , in
Cornwa l l . e
,
fons of Harold, on thei r retu rn to Ire land, afte r they had gained a viétor ’
y over King William
From its remote fituation, the -
county of Cornwa l l appears to have had very l ittle lhare in themi lita ry tranfaftions ofthe three fo l lowing centuries. In the reign of Stephen, we are told that the Cornifh people dec lared Openly for the Emprefs Maud, and, a l though the war did not ex tend into their i country, they fought
bravely for her unde r thei r Earl , who was her b rother Mr. Polwhele obferves,
'
ellions in Cornwa l l, feiz ed on St. Michae l’sMount
5 The battle ismentioned by Henry Huntingdon, (Scrip . po ll Bedam, 197, and in the Saxon Chronic le . Sax. Chron. and Henry Hunt ingdon. (Sc rip . poll Bedam, 198
W hitaker, I. 20, 2 1 .
The ‘Chronicles (fee J. Bromton inter D ec s Scnp I. and Hoveden inter Sc rip . poll
Bedam, only fay the monaltery of St. Peter or Pet i oc , in Cornwall ; i t has genera lly been fuppofed to have b een the monaliery at Bodmin butMr.Whitaker has very ab ly lhown, that it was anothermonaftery of the fame faint at Padltow, on the fea-lhote, which was a cell to Bodmin. See
his cathedral ofCornwall, I. 60.
f Sax. Chron. and Leland’s Colleétanea, II. p . 1 89.
3 Sim. Dunelm inter decem Scrip . I . 1 89. Polwhele ’sCornwall, II. 23 .
1 Ib id . 11 . 24.
C O R N W A L L . x iii
on beha lf ofJohn Ear l of Cornwa l l , who was then in rebe l l ion againlt the King
his brothe r : on hea ring of the King ’ s releafe , we are told tha t he furrendered i t
in the year 1 1 94, withou t mak ing any defence , to Huber t Wa lker, Archbilhop of
Canterbu ry and i t is fa id he died wi th fea r on hearing of the King ’ s re tu rn.
In the yea r 1 3 2 2, we a re to ld tha t a grea t mu l titude of the Cornifh men, wo
men, and children , being fmitten with a ftrange enthu liafm, and convinced tha t they lhould conquer theHo lyLand, left the i r na tive country, and, wandering abou t in fore ign parts, fome were executed for va rious tranfgrelfions, and o thers imprifoned ; thofe who efcaped, retu rned home not a l itt le alh amed of the i r fol ly. In the year 1 47 1 , Queen Margaret having landed at Weymou th , the who le
powers ofCornwa l l andDevonlhire, having been raifed iti her beha lf, as i t appears, th rough the influence ofSir Hugh Courtenay ofBoconnoc , and Sir John Arundel l ofLanherne , joined her at Exe ter, and accompanied her to the fata l field of
Tewk efbury The fame yea r, in the month of September, John Vere Ea rl of Oxford, having by fub tlety got polfeffion ofSt.Michae l ’s Mount
, eltablilhed him
felf in tha t fortrefs with a garrifon of nea rly 400 men, and he ld i t t i l l the 3 d of
February, when he furrendered to Sir Thomas Fortefcue, on condition of his life
beingfpared, which the King granted, but lent himprifoner to the cali le ofHannes or Hammes, where he remained feveral years. In the year 1 497 , be ing the i 2th ofHenry VIL, in confequence ofdifcontents
occafi oned by the levy of a tax for the Scottilh war, the commons of Cornwa l l , inl’tigated by Thomas Elammock or Flamank , the head of a refpeétable fami ly
in the county, and, as Holinlhed ca l ls him, learned in the laws ofthe realm, and
Michae l Jofeph, a fmith ofBodmin, tofe in rebe l lion. Having prevai led on Lord
Audley to be thei r genera l, they ma rched wi thou t interruption through Some r fetlhire, W iltlhire , Hampfhire, and Surrey, til l they came to Blackheath in Kent, where they were defeated by Lord Daubeny, and the i r ringleade rs taken prifoners
and execu ted The Cornifh men were for the molt part a rmed with bows and a rrows, and bil ls ; thei r arrowswe re reported to be ofthe length ofa ta ilor
’ s yard ;
” obfervesLord Bacon, were they fa id to draw
In the month ofSeptember fo l lowing, the c e lebrated Pe rk in Warbeck , who has been thought by fome late writers (on plaulible grounds) to have been rea l ly, as
he reprefented himfelf, the fon ofKing Edward IV. , in the profecution ofhis c la ims
to the c rown , landed atWhitland bay, near the Lands-End ; advanc ing to Bodmin,
he found the Cornifh r ipe for a new rebe l l ion, and foon ga thered toge ther a force
Hoveden inter Scrip . poll Bedam, f. 41 8 , b .
Leland’s Colleétanea , 1 . 274 from an anc ient chronic le , the author unk nown.
m Holinlhed. Ibid. andLeland’s Collefi anea , I . 508 , 509. Holinlhed.
Life ofKing Henry VII.
x iv C O R NW A L L .
of 3 000 men, wi th which he marched to beliege Exeter “1 . His wife, the Lady
Catherine Gordon, daughte r of the Ear l ofHuntley, and a re la tion of the King ofScots, having been left at St. Michae l
’ s Mount as a place offecurity, after her
hufband ’
s fl ight, was, by the King ’ s c ommand, taken from thence by a party of
horfe, and brought to court . In the year 1 548 , anothe r rebel l ion arofe in Cornwa l l, ofwhich Hugh Arunde l l ,
governor ofMoun t St. Michae l, feems to have been the princ ipa l leader 5
. The ir
pretence was, the want of a reforma tion in re l igious ma tters. They proceeded
to befiege Exete r as Perk in Warbeck had done , but though tha t c ity was forely diftrelfed for want of provifions, i t he ld out ti l l re lieved ; the rebe ls were foon afterwards defeated, and Arunde l l, wi th fome other ofthei r capta ins, taken prifoners
and execu ted ‘ . During this rebe l lion the town ofMa ra z ion was burnt, as ap
‘
a tur .
On the \ 2 3d of Ju ly 1595, a fmall party of Spania rds landed near Moufehole,
d burnt tha t town, Newlyn and Penzance .
Previoufly to the commencement of the c ivi l war in the feventeenth century, a
pe tition for redrefs of grievances was prefented to the Houfe of Commons from the county ofCornwa l l a part ofthe prayer ofthis petition was, tha t the caftles ofPendennis and St. Mawes, both much decayed in thei r fortifica tions, 81C. lhould
'
alfo into trul’ty bands. In the early part of the war, Sir Alexande r Carew ofAnthony, and Sir Richard Bu l le r ofMorval
, aétive committee men, and the la tte r one of the members for the county
, polfelfed themfelves ofthe eaftern part of Cornwa l l, placed garrifons in Launcefton and Saltafh , and the parliament thought themfelves fecure of the
who le county excepting Pendennis cali le , whofe governor, Sir Nicholas Slanning, was a zea lous royalilt. Such was the fi tuation of affa irs when the Marqu is ofHe‘rtford
, the King ’ s
gene ra l in the weft, having embarked with his foo t at Minehead to join his Roya l
Mallet in Wa les, Sir Ra lph Hopton and Sir John Berk e ley, with a par ty ofabou t ‘
150 horfe, which had been a ttached to theMarqu is’s army, retired into Cornwa l l they were immedia te ly joined by Sir Bevil l Grenvi l le, who accompanied them to
Tru ro. At the enfuing quarter fellions Si r Ralph and his pa rty were prefented
Life ofKing Henry VII. Holinlhed.
Iii conjunfl ion W i th Rofogan, W inflade , and others. Holinlhed.
This mu ll have been the Mi chaelmasfellions, 1 642 . All the particulars relating to the early part ofthe war are taken fromLord Clarendon’s h iflory , in which there is a great defic iency ofdates.
by
C O R N W A L L. x,
by the commit tee as certa in perfons unknown, who were lately come armed into that county againft the peace ; bu t Sir Ra lph Hopton having a ttended and pro
duced the King ’ s commiflion by which he was appointed l ieu tenant-genera l of
horfe in the W ell, he and his companions were not only acqu itted of any difturb
ance ~ of the peace , but a cro '
fs indiétment having been preferred againft Sir Alex
’
s retreat , the bil l which
charged themwi th being a rout and unlawfu l affemb ly, was found by the grand ju ry
, and an order of feflions was made for ca l l ing out the pcfle comita tm, by
which means a body ofth ree thoufand foot, wel l armed, was immedia te ly raifed for
the King ’
s fervice . With this force thus fuddenly alfemb led, Sir Ra lph Hopton
marched to Launcellon, then in the occupation ofSir Richa rd Bu l ler, who qu itted it at his approach and i t was taken polfeflion Of withou t refiftance . Saltalh was
the nex t Objea: of a ttack , and furrendered a lfo wi thou t Oppofition. The King ’ s
party being now in the entire polfeflion of Cornwa l l , difmilfed the trained bands, and fome of his molt active friends began to raife volunteer regimen ts, in which , from the genera l loya l ty of the county, they met with grea t fuccefs. Abou t the fame time W
, Lord Mohun, who had a large effa te in Cornwa l l , and had not as yet
a ttached himfelf to e ither pa rty, haying dec la red for the King, was joined in com
million wi th Sir Ra lph Hopton, Sir John Berke ley, and Colonel Alhburnharn , to
command the Cornifh forces.
T he parliament in the mean-time, hearing that the King ’ s army was in complete
polfelfion ofCornwa l l , and occafionally made incurlions into Devonlhire, fent the who le ofthe i r force ou t ofDorfetfhire and Somerfetfhire to join with thole ofDevon lh ire in recove ringwha t they had loft in that quarter. Thefe forceswith all expedition entered the county under the command Of Genera l Ru then, governor ofPlymou th , at a bridge fix mi les above Saltafh, and advanced to Lifk eard . Mean-time
, the
King ’
s army, much infe rior in numbers , had retired to Bodmin, whence , having
been joined by the tra ined bands who had been again fummoned on forefeeing the
’
s army, which had been drawn up upon Broad oak or Bradock down ,
was the re defeated. This battle happened on the 1 9th of
Janua ry 1 64 Lifkeard was tak en the fame day Y. Ru then fled to Saltafh ,
which he fortified wi th much expedition . The King ’
s forc es dividing, Sir John
Berk e ley and Co lone l Afhburnham, with the volunteer regiments, wen t to attack the
Ea r l of Stamford, the parliamentary genera l , at , Taviftock ; Lord Mohun ,and
Sir Ra lph Hopton, with ’
the rema inder, proceeded to Saltafh, which was qu ick ly
).
’ sV1ew of the Troubles, p . 1 1 6.
xvi C O R N W A L L.
tak en by alfault ’
, Ru then efcaping by wa ter to Plymou th . The pa rliamentary
forces ha ving thus fai led in the ir a ttempt to fubdue Cornwa l l, and the war be ing now aftively profecuted in Devonlhire, a prOpofalwasmade by fome ofthe Cornifh
gentlemen a ttached to the parliament, that a treaty might be en tered into, whereby
the peace _ of the counties of Cornwa l l and Devon might b e fettled , and the war
removed into o the r parts. This trea ty took effect , and was ratified by the molt folemn oaths ; but, lik e the Chefhire a rtic les ofneu tra li ty, proved infufficient to its Objeét, for i t was dec lared nu l l and void by the pa rliament, and both counties were fa ted to become the fcene of repeated b loodfhed. An order for Mr. Nicol ls and Mr. Prideaux ,
two Cornifh gentlemen, members of the houfe , to go down and
break the pacification, palfed on the 1 1 th ofMarch a
; but i t appears tha t the truce which was to precede the intended peace , was fuffered to rema in in force ; for we are told tha t i t was not til l the beginning ofMay ,juft before the expi ration ofthe
’
s a rmy : by
coming thus unawa res, they gained fome advantage at the firft, bu t we re in the end repulfed, and obliged to reti re into Devonlh ire b. Not long afterwards, the King
’ s forces be ing ftill at Launc elton, the Earl ofStamford ma rched with a la rge
a rmy into the north ofCornwa l l, the on ly part ofthe county eminent ly difalfeéted to the King
’ s caufe, and encamped on the top of a fteep hil l nea r Stra tton, from
whence he fen t Sir George Chudleigh wi th a confiderable party of horfe to fur
prife Bodmin , and prevent the high fh eriffwi th the t rained bands from coming to
the afliltance ofthe army at Launcefton . Mean-time, the King ’
s genera ls refolved to advance and engage the enemy notwithllanding any difadvantage offi tuation or
numbers. On the fifteenth ofMay, they took thei r fta tion within a mi le of the
parl iamentary a rmy ; the next morning, they divided into fou r detachments, all of which , with wonde rfu l perfeverance , ga ined the fummit of the hil l on which thei r
enemies were ftationed, and obtained a complete viétory . Major Genera l Chud l‘eigh was taken prifoner ; the Earl of Stamford fled to Exeter . Confidering the
’
s, this has been efleemed by hillorians as one of the molt bri l liant viétories in the who le cou rfe of
'
eEt The King, to fhew his fenfe of
its importance, foon afterwards c reated Sir Ra lph Hopton, Lord Hopton Of Strat
ton afte r whole dea th , Sir John Be rkeley, anothe r of the genera ls who lhared in “
the glories ofthis aétion, being c reated a baron by King Charles IL, had the fame
Heath. D ugdale ’ s V iew of the Troub les, p . 58 9
b Lord Clarendon, Whitlock , and Vicars. G ranger ’
s Biographic al Hilla ry, II. p . 2 36 .
honourable
honourable diftiné ’
tion. The confequence of this vié‘tory was, tha t the who le of
the par l iamentary camp, wi th all the baggage, provifions, ordnance, ammunition, and a grea t number ofprifoners, fe l l into the hands ofthe King
’ s genera ls.
When Sir George Chudleigh ,who had fucc eededwitho ut difficu l ty in furprifing the town Of Bodmin, and preventing the h igh fherilf from afiilting the King
’ s forc eswith the
tra in bands, heard the news of the Ea r l of Stamford’s defea t , he made a hafty
retreat wi th his horfe to Exeter . The county ofCornwa l l be ing now in a fiate of
fecurity, the King ’ s generals left garrifons in Saltafh and Mi lbrook
, to check any incu rfions from the par liamenta ry garrifon at Plymouth and marched with their
forces to join Prince Maurice, and theMarquis ofHertford , in Somerfetfhire . Here
the Cornifh a rmy gained asmuch honou r, as they had done in thei r own county, and particu lar ly diftinguifhed themfelves at the ba ttle ofLanfdowne , a nd at the
'
wrote the fol lowing letter, which is not noticed by the noble hiltorian '
'
hgh he is not fparing in his commenda tions ofthe bravery and loya l ty ofthe Cornifh
C. R .
To the Inhabitants ofthe County ofCornwa l l .
W E are fo high ly fenfible ofthe merit ofour county ofCornwal l, ofthei r zea l for the defence ofour perfon, and the jull rights ofou r c rown, in a time when we could contribu te lo l itt le to our own defence , or to thei r afliftance ; in a time when not only no reward appea red, but grea t and probable dangers were th re atened to obedience and loya l ty ofthei r grea t and eminent courage and patience in thei r in defa tigable profecution ofthe i r great work againlt lo potent an, enemy,backed with
fo li rong, rich , and popu lous c ities, and fo plentifu l ly furnilh ed and fupplied with men, a rms, money, ammunition, and provifion ofall k inds and ofthe wonder
ful fuccefs with which i t «
pleafed A lmighty God ( though wi th the lofs of fome molt eminent perfons, who ib all never be forgotten by us) to reward thei r . loya l ty
and patience by many ltrange viétories ove r the i r and our enemies in defpight of
all human probability, and all imaginable difadvantages tha t as we cannot be for
getful offo grea t defert, fo we canno t but defi re to pub lifh i t to all the world, and
perpetuate to .
all time , the memory ofthei r merits, and ofour acceptance ofthe
fame and to that end, we do hereby render our roya l thanks to that our County
VOL. III. e in
xvii i C O R N W A L L .
in the molt public and lallingmanner we can devife, commanding copies hereof to be printed and publilhed, and one ofthem to be read in every chu rch and chape l
therein, and to be kept for ever as a record in the fame ; tha t as long as the hiflory of thele times and ofth is nation fhall continue, the memory ofhowmuch tha t county hath merited from us and our c rown, may be derived with it to pof
Given at our camp at Sudeley Caftle , the t oth ofSeptember,terity.
This letter is ilill preferved in many churches in the county ; among others, in thofe ofStratton and Poughil l , clofe to the fcene ofone ofthe b ril l iant viétories, to wh ich it princ ipa l ly a l ludes i t is for the mo lt part pa inted on board, in fome confpicuous par t ofthe churches, and in fome the pa in ting has not many years ago been renewed.
After the battle ofStratton, nothing worthy ofnote occ urred in the county of Cornwa l l til l the middle ofJuly 1 644, wheen the Queen retreated to Pendennis Caftle, whence lhe embarked for France d. On the 20th oftha t month the Ea r l
’
fanguine in thei r expeétations, that by t hei r prefence and intereft they fhould be able to do great ma tters for the fervice of the parliamen t. Effex pafled the
Tamer at Newbridge ‘ , after a fharp lkirmilh wi th Sir Richa rd Grenvi lle and a
party of the King ’
s forces who defended tha t pafs 8 . He then took poffellion of
Launcefton and Saltafh“ . Sir Richa rd Grenville ’
s houfe, which wasgarrifoned for
the King, was taken by ftorm ‘
: the gene ra l then ma rched to Bodmin, and after wards toLoftwithiel and Fowey, where he fix ed his head-quarters, and fummoned
the county to come in to his afli ltance k. Sir Richard Grenvi l le retired before E lfex
’ s army, and havingfulfered fome lofs in a fkirmifh at Loftwithiel wi th Lord
Robart’s brigade made good his retreat to Truro m
. Mean-time the King having determined to purfue E lfex
’
s army, entered Cornwal l on the i ii ofAngult, at
Pollton-bridge . Previoufly to entering the county, he reminded his foldiers that they were going among a people who had lhewn themfelves much attached to his
’
s
houfe, in the parilh ofLezan t, his army being quartered a round h im in the fie lds.
The next day he drew up his forces upon Carraton Down , in the parilh ofLin
W alker’s HifloricalD ifcou i fes, p . 41 .
e W alke i .
EW alker fays Horle -b ridge , and that Si r R ichard Grenville abandoned that pa ls when be hi p poled tha t he had fec ured Launcelion, p 48 5W hi telock e . Ibid
Ibid k W h i telocke . W alke r’s Hillou c al D ifcourfe s .
k inhorne,
xx C O R N W A L L.
various fucé efs. ReltormelCaflle was taken on that day by Sir Richard Grenville, and a fquare batte ry railed on the Beacon Hil l a t the ex ten t ofthe King
’ s quarters
the 26th Genera l Goring and Sir Thomas Baliet took
poffeflion ofSt.Aullell. and the weftern part of St.Blaz ey, and a place ca l led the
’
s l ine at this time ex tended to Grampound, St. Enoder, Fowey, and to St.Blaz ey bridge
P . Being now reduced to great ftraits,
the Ear l ofE lfex began to devife how to efcape, and to make good a re trea t for
his army . Si r W i l liam Ba l fou r, favou red by the darknefs ofthe morning, i t being abou t three o’c lock , fucceeded in his a ttempt ofpalling through the King
’ s quarters
with the who le body ofthe par liamentary horfe on the 3 1 l ’ t Of Angu li , and got
fafe out of the coun ty by way ofCarraton Down , Pilla ton, and Saltafh . E lfex
with his a rmy quitted Loliwithiel on the fame day the foldiers, on the morning of
thei r departure, a re faid to have blown up the church , which , du ring the i r flay there, they defecrated and
, profaned in the molt wanton manne r q . During thei r
march to Fowey, a kind of running fight was k ept up between the two a rmies.
In one ofthele lk irmilhes the parliamentary army retreated to the ru ins of an old
caltle c a l led Caftle-Dore That night the King encamped in the fie lds with his
army very nea r the parliamentary quarters. The nex t day, Efl '
ex fent to propofe a
'
cOnfifiing ofabou t 6000 men, immedia te ly capi tu lated, and the whole of
thei r arms, arti l lery, and ammuni tion was de l ivered up the nex t day. A‘
pa rlia mentary diu rna l oftha t time, fays, tha t previoully to the capi tu la tion, the King
’ s
forces attacked thofe ofthe Par liament, tha t Genera l Skippon, who fough t l ike a lion, animated his men to mak e a brave refi llance, and intima tes tha t they forced the King to yie ld to his propofalsfor a capitu lation, a copy ofwhich is there given .
By th is agreement , the a rms and the whole of the ammunition were to be given up, the parliamentary a rmy were to have a fafe convoy of1 00 horfe to Poole and
Wareham the li ck and wounded to lie at Fowey ti l l cu red ; the a rmy to have on their march all the money they cou ld proc ure fromPlymou th , and other accomc
modations ; no foldier to b e moved to turn to the King, except fuch as fhould
come vo luntarily; Thefame diu rnal complains tha t the foldierswere plundered by the King
’ s troops, contra ry to agreement ; and gives a fpeech faid to have been
made by Genera l Skippon to the King upon the occafion. Sir Richa rd Gren
9 See P 0. Sep . 6- 1 3 , 1644 .
‘1 Dugdale ’ sView oftheTroub les, p . 560.
W alker. It was in the parilh ofTywardreath. Perfeét O ccurrences, Sep . 6— 1 3 , 1 644.
C O R N W A L L. xxi
’
to
Taviftock , having fu l ly acc complifhed the purpofe Of his expedi tion, and . left Cornwa l l for a while in a ite te of pe rfeét fecurity
' . In the courfe of the next
month , a pa rty from the pa r liamenta ry garrifon at Plymouth took poffeflion of
Saltafh , which foon afterwards Sir Richa rd Grenvi l le recove red by alfault. “
The year 1 645was almolt who l ly barren of inc ident in Cornwa l l, the war having been i emoved in to othe r counties. King Char les II. , then Prince of
Wa les, fpent a great pa rt of the au tumn and winte r of this yea r in Cornwa l l , refiding p i inc ipally at Launce lton and Truro x
. On the 2d ofMa rch 1 645 -6, he
embarked at Pendennis Caftle for the Sc i l ly Ifles Y . Some time in the preceding au tumn, Sir Richard G renvi l le, who is faid to have rendered himfelfex treme ly odious in the coun ty, by his Opprelfive and tyrannica l conduét fortifiedLauncefton . He
had hitherto been ve ry active for the King ’
s fervice, yet, in confequence offome
unpleafant mifunderftandings then fubfifting be tween Lord Goring and himfelf, he caufed a proc lama tion to be read in all the chu rches th roughou t Cornwa l l , tha t
if any of Lord Goring ’
s forces lhould offer to come into Cornwa l l , they lhould ring the be l ls, and
, thereupon, the whole county lhou ld rife and bea t them out.
’
s caufe, before Sir Ra lph , then Lord Hopton, was made commande r in-chief of the weftern a rmy . Sir Richa rd G renvi l le , a l though he had himfelf
advifed the meafure ofappointing a fnperior offi ce r, from whom all others might rece ive orders
, refufed to obey Lord Hopton, and was in confequence, by the
Prince ’s command, committed to prifon at Launcefton, fromwhence he was after
wa rds fent to St. Michae l ’s Mount : the re he rema ined ti l l the Pa rliament was
poflefled of the whole county, when, left he lhould fa l l into thei r hands, the
Princ e gave him leave to re tire to the continent . Lord Hopton having ( though forely againft his inc l ina tion) accepted the command ofa divided, broken, and dif o rderly a rmy , was defeated by Sir Thomas Fa i rfax , at Torrington : from thence he re tired to Stra tton, the feens of his forme r honours, where he ftaid two or
three days, til l he was joined by the rema inder of his foot . Sir Thomas Fai rfax
fo l lowed his lieps into Cornwa l l, and the la tter end of Februa ry , 1 646, forced
The dates ofthe greater part of the ac count ofthe King ’ s expedi tion into Cornwa ll, in 1 644,
a re taken from the narrat ive of his fec retary , S i r E dwa r d W a lker. (See h is Hiltoric al D ifcourfes
See Lord Clarendon '
s Hiltory, 8vo. II. 684. 690. 703 705. 735.
The Pri nc e was at Launcelton as late as February 1 645-6 .
V See P . D . Feb . 22—March 2d. 2 See Lord Clarendon, Fol. E dit . II. 561 , 562,
the
the pafs ofTamerton-bridge advanced to Stratton 5
, and from thence to Launce
iton , where, in confequence ofthe turn which affa irs had now taken in this county,
Co lone l E dgcumbe, who had a lways pretended to be of the King ’
s party, joined Sir Thomas Fai rfax with his regiment of trained bands The genera l,
previoully to entering Cornwa l l, ftriétly forbad his foldiers plundering or inju ring any of the inhabitants, as the King had done upon the fame occafion . Lord
Hopton retired to Bodmin . Abou t th is t ime, Saltafh was fina l ly abandoned by the King
’ s forces. d
The fol lowing particu la rs are given more at large by Sir Bulftrode W hitelocke
than by any other hiftorian Sir Thomas Fa irfax ma rched to Bodmin , which
was qu itted by the King ’ s forces the beginn ing ofMarch . Cromwe l l was fen t
wi th a large party of horfe to fecure the pals at Ware Sir Thomas
Fa irfax ’s army was qua rtered abou t Bodmin and Loftwithiel ‘, and fpent fome
days fecuring all the neighbouring paffes. During this time , Mount Edgcumbe
was furrendered to the genera l, and many ofthe princ ipa l perfons g ofthe county, among whomwasLord Mohun
, came and fubmitted themfelves to the Par liament.
Sir Thomas Fa i rfax advanced from Bodmin towards Truro ; on the 7th ofMarch , the army h he ld a rendezvous
, and ha l ted one night, fou r mi les beyond Bodmin .
The King ’
’
’
Lord Hopton, that his army, confilting of near ly horfe , lhould be difbanded, and the
horfes, arms, ammunition, baggage, and art i l lery, de l ivered up to Sir Thomas Fa irfax ; Lord Hopton to have a convoy of fifty of his own
, and fifty of the
par liamentary horfe , to accompany him to Oxford k. Lord Clarendon fays , tha t
‘
time, they neithe r kept guard, nor performed any othe r du ty ; that Lord Hopton, being reduced to this dilemma, and having firlt fent his ammunition and foot to Pendennis and the Mount, gave the horfe
leave to capitu late, but dec lared, that he wou ld not trea t for himfelfor the gar rifons ; and
, quitting the a rmy , repai red with Lord Cape l ‘ to the Mount, whence,
W h itelocke . Lord Clarendon. Ib id. Heath .
W h itelocke molt probab ly W adebridge . f P . D . Mar. 9
— 16 . 1 645-6
3 Su b . Trelawney, S ir Richard Prideaux the high lheriff, the E dgc umbes, Lowers, Treva nions, Corytons, Bonds, Sawles, &c . Ib id. Ibid. Ib id .
Heath fays, Lord W entworth.
C O R N W A L L. xxiii
’
head-quarters were at Truro tha t
the t reaty was conc luded a t Trefilian Bridge ; and tha t immediate ly afterwards, though with much re luctance on the part of Lord Hopton, Sir Thomas Fai rfax
made Truro his head-quarters. This feems to be fomewhat inaccu rate ; for there is ex tant an offic ia l le tte r, addrelfed to Speake r Lenthall, printed by au thority of
pa rliament, dated TrtIro, March n th and l a th , 1 645 -6, Sir Thomas Fa i rfax
’ s
heada
'
completed . W hili’c this trea ty was in agi tat ion, Moun t Edgcumbe and Fowey were furrendered to Sir
Thomas Fa i rfax The governors ofPenryn and St.Mawes foon after fent in thei r fubmiflion He lford fort a lfo furrendered before the end ofMarch . On
the egd ofApril , the garrifon at St. Michae l ’s Mount furrendered to Colone l Hammond P, an event whic h is faid to have been haftened by the influence ofthe
Duke ofHami l ton, at tha t time a prifoner there q . Pendennis was now the on l y
garrifon in Cornwa l l that remained in the King ’
s hands, and, though c lofely in
veiled, both by fea and land, by Captain Fortefc ue and Admi ra l Batten, was
defended by its brave old governor John A runde l l ofTrerice to the laft extremi ty
and a l though the garrifon had not provifions fufli cient to lalt twen ty-fou r hou rs, the treaty for capitulation was ca rried on wi th fuch fpirit, tha t thei r rea l fituation was never fufpeét ed, l
and they obta ined as good te rms as any garrifon which had been furrendered during the war. Ragland and Pendennis Caitles were the lafl
‘
the Princ e remained in Sc i l ly, where he was much firaitened for pro vifions, the Pa r liament c aufed a le tter 5 to be wri tten to him, inviting him to place himfelfunde r thei r proteftion foon afterwards, a flee t oftwenty-feven or twenty e ight fai l furrounded the ifland where he was, wi th the intention, as was fuppofed, oftak ing poffeflion of his pe rfon, bu t was difperfed by a
'ftorm. On the t 6rh bf~
Apri l , the Prince qu i tted the ifland, which had afforded him but an infecure and
incommodious re trea t . The nex t day he landed in Jerfey, and from thence fai led to France ‘
. The Sc i l ly Iflands were thortly afterwards fu rrendered to
Parliament.
Lord Clarendon, 8 vo . II 734 W hiteloc ke. Ib ltl.
P W hitelocke and He a th .
‘1 Lord Clarendon. W hitelock e .
5 Vt telock e fays a lovmg and tender letter ; Lord Clarendon c alls It rather a fummons than an
i nvitation . Lord Clarendon. Heath.
xxiv
In the month of February, 1 647 , the commons having tak en into thei r con fideration wha t garr ifons were fi t to be continued, i t was de te rmined to keep up
the garrifons of Pendenn is, the Mount, and St . Mawes, in Cornwa l l.
In the month ‘
ofMay, 1 648 , Sir HardrefsWa l ler defeated fome forces which had been raifed the va in hope of refloring the fa l len King In 1 649, Sir Hardrefs appears t o have been governor of Pendennis Caflle Sir
John Berkeley and Colone l Slingfby having been fen t into Cornwal l in the au tumn
of 1 649, to encou rage thei r friends to rife in arms for King Charles IL, were tak en at Colone l Trevanion’s houfe and fen t prifoners to Truro
2 . In the yea r
1 650, the Sc i l ly Iiles were he ld againft the pa rliamen t by a confiderable body of
Engliih and Iriih forces. Mr. Godo lphin appears to have commanded thefe under Sir John G renvi l le In the month of Apri l 1 651 , the Du tc h admi ra l , Van Tromp, lay befo re Sc i l ly, and dec la red tha t he wou ld afli ll the Engliih
" in the
reduétion ofthefe iflands. The fol lowingmonth , Admi ra l Sir George Ayfcough , with the parliamenta ry forc es, took all the iflands, except St. Ma ry’s, whic h was
not furrendered ti l l June C
, when Sir John Grenvil le was amongft the prifoners
there taken. In the year 1 667 , the Dutch made an attempt to land nea r Cawland, in Cornwa l l, but were beaten off by the infantry on ihore De Ruyte r, the Dutch admi ra l, made an a t tempt a lfo on Fowey harbour, b ut was repu lfed .
Ancient a nd modem Difvgfion of ibe County.
WHE N the furvey ofDomefdaywas taken, the county ofCornwa l lwas divided into feven hundreds ; Conarton ,
Fawiton , Pawton, Rialton, Stra tton, Tibefla or Tibefier
na, andW inneton orW innenton. There are nownine hundreds;E aft,W eft , Powder,
and Kerrier, in the fouthern part ofthe county Stra tton, Lefnewth, Trigg, Pyder, and Penwith , in the north and north-weft The a l te ration ofthe hundreds took place between the years 1 08 8 , when the furvey was taken, and 1 28 8 , the t ime of the
Linco ln tax ation . Dr . Borlafe fays, tha t i t wou ld not be eafy to difcover the
”
he continues, i t may be alferted with grea t probability, inc luded the prefent hun
dred ofPenwith ; for the lord ofthe manor ofConarton has been lord a lfo ofall
'
I imagine ,
Modera te Intelligenc er, Feb 1 8— 25, 1 647 . W h itelocke
P. D . July 9— 1 6, 1 649. Y Moil: probab ly Carhayes W h itloc ke and Hea th.
3 Perfeft D iurnal, O ét . 1 650, and W hi t loc k , p . 435. “ fh ite loc ke .
Ib ld .
C O R N W A L L . xxv
the hundred ofPoudre ;W innenton, Kerrier ; Stratton, formerly extenfive,makes at prefent the three fmall hundreds of Stratton, Lefnewth , and Trigg ; Fawiton contained the hundred of E aft
, as I fuppofe, and the fouthern part ofWeft hun dred ; Rialton moit part ofPidre ; and Panton the reft ofPidre, and the hundred ofWeft.
” The hundreds ofBaft and Weft we re formerly c al led E aft and Weft
W ivellfhire or VVellfh ire . Norden cal ls the hundred ofTrigg the hundred ofB0
dannan a ltar Trigg. All the hundreds of Cornwa l l, from t ime immemoria l , be longed to the Earls, and ftill continue to be a ttached to the duchy, except the hundred ofPenwith ; and ofthis, two-thirds continued to be long to the duchy in
the re ign ofJames I. , the other third, together wi th the b ailifiry ofthe hundred, as ,
a ttached to the manor ofConarton, was granted, at an early period, to the fami ly
ofPincerna , and defcended to the Arunde l ls, who eventua l ly became poffeffed of
the enti re lordfhip of the hundred . The manor of Conarton, and the hundred of Penwith , were late ly purchafed of Lord Arundel l
, ofWardou r, by Sir
Chriftopher Hawk ins, Bart . The ba i l iffry of the hundred of Stratton was
a ttached to the manor ofNorton-Rolle, in Lawncells ; that ofKaft to an eftate
ca l led Tymb relham, or Temple -
park that ofW eft to Penge l ly, in St.Neot ; tha t
ofTrigg to Bodannan, in Ende l l ion ; tha t of Pyder to Rialton ; and tha t of
Kirrier to Penwarne, in Mawnan. Some ofthem ftill continue to be fo a ttached
others have been feparated. As no mention is made, either . in the printed
Domefday or in the MS. belonging to the church of Ex eter, of the hundreds in which the manors defcribed were feverally fituated, except certa in manors, which appea r by the Exete r MS. to have been in the hundred ofW inianton , i t wou ld be impoflible to form thence (except partia l ly with refpe€t to tha t hun
dred now Kirrier) any comparative view of the refpeétive l imits of the anc ient
and modern hundreds. The fame c ircumftance renders i t very difficu l t to appmpriate the anc ient names ofmanors to more modern names ; but i t wil l
b e attempted, as far as poflible , in the tables ofDomefday manors, which wi l l
be given under the head ofAncient Lmzdboldc’rr.
E cclejiafi ica l Jury '
dic‘h an a nd Dwfion of tbe Gaunty.
THE county ofCornwa l l was anc ient ly under the jurifdié ’
tion ofBifhops of its
own . It had been fuppofed, tha t thei r fee was original ly at Bodmin but the late learned Mr .W hitak er, in his e laborate work
, intitu led, The Cathedra l of
Cornwa l l, ” has c lea rl y fhown that i t was firft eftablifhed at St.C ermans, and
there rema ined, ti l l the reign of Canu te , when the fees of St . C ermans and Cre
diton were uni ted ; and Cornwa l l and Devonfhire were placed under the jurifdic
tion ofone Bifhop, who had his fee at Exeter, as i t has continued to the prefent
VOL. III. d day.
xxvi C O R N W A L L .
day. The l imits ofthe a rchdeaconry ofCornwa l l are nearly the fame as thofe of
the county but wi thin i t are th irty-two parifhes of exempt jurifdiétion "
; i t is
divided into eight deaneries ; Baft, Kirrier, Penwith , Powder, Pyder, Trigg Major, Trigg-Minor, and Weft. The archdeacon’s vifitations are held annua l l y
about a month after E after, at Launcefton, Lifkeard, Bodmin , Truro, Helfton, and
' Penzance .
The office of dean-rura l, which , in many parts of the k ingdom, is become
me re ly nomina l, is in Cornwa l l an effic ient office The deans-ru ra l , who are
appointed annua l ly, mak e regu la r vifitations to every chu rch within thei r deanery, and report the fi ate of the chu rches at the a rchdeacon’
s vifitations.
The fpiritual cou rt f01 the a rchdeaconry was he ld at St.Neot, ti l l abou t the yea r 1 750, when i t was removed to Loftwithiel, and from thence
, fhortly after
wards, to Bodmin, where 1t is ftill he ld. The cou rts are he ld once a fortnight, Fridays ; except du ring the hol idays at E after and Chriftrnas.
Three Devonfhire parifhes, St. G i les in the Heath , North-Petherwin, and W errington, are in
the archdeaconry of Cornwall and in the deanery ofTrigg-Major. It ex tends a lfo over the iflands ofSc i lly .
Of thefe, the following, be ing twenty-one in number, a re i n the pec ul iar junfdié’t ion of the
Blfl'lOP ofE xe ter ; St.AnthonymRofela nd, St . Breock , Budock , St . Bvall, E glofhayle, St . Brney ,
St . Brvan, Falmouth , St Germans, Gerrans, Gluvias, St . Iffey , Landrake, Lawh ttton, Lez ant, Mabe , St .Merri n, Milor, Padftow-town (the remai nder of the pan fh being in the archdeacon’s jurifdietion), Li ttle -Petherick , South-Pe therwm, and Trewen. The v1f1tations for thefe pecuhars
a re he ld a t Launcefton, W ade-bridge , St .Agnes, Falmouth o r Penryn, Loftm thiel, and St . Ger
mans. W i lls and admimftra tmns for thefe partfhes are regiftered, e i ther at Dod ors-Commons, or
the Bifhop ’ s c onfiftory a t E xeter.
The five pari lhes ofSt Agnes, Boc onnoc, Broadoak ,Perran z abuloe , and St .W innow, are in the
peculiarjunfd18ti0n ofthe D ean andChapter ofE xeter. W ills and admi niftra t tons for thefe parifhes are regiftered, e ither a t Dofl ors-Commons, or m the reg1ftry ofthe D ean and Chapter a t E xeter. T he three pan thes ofBurian, St .Levan, and Sennen, a re in the pecul1arjur1fd1€tton of the Dean
of Burian. W 1lls and admimftra tlons for thefe parifhes a re regtltered, e 1ther a t Doé’tors-Commons,
or in the D ean ofBurlan ’
s regiftry a t Penz anc e . The c ourts for the deanery ofBun an are held at
Penz ance .
The W llls and adminiftra tions ofthe p an fhes ofLanhydroc k and Temp le, the ecclefiafti cal junf d ict i on ofwh 1ch 13 in lay hands, are regiftered, e ither at Doa ors-Commons, or in the A rchdeacon'
s
regtltry a t Bodmin.
T he W ills and admxmftratwns for all other panfhes in the county, as well as for St .G 1les ’ s in the
Heath, North-Petherwm, and W errington, ln D evonfh 1re , have been, and are regiftered, e 1ther at Doctors-Commons, or m the A rchdeacon'
s reg1ftry at Bodmin, where , indeed, previoully to the year 1 740, they W lll gene rally be found . The regtfters commenc e with the year 1569, but there a re few W ills or admtmft ra tions ofan earller date than 1 602 . The regif
’ ter is kep t alphabet1cally as
to parifhes the wills and adminiftrations being entered under each par1ih in chronologic al order.
Table ofPa riflaerfi
} Breanick
St .A llen Alternon
A nthony 0110: Baft-Anthony }a lzar Anthony St Ja cob s
St .Ant/Jon}: in Rofeland
St .Anthony 1n Meneage
S t.A uftell, y
g e
Boconnoc
Bodmm Botesflemmg Boyton Breage St .Breock, pronounc ed a s the
above , Br eage
St .Brewa i d or S imonW ard Broadoa l , fome ttmes c alled
and written Bra docé
Budocé ahas St.Bua ’ ock
Calftock
‘ Cury Vic arage Kirrier
Thofe marked with an after-ilk; are fubordinate or daugh ter-churches thofe prmted in 1tabes, are Peculiars.
D avidftow
Lefnewth .
Powder—W eft Dmfion.
Powder— Bait D1vifion.
Powder— Raft Dwifion.
Stratton .
Pyder. Trigg.
E alt— M1ddle D 1v1lion .
E aft— Middle D1v1fion.
Penwith— Raft D 1v1fion .
Powder— W eftD 1v1fion
Penw1th— E aftD 1v1fion.
Pyder. Powder— W eftDmfion.
Modern Names
St .Dennis
St .Dominic k
D uloe Eg/Q/bay le E glofkerry E ndellion St . E noder
St .E rme *St . E r rzey S t E rth St .E r 'va n
St .E 'va ll
Fa lmoutb Feock ‘v ulgg Peage
Flll or F ille igh ,wri tten alfo Ph illey or Ph tlleigh Forrabury Fowey St .Gennis
St Germa n: i‘Germoe Ger t-ans
Glu fv za r
G ori an Grade G ulvall *Gunwalloe Gwennap , (fometimeswritten W ennap oe nap)
Gwmnear, (fomet lmeswri tten Wmmar)
W ithian) Helland *Helfton
’ s)
Lanh udnow
Smith ike
E glos-Ros
Powder— Raft D 1v1f10n.
W eft W eft.
T rlgg Raft— North D1vifion.
Trigg Pyder r and Pyder. Powder Powder— W eft D 1v1fion.
E aft— Sou th D 1v1fion.
Penw1th— E aft D 1v1f10n.
Pyder Pyder . Powder— Raft Div1fion.
Kirrle r— E aft D 1v1fion .
Powder Powder— W eft D 1v1f10n.
Powder Powder— W eft D 1v1fion .
Trigg-Mmor Lefnewth .
Tn gg -Major Lefnewth .
K1rr1er- W eft D 1v1f10n .
Penwith— W ef’tD 1v1fion.
K1rr1er— VVeft D 1v1fion .
Periwrth Penwith— Raft D 1v1f10n .
Penwtth Penw1th— Baft D 1v1f10n.
T1 igg-M1nor Kirn er Penwnh
Tn gg -Major
Penwith E aft
Penwi th Penwith—W eftD1v1fion
E aft Raft— Middle D 1v1fion.
Pent h Penwith— E aft D 1v1fion
*Kea
Dea nery
V 1c a rage
Kilkhampto n Rectory Ladoc k v ulgo Laflick Refitmy Lamorran Reé’fo t y Landewednack Refi ory La ndr a ée 01 La nr a ée V i carage
Landulph Refl ory Laneaft Curacy Lanfiy drod
’ vulgo La nder/Jar ret Curacy Lamve t Refi o ry anlivery Vi c arage anre a th Reé’tory anfalloes Reétory anteglofs, hear Camelford Rectory anteglofs, near Fowey V 1c arage
La unc ells Vi c arage
Launc efton or St .Mary Mag dalen vulgo Lanfon
Curacy D unheved
Law/u tter: Re&ory Le lant or Lalant V1c arage
Lefnewth Rectory Leftw1th 1el or Loftwi th tel V1c arage *St.Le'va n Refl ory Lewauick Vi c arage Le z ant Reétory Link inhorne Vi c arage Llfk eard V 1c arage
Ludgvan Refi ory Luxuhon ' V1carage
M a de Vicarage
St Mabyn Refi ory Maddern, Madron or Maddron Vica rage Mak er V1c a rage
Manac can or Mauack an V1c arage
Marham'
-Church Reétory St .Martin near Looe Rea ory *S t .Ma rtin 111 Meneage ry W eft D 1v1fion .
Mawgan m Pyder ry Mawgan tn Meneage ry Mawnan ry St .Mellion ry Me nhemot St Mer r itt or Al er ry n yde r .
r owder— W efl D ivtfion.
Powder owder— E aft D ivifi on .
St .Mewan
W eft Weft
K1rr1er K1rr1e r— W eft D tvtfion .
Trigg-Minor Trigg T r1gg
Kirrier 3 Km ier- ‘
E aft Ba it— Sou th D 1v1f10n.
E aft Ba it— South D 1v1fion Trigg-Major Raft— North D 1v1fion . .
Pyder ‘ Pyder . Pyde r Pyder. Powder Powder— Bait D ivifion .
W eft W eft .
W eft W eft .
W eft W eft
E aft Baft— North D 1v1fion
Penwith Penw1th— Raft D tvtfi on .
Trigg-Minor Lefnewth .
Penwith Penwith— W eftD zv ifion .
E aft Raft— North D iwfion
E aft E afi— North D 1v1fion .
E aft Raft— North D 1v1f10n .
W eft W e it.
Penwi th Penwith— “ feftD ivifion
Powder Powder— E aftD tvifion .
Km 1e r Km 1er— Bail:D 1v1fion.
Tn gg -Minor Trigg.
Baf’t E aft— Sou th D zvrfion
Ktrn e r Kn rte r— E aft D tvifion .
T ngg -Majo
Modern N am" . Deanry. Hundred.
Curacv
fA ldef’towe — Leland fays 11: wa s
fPadft ow Vic arage c alled Lo denek by the Cor
n1fh 'Pa ul or S t. Paul Pe lynt fu zz /go l t
*Perran A rwothall ‘vulgo Per
ra im ell
Li ttle-Pet/Jc’r tcl Nalf-ington
Sout/a- P t t/Jrr fwm vulgo Sour/3 P et/Jer ri
Ph i llack P illaton S t . P tnnock
Pough1ll
Poundftock
ame Redruth Roche Ru an-Lamhorne R uan-MaJor
Ruan-Mmor ”*St Sampfon
’ s, or Golant
vulgo Giant Golant
’ s, the parifh to the Archdeacon’sjumfdiétion
Powder— E aft D ivrfion.
Powder—Ba it D ivtfion.
Powder— E aft D ivifion.
Lefnewth .
Lefnewtll . Trigg Penwi th— W eftD 1vifion.
W eft
Stra tton.
Penw1th— Bait D iVifion .
Penwith— Raft Dm fion.
Baft— Middle D iv1fion .
Peuwn h— E aft D iv1f1011
Powder— RaftD ivgfion .
Powder E aftD1v1fi on.
Modern Names
Sancreed *Scr.uca
St . Stephen’s near Launc efton St . Stephen
’ s near Saltafh
‘ St . Stephen’s in Brannell Brannell
Sti thians Stok e Chmfland ( c ommonly c alled Stok e )
Stra tton Ta lland Tamerton or North-Tamerton S t .Teath
Tmtagel kTowednack
T reneglofs
T t efmere Trevalga Tr e'wen
Truro or St .Mary’s St .Tudy E gloftudy Tywardreth or Tywardreath St .Veep Veryan *W arbftow
W arleggan W eek St.Mary or St .Mary W eek
Wyk e VV
W hitftone W ycefion St Wmnorw W i th tel
Z ennor
It may be obferved that in moft of the Cornifh parifli es the anc ient fecular
name has been fuperfeded by that of the patron-faint of the chu rch ; in moft
inftances, indeed, i t has been fo comp le te ly fuperfeded that the fecular name is
not recoverable, though i t is probable tha t it was that of one of the princ ipal
manors in the parifh . Tha t there were many loca l faints whofe names were never
heard of beyond the confines of Cornwal l , either natives I
ofthe county or devou t 1 0 perfons
Penwith—W eftD tvifion.
Penwith—W eftD 1v1fion.
.
Powder— Raft D ivifion.
E aft— North D tvifion.
Trigg-Major Strat ton.
Trigg-Minor Lefnewth .
Trigg-M or Baft— North D ivifion.
Tngg -M or Lefnewth .
T r1gg -M or Lefnewth .
Trigg-M or Ba it— North Dmfion .
Powder Powder—W eft D ivfion.
Trigg-Mmor Trigg Powder Powder— Bait D ivifion.
W eft.
Trigg-Major Lefnewth .
Pyder. Stratton .
C O R N W A L L . xxxiii
perfonswho hadmigrated thither fromIre land andWa les,we are affured by feveral refpeétable hiftorians ; it feems probable tha t in procefs oftimemoft ofthe parifhes being ca l led after the names of thei r patron-faints, the Cornifh began to imagine tha t o thers, which perhaps re tained the fecula r name , had been defignated in the fame manner, as St.Creed, St.Gluvias, St.Gorran
, St.Gulvall, St.Kenwyn,
St .Mabe, St.Mawgan, St.Mawnan, St .Mewan, St.Newlyn, St.Pinnock , St.San c red, St.Sithney, St.Wendron, &c . ofwhofe hiftory or whofe feftivals we know
\
faints, whofe legends
are we l l known, are general ly fpoken of and written withou t the addi tion offaint ,
fuch as Burian, Budock , Colan, Probus, Sennen, 81C. Among the patron-faints of
Cornifh churches, who were known beyond the l imits ofCornwa l l, were St.Blaz e, Bifhop and mar tyr,pa tron oftheW ool-combers ; St.David, Archbit p ofCarleon,
and hismother St.Nonnette ; St.Dennis St. German ,Bifh0p ofAuxerre St.W yn
walloe, Abbot ofTauracum; St.Hilary ; St.Martin ;St.Neot ; St.Paulinus, Bifhop ofRochefter ; St.O lave and St.Nicholas, and a fewother we ll-known [aims ofthe Calendar. Among the native faints were Keby, fon ofSolomon, King ofCornwa l l (patron
ofSt. Cuby, &c .) Melianus, King of Cornwa l l, and his fon .Melor (patrons of
St.Mellion and Milor) ; Gerennius, King of Cornwal l (patron of Gerrans); and St. Columba, a virgin andma rty r, who gave name to St. Columb . Among the
We lch fa ints we have Carantoc , fon of C3 1eticus, a King ofWa les ; St. Colan ; St.Rumon, a Bifhop ; and feveral of the twenty-fou r fons and daughters of
Brechan, another King ofWa les, mentioned by Le land and William ofW or
cefter, fuch as Keyne, Neétan, E ndelient, Menfrede or Menfre, Tetha, Maben, W enna, Morwenna
, Cleder, and Adwen in whomwe recognize the patron-fa ints
of St .Keyne, St.N ighton ’ s chapel , St.Endellion
’ s church , St.Minver, St.Tea th ,
St.Mabyn , St.W enn, Ma rham-chu rch , Morwinftow, St.Cleather, and Advent.
The moft celebrated Irifh faints were St.Petrock , pa tron of the priory of
Bodmin ; Fimbarrus, Bit p of Cork ; St.Piran patron ‘
of the Tinners ; and
St.Burienne the Virgin, who bu i l t an ora tory on or near the church which now
bears her name Breaca , who appears to have been a noble fema le ofhigh eftima
tion, came a ttended, as Le land informs us from an anc ient hiftory of her li fe, by
Mr.Wh itaker fuppofes St . Piran and St .Kieran or Keveme to be the fame, but we think i t
'
s April 8 .
xxxiv C O R N W A L L.
‘
noble ‘man’s daughter,
who gave name to St . Ives, and her b‘rothe r St .Uny St.E rghe, pa tron of
St .E rthe ; Finga r, fuppofed to be Gwin‘near ; Pia la ; Budoc ; St.Auftell, the
Confeffor St.Enoder St.Ervan, the Conféfi ’
ot St. Eva l S t .Wi l loworVVin now ; and St.VVi thiel.
St.Paternus, the Bifhop, gave name to the Perhérwins ;S t.Probus the Con
fefib r to Probus. Among the patron-faints not givingname to the churches or
parifhes wi th which they were connefted, may b e reckoned St. Pratt, pa tronof
Blifland St. Simphorian, pat ron ofForrabu ry, Tintagel , and Veryan; St.Brévit or St.Vorek , Lanl ivery St.Marnack , Lanreath St .Cyric and St. Iuliot, ofLu icu
l ion ; St.Metherian or St.Ma ther, ofMinfter (perhaps the fame with St.Maddern); St.Torney, ofNorthil l ; and St.Nunn (Nonne tte before-mentioned), ofPe lynt .
The chape ls of eafe in this county are few : at Grampound there is a chape l of
eafe to Creed at Penzance to Maddern at Ma razion to St.Hilary ; St.Mawes ‘=
to St. q t in Rofeland ; Trevenfon, newly bu i l t by Lord de Dunftanville , to
Illoggan ; St. Enodoc and St.Michae l to St.Minver ;E aft-Looe to St.Martin ; Sa l t
afh to St. Stephen ; and St.N ighton to St.W innow. St.Michael ’ sMount is ex tra
pa rochia l : its chu rch is fuppofed to have been the mother-chu rch of St.Hilary.
The anc ient chape ls; moft ofwhich have been who l l y demolifhed, whilft of
of othe rs, genera l ly fpeaking, fmall ru ins only rema in, were very numerous.
Mentionw ill be made of them under the parifhes in which they were feverally fituated.
‘Among themwe re chape ls faid to have been dedicated to the fo l lowing Irifh or Britifh fa ints whofe names we have not met with as patroni zing any of
the parifh chu rches
St.Aldhelm, Bifhop of Sherborn, in St.Kew; St.Bellarmin in Cardinham; St. Cannock , one ofthe fons ofKing Brechan, in St.Veep ; St. Congar in Lanivet ; St.Daye in Gwennap ; St.Derwe in Camborne ; St.Dillower in Bu rian St. E lidius
'
,
(moft probably Indraé ‘
t, a ma rtyr, fon of a
King of Ire land who emigrated to Cornwa l l ,) in St.Dominick ; St. Illick in
Endel lion ; St . Iulian, or Ulian, in Tintage l ; St.Laud (probably Laudatus, abbot
ofBardfey,) in Mi lor ; St.Sidwell in Launcefton ; and St.Wynne ] in St.Germans.
Leland fays that the patron ofth is chapel wasMachutus, a Blt p .
Sea ls of Mona ster z ’
esft ‘lfc . in Cornwa ll.
1 . A sea] appendant to a grant among Lord Arande l’a deeds, from Hamehne , P i ior ofv ardre th, and h is
Convent, of a mass to b e sa id for the souls ofIsa be lla de Card inan, de ceased, and ofher husband Rob ert when h e should d ie . The inscrip tion is
, Saga/umsc i Andree.
” Th is instrumen t 18 W i thout date , but must have been as early as the re ign ofK ing R ichard I. and from the rudeness ofi ts execution, the sea l is proba b ly older.
2. Seal ofthe Priory a t Launc eston , appendant to the surrender of tha t Monaste iy , 26 Heni y VIII. pre.
served in the Augmenta t ion offic e . The insc ri p tion is, S ig ma t : Stephani de La ri
3 . Represents an impression fi om the ma trix of the sea l of St. Laurenc e ’
s Hosp ita l near Bodmin, in the
possession ofthe c orpora t ion ofBodmin. It conta ins the flame of S t. La urence unde r a Goth ic c anopy , W i th
g uts inscrip tion : 8 . set Laurencu B odmons de P eupo.
” and appears to be ofus ea i ly a date as the reign ofK ing
dw. I
4. An impressmn from the ma trix of the Hospi tal ofSt. Leonard near Launceston, appaiently of abou t the same da te as the last mentioned, in the possesswn ofthe Rev. F. Vyvyan Jago. Ha lfof the figure ofSt . Leonard is rude ly 1 epresented under a Goth i c canopy .
c o n /
W A L L. xxx.
Among the gi lds a t Bodmin was one dedica ted to St . Anianus, the Bifhop, of
whomwe find no mention in the Martyrologies ; he was lo ca l led to diltinguilh him from St.Anian, a King of Cumbria , ofwhom there is mention. There was a
gi ld a lfo at Bodmin dedicated to St. E rafmus the Bifhop.
M anrwer ier, Colleges, a nd Hofpzmls.
THE princ ipa l monafteries in thiscounty were the Auftin priories of Bodmin,
Launc efton, andl St. Germans ;J the Anilin monks had a lfo a ce l l at Launcels
fubjeét to Hertland, in Devonlhire , and another at St.Anthony ’ s , in Rofeland
, fub
jeé ‘
’
Tywardre th , to.
which the re was a ce l l at Anthony, inMeneage ; another priory at
St.Michael ’
‘
Lammana , in
the pa rilh ofTa l land, fubjeét to the abbey of Glaflonbury . Dr.Borlafe fays, tha t there was a priory of Black Canons a t Bonury, in Cornwa l l , but cou ld not
afcertain where Bonury was. The Cluniacs had a ce l l at St.Gyric or St. Carrock , in St.Veep, fubject to Montacute, in Somerfetfh ire . The Ciltercians had a ce l l
at St.Keverne , {object to Beau l ieu , in Hamplhire . The Knights-Hofpitallers had a preceptory at Treb igh , in St. Ive . The Black Friers
, had a convent in Tru ro; the
Grey Friers at Bodmin. Ca rew mentions a lfo a houfe of friers at Launcefton,
but ofwha t orde r is not known . The Poor Cla res. had a nunnery at Lilkeard , anothe r at Trul
ro , and there is faid to
, have been a thi rd. at Trefi lian-bridge .
There were nunne ries, but ofwhat order we have not been able to afcertain , at
St.Bennets in-Lanive t, at Credis in Padftow, a cel l to St.Bennets ; and at Hell
noweth in St.Martins, in Meneage . Ha ls fpeaks of a nunnery a t Trogan,‘ in the
pa rilh ofSt.Michaels-Penkevill, but on very vague au thority. At iPadfiow was a
monaltery, fuppofed to have been founded by St.Pe trock , deltroyed by ,
the Danes
'
;Endel l ion ; St.Neots
“ ; Probus, St. Piran, and St.Teath befides the more.mode rn {hort-l ived '
col lege, founded by Thomafine Bonaventu re, a t Week -St.Mary, not long before
the Reforma tion . Nea r Bodmin was the anc ient hofpital of St.Lawrence, and , in
the town thofe of SLAnthony and St.George ; near Helfton , in the parilh of.
Sithney, an hofpital under the government of a Prior, dedica ted to St. Iohn the
Baptift. There were anc ient hofpitals a l ‘
fo at Launcefton , at Newport near Laun
celton, and in the parilh ofMenheniot, near Lilkeard.
Marker
Ma rket and Borougb Tatum.
Tms county returns forty'four members to parl iament, two knights of the
{hire and forty-two burgefl '
es, the borough-towns be ing twenty-one in number.
Cornwal l, ” fays Carew, through the grace of its Earl , fendeth an equa l if not
a larger number of burgeifes to any othe r lhire . The boroughs fo privileged, more offavour (as the cafe now {tandeth with many of them) than merit, are
thefe fol lowing, Launcelton, ” &c . (be omits Grampound and Penryn). How
ever honourable this privi lege may be eileemed, and whatever advantagesmay have been derived from i t of late r days, i t appears tha t there have been times, and
thore not very remote , when the burden ofmaintaining thei r burgefl '
es in London, during their a ttendance in parl iament, was efteemed a grievance which was i l l
compenfated by the honourable privilege of e lecting them. The fol lowing lette r
from Mr . Richard Edgcumbe ‘ , then one of the burgeifes for Totnefs, to his
confiituents, written in the year 1565, feems to intimate tha t the c uftomary fees
or wages we re not then paid wit h the greatelt a lac ri ty
To the Right W orlhipful the Mayor and Burgefl '
es ofTotnefs.
After my molt harty commendations : where I at my brothers requeli and
for you r fakes have been you r burgefs for the parl iament to my no fmall colic , for myne expence were above twenty marks over and above the forty lhillings g l
received of you ; and forafmuch as i t is l ike the pa rl iamen t wi l l go forwa rd at
this time, which caufeth me to cal l to mind the charge I took in hand, which
with l ike charge lhould b e profecuted if otherwife I prevented not the fame .
Thefe are therefore to requ ire you e i ther to beflowe the fame ripon Iome othe r, or
elfe to a l low me but the bare fee, wh ich is two {bi l l ings a day, and as I have begun fo wi l l I end, God wil l ing, to you r contenta tion. Tru ly at this prerent
feafon I have no occafion, as I know of , to trave l up to London, which confidered,
I ‘ th ink i t reafon that I demand, and hope you wi l l take i t as ve ry reafonably de