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