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/^/? d^C^^/0
HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY
^ffl
nOM THB BIQUUT OF
GEORGE FRANCIS PAREIIAN
(Caaft of 1M4)
or BonoN
AN
^ILLUSTRATED ITINERARY
\
OF THE
COUNTY OF CORNWALL.
LujA*-*-* W%.<* '^. t - '\ I
THE ROCKY LAND OF STRANGERS."— NoROBif.
LONDON:
MDCCCXLU. \^' \ /
HOW AND PARSONS, 132, FLEET STREET.
I'
%
^v> — — %
JUL ?Z 1908 I
"s/ . r , V ^vA^^i^Vvv (vt^ -i^wwJL,
TO
SIR CHARLES LEMON, BART. M.P.
OF CARCLEW,
THE DESCENDANT OF THE DISTINGUISHED INDIVIDUAL TO WHOM
CORNWALL WAS SO DEEPLY INDEBTED
FOR A NEW ERA IN EXPLORING ITS MINERAL TREASURES,
'HLW Folume i% inmSnibf
BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT,
CYRUS REDDING.
PREFACE.
The Author of the Itinerary of the County of Cornwall trusts he has
redeemed the pledge previously given^ of combining in a moderate compass
both amusement and information, adapted to all classes of readers, and
elegantly illustrated.
The features of the County have been generally rather than particularly
described, and a good deal of useful information has been compressed into
a small compass at the end, to serve for continual reference; this it was
not practicable to introduce into the preceding portion of the work without
injuring the effect of the whole as an illustrated volume. In forming a
judgment of the work, the Author hopes the reader will bear in mind this
peculiar characteristic of his labours ; for, notwithstanding a full sense of
what others better qualified than himself for such a task might have accom-
plished, he is solicitous that the views which directed him should be present
with the reader.
Not only the results of personal observation have been made available in
putting together the information contained in the present volume, but the
labours of other writers have been rendered serviceable to the fullest extent
whenever practicable. Many of these were bulky and voluminous, making
much reading necessary to cull the comparatively small portion which was
adapted to the present design. The natural order has been observed in the
details, in preference to any classification, not only because it was best
adapted for an Itinerary, but as affording peculiar facilities for the introduc-
tion of the embellishments. It became needful to avoid as much as possible
those formal disquisitions which render works of topography, in general, so
«. «• •
VUl PREFACF.
tedious: and in effecting this object it was indispensable to intermingle personal
impressions and feelings with scenic description, and thus record its effects
upon the mind, because they seldom fail to. interest the majority of those
more particularly who read principally for amusement. Fiction has been
carefully avoided, unless when characterised as local tradition.
In regard to the locality chosen for commencing the series of English
Counties, no opinion can afford a better justification of the present than
that of Dr. Maton, who says, there is no portion of the kingdom '^ that
exhibits such a diversity of interesting objects as the Western : — of sublime
as well as decorated scenery the most striking specimens will be found. With
respect to the former, some parts of Cornwall and North Devon cannot be
exceeded in our island ; and as to the latter, the southern coast of Devonshire
and some spots in Somersetshire are perhaps unrivalled." Independently,
therefore, of any claim from its peculiar geographical position, the selection
of this County for commencing the present series seems to be supported by
very competent authority.
Finally, the Author has to regret that the aggregate of materials, and
the nature of the present work, together with the reflection that the taste of
the public at large, besides that of the locality described, was to be consulted,
forced him to exercise his judgment in excluding many matters of local
interest, which, had the case been different, he should have felt much
pleasure by introducing, and for which he is indebted to several kind
correspondents.
ERRATA.
Page 17, line 10, /or '* Tauiar canal," read " Tavi»lock canal."
„ H5, „ I, /or •• large," read "larch."
„ 158, „ 13, for •' left n son," rea'i •' had a son."
I6i, „ 2, /or •• 1602,' read " 1642."
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
MO. lUBJKCT.
1. St. Michasl's Mount .
'2, Map of Cornvtall
3. ToL Pedn, Pknwitu
4. Browhwillt
5. St. Ives Bay
6. Rocus Rocks
7. Mazarion AMD Mounts Bat
8. Launceston Gate .
9. Launckston Castle
10. Launceston Church .
11. Stamford Hill
12. BUDB .....
Id. Headlands, Bude .
14. Bude Chapel
15. Interior of Kilehampton Church
16. Boscastle Church
17. TiNTAOEL ....
18. Boscastle Cliff
19. Headlands and Slate Quarry, Boscastle
20. St. Nighton*s Keive ....
21. Slaughteii Bridge
22. Camblfurd ....
23. Wadebridor
24. Ancient Font, Bodmin .
23. Bodmin Church
26. St. Bennetts Monastert
27. Four* Hole Cross
28. The Moors on the Fowey
29. Kilmartb Rocks •
30. The Cheesewrino .
31. Other Half Stone .
32. Windows and Door OF St. Clber*!
33. Well of St. Cleer
34. Trevktuy Stone
35. Site of Trevethy Stone
96. Pinnacles of St. Ives
37. Dupath Well
38. Cothele Hall .
39. Cothele Woods ,
40. Greyston Bridge
41. Landulpii Church .
42. On the Tamar .
43. Weir Head, on the Tamar .
44. New Bridge on the Tamar
45. Callington ....
46. Trehaton ....
47. ViKw from Anthony
48. Ince Castle
49. Uame Head . . . .
50. The Eddystonb Lighthouse
51. Cawsand Bay
52. St. Germans
53. Sr. Neot's Church
54. St. Keyne*s Church .
53. WtLL of St. Keyne
Church
drawn by
T. Crenvick ,
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G» F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
2\ Crestnck
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
W. Patcoe
G. F. Sargent
W, Pascoe
G. F. Sargent
T, Creswick
G. F, Sargent
IF, Pascoe
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
BNORAVBO BY
PAGE
Godfrey . Face title
jidlard
1
Evans . .
2
Landeils
4
Wakefield
5
Mason
7
WUliams . .
10
% . . .
13
Wakefield
14
Wakefield .
16
Evans . • .
23
Walmsley .
24
Nugent . . .
25
Wakefield .
26
Delamotte
28
Gilks .
. 31
FarraU . . ,
32
Bastin
. 34
Evans . ,
. 35
Landeils
35
Landeils . ,
40
Delamotte .
41
Walmsley . .
42
Delamotte .
45
Evans . . .
46
Whimper .
49
Wakefield . .
51
Landeils .
53
Evans .
. 54
Nugent
. 55
Delamotte t .
57
Evans
. 58
Evans . .
60
Jackson
, 61
Jackson . . .
61
Delamotte .
62
Wakefield . .
63
Wakefield .
66
Jackson . . .
69
Evans . .
72
Walmsletf
. 78
Wakefield
76
Bastin
77
HinchUJe . .
, 78
Evans
78
Jackson .
. 81
Green
. 82
Armstrong
. 83
Whimper .
84
Whimper . .
. 86
Whimper
. 88
Kirschner
. 89
Evans
. 91
Evans
92
Green
93
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
NO.
SDBJICT.
56. LooB Beidob
57. polpbbbo ....
58. Entrance to Fowbt Harbour
59. Thb Pitt Diamond .
60. Font at Landbwbdmacb
61. - Lostwithiel
62. — Padstow
63. ) Cambodbnb
64. Ruins OF Rbstorxbl Castlb
65. The Poebbaolb
66. PiLOBARD Fishing
67. Angel Fish ....
68. St. Mawbs ....
69. Trubo
70. St. Michael, Pbnkivel •
71. PiBAN Round Amphithbatre
72. Section of ditto • •
73. Dolly Pbntreatu
74. Penryk . . . •
75. Falmouth ....
76. Constantinb Tolmen
77. Mawnaw Church .
78. Pendennis Castlb
79. Kinancb Cove
80. Mullion Island
81. Music of the Fubry Song
82. Chety-Crace Room, St. Michael's Mount
83. Town Hall, Penzance
84. Pbnsancb .
85. Fishwomak
86. The Cowal
87. Madern Well
88. Men Scryfa
89. La N YON Cromlech
90. Zbnkar Cromlech
91. Cabbwynen Cbomlbch
92. Chun Cromlech
93. St. Just's Cross
94. Long Ship's LigHthousb
95. The Land's End .
96. The Land's End
97. Carh y Vobl
98. Well of St. Leyak .
99. Cross at St. Leyan
100. The Logan Stone
101. Rocks at Castlb Tberth
102. Cboss at St. Bury an
103. The "Merry Maidens"
104. Cabn Bre Castlb
105. Carn Bkb Hill .
106. Testimonial to Lord de Dunstanyille
107. Thb Miner's Working Tools
108. A Miner in his Working Dress
109. A Miner at Work
110. The Engine Shaft .
111. The Botallack Mine
112. Section of a Mine .
113. Section or a Lode
114. Breaking the Copper Orb
115. Lanhkrne
116. Mawoan Cross
117. The Nine Maids .
118. Padstow Church
DRAWN by
G. F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G, F, Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G» F, Sargent
T, Oetwick
G» Fm Sargent
G, F, Sargent .
G» Fm Sargent
G, F. Sargent
Old Print
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent
T. Creswick
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
...
G. F. Sargent
G, F, Sargent
T. Cretwick
H. APMantts
H, M*Man%u .
G. F, Sargent
G. F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
G. F, Sargent .
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent .
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent .
T, Creswick .
G, F. Sargent .
G. F. Sargent
G, F* Sargent .
6. F, Sargent
G, F. Sargent .
G. F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent ,
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent .
G, F. Sargent
G. F. Sargent .
...
H. M*Manus
G. F, Sargpnt
B, Sly
A, Nichoil .
G, F. Sargent
G. F, Sargent
IT. M'Manus .
G. F. Sargent
A, Delamotte
G. F. Sargent
G, F. Sargent .
brgratbd by
paob
Armstrong
96
EtMns
98
T. Waiiams .
99
%
. 102
tralmUey
. 103
WaJmsley .
. 103
Walmsley
. 108
fFalmsl^ .
. 103
Evans
. 104
IFalmsl^
. 108
frhttnper •
. 110
Whimper
. Ill
Am^tag/e .
. 114
Nicholh
. 117
Whimper .
. 120
Miss Williams
. 121
Miss WUUams
. 122
Jackson
. 126
Whimper
. 129
Walmaley .
. 132
GUks .
. 135
WalmsUy .
. 137
Jitckwn .
. 145
Evan*
. 146
Wakefield
. 147
Evans
. 150
Jackson .
. 162
Jackson
. 166
Jackson .
. 167
. 168
Jackson .
. 168
Nugent
. 172
Jackson . • .
. 172
Jackson
. 173
Jackson .
. 173
Jackson
. 173
Jackson • . .
173
Evans
174
Whimper . .
. 175
God/^ .
. 176
JVhimper . •
176
Whimper
178
Whimper . .
179
Delamotte .
180
Gilks . . .
181
Jackson
181
Evans . . .
162
Landells . .
182
Delamotte . .
192
Bastin . ,
192
Evans . . .
193
. • . .
197
Landells . .
199
Mason
SO]
Sly . . .
202
Evans
204
Evans . . .
207
Williams
210
Jackson .
213
Gilks
221
Delamotte • .
222
Evans
223
Evans . . .
224
ADVERTISEMENT.
It ia a Bubject of just complaint, that no English Itinerary has appeared, combining
descriptions of scenery and antiquities with living manners and characteristics. To
remedy this deficiency, the Proprietors of the present Work have undertaken to
produce a body of pictorial topography, combining views and descriptions of the
picturesque in nature with the wonderful in art, — exhibiting England as it is, in its
natural scenery, historic memorials, and productive industry.
For this purpose every County will be described from personal observation ; the
illustrations will be drawn upon the spot; the old halls, battle-fields, and places
remarkable in the national history, will be carefully noticed; and local customs,
legends, and singularities, remarked; but the antiquary and chronicler will be followed
no further than may be required to explain existing facts, the main object of the
Work being to depict the present aspect of the country.
The agricultural systems of the difiTerent Counties will be noted, as likewise every
branch of our national industry. The last will be examined in connexion with the
locaHty where each may flourish, as the cotton manufacture in the description of South
Lancashire, and the woollen trade in that of Yorkshire. In like manner, the pro-
duction of other manufactures will form a part of the description of the places where
they most extensively prevail.
High-road travelling imparts a very inadequate idea of English scenery ; it is only
by diverging from the main track that the traveller can appreciate its varied beauties.
Scarcely any two Counties are alike, and yet the features of each have a commu-
nity of character stamping them decidedly English. Whatever be the nature of the
scenery, — whether the wild or cultivated, the romantic, soft, or savage, — in England
it bears the impress of nationality. We have an endless variety for the pencil of the
artist, ^' equal," as Byron truly observes, '' in picturesque beauty to that of any other
country.*' It only remains that this scenery be rendered familiar by publications
similar to that which is now proposed. Tims the inhabitants of remote or neigh-
bouring counties, — the people of Cornwall and the people of Cumberland, — will be
drawn towards each other by a mutual knowledge of their respective localities ; and,
what is not less important, the merchant, the manufacturer, the landowner, and tho
2 ADVERTISEMENT.
farmer, will learn the nature of each other's toils, cares, and pursuits, and will see how
essentially their very different avocations contribute to their mutual prosperity.
The pictorial embellishments of the Work will, most of them, be altogether new,
or the objects wUl be given in such a position as has not before been represented.
They will embrace every kind of subject that can contribute interest or utility. In a
work of this nature there is the reflection, that it will preserve the aspect of much
which will speedily undergo mutation. Woods that crown favourite sites will soon be
no more ; monuments of our earlier history are continually annihilated by the tool of
the roadmaker ; the ruins of our monasteries, castles, and feudal haUs, are fast dis-
appearing; commercial speculation is diverting the stream from its ancient bed, to
drive machinery, to supply the reservoir, or to feed the barge-laden canal ; even the
aspect of many of our towns bears little resemblance, in external form, to that which
it formerly did, while villages of the olden time have become important towns ; so
that the absentee of a score or two of years from his native place, finds in it but a
stranger's visage. This must continue to be the case in the progress of national
elevation or decay; and, therefore, every picture of the natmral or social features of
the country at a fixed date, forms a most important standard for future comparison.
Our cathedrals, churches, palaces, castles, and municipal edifices, in fact, every
object of local as well as general interest, will be depicted faithfully. An endeavour,
too, will be made to portray any peculiarities of dress or carriage that are sufficiently
obvious. The implements of the mechanic, mirier, or husbandman, adopted in their
several pursuits, when found to be noveL together w4th objects in natural history,
come equally within the design of the Work. Landscapes will necessarily form an
extensive subject for the embellishments when illustrating the topography of the
Counties, whether from claims picturesque, historical, or social. They will be of the
best kind, on steel and wood, from paintings by artbts of superior reputation.
One of the most valuable branches of knowledge, wherein our ignorance is least
excusable, consists in an acquaintance with our own country. Numbers correspond with
distant places wliere they never visit ; and it is as natural and fitting that they should
know something of a locality with which a connexion is kept up in this manner, as that
they should bo acquainted with any other thing which does not come immediately before
the visual sense. In the last case, the most agreeable mode of obtaining this species
of information is in works like the present, which are, as much as possible, divested of
thoso dry and formal disquisitions which are so uninteresting to the general reader.
To the young, in particular, most of the conjectures of the antiquary, reai^d, like the
Cornish cheesewring, upon a rickety foundation, and utterly destitute of interest,
couched in language shrivelled into dryness and savouring of worms and epitaphs,
cannot be alluring. If the acquirement of information be made a distasteful task, the
information itself will be of little value, from the indifference with which it is inevitably
ADVERTISEMENT. 3
aooomponied. The present attempt, then, to supply a more agreeable and familiar
sooroe of topographical information, by uniting the efforts of the pen and pencil for
that purpose, can scarcely meet with a well-founded objection.
There is another class of persons to whom this Work may recommend itself, con-
sisting of those who wish to preserve more than the features of such objects as they
may have seen in travelling, or during a casual residence in some particular place ; and
still further, to obtain information respecting what they only thus know from visual
recognition. Faithful embellishments accompanying such a work, freshen in the mind
the scenes they represent, that lapse of time had began to render obscure. A deposit,
therefore, for the preservation of such scenes or objects, will afford a standing reference
for present use, and reflect, as in a mirror, that which now exists for the comparison
of the unborn with the still greater changes which it will be their lot to observe.
Who does not look vnth interest upon the picture of Kenilworth, as it stood in the
maiden reign, copies of which still exist ? and then turning upon the ivy-mantled ruins
as they now totter, who fails to contrast the gorgeous pageantry of the court that once
developed itself there, its pomp rendered more splendid, and its blazonry more rich,
from reflecting the radiance of the genius to which it owes its revival — who does not
feel the interest and utility of this contrast between the past and present ?
The mechanical inventions used in our manufactories, — ^the result of consummate
ingenuity and great practical experience united, — will be accurately described, and so
illustrated by the graver, as to bring their construction within the grasp of the plainest
comprehennon. The mode of operation will be shown by which they produce those
astonishing effects which have contributed so largely to the national opulence. Among
these are the carding-machine, and the mule used in the cotton fabrication : — the won-
derful machines of the iron-founder, with their giant-power of rending, compressing,
or laminating the most refractory materials : — the plastic skill displayed in the Potteries,
where the fine arts unite with the mechanical to satisfy the demands of the taste, that
fluctuates continually, and of the wealth, that sets no limit to self-gratification : — then
there are the countless products of our larger manufacturing towns, contributing to
the comforts, elegancies, or luxurious demands of a rich and mighty people : — these
interesting topics are all connected with the present design.
At the conclusion of each County, it is intended to collect, in a brief and tabular
form, the topographical and statistical information which is now spread over a vast
number of unwieldy volumes, thus giving a body of references easily accessible, and
at the same time a permanent record of facts. This portion of the Work will include
every matter of a local nature the inhabitant, stranger, or tourist, may require, and
win be essential to the possession of all who may seek an acquaintance with facts
regarding the social state of the English Counties. Among other information of this
nature, it is the intention to give, in the fullest manner, the Population Returns for
4 ADVERTISEMENT.
each parish in 1841 ; the Benefices, their value in 1535 and at present; the Tenths
in 1585 ; Tithe Commutations, Fixed Payments, Curates* Stipends, Names of Incum-
bents, Dates of Inductions, and Patrons ; the Poor-law Unions, with the districts they
embrace, and the sums levied for their support ; an Abstract of Births, Deaths, and
Marriages, with a statement of comparative longevity, in each County ; the Charities,
Schools, and Places of Worship ; the Savings' Banks Returns ; the average Rate of
Rental ; the Turnpike Trusts, Income and Expenditure, with the extent of Roads ;
the Parliamentary Representation, and Borough Boundaries ; the Names of the Magis-
tracy ; together with an Account of the Canals, Railroads, and public undertakings of
every kind ; arranged in so simple and concise a form, as to afford an accurate idea of
the existing state of our county relations in all these respects.
The Editorship of the Work is conmiitted to Mr. Redding ; the County of Corn-
wall will be the production of his pen ; the manufiacturing districts of the County of
Lancaster will be described by W. C. Taylor, LL.D., and the remaining portion by
Mr. Rbdding.
This Work will be issued in Half-crown Monthly Parts, eacli to contain forty-eight
pages of letter-press, in imperial octavo, embodying from twenty to thirty wood-cuts,
with one engraving on steel, of the more attractive landscapes in the County, the latter
from subjects by Mr. Creswick, painted expressly for the Work ; and, in order to
meet the wishes of those who desire a more rapid possession of the numbers, the Pro-
prietors have resolved to publish two parts every month, — one belonging to a County
principally noted for its natural beauties or romantic and picturesque features ; the
other distinguished for some great branch of national manufacture. In pursuance of
this design, the publication is commenced with Cornwall and Lancashire ; and the
order in which each County is intended to appear, will be uniformly announced upon
terminating its predecessor. The first part of each County will be accompanied by an
accurate Map, compiled from the Ordnance Survey. That the Public may form some
notion of the extent of the publication, it may be mentioned that Cornwall will be
comprised in five, and Lancashire in six Parts.
The scope and end of the undertaking, it is hoped, will be appreciated by the
Public, although the limits of a Prospectus are very inadequate to convey more than
an outline of their character and objects. It is proposed to enter fully into all the
elements of national strength contained within the geographical limits of England,
whether elaborated by art or spontaneously produced by nature. A wide field is,
indeed, open, but having carefully measured its extent and variety, and found it equally
replete with the agreeable and the useful, the projectors of the Work trust to glean
such a harvest from both as will afford present pleasure as a descriptive itinerary, and
future profit as a permanent record.
R. n. \V. PRINTER, BRKAD STIlXirr HILL.
41 "-Mh
% 9 "
t
j.
, . • • • • S I I
I : ' * M
I
.1 .
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, I
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• I
i..« * » .
•:'!:•■
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. r
1 •«•
•fi
' ■•
CORNWALL.
Cornwall is one of the most remarkable of the English counties^ not only
from its geographical position and mineral productions, but because it pos-
sesses features peculiarly its own, having little in common with the other
territorial divisions of England, unless it be a part of Devonshire. Shores
deeply indented, lashed by ever restless seas, secluded coves with extensive
sands, precipitous headlands, beautiful and fertile valleys, sterile hilla with
granite peaks, extended wastes, and districts boasting a fertility surpassed
nowhere in the island, scenery of the grandest description, as well as of the
softest character — these are all distinguishing traits of the Cornish promontory.
To the foregoing may be added, a mild and genial climate ; a friendly and
hospitable people; a remarkable geological structure; mining resources
unequalled in the world, on the same extent of surface, affording traces
of almost every mineral substance ; the flora of a southern climate ; exhaust-
less wealth in its own giant store-house — the ocean ; antiquities belonging to
the earlier history of the British people ; and remnants of a language abound-
ing in words derived from an eastern source, evidence of a remote intercourse
with some of the more celebrated nations that now exist but in history. Such
are, in brief^ some of the causes which enhance the interest attaching to the
southernmost county of England.
Of the fifty-two counties into which England and Wales are divided, Corn-
wall stands the fifteenth in population, and in superficies* the fourteenth, not
including the Isles of SciUy, which are considered within the county.
In form Cornwall resembles the outline of England inverted, supposing the
Land's End to be placed upon the Scoteh border. It is, in fact, a peninsula,
of a triangular shape, surrounded on all sides but one by the Northern
Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. The ancient Latin name of Cornu-
bia, or Comuvia, seems to have had reference to its figure, which is that of a
cornucopia, or horn of plenty.f Cornwall, as the. southernmost land of
* Aboat 1407 square miles, or 900,480 acres, ezclusiye of ScUlj.
t Some assert fhat the British name, Cemyw, or horn, -was that of Cornwall, antecedent to Cor-
nahia, or Comuvia, for the v and b were used indiscriminately by some of the southern nations.
Borlase supposes the Saxons changed the name to Cornwall, from their calling the present Welsh,
Wealles, indicative of the common origin of the Welsh and Cornish ; thus Comwealles, or Cornwall.
B
2 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
England, lies south of Ireland, Cape Clear being some minutes of latitude
north of Hartlaud Point in Devonshire, which last is several miles north of
the parish of Moorwinstow, the north-eastern limit of ComwalL From the
sea-boundary of this point there is, consequently, no land to the westward
nearer than the American continent. If a line be drawn from the boundary
of Moorwinstow parish towards Devonshire westwards to the Land's End, and
also from Moorwinstow to the Rame Head, near Plymouth, it will define the
greatest length and breadth of the county, without taking the undulationB of
the surface into account. These being considered, the length will be above
80 miles, and the extreme breadth about 45. The breadth diminishes con-
tinually ; and near the Land's End the distance from coast to coast is little
more than six miles in a direct line. The Land's End is the extreme western,
and the Lizard the extreme southern headland of England. The point called
Tol Pedn Penwith* will exhibit the character of the scenery about the Land's
End and the other projections upon this wild coast The rocks are granite,
and resemble cubes piled upon each other.
The undulations of surface, and irregularities caused by the numerous head-
lands, afford every variety of aspect On the northern coast the shores are
precipitous, and the land rises int« rocky and lofty cliffs, which go bluffly
down into the ocean. When they do not dip down thus, they are bordered at
low water with a narrow atrip of sand. Vast drifts of sand are forced up by
the fury of the Atlantic storms upon some parts of the north-western coast;
Meaning, in Cornlab, the " Holed Headland on the left band."
CORNWALL. 3
hence^ though there are but two harbours on that coast, except St. Ives,
wherein a ship of 200 tons can enter, the entrances, even for vessels of this
class, are rendered dangerous by sand-bars, upon which the sea breaks with
tremendous violence.
Turning from the coast to the inland part of the county, the surface is
remarkably varied. The highest eminence does not exceed 1,400 feet, and yet
there is no county in England where there is so little level ground : along the
centre there is a ridge of hills, disconnected from those of Dartmoor, in
Devonshire, by the deep valley through which the Tamar winds its serpentine
course nearly from sea to sea. Nothing can be more sterile than the aspect of
this district, covered with heath, and scarcely relieved by a few solitary furze
bushes. Here and there, above the line of a desolate eminence, clad in brown
scanty vegetation, appears a hill-top, called locally a tor, the apex of a ridge,
jagged, and serrated by granite rocks. The space, called the Temple Moors,
alone, lying in the sterile district between Bodmin and Launceston, is said to
cover ten square miles, in one patch of barren and unreclaimed land. Then
there are the mining districts, and others that are utter waste. The great
maU-road to the west Ues by Launceston through this wUd, and hence,
naturally enough, strangers have conceived an idea of the county very different
from the truth, and little calculated to support the assertion, that there are
portions of Cornwall which no other part of England can equal in fertility of
produce. Borlase states that, in his time, one B,oberts, of Penzance, had
60 bushels of wheat to the acre. Eighty bushels of barley have been produced,
and from 70 to 80 are constantly harvested near the Lizard.
The variety of surface, and the action of the sea, contribute to impart to this
portion of the island the charm of some of the most romantic and sublime
scenery in the empire. Cornwall is the land of the wild, the picturesque, and
the imaginative. Never could its prince, Arthur, be better located to become
the delight of successive generations in all lands, the hero of a thousand tales,
the immortal in romance. The air is sofl and pure ; there is the voluptuous-
ness of the "sweet south" at times in the atmosphere, tempered by Atlantic
breezes ; the heaths are various, and rich to a degree seen nowhere besides
in England.
The continuation of the Dartmoor chain of hills through Cornwall gradually
subsides in elevation from 1,400 feet in the eastern, to 500 or 600 in the
extreme western part of the county, except in one instance, where 800 is
attained,* about seven miles from the Land's End. From the northern
* The hills in Cornwall most noted have the followmg elevations :— Sennen, Land's End, 387 feet ;
St Baryan, 415 ; Pertinny Hill, St Jast, 689 ; Camminnis Hill, 805 ; Cam Bonellis, sometimes called
Menelez, 822 ; St Agnes' Beacon, 621 ; Deadman Head Mevagissey, 379 ; Hensbarrow Hill, 1,034 ;
Bodmin Down, 645; Cadon Barrow, 1,011; Brownwilly, 1,368; Caradon Hill, 1,208; Tregoning
Hill, 596 ; Godolphin, 495 ; Crowan Beacon, 850 ; Palestine Rocks, llabe, 700 ; Hill above Bumt-
hoose, Penrjn, 680; Jenkin's Barrow, St Michell, 457; Belovely Beacon, 765; an Dinas,
4 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
and southern sidea of this
range the rivers descend :
the most considerable flow-
ing from the southern side.
Brovmwilly is the prin-
cipal elevation in this
range. It is marked by
great irregularity of out-
line, the summit crested
withgruiite rocks, and the
sides covered with brown
heather.
The geology of Cornwall is a copious subject. The northern slope from the
great central ridge of hills is bounded by the sea, terminating in diflfe, in
some places of very considerable elevation, and, where these are not found, in
sand-hills or beaches of the same material. From Moorwiostow to Boscastle,
the formation which reposes against the granite of the central ridge of hills is
a continuation of that which commences on the north coast of Devonshire, a
little to the south of Barnstaple. In ComwaU, it may be pretty nearly defined
by a line from Boscastle, through Lesnewth, north of St Cleather, approxi-
mating to the west of Launceston, within a mile or two of that place ; then,
forming an angle, proceeding nearly due south almost to Lczant, and continu-
ing in a line a little irregular to the right bank of the Tamar, that river
becoming its boundary in Cornwall as far as Newbridge, where granite shows
itself on Hcngist Down. At South Hill, beyond Hengist Down, granite is
agiun perceived rising through the schist. The formation thus alluded to as
extending from the eastern limit of the county to Boscastle, and thence to
Newbridge, belongs to the carbonaceous series of North Devon.
Bounded by the Tamar, from Newbridge southwards to the Kame Head,
except where red sandstone appears at Whitsun Bay and Cawsand, and por-
phyry, breaking through the same substance, at Redding Point in Plymouth
Sound; extending also to the north-west from Newbridge to Boscastle, and
along the southern shore from Boscastle to the west side of St. Ives Bay, the
prevtuling formation is grauwacke slates and grits. These rise from beneath
the carbonaceous series of North Devon, or the clay-slate already mentioned
aa terminating between Boscastle and Newbridge, only to be succeeded by
clay-slate differing a little from the former in character. This second variety
&L Colamb. 739 ; Boche Bocks, 6S0 ; KilliTmb Down, 1,000 ; St Dennis' Down, 815 1 Si. Dermis, 674 ;
Carclaie tin mine, 665 i Temple Tor, 900 ; Hawk's Tor. 900 -. Brocks Beacon, 1,000; ArUinr's Hall,
St, Breward, 890 1 Garrah Tor, 1,000 ■, Davidstow Moor, 959 ; Tilch Beacon, 1,010 ; Brey Down, 1,125;
Tober Tor, 1,182 i Kilmarth Hill, 1,277 1 Sharp Tor, 1,200; Mennaolew Down, near St Clare, 1,124.
The latitude of St. Af^nes' Be«con, according to the Ordnance surrej, in making which ii waa a
lUIioa, was fonnd to be SO" 18' 27' north; the longitude 5h. llm. 568. west
CORNWALL.
of slatee and grits, with ar^llaceoua elates at Tintf^l, and some of tJbe finer kind
in the De la Bole quarry. Dot far from that place, crosses the isthmus between
St. Ives and Penzance in a curved line. It goes westward of the last-named
town ; passing near Ludgvan and bordering Mount's Bay, to about as &r as
Mousehole, where the granite fonnation commences, and includes the whole of
the Land's End district, round by the west to St. Ivee, forming a vast
adamantine head or block, as if it were for resbtance to the stormy waters of the
northern Atlantic Close to the back of the town of St Ives itself, a narrow
and small space of trappean rock appears, such as geolo^ts associate with
the grauwacke and carbonaceous series, or lighter clay-8lat«; and here and
there it slightly shows itself towards St Just It must, however, be observed
that in the line of the slate formation, on the west from Boscastle to St Ives,
trappean rocks appear occadonally, as near Fentire Point, for example.
Blown sands occur on the east of Padstow harbour, in St Enoder and Hell
Bay, and near Dinas Head in St Merrin, close to Trevose Head ; between
Penhale Point and the Gannal ; at Ferranzabulo, or St Piran, in the sands ;
and in St Ives Bay, one of the most beautiful in the island, upon the eastern
shore of which the sand accumulates in large hills.
Following the southern shore of the county, from Mousehole to Marazion,
in Mount's Bay, and from the latter place to Mullion Island in the Lizard
promontory, with the intervention of trappean rocks over a small surface, the
same slate formation generally provails on the coast, until an elvau vein comes
down to a breadth of granite, occurring opposite Germoe and Breage, and for
some way inland in both these parishes ; while on the sea shore, in Trevean
Cove, and east of Trewavas Head, raised beaches are foimd. Nearly opposite
Mullion Island the celebrated serpentine rocks of the Lizard commence, tra-
versed at their commencement from north-east to south-west, by veins of
hornblende and slate for a short distance, the same thing occurring also on
the north of the formation as far as the sea-abore on the Helford side. These
rocks aro terminated on the south by the diallage species, between the horn-
blende and serpentine. Of this last and most beautiful of all rocks the remainder
6 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
of the headland of the Lizard couBists ; except where a mass of hornblende
and slate shows itself at Landewednack, the extreme southern point. The
serpentine contains asbestus, and transverse veins of steatite or soap rock,
a soft saponaceous substance, smooth and unctuous to the touch, very useful
in making china. It is yellowish white, with variegated veins; the best
approaches pure white in colour. From where the hornblende rock and slate,
before mentioned, commence to the south of Helford, at which place a small
mass of limestone in grauwacke appears, and proceeding northward along
the shores of Falmouth harbour, round to St Anthony's Point, and all the
way from thence to the Rame Head, the same slate formation is found, even
more uniformly than on the northern coast. In Veryan, limestone shows
itself near the Nare Head ; in this district, too, are conglomerates, serpentine
and diallage. In Gorran, north-east of Gorran Haven, limestone in grauwacke
occurs ; and also more to the eastward, opposite Lanteglos, at Pencarra Head.
The limestone of TaUand Bay resembles that of Plymouth.* A small mass
of limestone in grauwacke occurs east of the entrance to the Looe River.
Having thus followed the geological strata along the entire coast, it will be
proper to give a mere outline of the appearances of the interior surface, in as
concise a manner as possible. Let the reader imagine that part of the county,
formed by the Tamar, and a line drawn from a little below Launceston towards
Boscastle, belonging to the carbonaceous series of North Devon, to be omitted.
This class presents little for observation; and in fact scarcely differs from
that to the southward in its general character before the common ob-
server, though to the geologist the distinction is important as marking a
different date of formation. South of this boundary, then, and bordering upon
a large elevated mass of granite that extends from near Camelford to St. Clare
in its broadest part; and nearly from Altcrnon to Cardinham, in another,
trappean rocks occasionally come up, associated with the slate. Elvansf lie
* It U burned upon the spot in considerable quantities. Mr. De la Beche has not laid this down in
his map. The people call the place, " Talland Sand." It has been obserred by ourselves.
f It is proper to explain that the Cornish call granite, growcm ; slate and schist, kUlaa ; and granite
and felspar porphyry occurring in veins, sometimes of more than adamantine hardness, elvan. The
last term has been adopted by Mr. De la Beche, in his laborious investigation of the Western
Geology, to which every one curious upon this subject cannot but refer. Eloan is old Cornish, derived
from dven, a spark, because this species of rock is so hard as to strike fire.
It will not do to pass over the Cornish language without some observations, as useful words are
thus borrowed from it. It was the most pleasing of the three dialects into which the ancient language
of the Britons was changed, by the separation of that people, and their distance of residence from
each other, in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany, the last then called Armorica. The Cornish varied so
much from the Welsh, that the latter people have a difficulty in comprehending a poem, in the Bodleian
Library, Oxford, written in the Cornish tongue. The Cornish was softer than the Welsh ; thus, for
Cromlech, the Cornish would write Cromleh ; in place of Vnochy a lake, the Cornish would be, Uh,
The substantive was commonly placed before the adjective; Truni'vean^ little Trura The pre-
position was sometimes placed after the case governed; the nominative case governed and the
preposition were both often incorporated with the verb. Letters were omitted or inserted at the
beginning or end of syllables, for brevity or expression's sake ; and, like the Greek, the Cornish
southward of North HUl, and also southward of the great granite maae, as
well as southward of Warleggan, and between Blisland and Helland ; while
west of the granite, which here composes the crests of the loftiest hills in the
county, trappean rocks occasionally appear, intermingled with the slate as
far aa Pentire. They are seen, too, south-west of Liakeard, as far as Men-
hcniot, Landrake, and St. Germains, in the same detached manner. South of
Liskeard a mass of serpenliue is discoverable at Clicker Tor. North of Morval,
limestone appears, and
ag^ more towards Su - ■■---' - '
Germains, but in trifling
quantity. The next great
island of granite, pushing
up through this ocean of
schisdne rock, stretches
nearly from the Fowey
river to St. Eaoder, lon-
^tudinally, and from St.
Austle, in breadth, north-
wards to Boche, where a
singular mass of granite
protrudes above the sui^
face, crowned with a ruin.
Upon the skirts of this granite, elvan veins occur, extending towards
St. Columh, generally in a direction from east to west ; yet one, on the contrary,
is traced north and south, from Mawgan Forth to St Michael, or near the latter
place. The same kind of veins occurs to the south ; one termination of them
being in the sea, north and south of Blackhead ; St. Austle, which is north
admitted the formation of componnd words. There are Cornish mannscripti id the Bodleian libiwj,
and TOCBbnlBry many centuries old is in the Cottonian. There ia also a Grammar, noir become
scarce, vritten b; Mr. E, Lhnjd, in 1700. The old names in iiiiDing,agTicDltnre,fiahii)g, and bnilding,
•re still more comiDonly in ase than the English ones ; and the names of manors, and of the local
lopographj, generaltjr, are all in the ComisU, as well as the names of many connt; families ; as, for
example, Polwbele, Polkinghora, Trevanion, Tresilian, Fenwame, Pendarvea ; —
AmoDg tbe people many ancient Corolah expressions stilt exist, in the remoter parts of the county,
which cannot be nndentood elsewhere. A mother will say to her chatterbox child, " What a tongue
iabtu yoQ are I" a cormption of " lau lavat," or " tau tabai" hold jonr tongne ; the b and v being
indiscrimbately used in the old Cornish. " Are yoo going to bai ?"— " Are yon going to the ploce
of work at the mine P" — is still used; "W meaning " place." " Child-vtan," — " little child," is need
as a term of fomiliar endeannent; jnst as an Italian wonld use a diminntive. " Oh my chsiiut"
or bock, ia still common for "Oh my back I" "Clunk," to BwaUow, is still nsed, as well as
"tnim,' crooked: many examples might be quoted. A man who entered a room where all
the chairs were pre-occupled, might be told, for example, " You arc cat ont of the ^leuian {"
which is a miner's term in the Cornish tongne for the earth that cuts off a lode. The origin
8 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
of most of them^ having between that place and the el vans, a vein of trappean
rocks, of the same species with those described before as occurring near the
granite. Except elvan veins about Cuthbert and Newlyn, and a mass of
granite of a peculiar character on Cligga Head, which were omitted in enume-
rating the rocks on the northern coast, the extensive outbreak of granite in
and bordering upon which are the most important of the Cornish mines,
commences north-east of Redruth, extending to St Day.* Westward, towards
lUogan, veins of elvan and trap appear ; and southward, being interrupted by
the prevalent formation for a small breadth, the granite again rises, and extends
south-east to Budock, near Falmouth ; on which side elvan veins and trap, the
former running into the granite, go north-eastward, towards Truro, crossing
the great mining parish of Gwennap. On the west, the granite extends upon
the surface to Crowan ; on the south-west, to beyond Wendron ; and south, to
between Constantine and the Helford river, approaching Helston, near which
trap rocks of no great extent intervene ; as well as on the north-west, where
they appear alternately with elvan. Near Mawgan, in Kirrier, elvan veins
cross the bed of the Helford river.
A few words may be proper here respecting the climate of Cornwall, to
which many peculiarities attach, in the western part more especially. The
south-eastern portion resembles that of the coast of the south of Devonshire^
of which it is but a continuation, with a difference of latitude in no sense
material The central ridge of hills causes a marked dissimilarity between the
northern and southern coasts of Cornwall, until these hills decrease in elevation
to the westward. The ocean winds then sweep across the narrower part of
of many English terms may be fonnd in this hmgnage. There are some the same as in the existing
French, particalarly ^'dtfenduj** in Cornish ** dtfendu,** forbidden; **Faut," most, and **mafaut,^
I want Of Hebrew words, proving an intercourse with the Jews, there are names of pUices
strikingly in point,— Paran-zabnlon, Fhillack, Menachan, Zephni, Bonithon, and Maraxion. The
Jews anciently worked the mines. It may be observed too, that the Carthaginian and Fhcenician
languages were bnt dialects of the Hebrew, as Mr. Warner well observes in bis Cornish Tour. Of
Spanish intercourse with Cornwall there are also proofs in Cornish words, as **cariad,'* — earidadj
benevolence, and others ; but the custom, differing so much from all the rest of England, and still in
existence in Cornwall, of calling old people, by way of respect, uncle and aunt, in place of grandfather
and grandmother, or grandpa and grandma, is the most striking : ^ Well, Uncle John, how are yon
to-day ?** ** Un (for aunt) Jenny is gone home." There is no country besides Spain, (most in An-
dalusia there,) that the writer knows o^ where the like custom among the conmion people prevails
of addressing an old man with Tio, uncle. The following are Cornish proverbs : —
Neb na gare y gwayn coll restoua, — He that heeds not gain, must expect loss.
Keb na gare y gy an gwra deyeeder, — He that regards not his dog, will make him a choke-sheep.
Quel yw gnetha vel goofen, — It is better to keep than beg.
Gura da, rag ta honan te yn gura, — ^Do good, thou dost it for thyself.
Nyn ges giin heb lagas, na kei heb scoTcm, — There is no downs without eye, no hedge without ears.
* Many of the local names, there is no doubt, retain the pronunciation of the old language ; thus
St Agnes is pronounced, St Ann's ; Feock, Vague ; Constantine, Constenton ; Restronget, Strang-
wych ; St Clare, is St Cleer ; St Day, St Dye ; Michael, Michel ; Ludgvan, Ludjan ; Cuthbert,
Cubert ; Fortyssic, meaning the ** port of the creek," has, on the other hand, been Saxonised by habit
into Fort Isaac ; and De la Bole, into Dennyball.
CORNWALL. 9
the peninsula, without that interception of their vapour which to the east-
ward is continually taking place; causing more rain on the northern side
of the hills at certain seasons than on the southern^ and the reverse. Thus a
south wind which brings in this county a fine rain^ putting on the appearance
of mist, and a south-west wind which also brings rain, either drive the clouds
ftdl upon the southern shore^ or traverse the county longitudinally on each
side of the high central ridge ; while northern, north-western, and western
showers, are felt most copiously on the northern side of the hills. In the
west of Cornwall, where the continuous elevation of the land is not lofty
enough to intercept the clouds, they are borne across the promontory, which is
there only a few miles in breadth, and the terrene partakes more of the cha-
racter of the oceanic atmosphere.
The characteristic of this county generally is that of freedom from extremes
of heat or cold. Myrtles may be seen along the entire southern coast, as at
Looe, growing in the shrubberies close to the sea, but sheltered from the
violence of the prevalent wind by the hills. There is no greater mistake, than
to suppose the warm vicinity of the sea unfavourable to the vegetation of any
but a few very peculiar trees and shrubs, since warmth is favourable alike to
animal and vegetable existence. The violence of the tempest in the direction
of the prevalent winds, is seen in Cornwall by the shape of the few solitary
trees exposed to them ; which grow with an inclmation towards the opposite
direction from that whence the wind blows ; and in that direction alone the
foliage is observed to expand itself. In the valleys of Cornwall, where there
is shelter from the west and south-west winds, the more delicate plants
bloom in the open air; which is not more saline here than elsewhere. In
the narrower part of the county, and on the lofty central land, the hedges,
scanty of trees, make the stranger imagine that none will grow ; while the
valleys, in many places, present pictures of foliage no where surpassed in
beauty. Nor is this a subject for wonder, when it is recollected with what
fiupy the storms of winter sweep across the county, purifying the air, but
violent enough to uproot the sturdiest oaks. So far from the sea being pre-
judicial to vegetation, com ripens even upon the western clifis, two hundred
feet above the waves. At Penzance, close to the sea, in the narrowest
part of the peninsula, there are florists whose gardens are unrivalled in the pro-
duction of beautiftd flowers and shrubs, grown in the open air. That vicinity
is rich in what are exotic to the rest of England out of the greenhouse ; and
the same thing is observable near Falmouth. Even near St. Ives, a situation
on the north more exposed than that of Penzance, in cottage gardens wherever
there is shelter, the ftichsia may be seen growing to five and six feet in height,
without care, displaying in profusion its crimson pensile flowers; while the
hydrangea is a plant of the shrubbery, attaining seven or eight feet in height,
and twenty or more in circumference. The "verbena tryphillia,*' grows to
an enormous size in the shrubbery. The geranium flowers in the summer, as
c
10 ENOLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
well as the myrtle, afler an exposure during the entire winter to the vicissitudes
of the atmosphere. The great Americxm aloe has flowered in three different
places in the west of the county, all in the open air and near the sea. Some
of the myrtles, trained against the fronts of the houses, reach above twenty
feet in height; and in the shrubberies, attain from Beven to ten. The bay
grows to a considerable tree. The " Sibthorpia Europoea" here thrives in the
garden during winter, and numerous other plants, which perbh in common
winters in the central counties of England. Here too grow wild the tamarisk,
erica vagane, and several other rmties. The submarine plants are various and
beautifuL Here cabbages are on the table in February ; turnips by the end
of March ; brocoli, at Christmas ; and green peas, the second week in May.
The first crop of potatoes is often planted in November, and dug up in April,
May, and June ; and the second crop is put into the ground sometimes as late
as the middle of July.
The cause of all this arises out of the equable temperature of the climate.
The winters are mild, and the summers cool ; and both are more so in the
western than in the eastern division of the county. The infiuence of the ocean
in moderating excess of temperature, is thus remarkably obvious. There is
not heat enough to ripen the grape, and barely the common kinds of wall-
fruit; neither is there ice thick enough to bear a skater, more than two or
three times in tliirty or forty years,
"Our change of latitude," says Dr. Maton, in hia tour to Mounts Bay,
" began to be very sensible, or at least we imagined so ; for we experienced a
peculiar soilness and salubrity in the ur during our progress from Falmouth
to the Laud's End. Notwithstanding frequent mns, I do not conceive that
the air is rendered less fit for respiration, because it ia never charged with
exhalations from bogs or stagnant waters. The putrid, sultry calms, which we
often experience in the interior parts of England, are prevented in this county
by the breezes from the west, which occasion a wholesome circulation of
the air," Mounts Bay, here delineated, has a warm southern aspect.
In Cornwall, particularly in the western part, the temperature of the nights
approaches much nearer to that of the days, than in the midland and eastern
CORNWALL, 1 1
counties ; so that frequently at nine or ten at night, the mercury has not sunk
more than a degree below that marked at noonday. This equability affords
a singular contrast to the chill of the nights of summer near the metropolis,
which prevents sitting in the open air after sun-set.*
The moisture ascribed to the climate is required by the dry porous nature of
the soiL The heaviest rains do not lodge, but are speedily carried to the ocean
through the hilly nature of the country, the ground drying rapidly. Cornwall
is little liable to hail-storms; but those of thunder, in winter particularly,
though rare, are observed to cause more accidents than is usual in other places,
and to break with great violence.
Snow lies but a short time, seldom more than two or three days ; and in the
extreme west has rarely been seen to remain at all upon the ground, although,
when very hard winters occur to the eastward, their effects are felt, but miti-
gated by position. There have been successive years when the thermometer has
not been under 39* of Fahrenheit. Many winters hardly put on the character of
the season at all. Nothing can be more delicious to the feelings than some
of the fine days of such a season, the sun shining in January, the air soft and
agreeably warm, and spring itself looking out of the lap of winter. The
spring season is much prolonged in Cornwall : its advances are in consequence
not so energetic and rapid as in the counties more to the eastward, nor
indeed so obviously perceptible, coming on by stealth, sometimes as early as
February. The martin is often seen in the month of March in this county,
and the chaffinch trills its note at the end of December. Borlase observes that
even at this season but few days are thoroughly wet ; there is generally some
* The extraordinary mildness of the temperature in Cornwall is confirmed by comparative obser-
vations of a recent date, made with great care. These show the mean annual temperature at Penzance,
for twenty-one years, according to Mr. Giddy, to be 54.5 Fahr. That of spring is 49.66 ; summer, 60.50 ;
autumn, 53.83 ; and winter, 44.66. London has a mean annual temperature of 50.39, differently
distributed in the seasons; spring, 48.76; summer, 62.32; autumn, 51.35; and winter, 39.12. The
difference of the mean temperature of winter and summer, in London, is 23.20 ; in Penzance, 15.84.
Again, the difference of the mean temperature of the hottest and coldest months is, London, 26.17,
Penzance, 18,50. The annual range is, in Penzance, 49 ; London, 64. The maximum of Fahrenheit
in London, 86 ; Penzance, 76 : minimum, environs of London, 22 ; Penzance, 27. Mean of the
monthly ranges, London, 34, Penzance, 24. The mean range of the daily temperature for the year is,
London, 11, Penzance, 6.7. The extreme of daily variation for the year in London is, rise 18S fall 21° ;
Penzance, rise 10°, fall (no record). Cornwall therefore possesses one of the most equable tempera-
tures in Europe, hence its value as a resort for persons fearing incipient consumption.
The number of fine days in the west of Cornwall has been calculated at 114 ; cloudy or variable, 87 ;
rain» 164. An average of seven years gave 177 for the number of days in which rain &lls. In LondoQ
the number is about the same ; but then in London the mean quantity is only 25.686 inches, while in
Cornwall the quantity is above that falling at Milan ; being upwards of forty-three inches, or four-fifths
of the quantity which fails at Kendal in Westmorehind, the most noted for frequency and quantity of
rain of any place in England. The wettest months in Cornwall are Octdber, November, December,
and January ; and the quantity of rain in inches, 39.295, 36.035, 42.075, and 26.825, respectively,
These observations are the results of different years, made by different individuals, and show plainly
that the statement of Cornwall being a rainy county, does not apply to the frequency of rain, but to
the quantity.
12 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
intermission, so that *Hhe sun will find a time to shine." When the rain
faUs for a day's continuance, it falls heavily. The number of dry days being
considerable, and the babniness of the air in the intervals of the winter rains
exceedingly agreeable, with the inhabitants awake to the feeling it imparts,
it is not wonderful they are greatly attached to their climate.
The violence of the storms has been already alluded to, — and no language
can adequately describe their fiiry. The winds careering, without obstruction,
over the immense superficies of the Atlantic, seem to recoil from the Cornish
promontory only to gather fresh energy and augment the unavailing rage of
their attacks. The Long-ship's %ht-house at the Land's End stands upon
a rock sixty feet above the water, and its lantern at the summit of all, yet even
that is frequently buried in the broken water of the moimtain surges that
lash the reef, recoil, and again break in worlds of foam upon the granite ridge,
dashing up the sides of the main rock, and falling like a succession of snowy
avalanches. The Land's End promontory is a low point compared to its
brethren north and south, being only sixty or seventy feet above the ocean
level, while its brethren on both sides rise between two and three hundred,
yet far above its granite brow is the sea-foam carried in a storm, over the land
still ascending, and then quite across the peninsula, in showers, resembling
snow-white feathers — a sight at once novel and terrific.
Cornwall is nearly insulated by the Tamar on the eastern side, which borders
upon Devonshire. Hence it arises that the main roads, into the county west-
ward, are continued by bridges, or interrupted by ferries. From Plymouth there
are ferries as far as the road from Tavistock to Callington, twenty miles
towards the source of the Tamar. The first bridge is called Newbridge,* and
is situated in a very picturesque spot, just above a place denominated the
Weir-head, beyond the reach of the tide. The next bridge, anciently called
Hawte Bridge, but now High, or Horsebridge, stands in the parish of Stoke-
cUmsland, about four miles by the river above Newbridge ; the third is called
Grreston Bridge, on the road from Tavistock to Launceston ; then there is
another of wood, between that and Poulston; over which last is the central
mail-road from London, by way of Exeter and Okehampton, to Falmouth.
The last place of note in Devonshire, before crossing the Tamar towards
Launceston, is Lifron, about five miles distant. Evening had come upon a sultry
August day, when we descended the hill leading to Poulston Bridge from this
village. Below, extended the charming vale of the Tamar, widening consider-
ably, clothed in the richest verdure, and everywhere exhibiting great pic-
turesque beauty. From the Cornish side of the vale, a line of hill uprose
and bounded the view, presenting an even summit, except where it was
interrupted by that ** keep of terrible strength," to borrow the words of an old
writer, which now constitutes nearly all remaining of Launceston castle.
* Leland mentions a bridge at Calstock, 1)egan in his time by Sir Pene Edgcombe, bat there is no
such bridge now ; hence some sappose Newbridge is intended.
CORNWALL. 13
The outline of this keep resembles no other in England, appearing like
a double cylinder, or one cylinder standing within another of larger size,
so that it was difficult to reconcile the reality with the aspect Behind
this object the heavens were luminous, while in other quarters they were so
overclouded that the valley was thrown into shade, and intervening objects
beneath our feet presented themselves in undefined masBea. The Tamar runs
here close to the foot of the declivity, upon the side of Devon, leaving a con-
siderable portion of level ground on the other shore. Poulaton Bridge consists
of several arches, — that in the centre of iron. It was just light enough to see
the overshadowed river darkly gleaming below, with a rapid but noiseless
current, and to distinguish that some of the hills furthest off were clothed with
wood and coppice. The traveller is now in Cornwall ; and, afler passing a
nule and a half of excellent road from the bridge, finds himself in the good
town of Launceston.
The " Bocky land of strangers," as Cornwall has been styled, carried no marks
of the justice of the appellation in the immediate vicinity of Launceston,"
which is a district eminently agricultural, disputing with that between the
rivers Fowey and Fal the title of the " granary of CornwalL" Com fields
eveiywhere around waved in rich luxuriance.
This town is entered under the gate-
way delineated below, once belong- ~
ing to the town walls, of which there
are a few rem^s; and the room over
it even now serves the purpose of a
town gaol, as it did in the time of
Henry \ 111. f Over the roof, and
over the houses within, seen from the
approach by the turnpike-road, the
ruins of the castle uprise loftily, bearing
the recollections of a thousand years
upon their rent and shattered frag-
ments. It is singular, whilst the anti-
quity of the castle is so great as to have '
left no record of it« foundation, and
while the existence of Launceston is
authenticated as far back as the year
900, that no antiquities have been dis-
covered in the town; a Saxon door-way
to the White Hart Inn, instanced in proof to the contrary, having been
brought from the castle or priory ruins. Launceston b about eigh^ miles
from the Land's £nd, and stands upon an elevation, one side of which declines
r Ihc " Swelling Hill." It vas founded hjr Endnlpbiu. of the
t I.elaDd.
14 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
with considerable abruptness down to the little river Attery, affording an
extensive view over the suburbs, to where the chureh of St. Stephen forms a
conspicuous object. Pleasing as tliis prospect is, it by no means equals that
from tlie side of the hill upon which St. Stephen's church stands. From
thence Launceston is seen at the back of the castle, the keep of which towers
with a boldness and grandeur scarcely possible to be exceeded. The mound,
rising above the summit of the hill, acquires a double elevation, and impresses
the mind not only with its own grand features, but connects them with
Bygone times and the wrecks of perished greatness. There the ruins, almost
impending, whisper not only of human mutability in the past, but throw out
bosom hints of the fate that must involve present things, stamping our regret
with something of selfishness. It is scarcely possible to imagine an equal in
effect, to this view of the castle, a circumstance m^nly owing to the happiness
of ite position, and the singularity of its outline.
The erection of the castle has been ascribed, upon grounds by no means satis-
factory, to William, Earl of Morcton and Cornwall, in the reign of William I. ;
but there is no doubt that a great deal of the building is more ancient; not to
mention ag^n its want of similarity to any of the ruins of the numerous castles
of that period, still in existence, by
which the work might be tested. The
mention of the gift to the Earl of More-
ton, would naturally of itself imply a
prior existence. The annexed engrav-
ing is a faithful view of this interesting
relic of antiquity.
The entrance, ten or twelve feet wide,
is on the south-west side, between
parallel walls, at right angles with the
outer wall of the base court ; to pass
into which the great gate must first be
cleared, or rather its site, for httle of
it now remains. At the end of this
entrance, another gate leads into the
base-court, the sides of which are about
four hundred feet square, with towers
at the angles; the walls, where they
are entire, indicating great strength, are
fenced externally with a deep ditch; except where, as on the side next
St Stephen's, the ground rendered tlie precaution useless from its natural steep-
ness. The mound upon which the keep stands is situated at the south-east
comer of this court, — an enormous artificial hill, nearly one hundred feet high,
the same measure in diameter at the base, and upwards of ninety feet in
circuit at the summit. Upon this fonnidable eminence towers s yet more
CORNWALL. 15
formidable work of defence, as singular in construction, as well adapted to the
object for which it was erected. There are remains, more or less consider-
able, of three walls upon the summits The first, low, and intended for a
line of resistance to such as ascended the mound, if any should venture upon
so daring a task, was supported by a line on the next wall, and both by
another upon the highest or third. The distance between the outer and second
wall was not more than five or six feet: and the outer wall, nearly gone, was
about three feet thick. The second, which is much higher, and eleven feet
thick, has in the body of the wall itself a staircase leading to the top. Seven or
eight feet within this second inclosure, a third wall rises to the height of thirty
feet, enclosing a space eighteen feet in diameter, in which there were evi-
dently floors, from the places where the joists rested being still visible ; the
uppermost room having two windows, with an ascent to the summit of the
interior of the whole. It is scarcely possible to imagine a stronger mode of
defence, before the invention of artillery. A triple line of active resistance was
thus reserved, on the part of the besieged, against any foe who might dare to
ascend the mound ; a task almost hopeless from its perpendicularity. As a further
precaution, the entrance to the keep itself was by one narrow way, defended
with equal skill by a tower, called the " Witches' Tower," and by walls. The
last garrison kept in tlus castle was during the war between Charles I. and the
people of England, when it was held, until the ruin of the royal cause, by the
king's party in the west.
From the keep the view is extensive and beautiful ; and the prospect down
the valley towards St Stephen's both interests and surprises, from the abrupt-
ness and length of the descent. Many would shrink from contemplating it
from so fearful an elevation. Far below are houses and gardens, cottages and
fields, graceful cultivation and busy industry, presenting a tranquil and agree-
able landscape.
Lands were once held, under service to the castle, from the Duchy of Corn-
wall. One estate was thus held by the service of personal attendance to do
duty in the castle for forty days in time of war, with an iron skull-cap and a
Danish pole-axe. The great landholders, too, who held fees of the honour of
Launceston, were bound during war to defend as many kernels of the castle as
they held fees. This castle is described as being in a ruinous state as far back
ad 1337. Carew speaks of its decayed state in 1602 ; and in 1650 the hall and
chapel are said to be level with the ground ; only a tower, used as a prison^
was then in repair. George Fox, the quaker, was imprisoned there some
months, and calls the prison "doomsdale," a "most filthy dungeon." The
Duke of Northumberland is now the lessee.
Before the reform act was passed Launceston returned four members to
parliament ; for its suburb of Newport was a little rotten borough returiling
two. By that act, St* Stephen and St. Thomas, with the parishes of
Lawhitton and South Petherwin, the churches of which are two miles
16 ENGLAND IN THE NraETBBNTH CENTLHY.
distant, are united with Launceston into one borough, which contmns direc
hundred voters in place of twenty, the number voting for members of par-
liament in the borough of Launceeton prior to the passing of the act. The
returmng officers are called manderg. The right of electing members had
continued from the time of Edward L; before which reign the town was a
mere appanage to the Dukes or Earls of Cornwall, and their constant residence.
The streets are narrow, but improvements are begun. The marketr^hall is
about to be rebuilt ; and at the different entrances into the town, new and
excellent houses are everywhere arising, far beyond the limits of the old and
more inconvenient streets The roads around, and the great mail-road to the
west in particular, are kept in the best order, and new and more convenieot
deviations have been taken, at considerable expense. The public buildings do not
merit remark ; the latest erected, the union workhouse, though well adapted for
its object, is as humble in architectural design aa most of its brethren in other
parts of the country. The market-place is smalL The loss of the assizes
and the sessions, both being removed to Bodmin, lefl the towB to its own
resources, which are almost wholly agricultural It is curious that by a
charter of Hichard II. the county assize is ordered to be held at Launceston,
" and nowhere else," The recent alteration has been beneficial to the county at
large, since, before that event, many persons had to travel sixty or seventy miles
to the assize-town.
There is a church in
Launceston, built of gra-
nite, sculptured with great
labour. It consists of two
mslea and a nave. At the
end of each of these is
a window with a pointed
arch. The tower is of a
date more ancient than
the church. There is a
porch, rarely excelled in
beauty, on the south side,
covered with richly carved
ornaments. At the east
end is the figure of a Magdalen recumbent, to which saint the church,
andently a chapel, was originally dedicated. The alteration of the chapel to
a church took place in the reign of Henry IV. Flumes of feathers, arms,
trophies, fruit, panelling, basso relievo, abound, all cut in granite. A Latin
inscription,* each letter upon a shield between the windows, extends round
tJie whole building, laudatory of St Mary. There are several monuments
" " Ave Miria, gratis plena, dominnt tecom iponw», (unat aiKnisam Mtria, optimam putem elegit,
O qcani terribiiit ac metnendo* e«t locm itte, rere aliud noo est hie, dim domm Dei et porta c<b1L"
CORNWALL. 17
within this church; one to a zealous soldier^ named Pyper^ who fought for
Charles L, was constable of Launceston Castle^ and died in 1687^ aged 76«
A priory formerly existed in Launceston^ which an old writer* describes
as ** standing in the west part of the suburb of the town under the root of
the hill by a fair wood side." It was built by "William Warwist, bishop
of Exeterj and had the grant of a sanctuary; no remains of it are now in
existence. The mayor of Laimceston, singularly enough^ is considered the
vicar for the duration of his official year^ and appoints his curate accordingly.
The trade of Launceston is limited^ but it possesses a small woollen manu-
factory. Water carriage by means of the Tamar canal is convenient, the
principal imports coming by way of Plymouth up the Tamar into this canal.
The town contains two charities, — a Sunday, and a free grammar school ; the
last endowed by Queen Elizabeth with 16/. per annum, and lOL bequeathed in
1685. There was once a hospital for lepers near Poulston Bridge, the funds
of which are now in the hands of the corporation. The churches of St,
Stephen and St. Thomas, within the borough of Launceston, are both ancient
edifices. The first was formerly called Lanstavestone, and has three annual
fairs and also a charity school for twelve poor boys. That of St. Thomas, or
Newport, is a small, but antique building, the date of its foundation being
uncertain ; in its vicinity are several very old dwelling-houses. The inhabitants
nominate their own perpetual curate. The church of St. Stephen is a
structure of the sixteenth century, having a gothic tower of uncommon elegance.
Its predecessor was made collegiate before the Conquest.
The market, once held near St. Stephen's church, was removed to Laun-
ceston by King John, to whom the inhabitants subsequently paid five marks
for the removal of the holding from Sunday to Thursday. In more recent
times it has been held on Saturday ; and is well attended. There can be no
better opportunity of observing the population than upon a market day ; that
of Launceston appeared to be wholly agricultural The farmers seemed to be
a sturdy race ; but the women, neatly habited, exhibited no more than ordi-
nary pretensions to beauty. One must be excepted, possessing attractions of
which she might well be vain. Eyes dark as death, features nicely chiselled and
of uncommon regularity, hair of jet, and a skin of singular clearness, but pale as
a ** white marble image," — ^stamped her as one of whom Italy would be proud.
She was dressed, if not with pure taste, at least becomingly, indicating that
she well understood what was calculated to set her person off to advantage.
There is a character of person belonging to the earlier inhabitants of the county,
or arising from some connexion with other than Saxon "foreigners,'^ which
muBt strike all who scrutinize them with attention. The introduction of the
Saxon breed into Cornwall is evident enough ; but there are many who
exhibit marks of a southern extraction^ in large black eyes, dark hair, and
* Leland.
D
18 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
a swarthy complexion ; perhaps the descendants of settlers from the south
of Spain at a very remote period. So forcibly was Warner struck by this
appearance^ upon his tour into Cornwall thirty years ago, that he pointedly
alludes to the ancient intercourse between the people of Cadiz and Cornwall
as the probable origin of a race so distinct from their feUow-countrymen.
The inhabitants of Cornwall generally are a people of kind and agreeable
manners. During the civil wars of the seventeenth century it was remarked,
that among the Cornish of that time great allowance was made for sentiments
and interests in opposition. One of the justices of the peace is spoken of^ though
*^ in office under the usurping powers," as behaving with great civility to the
distressed cavaliers, to whom he always gave redress when it was just. Of all
the gentry concerned on both sides, except the Arundels, this is related ; that
family, now extinct, once so powerful in the county, was excepted-
The women of Cornwall are handsome, but not particularly fresh coloured ; they
are modest, open and unaffected in manners, free from that constnunt which is
the mark of a want of good breeding, even where intercourse with society has
been by no means of an extensive character ; making correct, as relates to the
Cornish fair, the remark of Queen Elizabeth, respecting the gentlemen of
the county, **That the Cornish gentlemen were all born courtiers with a
becoming confidence." The men are strongly made, and more active than those
of the midland counties of England. It was remarked of the Cornwall militiaj
under Colonel Molesworth, at Chatham, that they stood on more ground than
any other regiment of the same number. They are uncommonly well-set ; their
old habits of hurling and wrestling, as well as of labour without doors, no
doubt contributing to their muscular power. In the history of Cornwall, perhaps
altogether the fabulous history, the Cornish chieftain and hero, Corinseus, was
celebrated for his power in wrestling. We are not told whence his anta-
gonist, the giant Gogmagog, came, but that CorinaBus overthrew him and
flung him into the sea, down what is called the Hoe at Plymouth. Before
Charles II. erected the citadel upon the present site, there were to be seen, cut
out in the turf, the figures of the two combatants wrestling, which, like the
white horse in the chalk, on the Wiltshire Downs, was kept cleared out down
to the limestone from time immemorial In Cornwall the wrestler is never
permitted to kick the shins of his antagonist. Every thing depends upon
main strength. Hurling, now obsolete, was undertaken by two parties, of an
indefinite number on each side, sometimes from two parishes that were rivals
in the game« The ball was a round piece of wood, plated with silver, on which
was engraven a motto in Cornish, " Guare wheag — ^yw guare teag," — or, ** fair
play is good play." The ball was to be caught dexterously in spite of the adverse
party; to carry it off requiring every species of bodily exertion, as well as a quick
sight Mining and fishing, with alternations of cold and wet, are occupations
which harden the body; and of wet from sea or fresh water few Comishmen make
any account The men are generally of the middle stature, and live to be
CORNWALL, 19
old, when not employed in the mines ; or, being employed there, when they do
not add intemperance to the confined nature of their labour. It must be
observed that no hydrogen gas is generated in the Cornish mines. Borlase
mentions a woman in Gwythian parish dying, in 1676, at 164 years old. At
the Lizard Point, the most exposed part of Cornwall, the Rev. Mr. Cole,
minister of Lendewednack, died at 120, and the sexton was above 100 years
of age when he died. Dr. Borlase went, in 1752, to see a man at the Lizard
105 years old, of a florid countenance ; he stood near his door " leaning on his
staff," says the doctor, and said he was weary of life, and "advised us never to
-wish for old age." He died in 1754. In the present century instances are
quoted from 103 to 105 repeatedly ; but the best and most authentic statement
of the agricultural part of the population is that of the Rev. Mr. Trist, of
Veryan parish, on the southern coast, who, upon a range of thirty years, writes
in the present century that the number of persons of 80 years buried in his parish,
averaging 1,220 persons, was one in eight of the deaths ; and that this was a
good criterion for the south-western coast of Cornwall, and was the same as
that of Cumberland ; that the deaths were as one in ninety of the population,
and those who lived above ninety years old were as one to 53 j.*
In Cornwall no coaches travel across the county, but, as in many counties
80 situated, there are gigs to. be hired at one shilling per mile in most of the
smaller towns. The distance from Launceston to Stratton is eighteen miles,
and in this maimer we performed the journey. It may not be out of place
to notice here, that no postHjhaises are kept in Stratton, Padstow, Camelford,
jSt..Cohimbj St. Ives, Looe, Fowey, Tregony, Grampound, Saltash, or Calling-
ton, though all market-towns.
It was early in the morning when we started for Stratton. The air was cool,
the sun, shrouded in clouds, had not yet exhaled the dew ; a heart reviving
freshness was upon herb and tree; millions of crystal globules sparkled
upon leaf and blade; long threads of gossamer or of the garden spider were
exhibited, by being thus empearled, which were invisible at other times. The
branches of the trees and shrubs were festooned with them in glittering chains
of exquisite minuteness, as if they had been the work of the " fairies' midwife,'
while the world was asleep. The road at starting pointed down into a
hollow, through which the Attery wound along, and then ascended towards
St. Stephen's church, which stood on the left-hand side. Upon mounting
this hill, and looking ba^k towards Launceston, the view of the cattle was
highly imposing. There it arose in the stillness of the morning, that wreck of
an unknown age, reared by forgotten hands, dark, lonely —
Majestic 'mid the solitude of time.
1 /•
* This must not be taken as a criterion for the entire county, where 25,000 persons are employed
in the mines ; it must only be considered in relation to a class whose labour is above ground.
^^
20 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Few of the glances of the traveller light upon an object calculated to preserve
a more lasting place in the recollection.*
Soon after turning from the view of this impressive ruin, and leaving
St Stephen's Down upon the left hand, Werrington Park appeared on the
right of the road, a seat belonging to the Duke of Northumberland, who
very rarely, if ever, sojourns there. The house is a very ordinary-looking
mansion, unworthy of the estate. The river Werrington, which crosses the
road, runs through the centre of the park ; and soon aft;er quitting it, and
passing Ham Mill, joins the Tamar. The woods of Werrington are fine, pre-
cisely where their retirement is most inviting. Dark masses of foliage and
intermingled meadows, the beautiful and secluded, though here to be met with
in perfection, seem to be enjoyed by nobody. This estate is partly in Devon,
and partly in Cornwall ; being situated in one of the parishes the civil govern-
ment of which, the land being once their property, the monks of Tavistock
contrived to dispart ftom Cornwall, although the ecclesiastical superintendence
still attaches to that county. The house is within the Devonshire limit.
Boyton, on the left^ at some distance from Bennacot in that parish, once
belonged to the Abbey of Tavistock, and afterwards to Launceston priory.
Bennacot is a poor village, six miles from Launceston, on a part of the road
which discovers nothing of interest. A little way ftirther on, upon the left hand^
are two tumuli, called Wilsworthy Barrows ; and on the rights not far beyond
these, a road turns off to North Tamerton, which lies very near the Tamar.
It contains only three small villages, Venton, Headon, and Alvacot. There
is a dilapidated chapel in this parish. Here, at Northcott, lived Agnes Prest,
the only person who suffered death in the diocese of Exeter, under Bishop
Turberville, during the reign of Queen Mary. The judge who condemned
her, at Launceston, one Stanford, aftierwards handed her over to the ecclesiaB-
tics, who pronoimced her incorrigible ; and she was burned at Exeter.
Whitstone, about eleven miles from Launceston, a little way off west of the
road, lies near some woods, and contains only two hamlets. This parish ia
remarkable for the numerous woodcocks which visit it ; and has been ex-
empted from license by former game acts, the cottagers profiting considerably
by taking these birds. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and has several
monuments of the Hele, and one of the Edgcombe family. A little to the
south-west of Whitstone is the parish of Week St. Mary, and the church-
town,! which in ancient records is called a borough. It contains four small
* De Foe lays tlie scene of one of his ghost stories in Launceston or its neighbourhood ; told with
so much of the simplicity of truth, that it is difficult to believe the tale is not, as novel writers say,
*' founded in fact*' We thought it was possible, as fields do not change names for centuries, to find if
there was one called the ** Quartill ;*' and whether a clergyman named ** Ruddle" had ever officiated
in Launceston. No one of the name had been an incumbent there for 200 years past, at least in
St. Mary's church. On reperusing the story, we found the writer does not make Launceston town the
scene, but the vicinity.
t Wherever a cluster of houses stands near a parish church in the country, in Cornwall it always
receives the appropriate name of a church-town j as " Week St Mary church-town." By this it is
CORNWALL. 21
villages, and has two annual fairs for cattle. There was once a castle here, the
mound of which still remains, and is called Castle Hill ; there are also traces
of extensive buildings. There is in this parish a charity and a grammar
school, founded, in the time of Henry VIH., by Thomasina Perceval, who was
a native of the place ; and who endowed it with lodgings for masters, and 20L
of revenue paid annually. Carew, in his Survey of Cornwall, says that many
of the sons of the best gentlemen of Devon and Cornwall were educated at
this school, imder one Cholwell, an honest and religious teacher. It would
appear that the school was ruined by the statute of Edward YX for the sup-
pression of chanteries; or, in other words, for the offence of having been
founded un^er the ancient religion of the country. Most likely, in this case,
the object of the suppression waa some private profit, for which the act was
made the cover; or else foundations of the like character, now in existence,
would have been destroyed with it Thomasina Bonaventura, or Bonaventure,
became afterwards Dame Perceval ; her history might do well for a romance.
It is said that her maiden name was Bonaventure, and that when a girl she
kept sheep upon the moor of Week St, Mary. A London merchant, who
happened to be travelling that way, saw her ; and observing something about
her which pleased him, begged her of her poor parents, and took her to
London. The wife of the merchant dying, her master was so taken with
her comeliness ^' and her good thewes,'' say the historians of the day, that
he married her, and left ner a rich widow. She married a second husband,
and was a second time left a widow. A third time she married a Sir John
Perceval, who was Lord Mayor of London ; and outliving him, she retired to
her native parish, and employed her fortune in useful purposes. She repaired
highways, built bridges, endowed maidens, released prisoners, and clothed the
poor. Li her will, which is extant, dated 1512, it is found that her first
husband's name was Thomas Bumsby. She bequeaths legacies to a brother ; and
makes a '^cousin" named Dinham, who married her sister's daughter, legatee,
leaving to him the care of her granmiar school To the vicar of Liskeard she
leaves a gilt goblet, to remind him to pray for her ; and twenty marks towards
building the church of St. Stephen, at Laimceston.
The road now ran parallel with the Bude canal and the Tamar, for some
distance ; and then crossing the canal to the westward, — a little distance fi-om
where a branch goes off to Holsworthy in Devonshire, — and passing over the
Tamar by an aqueduct bridge, a mile and a half further to the north or north-
east, passes on to Kilkhampton and Moorwinstow, while a branch turns ofl
westward to Stratton, between Marhamchurch and Launcels. Marhamchurch
parish contains only a few farm-houses, besides the church-town, and is two
miles from Stratton. Launcels lies in a sequestered nook, with trees around
distingnuhed from a market-town, as Bodmin or Tmro, and villages eqoally large having a similar
name, but no church. An open space before a house is called a " town- place/* in contradistinction to
a back yard, or backlet, which \b behind a dwelling
/ '
V ■»
22 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
it, — ^a deliglitful seclufiion for those weary of the bustle of the world. It con-
tarns three hamlets — Grimscot, Canorchard, and Hesham. It was once a cell
of Austin canons, and belonged to the Chamond fanulj ; the founder of which
was knighted at the holy sepulchre ; and his son, a justice here for sixty years,
was uncle and greatr-uncle to 300 persons. The monument of the last of this
family bears date 1624, and yet stands in the church. Tre Yeo house, in this
parish, once belonged to the ancient family of Yeo; and a small almshouse
here is said to have been founded by one of the Chamond family. Launcels
is remarkable, according to Borlase, for a breed of snakes different irojn any in
the west of the county, and from the viper and the slow worm, both of which
are very common in Cornwall ; it grows to between four and five feet long.
*'The country people," says this writer, " have remarked two sorts of them ;
one has a white garland round its neck, with a sharp tail like the point of
a rush ; the other a yellow garland, with a more obtuse taiL"
The road into Stratton from Launcels church-town, about a mile, is a descent.
The town is small, but agreeably situated in a valley, or rather glen, within
the manor of Binamy and Stratton, which once belonged to the infamous chief-
justice Tresilian. It has a market on Thursday, and three annual fairs. The
church, which like most of the Cornish churches has a very neat tower, is
dedicated to St Andrew. There are lands for the use of the poor, pro-
ducing altogether 113/. 13«. 4c?, annually. The church has a legacy of
53/. 58. in land; and here is a donation for educating twenty-five poor
children. A monthly petty sessions is held in the town. The charity estates
are managed by eight trustees, called the *^ eight men." One Avery, a school-
master, who died in 1691, being of *^the eight," having recovered some lost
or abused benefaction, was honoured with a most flattering epitaph,* still to
be seen in the church. There are several ancient monuments here ; one of a
* Thif epitaph U in triplets : —
'* Near by this place interr'd does lie.
One of * the eight,' whose memory
Will last and fragrant be to all posterity.
He did reyive the stock and store ;
He built the almshouse for the poor ;
Managed so well was the revenue ne'er before.
The church he loved and beautified,
His highest glory and his pride ;
The sacred altar shews his private zeal beside.
A book he left, for all to view
The accounts which are both just and true,
His own discharge, and a good precedent for you.
Be silent then of him who's gone ;
Touch not, I mean, an imperfection.
For he a pardon has from the Almighty throne.
Look to your ways, each to his trust ;
That when you thus are laid in dust.
Your actions may appear as righteous and as just !"
cohnwalih 23
knight, hie name unknown, dressed in full armour, eupposed to he intended
for H&lph de Blanchminster. John Arundel, who died 1561, is also com-
memorated by a monument. In the register there is an account of die death
of Elizabeth Cornish, widow, who died in her 114th year, in 1691, having
been bom in 1578.
The principal inn in Stratton is the " Aah Tree," and let into the wall in
its front is a tablet in old Bpelling, to the following effect : " In this place the
army of the rebels, under the command of the Earl of Stamford, received
a signal overthrow, by the valour of Sir BeviUe Granville and the ComiBh
army, on Tuesday the 16th of May, 1643." The hill upon which this battle
was fought lies on the north of Stratton, sheltering the town in that direction.
It is in the parish of Poughill, the church of which is only about a mile
north of the town. The hill is called Stamford Hill, and runs north and
south. A path from the southward runs over it longitudinally. The en-
graving shows the west
front of the hilL The farm,
on the left hand of the
Bununit, lay below where
the left of the parliament
army stood when drawn up
in order of battle.
This hill lies to the right of the lane leading to Bude Haven ; by which last
route it may be visited, though somewhat circuitously ; the western ascent
is not very steep ; on the east the ascent is steep and impracticable. The
position, with artillery and common resolution in its defence, appears very
strong. Over the western ude of the hill, the earthen mounds of the bat-
teries may even yet be seen from below, behind the hedge-row, which stands
parallel with the front of the line occupied by the parliamentary forces. It is
probable that the Earl of Stamford was surprised by an attack on his front
and fianks at the same time ; for his rear could not be assiuled, owing to the
nature of the ground. The artillery seems to have been placed in the centre of
the line, disposed solely to resist any attack in front. The ascent on the flanks is
not more difficult than in front, the hill being of the nature of a ridge, offering
httle width in the section; and consequently requiring but a small body of
troops abreast either to attack or defend them. Clarendon says, in effect, that
the royal army attacked in front, flanks, and rear, four places at once, which
could not have been the case; but tradition states that two detached parties
attacked the flanks of die parliamentary forces unexpectedly, while it is probable
that the front attack was made in two columns. In this way the mode can
be comprehended, which otherwise seems, from the nature of the ground occu-
pied, to have been impossible. It is likely that the Jacobite historian did not
trouble himself upon being verbally correct, if, as in many cases, he could
colour things afler his own way. Here the result was plmu enough, and the
24 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
lapse of- valour on the side of the Ekrl of Stamford and his troops, but too
evident ; for, with 4,000 men, and thirteen pieces of artillery, had a defence
commonly firm been made, an inferior force, if successful, must have suffered
great loBS.
Stratton is said to have been once celebrated for the garlick grown in the
vicinity. The manor belongs to Lord Carteret, together with that of Kilk-
hampton. After becoming the property of the Chief-Justice Tresilian,
Stratton and Binamy passed, in 1463, to the powerful Cornish family of
Arundel, who lived at Efford, near the town. The Granvilles afterwards
obtEuned possession of them by purchase.
Upon going some way down the lane already mentioned as passing from
, ^ , ', ' Stratton to Bude Haven, a stile leads across the fields on the left hand, to a
J path somewhat shorter. It is much incumbered with sand blown up from
the sea-shore, between the precipitous headlands which lie north and south of
the little port The sea is not seen for a considerable part of the way fivm
Stratton to Bude, though very near, the view being obetructed by the height
of the land on the north ; in which direction, but a little more east, the
church of Foughill is visible.
Bude, a mile and a half from Stratton, is a place of recent ori^n ; the
houses stand on both sides of the port and canal, being almost all new.
Those upon the north-east side, towards Stratton, are represented in this
view, taken from the front of the Falcon Hotel A range of buildings very
similar stands on the west The port opens upon the sea westwards, and is
itself much encumbered with sand.
Some of the headlands on this part of the coast are of a great height ; that
of Hennacliff, north of Bude, is said to be 450 feet. The grandeur of many
of their cliffs is overwhelming. It requires a strong head to approach their
veige, and look down upon the waves breaking at their feet. Between two
of very moderate elevation there lies a beach, where sand drifts are perceptible
some way up the hollow ; this is the haven of Bude, down which a small stream
once ran, which is now absorbed in the canal navigation, already alluded to
when passing it further up the country. One sand-hill is heaped across the
valley, sheltering the town, immediately within which stands the house of
Mr. Gumey, the inventor of the Bude light, having at one end a sort of tuiTet>
CORNWALL. 25
the summit of which is Tiei-
ble to the seaward, and is "■ ■, ^
evidently intended to hold /-'■'"■ -" ' ""
a light to direct Tcssels off j"
the harbour, though we saw
no light displayed. The -^ '•
sandy bay which forms the
entrance to the haven, must
be fearfully exposed to the
wintry storms. Some way
within, a ba«in has been
made for small vessels to
enter the canal. Those
which visit the haven are
under a hundred tons bur-
then; several of ninety tons
have been built in the port.
Sea-sand is carried from Bude, in halves, twenty or thirty miles into Devon-
shire and Cornwall ; cod and limestone are also imported from Wales, and
sent by the same conveyance; and wood, bark, and oats, are exported in
return. This canal is carried for a few miles from the coast nearly due east ;
it there divides, — one branch going to the northward, crossing the Tamar,
entering the hundred of Black Torrington, and terminating at Blagdon Moor,
in Devonshire; the other keeping nearly a parallel course with the river
Tamar, and terminating near Launceston.
Bude is a bathing-place, where retirement and quiet may be found in a
degree seldom experienced in the anomalous towns generally so styled. Yet
even Bude has its petty bustle, like its more renowned brethren. The inn was
full, — no beds could be had in the house ; but they could be procured out, was
the reply to an application for that first and last of human necessities. Here
there was no crowded promenade, scarcely a solitary wanderer was seen on
sand or cliff. Fashion seemed to have introduced none of its fooleries ; and if
without them a Uttle thriving new-built place of the kind be not intolerable
to ears polito, — if the absence of that medley of polished lassitude and vulgar
assumption, which is the prominent mark of such places in general, can be
spared, — though "out of the world," Bude may have some claim to attention.
The western breezes come in pure from the Atlantic; and the pestilent east
wind is unfelt, the port being sheltered by lofty hills. It must still be ad-
mitted that pretension, — the sin of ignorance and the taint of English society, —
was budding here. This judgment we formed from a sentence which dropped
from a wMter at the hotel — a female, as many of the winters are in Com-
walL The bell was rung : —
" Did you ring. Sir V
26 ENOLAND IN THE NISETEENTU CESTURY.
" A little water ; there is none in the tea-pot"
" Yes, sir."
" Can't you bring in a tea-kettle ?"
" The urn is coming, sir ; we don't use tea-kettles, like the Stratton people,"
with a alight flourish of the head. There was something unpromising in this
remark, — this incipient effort to be exclusive, — it was not a good omen.
Stratton was an ancient town when Bude was a eand-bank.
" I shall be obliged for some toast, Mary ; but perhaps the Stratton ])eople
only eat toast ?"
" Yes, Sir," replied Mary, blushing as if she felt the reproof^ and going out of
the room, afYer the toast.
*' They do that at Stratton," may in future serve for a ^be at any thing
done out of the mode.
Bude has a neat
modem chapel, erected
on the west side of the
town, near the prome-
nade by the entrance
of the harbour, calcu-
lated to hold a consi-
derable number of per-
sons. The annexed is
a representation of it.
The parish church of
Bude is that of Strat-
ton.
Leaving the chapel
upon the lefl, and
going onwards to the
rocks at the entrance
of the basin, and then ascending the cliff on the same side, one of the most
extensive sea^views in England, from a similar altitude, comes at once
into view. Beneath, on the right>-hand, or north, are the sands and haven ;
beyond which, bendland succeeds headland all the way up to Harthmd Point,
in Devonshire, precipitous, rocky, lof^y, and tempest-beaten. Immediately in
front, and of a purple tint, upon a sea at that moment intensely blue, lay
Lundy Island, about eight lei^ues distant, and of a form remarkably even.
It appeared to consist of table-land. On the south, headland after headland
stretehed away in magnificent perspective, continually diminishing, to that
which lying most distant shot far out into the sea, and was little more than a
dark line of purple, melting into the cerulean tint of mr and ocean. The
nearest bay was the expanse appropriately enough called Widemouth Bay, a
concave continued as far as Dazard Point, which rises 550 feet above the sea.
CORNWALL. 27
This bay is about six miles across; the shore bordered with cliffs of dark
craggy slate, time-rent, and scooped or shivered into every form by the fury
of the tempestuous waves. Here and there small portions of sand appeared
at half-tide. Near the Dazard the headlands plunged down precipitously into
the ocean depths, over which they cast a deep shadow.
The slate strata here are in many places strangely shaken, bent, and twisted.
They are not merely shattered, but driven to an upward direction in some
instances, as if the plane surface they presented had been bent at an acute angle
upwards; and in many cases, from not being fractured under the change
they have undergone, they give the idea of their having been suflBciently
plastic to adopt a given figure, a character so opposite to their shaly nature.
The turf over these cliffs abounds in the camomile flower ; imparting to the
air a very agreeable fragrance.
The slate rock upon this coast grows rather more compact to the westward,
and passes into other strata in some parts of the county, a little differing
in character, and sometimes traversed by veins of a different date. On the
northern side of the granite formation, as in the present case, the dip of the
strata is north-east, or nearly so ; while, on the southern side of the granite,
the dip is south-east, under an angle of about 70®.
Betuming to Stratton, and proceeding northwards three miles and a half,
the fine old church of Kilkhampton rises in an open country. This edifice
was erected many centuries ago, by one of the Granville family, whose seat at
Stow, pulled down in 1720, had been the residence of that family ever since
the Conquest. John Granville, son of Sir Seville Granville, killed at the
battle of Lansdown, residing at Stow, was made Baron Granville, of Kilkhamp-
ton, in Cornwall, Biddeford, in Devonshire, Viscount Granville of Lansdown,
and Earl of Bath ; he was succeeded by his son Charles, whose son William
Henry was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistoL The son of the
last, who was named also William Henry, died in 1711 ; when the earldom
and inferior titles became extinct. The title of Marquis of Lansdown, which
was conferred upon the grandson of Sir Beville Granville, also became extinct
by the death of George Granville, who died without issue, in 1734. The late
Duke of Sutherland, and Lord Foley, were connected with this family by the
female line, and became possessors of some of the estates ; one of the females
having married a Gower, and another a Foley, of Stoke, Herefordshire. Stow
was rebuilt by John Granville, in the reign of Charles H., and was one of the
finest residences of the English nobility. It stood on the brink of a Well-
wooded valley, itself wholly unsheltered. The kitchen offices were so exten-
sive that they made a fine dwelling house. This mansion was pulled to pieces
and sold in 1720. The wainscoting of cedar was bought by Lord Cobham,
and used at Stowe, in Buckinghamshire, to adorn the seat of his family at
that place.
28 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTU CENTURY.
The church of Kilkhampton, beBides the beauty of the architecture, ia noted
for several monumental inscriptions, and for being the place where the pioua
Hervey conceived and wrote his " Medi-
tations among the Tombs." It is an
elegant and light structure, some parte of
which are of lugher antiquity than others.
The tower is a fine square building, re-
nmrkably neat and simple in its parte
and proportions. At the south entrance
is tliis door, ornamented in the Anglo-
Norman style, with ^gzag cornices.
The interior consists of three aisles,
the arches of which are sustained by
pillars of slender but elegant propor-
tion. An ancient font is exhibited
here ; and the pulpit is well worthy the
inspection of the curious, for its finely
carved workmanship. The tomb of Sir
Beville Granville, who was killed at the
battle of LansdowD, was erected la
1714, by Geoi^ Granville, Marquis of
Lansdown, Sir Seville's grandchild by
his second son. It is a pompous afiair,
after the fashion of what is called the "Augustan age" of England. " Gun,
drum, trumpet, blunderbuss, and thunder," are copiously dealt out by the
sculptor in the way of ornamental trophy. The inscription is as follows: —
" Here lies all that was mortal of the most noble and truly valiant Sir Beville
Granville, of Stow, in the county of Cornwall, Earl of Corbill, and Lord of
Thorigny and Granville, in Normandy ; descended in a direct line from Robert,
second son of the warlike Rollo, first duke of Normandy, who, after having
obtjuned divers signal victories over the rebels in the West, was at length slain,
with many wounds, at the battle of Lansdown, July 5, 1643. He married
the most virtuous lady, Grace, daughter of Sir George Smith, of the county
of Devon, by whom he had many sons, eminent for their loyalty and firm
adherence to the crown and church; and several daughters, remarkable ex-
amples of true piety. He was indeed an excellent person, whose activity,
interest and reputation were the foundation of what had been done in Corn-
wall; his temper and afiectioos bo public, that no accident which happened
could make any impression upon him ; and his example kept others from taking
any thing ill, or at least seeming to do so. In a word, a higher courage, and
a gentler disposition, were never married together to make the most dieerfiil
and innocent conversation.
CORNWALL. 29
" TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORT OF HIS RENOWNED GRANDFATHER,
THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED,
BT THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE LORD LANSDOWN,
TREASURER OF THE HOUSEHOLD TO QUEEN ANNE,
AND ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVT COUNCIL| &C.
IN THE TEAR 1714.
*' ' Thus slain, thy yaUant ancestor* did lie.
When his one bark a navy did defy ;
When now encompass'd roond, the victor stood,
And bathed his pinnace in his conquering blood ;
Till all his pnrple current dried and spent.
He fell, and made the waves his monument*
Martin Llewellyn."!
Kilkhampton was anciently a market-town^ proved bj the quo warranto
roll of 1301. It has still three considerable cattle fairs ; and is supposed to
have been the property of the Granvilles from the conquest. That family
becoming extinct, the Kilkhampton estate passed, by the female line, to Lord
Carteret.
Moorwinstow, six miles north of Stratton, is the most northerly parish in
Cornwall, situated in a bare coimtry ; the coast scenery is particularly grand.
* Sir Bichard Granville, who lost his life off Teroeira, in 1591 :— "* The ISth of September, the
said armada (Spanish fleet) arrived at the island of Flores ; where the Englishmen with about sixteen
ships then lay, staying for the Spanish fleet ; whereof some, or the most part, were come ; and there
the English were in good hope to have taken thenu But when they perceived the king's army to be
strong, the admiral, being the Lord Thomas Howard, commanded his fleet not to fall upon them, nor
any of them once to separate their ships from him, unless he gave commission so to do. Notwith-
standing, the vice-admiral. Sir Richard Granville, being in the ship called the Revenge^ went into the
Spanish fleet, and shot among them, doing them great hurt ; and thinking the rest of the company
would have followed, which they did not, but left him there, and sailed away ; the cause why could
not be known. Which the Spaniards perceiving, with seven or eight ships they boarded her ; but
she withstood them all, fighting with them at least twelve hours together, and sunk two of them, one
being a new double flie boat of 600 tons, and admiral of the flie boats, the other a Biscain. But in
the end, by reason of the number that came upon her, she was taken, but to their great loss ; for they
had lost, in fighting and by drowning, about 400 men ; and of the English were slain 100, — Sir Richard
Granville himself being wounded in his brain, whereof afterwards he died. He was carried into the
ship called St Paul's, wherein was the admiral of the fleet, Don Alonso de Bacan ; there his wounds
were dressed by the Spanish surgeons ; but Don Alonso himself would neither see him nor speak
with him. All the rest of the captains and gentlemen went to visit him, and to comfort him in his
hard fortune ; wondering at his courage and stout heart, for he showed not any sign of faintness, nor
changing of colour ; but feeling the hour of death to approach, he spake these words in Spanish, and
said : ' Here die I, Richard Granville, with a joyful and quiet mind, for that I have ended my life as
a true soldier ought to do, that hath fought for his country, queene, religion, and honour ; whereby
my soul most joyful departeth out of this body, and shall always leave behind it an everlasting fiime
of a valiant and true soldier that hath done his duty as he was bound.' When he had finished these,
or such other like words, he gave up the ghost with great and stout courage ; and no man could per-
ceive any true sign of heaviness in hiuL" — Hacklvyfs Voyages,
t See ** Oxford University Verses," 1643. A coUection of verses on the death of Sir Beville, printed
in 1643 and 1684, by the University of Oxford. Llewellyn was a poet and physician ; he died at
High Wycombe, in 1682.
30 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
There are no less than seven small villages or hamlets in this parish ; in which
also rises the river Tamar. The church of Moorwinstow belonged to the
hospital of Bridgwater, in 1290, and is neither remarkable for its architecture
nor its monuments. Some of the Copplestone family, once of note in the
neighbourhood, — extinct in 1611, — are buried within its precincts.
Betuming to Stratton and Bude, and from thence proceeding towards
Boscastle, about six miles on the road, at a little distance off, lies the church-
town of Poundstock ; here is also a village, called Tregoll. In the church
are some monuments of the family of Trebarfoot, extinct in 1630, that had a
seat and large possessions here. Jacobstow, about ten miles from Stratton, is
a parish remarkable only for containing the barton of Berry Court, a moated
site, the history of which is unknown ; and for having given birth to Digory
Wheare, in 1573, who published a life of Camden, a treatise on reading
history, and several other works. Jacobstow is three miles from St Gennis ;
which last church-town is not more than two miles from the Dazard Head, and
about the same distance from Cambeak, a headland jutting some way into the
ocean, and forming the west point of Tremoutha Haven. There are four small
villages in the parish of St. Gennis. In the church, is a memorial of Captain
William Beaddon, who died in 1694; he was a member of the parliament of
1658. His epitaph makes him both gown and swordsman.
The distance from Stratton to Boscastle is seventeen miles. The coast con-
sists of dreary and rugged promontories, with hollows and sandy beaches
between. High Cliff, within four miles of Boscastle, rises 785 feet The
scream of the sea-bird, and roaring of the waves, are the only sounds heard.
Here the blue expanse of ocean and sky, spread out above and beneath, pre-
sented a picture, —
boundless, endless, and sublime,
The image of eternity!
About five miles from Boscastle the track lies over a desolate heath, called
Tresparrot Down, 850 feet above the sea ; the whole way to Boscastle being
a rapid descent The elevation makes the rough land below appear like a level
surface. Promontory after promontory stretches away to the west of Tintagel
Head, seemingly of no elevation at alL The prospect is one of naked, wild,
solitary grandeur. At length we approach a deep ravine, over the south-
western brow of which appears the low tower of a pigmy church. Upon this
part of the road we noticed several shaggy looking goats, the appearance of
which, with their long coats and grave beards, hanging upon the ledges of the
precipices, added much to the picturesque character of the scenery.
Our descent continued at a speed none but a Cornish horse and driver would
have dared over such a road. Near the bottom were some houses ; and the roar
of the sea was heard in a small creek upon the right hand, between precipitous
rocks. Here we came upon an elbow in the gorge, passing which the road rose
agfdn rapidly. On one side, a stream turned a mill in a narrow cranny, just
CORNWALL. 31
leaving room enough for the carriage, which wound toilsomely up hill. A
road, excavated in the slate rock, diverged to the right hand, some way
towards the top. The ravine now widened considerably ; in front appeared a
mound, upon which once stood the keep of a castle : it was crowned with a
few mean cottages, while above these, enclosed in the expanding mouth of the
ravine, rose the little town of Boscaatle, or, more correctly, Bottreaux castle,
the lords of which had once their baronial dweUing here. " The Lord
Bottreaux," says an old writer of the time of Henry VIIL" " was lord of this
town, a man of old Cornish lineage." The same writer then observes, " that
in hia time the castle was of small reputation," and as it was unworthy the
name of a castle, the people called it "the Court:" more unworthy at pre-
sent, there is no other rehc of the race than this neglected grassy mound, likely
enough to pass unnoticed by a stranger.
The site of Boscastle is romantic beyond all idea. There is an inn, called
" The Bobin," homely, but clean and neat, and, as everywhere in Cornwall,
right hospitable to the stranger. No situation can more forcibly impress the
mind with its absence from what is called " the world," in all shapes. Every-
thing seemed in repose ; even names bore relation to it, for over the first door
we saw was, " Francis Sleep, hosier" in large letters. There is an utter desti-
tution of trees, except fruit trees, in the gardens, which exhibited a good deal
of produce. With wood to shadow the goi^es of the hills, no spot in the
world could be more calculated for philosophic retirement.
A road has been already mentioned as turning off to the right hand, some way
up the ascent of the hill towards the town. Descending the crooked but only
street in the place, and
taking this road, which
ascends but for a Uttle
distance, a small spot
of plain ground opens,
upon which stands a '
low and humble, but
strongly built church.
This is the church of
Forrabury, or Bot-
treaux, with its silent
tower, from whence the
meny peal has never
been heard to break
upon mortal ear.
There is a story told upon this want of accustomed parochial harmony,
which many of the people sincerely credit, and always connect with any
informatbn about the church of Bottreaux, with which they entertain the
32 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
stranger. After Bottreaux church was erected, or more correctly Forrabury,
for Bottreaux town, small: as it is, belongs to two parishes, it was considered
that no country church could be complete and orthodox without an harmonious
peal of bells. Those of Tintagel were particularly musical, and within hearing
when the wind blew towards Bottreaux ; but this was not enough. The bells,
which some said had tolled for king Arthur as he was borne a corpse from the
field of blood near Camelford to Tintagel, and again as he was borne away
from his native castle to be interred at Glastonbury, were not the bells of
Bottreaux, but altogether aliens to that place ; so they determined to have as
choice a peal as money would procure* The Lord de Bottreaux, who had
vast possessions, was then residing in the castle, and subscribed largely
towards the purchase for the benefit of his soul, — lords being, in those good old
days, as careful of their souls as persons less loftily bom. An order was
sent to London for the bells, to a founder of great reputation. There they
were made, and despatched by sea, having been previously blessed, it is pre-
sumed from the sequel, by some most exemplary dignitary of the hierarchy.
The peal, thus shipped, had a prosperous voyage until the vessel came into the
bay opposite Bottreaux, when Tintagel bells were ** swinging slow with
sullen roar," and the sound boomed along the waves to the ear of the pilot,
who was steering the ship at the time. The pilot was pleased with the sound
of his native bells, and thanked God that evening he should be on shore.
Thank the ship, you fool," said the captain, " thank God jipon shore."
Nay," said the pilot, " we should thank God everywhere."
Go to ; thou art a fool, I tell thee," said the captain; " thank thyself and
a steady helm."
This strain was continued for some time ; the captain jeered the pilot, and
the pilot soberly maintained that it was the duty of all to thank God on sea or
land, much more as the sea was a place of danger. The captain at last waxed
choleric, and swore most sinful oaths and blasphemies, as searcaptains were
wont to do in those times. The ship, in the meanwhile, was in sight of the
tower that only lacked the bells to be a fair rival of TintageL The people
were on the cliffs, and above all upon that named Willapark Point, overlooking
the rocky gulph called the Black Pit, in expectation of soon receiving the
precious freight. But the captain was not to go unpunished. The wind rose
rapidly, and blew furiously from the west ; nearer and nearer drove the vessel
into the bay, and, when not a mile from the church tower, which was fiill
in view, a monstrous sea struck her, she gave a lurch to port, and went down,
bells and all. The pilot, who could swim, was taken up by a daring fisherman,
who ventured to his assistance. The storm raged with tremendous fury, and
the clang of the bells was distinctly heard, duU as if muffled by the waves,
through which the sound rose out of the ocean depths in solemn toUings, at
intervals, clearly distinguishable from the roar of the winds and waves. The
sound continues still to be heard during the frequent tempests that assail that
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CORNWALL. 33
part of the coast, as it was heard at the hour when Bottreaux bells were
engulphed beneath the ocean. The tower to this day has no bells^ and more
useful to the living is its silence, with the recollection of the cause, than the
most harmonious chimes.
The Rev. Mr. Hawker, of North Tamerton, has noticed this story in liis
verses, entitled " The Silent Tower of Bottreaux." We take the liberty of
inserting a few stanzas.
** The ship rode down, with Worses free,
The daughter of a distant sea.
Her sheet was loose, her anchor stored.
The merry Bottreaux bells on board —
* Gome to thy God in time !'
Rung out Tintagel's chime —
* Youth, manhood, old age, past.
Come to thy God at last !'
" The Pilot heard his native bells.
Hang on the breeze in fitful swells ;
* Thank God !' with reyerent brow he cried,
' We make the shore with evening's tide.'
' Come to thy God in time !*
It was his marriage chime ;
Youth, manhood, old age, past.
His bell must ring at last !
** * Thank God, thou whining knave, on land.
But thank at sea the steersman's hand,* —
The Captain's voice above the gale —
* Thank the good ship and ready sail/
* Come to thy God in time !'
Sad grew the boding chime ;
' Come to thy God at last !'
Boom*d heavy on the blast
** Uprose that sea, as if it heard
The mighty Master's signal word ;
What thrills the Captain's whitening lip.
The death-groans of his sinking ship.
*■ Come to thy God in time I'
Swung deep the funeral chime —
* Grace ! Mercy I Kindness past.
Come to thy God at last !'
" Still when the storm of Bottreaux's waves
Is waking in his weedy caves,
Those bells, that sullen surges hide,
Peal their deep tones beneath the tide ; —
* Come to thy God in time I'
Thus saith the ocean chime ;
Storm, billow, whirlwind, past,
* Come to thy God at last !' "
Part of the town of Boscastle is in Forrabury parish; the other part is in
Alinster. There are only two or three cottages in Forrabury, besides the
34 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
houses of Boscaatle. The pariah constitutes a rectory with that of Minster.
Boscaatle is five milea from Camelford, and three from Bossinny, or TintageL
Bottreaux church,' it is seen, stands very near the sea, or rather the formid-
able cliifB which bound its wild and raging waters. Just beyond the inclosure
which limits the petty dom^n wherein the weary of this romantic little town
take their final rest, there is a small field; at the time of our visit radiant with
the golden hues of harvest, even to the verge of the cliffs. On the left,
circling inwards, there is a gloomy abyss, at the bottom of which the waves
break into foam upon black and jagged slate rocks. It is very appropriately
called the Black Fit; like—
" Dreod Malgeliolge, all engnlph'd in rock,
Of hue ferroginoiui "|
Upon the right of this fearful-looking place the land rises rapidly, and pushes
out some distance into the sea, terminating in a peqwndicular descent, and
a precipice so much loftier than the di^ of the Black Pit as the ascent is
higher. The summit bears the remnant of an old tower. This is called Willar
park Point, and the view from its shattered widls is truly sublime, but not
unaccompanied with fearfidness when the dizzy precipice, but a few paces off,
meets the sight, and perpe-
tually draws it away from
surveying the surrounding
scene, by the involuntary ap-
prehension of danger. The
choughs,! with their Vermil-
lion legs, beaks, and jetty
feathers, fly sportively along
the face of the rocks, scarce
" as gross as beetles."
The Hne of sea terminates northwards in headlands succeeding each other
in various altitudes and forms. They are all dark, ru^ed, and precipitous.
Beyond the Bkck Pit, after the curve in the shore made by that gloomy
ocean inlet, in which the waves couUnually boil and fret, a rocky point goes
down to the sea level, the sides nearly perpendicular, and here, where it may
almost be said that —
- The diiiy eye
inhere to the memory of the laic Rev, Mr. Cotton »nd hii wife:-
" Forty-nioe yean they IWed man and wife,
And what's more rare. eO many without strife ;
She first departing, he a few weeks tried
To lire without her, could not, and he died."
; The Cortiisb daw.
the green hue of the deep water continuing close beneath, — here, in a dan-
gerous and fearful place, is a slate-quarrj, the stone from which has to be
hauled up to the summit of
the hill. Beyond this, oppo-
eite two headlands of great
elevation and steepness, a
couple of solitary rocks rise
out of the sea, contributing
to the grandeur of the scene,
and breaking the waves as
they roll In upon the m^n
land. Just over one of these
headlands appears the soli-
tary tower of Bossinny, or
Tintagel Church.
The distance from Boscastle to Tintagel is three miles, the road unrelieved
by one interesting object upon the wayside. Inhospitable and barren, even
the heath seems poorer than in other districts of Uie county. There is a
hollow in the hills, or more property a deep gully, down which flows a name-
less stream of water, not far from the public road. In a Assure between the
rocks this stream falls in a cascade, called St. Nighton's Keive by the people
of the vicinity. The place being out of the
path of the prevalent winds, brushwood and
furze spring up around sufficiently to improve
the appearance of the fall ; and on the rock,
I just where the water pitches down, there are
four walls covered with vegetation, the roofless
remnant of the abode of some hermit in times
gone by, who resided there to pray for the
) souls of shipwrecked mariners, at least this is
' the supposition.
' The inhabitants of the neighbourhood have
another tale about this place, which, if there be
truth in the tradition, would only go to prove
that the building had received other tenants
after its first occupant was no more. Two
ancient ladies, of whom nothing was known,
and whose accent showed them to be strangers
- to Cornwall, made their appearance on a sudden
at the fall, and took up their abode in the building. Their dress showed that they
were persons of good quality. They sought seclusion only, and took nothing
but food from those who inhabited the neighbourhood, ever seeming anxious
to attract as little notice as possible. There they lived a good while, until the
36 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
hand of death fell upon one of them^ when both were advanced in years ; but
even then no elucidation of the mystery of their identity took place^ their
history remaining a secret as before. The survivor was observed to pass her
time in weeping. She grew thin and gaunt from the indulgence of her sor-
row, which remained without mitigation until she was reduced to a skeleton*
At last she was found dead, her grey head resting upon her bony and shrunken
hand, stretched upon the place where she had been seen to sit and waste away
her hours in sorrow. Who the strangers were remains still covered with the
same impenetrable secrecy. Nothing was found which gave a clue to their
previous station in life, and they passed away from existence nameless as the
stream which falls beneath their secluded abode.
The sea is on the right hand the whole distance to Tintagel. At one time,
seen over a steep headland brow, it comes full upon the view; at another,
through the hill hollows. We never lose the line " where its blue glories melt
into the pole," the view amply repaying the barrenness of the land prospect.
Tintagel is properly the name of the precipitous and rugged headland upon
which the ruins of the castle stand which is said to have given birth to
King Arthur. The town is a mile distant, called also Bossinny, or Trevena,
to which vulgar usage has added that of Tintagel, after the castle. It is now
disfranchised, but, before the Reform Act, returned two members to parlia-
ment, elected by only five or six persons. Leland calls it Bossinny, and says
that, in his time, (that of Henry VIII.), though only a fishing-town, it had
great privileges, and tliat there were the ruins of a great number of houses
about it ; clearly indicating its former consequence. Bossinny is now a very
poor and miserable place, consisting of half a dozen houses, scarcely worthy
the name of a hamlet. The entire parish contains but 1,000 inhabitants. The
church formerly belonged to the abbey of Fontevrault, in Normandy, and was
afterwards given by Edward IV. to the collegiate church at Windsor, the
dean and chapter of which attach all the great tithes, and are patrons of
the living. It is a vicarage, valued in the Liber Regis at 8/. 11*. 2d. There
is a charity-school here, the master of which has 10/. per annum from the cor-
poration. Whatever might have been the consequence or extent of Bossinny
in times past human memory, it is now solely visited for its relation to the
castle, the reputed birth-place of King Arthur. Some have cast doubts upon
the existence of such a personage at all, but the Chancellor Bacon's opinion
upon the point is entitled to some weight, when he says there is truth enough
in his history to make him famous, omitting what is fabulous. Upon the
other side, it may be observed that [Milton does not seem to have strong faith
in the existence of Arthur, judging from his history. But in the traditions of
this part of the country King Arthur is stiU fresh in renown. Going fix)m
Bossinny towards the sea, upon a bold precipitous projection on the main land^
not less than 200 feet high, the first ruins of this far-famed fortress are seen,
and across a chasm of fearful depth a second portion, as if the headland had
CORNWALL. 37
been rent asunder by an earthquake. Both were once connected by a draw-
bridge, which has long ago disappeared. The ruins on the main land consist
of fragments of slate walls, some portion of the termination of which must
have fallen into the sea. There are not enough left to do more than enable
the observer to guess at their connexion and object. The walls, nowhere
entire, on the land side were battlemented and loopholed for the discharge of
arrows, and reach to the edge of the precipice, all being subsidiary to the
citadel upon the island. This last can only be visited by a very perilous
descent, and then an ascent up the cliff from below equally dangerous, for a
single slide of the foot is certain destruction. The wind blew strong, and we
did not think it prudent to venture upon the attempt of scaling the island ;
though the descent from the main land was by no means a difficult task with
a steady head and disregard of the dashing waves beneath. The ruins on the
island consist only of the remains of broken and shattered walls.* This part
of the scene is exhibited in the engraving from the faithful pencil of Mr. Cres-
wick, whose taste in art is only equalled by his just application of its principles.
The sea has hollowed out a cavern under, in which the waves thunder, and
rage, and boil. Such is all that remains of the reputed birth-place of him
whose exploits and good sword, " Excaliber,"! have been " said and sung,"
from age to age. The Troubadours, the bards of Italy, and the minstrels of the
North, have alike done honour to the name of the hero whose existence some
are so contumacious to the pleasure of fiction, if not of truth, as to doubt.
It is difficult at first, it must be acknowledged, looking at the ruinous state of
Tintagel castle, the dark slate rocks upon which they stand, and the sterility
of the surrounding country, to reconcile the "antique pomp and pageantry" of the
hero and his knights of the round table with such a scene. Imagination, prompt
in resources for all difficulties, at once calls in the agency of time, operating every
where, changing fertile territories into barren lands, and rendering the barren
fertile ; strewing earth with the wrecks of castles, as well as of empires, and
reconciling past probability with existing doubt. The magic of the imagina-
tion thus recalls the actions of the potent hero of the West, the magnificence of
hiB court, the valour of his knights, the visions of his glory, and the triumphs
of his conquests; "fierce war and faithful love;" where desolation holds an
* Leland, temp. Hen. VIII , says, ** This ca&tlc hath been a maryellous strong and notabh; fortress,
and almost situ loci inexpregnabiU, especially for the dungeon that is on a high and terrible crag,
environed with the sea, bnt having a drawbridge from the residue of the castle unto it. There is yet
a chapel standing within this dungeon of St Ulette, alias St Uliane. Sheep now feed within the
dungeon. The residue of the buildings of the castle be sore weatherbeaten and in ruin, but it hath
been a large thing." He also adds, **The castle had be liked three wards,^ whereof two be worn
away by the gulfing in of the sea; without the isle remaineth only a gate-house, a wall, and a fause
braye, digged and walled. In the isle remain old walls, and in part of the same, the ground being
lower, remaineth a wall embattled, and men alive saw therein a postern-door of iron. There is in the
isle a pretty chapel, with a tomb on the left side."
t Arthur*8 sword, presented him by a fair hand which came up above the waters of a lake ; a
charmed weapon, like that of the archangel Michael, able to hew down " squadrons at once.*'
38 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
undivided sovereignty, and black rocks, shivered by tempests ; treeless, and
almost herbless, shores, and cliffs of fearful grandeur, are all that remain. Yet
even here fancy nurses her day dreams of what has been in story, and further
depicts the British hero borne back from Slaughter Bridge, mortally woxuided,
the tears of beauty unavailingly shed for him, the mournful countenances of
his warriors, and the last moment when he rendered up his soul to God.
Portyssik, vulgarly called Port Isaac, distant from Bossinny about six
miles, is a fishing-town, and little haven, much used for shipping slate from the
celebrated and profound quarries of De la Bole, or Denny ball ; it has a small
pier, and shelter sufficient for the class of vessels that make use of it, which
may run aground upon the sand. This slate is the best in the three king-
doms, absorbing less water than any other; but it lies inconveniently for
shipment, and is worked to a great depth. A powerful steam-engine is
attached to the quarry, which la situated in the parish of St. Teath. The
excavation whence this superior slate is obtained is between forty and fifty
fathoms deep, upwards of a hundred yards wide, and three hundred long ; a
startling and enormous excavation in the solid stone. The slate nearest the
surface, for the first fifty feet, is of an inferior kind ; that which succeeds
is found to improve in quality, while that at 150 feet is discovered to be the
best, improving in the descent to the depth of 240 feet. It is of a light-blue
colour, perhaps greyish-blue is more appropriate, and its grain is exceedingly
close and hard, so that it will ring, when struck, like metal. The stone is
divided by wedges into laminse of a manageable size, and again subdivided,
when separated from the rock, into the thinness required for roofing or other
purposes. The appearance of this vast excavation, the labourers at their task
so far in the bowels of the earth, the working of the steam-engine above, and
the hue of the rock, altogether present a novel appearance, in no way resembling
a mine, nor the customary idea of a stone-quarry. The stupendous depth, and
dark colours of the stone, from the wet streaming upon it in many places, the
vast surface laid bare, the magnitude of the excavation which has been opened
and worked for 140 years, and the sound of the blasting from below, are
very impressive.
There is no place of consequence on this coast between Port Isaac and
the projecting rugged headland, with its accompanying islands, called Pentire
Point, and the entrance of the river Camel, except a little fishing cove, called
Portquin, in the parish of St. Endellion, near which port are some old anti-
mony mines. This parish, comprised between the Camel river and the sea,
to the west of Tintagel, is that in which Port Isaac, or Portissik, is situated,
and it has a charity school, supported by voluntary contributions. St. Minver,
four miles from Wadebridge, in what are called the highlands, cont^ns some
monuments of the Opie family, and has a handsome modem window of painted
glass. To this church, a Mr. Randall left ten shillings a year, for a funeral
sermon for a thousand years, to be preached on the 27th of December, and
CORNWALL. 39
twenty shillings for the poor of the parish^ per annum. Money for a thousand
funeral sermons like money for a thousand masses^ is an odd bequest, left
no doubt out of the vanity of keeping the Bandall name alive for ten
centuries* Here are two chapels ; one of St. Enodock nearly overwhelmed
in the sands. To enjoy the revenue of this chapel, the story goes, that, at one
time, the roof alone being kept clear of the rolling sea-sand, the parson used
to descend to his duties by a solitary skylight. The chapel of St Michael
is on the banks of the Camel, and is also called Porthilly Church ; the village
attached to it has long been overwhelmed by the sands. There were other
chapels in this parish ; one, on the manor of Penmean, had a burying ground,
w^hich, in 1778, from the shifting of the sands, was exposed to view, and
human bones, with rings, coins, and ornaments, from the time of Henry I. to
Elizabeth, were found. There was also a cemetery of the Quaker sect here,
and the author of " A Narrative of the Life and Sufferings of John Peters, a
Quaker," published in 1709, lies buried in it Peters was steward to the Carew
family. No Quaker now resides in the parish. A creek from the Camel is
navigable for barges at high water in this parish, as high as Amble Bridge,
St Kew.
We retraced our steps to Boscastle, although the shorter way to Camelford
was more direct There was something so romantic about Bottreaux Castle,
that it was impossible to resist the desire to see this secluded little town
again, before taking leave of that part of the county. Passing by Tintagel,
musing on human vicissitude and the history of Arthur, which, whether true
or false, has beguiled the weary hours of countless numbers, by that irresistible
influence which romantic fiction possesses over the human heart, not to men-
tion the philosophical view of the subject, and feeling the truth of the lines in
all their force —
•* There is a joy in every spot
Made known in days of old.
New to the feet, although the tale
A hundred times he told,'* —
we reached Boscastle time enough, we apprehended, to visit the unmusical
church during divine service. We were mistaken. The service was over, and
along the paths beyond the church-yard, within a few paces of the Black Pit
precipices, already mentioned, some of the inhabitants of that remote place were
taking a sober walk amid " their homely joys and destiny obscure ;" many, it
was probable, had never been half a dozen miles from Boscastle in their lives.
The women were good looking, and possessed that fresh and healthful com-
plexion and that rondeur of person, without bulkiness, for which some of our
maritime counties on the western shore of the island are said to be remarkable.
Perhaps the air, never stagnant where the western breezes first strike the
shore, imparts a purity to the atmosphere, or carries an extra quantity of
oxygen, afterwards dissipated ; for, as an inhabitant said, it was very pleasant
40 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUBY.
there a good part of the year, but in winter they had terrible storms of wind)
*' sure enough."
About a mile and a half irom Boscastle is the church and parish of
St Juliot, called in the neighbourhood St. Jilt. It is a rectory, and was
formerly the property of the Abbots of Tavistock. This parish conttuna only
two hamlets, Beeney and Tresparrot; Lesnewth parish is two miles from Bos-
castle towards the east, and Otterham about four. They contain no object
worthy of notice, and are situated in a very barren country. Of Warbstow, to
the east of Otterham about three miles and a half, the same may be said, except
that an ancient fortification, called Warbstow Barrow, exists here. It stands
upon a hill on the north-west of the church-town, and is very extensive, con-
sisting of a strong work on the summit, with traces of outworks on every side
except upon the south-west. The living ia united with Treneglos, which lies
about eight miles north of Camelford, and ia in the gift of the crown. David-
stow is another pariah in this barren country, about three miles Jrom
Camelford.
From Boscastle to Camelford is five miles. The way out of the town com-
mences over a long hill, from which, upon looking back, a magnificent expanse
of ocean meets the view, bounded by the cliffs and headlands from Boscaatle to
Tintagel, and far beyond the latter place. After parsing the summit of this
hill a very dreary country presents itself; on every side nothing but heath and
stone cover the ground.
After travelling about three miles and a half, on amving in a \'&]ley through
which runs the m^ stream of the Camel or Alan river, here of very trivial
import in itself, and just across, in the bottom, a wall of rock about twelve
feet high presents itself The declivity on the near side is not rapid, but
slopes with an easy angle down to the water. Here, tradition says. King
Arthur was mortally wounded in battle with hia nephew Mordred ; and a.
little farther on, where a bridge of flat stones, placed upon uprights, crosses the
stream, the bloodiest scene
of the battle is said to have
occurred. From this circum.
stance it has come down as
" Slaughter Bridge," to the
present hour. The reader
will perceive in the annexed ^
engraving two upright pil- '
lars and a gate on the right
of the bridge, down to which
at right-angles there is a
lane, with dense hedges on
each side. The gate alluded
to belongs to a private
CORNWALL.
residence upon the hill beyond. There is a ridge in the field, running
obliquely upwards from the river. What it has been it is not easy to decide ;
perhaps the remnant of some ancient military work. There are two battles
traditionally stated to have happened here ; for besides the battle in which
Arthur received his mortal wound, there was a sanguinary contest on this spot
in 823, between the Britons and Saxons, the latter under King Egbert.
The same dreary country as that before prevalent continues almost close to
Comelford, a town situated in the parish of Lanteglos ; which parish, the town
included, contains only about 300 houses and 1,600 inhabitants. Though a
town of great antiquity, Camelford presents a scene of more than customary
didness, having very little trade. It returned two members to parliament
before the reform act, from the time of Edward VI., the representatives of
a mayor, eight bui^esses, and ten freemen, out of its population. Camelford
possesses a weekly market, principally noted for the sale of cattle ; and also
four annual fiurs. The town-hall seen in the engraving was built by Francis,
Duke of Bedford ; and the corporation decorated it with a huge camel for a
weather-cock, in happy ignorance of the derivation of the name of their own
town from cabm-alan, the crooked river.
From Camelford to Wadebridge the road presents interesting scenery,
lying partly through a charming well-wooded irriguous valley. At length,
afler journeying about ten miles, the Camel river is seen expanding between
the hills, as Wadebridge is approached. There are several churches discern-
ible on both sides of the road. The church of Lant^los stands on the right,
about a mile from Camelford ; and on the lefr is Advent, called also St Ann,
or St. Tane. It is united to Lanteglos, and forms a rectory, in the gifl of the
42 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Duke of Cornwall ; there are eight email villages in thia parish, he^dee the
town of Camelford, the ancient Gavelford.
St. Teath Church is on the right-hand side of the road, about three milcfl
and a half from Camelford ; and St £ew, a good distance off on the same
side, between the seventh and eighth milestones. The first pariah, which
contains the De la Bole quarries, the property of the Trevanion family, and
the church-town, has also the villages of Delamere, Medrose, Pengelly, and
Treligoe. The rectory of St. Kew once belonged to Plympton priory. The
manor was sold to the Granvilles, who parted with it to the notorious attorney-
general Noy. It has long since been the property of the Moleaworth family.
This church has a good deal of piunted glass yet perfect, and several monuments
of extinct families. The hamlets or villages are Ammcll, Tregclles, Tretil, and
Trewethem. Michaelstow parish, on the left of the road, once cont^ned the
ancient castle of Helsbury, of which no traces remain. St Tudy, also on the
left, some distance off, gave birth to Sir William Lower, the dramatic writer,
and to Dr. William Lower, who died in 1690, and wrote " A Treatise on the
Heart ;" their seat was called Tremeer. Above all, for its beautiiiil tower,
one of the highest in the county, the church of St Mabyn is conspicuous.
It is eight miles from Camelford ; and in it is a village called Trevisquite.
There is an almshouse in St Mabyn, built with a legacy, recovered in chan-
cery, and bequeathed by William Parker.
Descending a steep hill between high banks overhung with wood, upon
which stand several commodious houses, appears Wadebridge, a structure
erected in 1485, over the Alan. It consists of seventeen arches, but one is
invisible in the engraving.
Thb bridge owes its foundation to the public spirit of a Jlr. Lovebone,
vicar of Eglosheylc, who was much affected by the continual loss of life that
happened at the ferry previously used for crossing the river. Lovebone must
liave been an ingenious as well as a humane man, for it is recorded that he
laboured at his task, took great pains with the work, and was much annoyed
in laying the paers, on account of the sandy nature of the ground, until he had
recourse to packs of wool placed under the foimdation. He left 20i per annum
towards its rep^rs. The Camel or Alan river rises at the foot of Bough Tor,
CX)RNWALL. 43
on the north-east side of the county, two or three miles north of Camelford
town. It takes its course by Camelford in a very circuitous channel, and hence
the name of Cam or Cabm-alan, or the crooked Alan ; Cam, in Cornish, sig-
nifying crooked, since confused into the separate names of Camel or Alan, the
latter being the real appellation of the river.
The gentle gliding of this beautiful stream, luminous with sunshine and
garnished with harvest fields, in their richest tints, — now basking in noonday
glory, or darkly stealing among mnbered trees by Eglosheyle ; now narrowing
and overhung with foliage, or winding along imder shady banks, or gushing
over a stony bed yet higher up above the bridge, — seemed after leaving the
dreary country about Camelford, far more agreeable and beautiful than it
would have appeared imder any other circumstances. Wadebridge is stiU a
pleasant spot, independently of what it may gain by contrast ; but the build-
ings exhibit nothing worthy of note, and are divided by the river. The bridge,
the eastern end of which is in St. Breock parish, bears a large and fine fig-tree,
which has long flourished, without any one being able to account satisfactorily
for its appearance ; the roots are fixed among the interstices of the stones upon
the northern or sea side, and just over an arch. Wadebridge has a post-oflSce
and market. The parish church of Eglosheyle, in which the town is partly
situated, lies not quite a mile up the stream, from the bridge, upon its southern
side. It is almost close to the river, in a secluded and pleasant spot upon
the road to Bodmin. The mortuary inscriptions record deaths in 1832 from
the cholera. To those who consider the seclusion of the place, and the little
chance of an intercourse subsisting with any spot from which infection might
be brought, this will appear extraordinary. The site, however, is low, not far
from the banks of the river. We observed a stoaeHn this distant church-
yard, " To the memory of Q^orge Jewel, m.d. founder of the Royal Adelaide
Hospital, London, who died at Wadebridge, November 14, 1840, aged 47."*
Eglosheyle,t signifying in 'Cornish the " church by theNriver," contains
several villages besides Wadebridge ; the houses in the parish are 220, the popu-
lation above 1500. The manor of Park, within its limit, was once the seat of
* In Eglosheyle is the following cnrions epitaph : — ** Here lieth the hody of Nicholas, son of John
and Catharine Oliver, who departed this life the 5th of July, 1772, in his 21st year.
'* In the bloom of all my year,
As on my tomb you finde.
My parents dear, and frends so near.
Am forced to leve behinde. •
Bat since it is the will of God,
Contented they must be ;
In heaven above, in peace and love,
I hope I shall them see.
Transit hora, sive mora.
Sic transit gloria mundi."
t EgloBy Cornish for a church, and heyle^ a river.
%
44 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
the Peverell family — and was less anciently the property of the Lords Bottreaux
and Hungerford. At present it belongs to iJhe Molesworths, whose seat, —
now occupied by Sir William Molesworth, so well known both as a scholar of
considerable acquirements^ and an ardent politician, — is called Pencarrow,
built in 1730. Sir William Molesworth possesses also the manor of Pendavy,
and the old family seat of the Kestalls, now converted into a farm-house.
Eglosheyle church contains monuments of the Molesworth and Kestall families,
and possesses two charity schools supported by voluntary contributions. There
is an ancient entrenchment here, called Castle Killbury, not less than six
acres in extent, enclosed with a triple ditch.
We left Eglosheyle, and took the high road to Bodmin, over Slade's Bridge,
crossing a stream called the Laine, which flows into the CameL The road
runs generally in the vale, until the traveller reaches Ihinmere Bridge, a very
short distance from Bodmin, when, after having descended a hill, and crossed
that bridge, beneath which the Camel or Alan flows rapidly and clear as
crystal, a steep ascent leads up to the town of Bodmin. This town is situated
partly in a high valley of no great breadth, and partly on the side of a hill ;
the main street running in a direction almost east and west. The road from
Wadebridge joins that from Truro nearly at the top of this hill, where stands
the twenty-second milestone from the Cornish metropolis. The town is very
much improved since the whole of the county sessions and assizes have been
held there. The summer assizes had been held at Bodmin before, from 1716,
except on two occasions. New buildings have arisen in every direction, many
of them faced with granite very finely cut. The new and commodious market
is of this material ; and the cornice over the entrance is adorned with buUs^
heads, nearly of the natural size, cut in bold three-quarter relief, from the solid
stone. The dislike of working this enduring material, which so appals the
metropolitan workmen, is abundantly rebuked by the use of granite in its
native county, and the facility with which it is shaped out there. In Bodmin
there are names over houses of business, in which the letters are worked out in
high relief, with perfect sharpness and effect.
The concentration of the courts of justice at Bodmin is an improvement,
although Truro should have divided them with Bodmin ; because, singular as
it may appear, more than two-thirds of the population of the coimty reside
west of a line drawn from Wadebridge to Lostwithiel ; and of these two-thirds,
three parts out of four are found west of a line drawn from St. Columb to
Truro inclusive. In order to obtain a population sufficient for the eastern
division of the county, imder the Reform Act, to return four members, it
was necessary to divide the county by a line which appropriated two-thirds of
the surface eastwards, to obtain a portion of the population 10,000 less than
that existing in the western third.
Bodmin is a corporate town, and has returned two members to parliament
since the time of Edward I. The limits of the borough, under the Reform
CORNWALL. 45
Act, include the neiglibourmg parishes of Lauivet, Lanhydrock, and Helland ;
and the number of 10^ houees is 311.* It has an excellent market, already
mentioned ; it lies npon the lell-hand dde of the principal street, passing to
the east. A market on Saturday is recorded in this town so long ago as when
Doomsday-book was taken, the profits of which then belonged to the prior ;
but are now vested in the burgegBes.t A county prison, on the plan of the
philanthropic Howard, was erected here in 1780, on the north-west part of
the town; and there b a county lunatic asylum, of later date, standing at no
great distance from the gaol, on the west. There is no doubt but Bodmin was
anciently one of the most considerable places in the county ; the population of
the town in 183L was 3,782; which was an increase upon the number of 1811,
upwards of 1,500. In the year 1351, no less than 1,500 persons died of
the plague there; an evidence of its having been once much more populous
than it is at present.
The church, erected about the middle of the fifteenth century, is situated at
the east end of the town, and belonged to the priory, of which no remains'now
exist worthy of description ; nor indeed of other religious buildings which are
known to have existed. No spot better adapted for religious meditation
could have been selected. A lofty spire, which stood on the present tower,
nras destroyed by lightning in 1699. Handsome as the present church is, the
cost of its erection was no more than 194i Zs. 6irf. St. Petroc is said to have
chosen the site for his abode in the sixth century, and here he died. King
Athelstan afterwards founded a Benedictine priory upon the spot, and granted
the superior a market, fair, the pillory, gallows, and other immunities of the
time, conferred upon similar establishments. Stemhold, one of the translators
of the psalmody which goes by his name, was possessor of this demesne sub-
sequent to the dissolution and spoiling — - .
of the religious houses by Henry VUL
The present church is 123 feet long,
by 60 wide ; and within is exceedingly
handsome, consisting of three msles di-
vided by nine arches, after the style of
the fifteenth century. These spring '
from columns, clustered and of fine -
proportion. There is a very curious
font in this church, evidently of high
antiquity. At the altar end are seve-
ral rude carved seats ; and fragments of
the wrecks of broken monuments are
seen among the paving stones. The only one notable here in the reign of
Heniy VIIL, and still noted, is the tomb of Prior Vivian ; he died July 3,
• See, for the popoltlion, the returaa at tlie end of the Counlj Itinerarj.
t Leland Bajr*, that io bis time BodniiQ had " a market like a feir, for the confluence of people."
46 ENGLAND FN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
1533; it represents him in
efiigy, angels protecting his
head, and his bands clasped
together upon his breast.
There are six niches on
the sides of the tomh,
filled with statues of dif-
ferent Bunts.
East of the church, the
tower of which is handsome
and well proportioned, is
part of an old building,
which upon inquiry we
fotind was used as a school-
room ; this, perhaps, is what
Leland called a " cantuary
chapel," or some remains ofthat, or of the priory. Upon the site of the priory, or
the larger part of it, a private residence is now erected. The church-yard ie in
excellent order, more from the absence of lawless tread, and a spirit of defece-
ment in the people, than from care. Here the wanton profanation of parish
cemeteries is seldom remarked. The church-yards of Cornwall are, in general,
exceedingly well preserved. The people seem to respect their precincts, and
to view them as the residence of the unfoigotten who preceded them. There ia
nowhere to be seen that trim order and fastidiousness which bespeaks rather the
pride of pecuniary display, than any sensibility to the lessons read by such places
to the living, whether of affectionate regard for those who are no more, or of
memento to self, — as prevul in the new cemeteries near the metropolis, and
other large places. The neatness observed follows no garden plan : the flowers
are genenUly wild that bloom in these ; the scythe has piud no monthly vi^t to
the turf; nor has the heavy roller smoothed the path, that winds amid the
narrow houses appointed for all hving; but there is in these church-yards that
which passes all show of art, — where the hook, that crops the weedy aflBuence,
and the besom, are the only instruments used, and these rarely,— there is a
wild neatness; flowers seem to spring in such an appropriate manner, and the
over-arching foliage to shade the unconscious dead that slumber below, bo
naturally ; all is so fitting without care, so quiet in its own nature, and in
general so solitary, that the inclination to gaze a little space upon them is irre-
sistible. Whether shaded with foliage, or canopied alone by the heavens, the
head and foot-stone distinguishes the humblest graves in Cornwall ; and the
last resting-place of. many perished generations of men, — who can say of how
many ? — is equally a sanctified spot in this county, to a degree in some cases
peculiarly striking. Even the grave-ground of the little church of Sennen,
the first and lost in England, is as neatly kept as those which ore in situations
CORNWALL. 47
far nearer the haunts of congregated man. At Bodmin the situation of the
cemetery is amid the busy hum of men; but it is still appropriate and in
keeping.
A curious printed account of Jasper Wood, vicar of Bodmin for thirty-seven
years, was said to exist among the scarce tracts of the time, a little while ago.
He died in 1716 ; before his decease he fancied himself bewitched, and gave
an account of his delivery from the spell put upon him, by the interference of
his guardian angeL The inhabitants have traditionally many strange stories
about him, which, as is generally the case, seem to lose nothing in the relation.
There is a grammar-school in this town, founded by Queen Elizabeth, and
endowed with 5L from the exchequer, and 100/. from the corporation, out of
the market tolls. A new school-room has recently been added, in a commo-
dious situation. Besides the church there are two dissenting chapels. The
coimty meetings ar^ kept here, as well as the registry and court of the arch-
deaconry of Cornwall.
The idea of Bodmin having once been the see of a western bishop was fully
refuted by Whittaker of B,uan Langhome ; who has shown clearly the errors
into which some of his sanguine and credulous brother antiquaries had fallen
in this matter, and their mistake in supposing it was the monastery of St.
Petroc at Bodmin, that was burned by the Danes, in place of a religious house
dedicated to the same saint some distance off, and situated near the sea-side.
A house of the Grey Friars, once existing in this town, was founded by John
de London, under the patronage of Edmund, Earl of CornwalL
In the year 1496, two individuals of this parish, Michael Joseph and Thomas
Flamank, — the last, ancestor of the present family, — proprietors of the Barton
of Boskarne, were concerned in the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck, who, landing
in Cornwall, marched to lay Exeter under siege ; and for a time made Bodmin
their head quarters. In 1550, the Cornish rebels under one of the Arundel
family, were much favoured by the inhabitants of Bodmin; and a special
commission being sent down under Sir A. Kingston, the worthy representative
of justice, after accepting the mayor's hospitality, hanged him at his own
door. Others of this personage's freaks are still told, which show that Jeflfries
in the Monmouth rebellion, amid all his atrocities, might have quoted pre-
cedent in their justification. Kingston hung Mr. Mayow of St. Columb, in that
town, upon a charge not capital, nor even proved. Mr. Mayow's wife hearing
her husband was in custody, spent so much time before her glass in order to
render her solicitations for her husband more prevailing, that before she
reached the presence of this demon of the law, the poor man was dangling at
a sign post. He also hung the portreeve of St. Ives in the middle of the town.
His execution of the mayor of Bodmin is thus related: — The poor mayor had
been forced to favour the seditious. Kingston wrote him a letter that he would
dine with him on a particular day, and preparation was made to receive this
bloody-minded lawyer with due honour. Kingston arrived with a train of
48 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
attendants, and had scarcely entered the mayor's house when he called him
aside, and requested him to get a gallows erected immediately, as he should
proceed to execute some persons after dinner. The mayor obeyed the order.
When the administrator of the law had dined comfortably, he took the mayor
by the arm, and asked to see the gallows. " Dost thou think they are strong
enough ?" said the judge. — " Doubtless they are," answered the mayor. " Then
get thee up," said Kingston, " they are erected for thee." — " I hope you mean
not as you speak," said the poor mayor. " There is no remedy," said the judge,
" you have been a sorry rebel." Accordingly the mayor was executed without
more ceremony. This same Kingston, who thus hung men in Edward VI. 's
time, for rising against the persecution of the old religion, in Queen Mary's
time took briefs on the other side, and was equally zealous in persecuting the
protestants.
There was a hospital for lepers about a mile from Bodmin, which owed it«
incorporation to Queen Elizabeth, about the year 1582. The remains consist
of three pointed arches and some ruinous walls. The following inscription
was lately legible upon the walls, in black letter : — " Kichard Carter of St.
Columbe, marchant, by his last wylle & testament, in ano. dom. 1582, did
geve ten pounde for the ollurance of twentie shillinges yerelye to be payed unto
us the poer lepers of the hospy tall, and to our successors for ever ; which ten
pounde, by the consent of his executor, we have imployed towardes the makyng
of thys howse in ano 1586 ; whose charitable and rare example in oure tyme,
God grantete main to follow hereaftre." The charter shows that long before
this time there had been an establishinent of a similar nature in the same place,
and a prior, brethren and sisters, of Lazars, unincorporated. Her majesty, in
her good will and pleasure, incorporated them as the ** Master, or governor,
and brothers and sisters, in all thirty-nine, of the hospital of Ponteboy ;" the
poor men and women were to be lepers, and to elect one another. James I.
granted the establishment some additional privileges; among them a fair, which
is still kept on the 21st of August, and another for cattle on the 29th and
30th of October. The seal of this hospital is yet preserved, and is a very
curious relic of its kind. While the charities so privileged perish, it is won-
derful how every thing connected with them that contributes to private gain
survives. The lands with which this hospital was endowed, or rather what,
perhaps, remained of them, had dwindled to 140/. per annum ; and this sum
had been wholly withdrawn from its legitimate object, the fairs and markets
remaining in full vigour notwithstanding. There were no more sick or infirm
heard of for a long while, but the buying and selling went on as usual. A
suit was instituted in chancery, terminating the mock corporation by which
the trust had been abused, and transferring its funds to a truly charitable
institution, the county infirmary, at Truro.
The parish of Bodmin is large, and contains four adjoining villages or ham-
lets, Dunmere, Nantallan, St. Lawrence, and Bodiniel. There were anciently
CORNWALL.
several manors of Bodmin, now id tlie poaaession, by purchase or inlieritnnco,
of the Basset, Robartes, Grenville, and Hoblyn families, or their representa-
tives. The remains of the castle of Kynock, or Canyke, are in one of these
manors, consbting of grasa-covered earth works. There was a long-observed
custom at Bodmin, or rather in the neighbourhood, upon HaJgaver Moor,
anciently held in July, and then attended by a vast number of all classes
of people, though at present it is otherwise. A sort of mayor of misrule
was elected, who held a court for the trial of offenders within his jurisdiction.
He was styled the " Mayor of Halgaver." All persons accused of negligence
in garb, or of wearing only one spur, or any one accused of omitting a par-
ticular article of dress, or being deficient in good manners, was charged as with
a felony. A mock trial took place, in which the prosy forms of a regular
court were burlesqued with becoming gravity ; and sentence being as gravely
pronounced, it was executed upon the culprit in some ridiculous punishment,
rather calculated to excite the laughter of the assembled multitude, than to
injure the party who thus suffered judgment. That thia burlesque originated in
a very ancient custom cannot be doubted. " Take him before the Mayor of
Halgaver," — " Present him in Halgaver court," are old Cornish proverbs in
the way of joke for petty offences against neatness of dress, or for a breach
of good manners.
At Lanivet, about three
miles from Bodmin, are the
remains of an ancient mo-
nastic building, delineated
in the engraving. It is
lamentable to state, that,
by an exhibition of more
than Gothic bad taste, the
cloisters were removed at a
comparatively recent date.
This is one of the few mo-
nastic edifices in Comw^
of which any considerable
portion has remtuned to a
late period. The tower ia
bcautifiiUy covered with ivy. St. Bennet'a was of the Benedictine order, and
is said to have been subordinate to some foreign monastery, generally supposed
that of Monte Cassino, in Italy. It afterwards became a seat of the Cour-
tenay family, and was sold by one of its members, in 1710, to Mr. Bernard
Pennington ; and, in 1720, resold to Richard Grove. It is now the pro-
perty of the Rev. F. V. J. Arundel. What exists of the monastery is inha-
bited by labourers in the service of the owner. The appearance of these
ruins from the high road, on the right hand, going westward, ia striking;
50 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
the vicinity too is well adorned with wood. Lanivet hill is covered with
massy rocks.
The church of Lanivet has nothing remarkable in its architecture, but it
contains several monuments of the Courtenays, who afterwards resided at Tre-
meere, in this parish.* There are lands in this and the neighbouring parishes
that once belonged to St. Bennet's, and let for 110/. per annum, vested in
the " twelve men of the parish," as they are styled, for the use of the poor.
These "men of the parish" accordingly maintain some poor in an old alms-
house, and support a charity-school under the same roof, allowing 8/. to the
master per annum, and a dwelling-house.
The great mail-road through Truro to Falmouth from Launceston passes
through Bodmin, the central situation of which unites roads from the south-
east, south, north, and west ; and as it was our determination to cross what
are called the Moors to St. Cleer, properly St. Clare, and as the road that
way was not practicable for any vehicle but a Cornish cart, and moreover as
our starting point could only be reached by travelling ten miles towards
Launceston, over a dreary road, we mounted the mail as far as a solitary inn,
situated in a desolate spot, where the coach changes horses. This inn is
called the "Jamaica Inn." No view is to be obtained on any side, for,
around were only heathy moors, brown, and monotonous. We reached ' it at
night-fall, in a drizzling south-west rain, and on foot, having left the mail to
examine the Four-Hole Stone, which stands by the road-side, about a mile from
the Inn, on a desert heath, called Temple Moor ; truly, " a waste, howling
wilderness." The parish of Temple is about six miles from Bodmin, and gives
name to a long tract of wretched downs between Bodmin and Launceston ; it
contains only three miserable huts, and the remnant of a dilapidated church.
The manor here once belonged to the Knights Hospitallers, and is now, with
the living and ruins of the church, the property of Sir Bouchier Wrey, the patron
of a sinecure benefice, twice augmented by queen Anne's bounty. Many li>Tng
a few years since recollected divine service being performed in this church. The
rector of Blisland, five miles from Bodmin, an adjoining parish, now does the
surplice duty, and keeps the registry of baptisms and burials for the three cot-
tages, which are entered in the Blisland register.f Blisland manor belongs to Sir
W. Molesworth ; and there are some inconsiderable hamlets in the parish f the
• On the tomb of Kichard Courtenay, of Tremeere, and his wife, who died in 1632, is the following
epitaph :— « xhey lived and died both in Tremeere,
Grod hath their souls, their bones lie bore ;
Richard with Thomsen, his loved wife,
Lived 62 years, then ended life."
t There are memorials of the Kemp family in the church. The Rev. C. Morton, ^ected from it
by the Act of Uniformity, was author of '* A Discourse for improving the County of Cornwall," in
1675, the seventh chapter of which treats of the utility of sea sand as a manure, now so generally
nsed. He also published " A Letter to prove Money not so necessary as imagined ;'* '* Considerations
on the New River ;" and various theological works.
CORNWALL. 51
manor-house is occupied by labourers. Upon these
dreary moors, close to the road-side, the Four-Hole
Cross stauds,eight miles aud a half beyond Bodmin ;
it is much defaced by i^e, and is in no respect more
remarkable than many other stone crosses in which
Cornwall abounds, though some deem it the oldest.
It has beca ornamented with scrolls, which are now
scarcely perceptible from the effect of time.
The Jamaica Inn afforded coarse but clean ac-
conmiodation. During the night the wind swept
in gU6t£ across the moors from the south, driving
along rain fine as vapour. Af^r breakfast, the
atmosphere having cleared a little, we struck off
across the moors, with a pocket compass, — a most
useful companion had the misty rain come on again.
There is a road on the southern side of this great eastern turnpike, literally
strewed with granite rocks, which we first passed over : these rough masses
were then exchanged for disintegrated granite, soft and gravelly to the tread.
The great m^ road disappeared by a turn among the moors, up which we
proceeded to visit the celebrated lake, or rather tarn, called Dosmary PooL
No scene can be im^ned more horribly dreary. In most mountainous
countries, bare of vegetation, a peak, a rock, a precipice, the mere wreck
of something, besides a lifeless tarn, is in the scene, relieves the eye, and
breaks the siimeness of the view. Nothing of the kind was observable here.
Dosmary Pool is a piece of water at the bottom of two or three rounded
eminences, covered with stunted heath, in itself dark and unlovely enough.
It is contemptible as a lake, not being more than a mile in circumference,
yet its extraordinary desolation attaches to it a species of singularity that
strikes from its very negation of all character. The cheerless aspect of the
spot naturally accounts for the stories which the country people have invented,
of its unfathomable depth,— it is really shallow, — and of its extraordinary
Wsitant When the winter winds sweep over the hills around, and ruffle
at such times the almost leaden stillness of its surface ; when the misty ram
dims tlie landscape, or the sound of the tempest almost stuns the ear, — the
Combh cry, "Tregngle is roaring; hark!" The nurses, from one end of
the county to the other, continually exclaim, in order to silence their crying
children, " Be quiet ; thou art roaring like Tregngle." The only explanation
the people give of this person^e's business and identity, consists in their
stating that Tregagle is a giant, condemned, not " to toil in fire," at such
seasons, bnt in water, and " to t^em"" out Dosmary Pool with a limpet shell;
he is consequently said to be roaring with anger at the hopelessness of bis
• " To leem " in Comwall ii frcqnenlly uwd for the verb " lo empty ;" Ih's is re»'ly one meaning
•)f theirord! Swift My*" TrfM out ihe remainder of ihe ale inio the tankard."
52 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
task, even sometimes when midnight wraps this inhospitable spot. Often the
devil chases him round the borders of the fearful pool, until, fairly out-
running the evil one, Tregagle reaches Koche Rock, and, thrusting his head in
at the chapel window, finds a respite from his tonnentor. Having once upon
a time a vast load of sand upon his back, and being pursued hj Satan, he
dropped it between Loe Pool and the sea, near Helston, and thus formed the
large sand bar existing there. This personage is said to have borne the name of
" Jan," or " Janny," when alive. His sufferings are caused by his having got
hold of the heir of considerable estates, murdered the father and mother, and
converted the property to his own use : — thus runs the story. The name is
Cornish, and there was once a family so denominated, resident at Treworder^
in St. Breock, now extinct, one of whom was Sir John Tregagle-
From visiting this Dead sea of Cornwall, not far from which once stood a
chapel, we returned some portion of the way we had before passed, and then
pursued a course almost due east, to fall in with the Fowey river, which we
knew would serve as a guide during the future part of our march. By falling
in with the river, and keeping parallel, it was not easy to lose the way upon
these wild moors. The river had crossed the mail-road to Launceston, some
distance beyond the place where our course diverged from it^ at what is called
Palmer's Bridge. Its source is at a spot called Fowey Well, near Brown
Willy, in the parish of Altemon, and hundred of Lesnewth, eight miles west
of Launceston, and about the same distance from Camelford. This parish
is the most extensive in Cornwall, containing 12,770 acres, but only four
hamlets. Formerly there was a singular manner here of curing madness, per-
haps a pretended mode of casting out evil spirits, borrowed from some other
place. The insane person was placed on the brink of a square hollow, filled
with water from St Nun's well, unconscious of wliat was intended, and w^as
tumbled suddenly into the water by a blow on the breast. He was then pulled
about, up and under, until his strength, and his rage with it, had forsaken him.
He was next taken to church, and prayers said over him. If he was not cured, the
immersion was again had recourse to. This was called " Boussening," from Bid-
hydy to dip, in Cornish and Armoric Here, too, was the ancient estate of the
Trelawney family, long passed into other hands. The church is said to be the
burial-place of a saint, called St. Nonnet, mother of St. David, for in Cornwall
every parish is sainted. * One Peter Joll is reported to have been the clerk, who
* There is a joke, that the devil will not venture among the Cornish, for fear of being sainted or put
into a pie ; the variety of sainted churches as of pies being pretty nearly equal, and some of both
doubtless excellent in their way. The pies seem to have preserved their qualities and names
unchanged, but the Cornish, or the Saxon, or both, make strange work with the saints in this regard.
Cornwall has saints never heard of out of the county, and churches called after new names have ob-
tained the St for antecedent imaginary beings, no martyrology containing them, — there is St Creed,
St Mcwan, and St Newlyn ; while some real saints have lost their saintships, as Probus, Colan, Buryan.
Of Cornish saints, there is St. Keby, St Mellion, St Gerrans, St Milor, and many more. There are
Welsh, and even some Irish saints, with their names cruelly mangled. St Patemusis now Pelherwin,
and so of many others.
CORNWALL. 53
lived to be a hundred and fifty years of age, and in his hundredth year cut a
new set of teeth. But the river Fowey is forgotten. The Fowey rises at Fowey
Well, in a " very wagmore," in the side of a hill, says old Leland, in whose
time the higher part waa called Draines. Upon the present occasion it woa
first seen a mile or two on the south, below Palmer's Bridge, running rapidly
through the moors, in a deep-worn channel, over loose stones and blocks of
granite. Its stream was the most pellucid we ever saw upon first falling in with
it, but was afterwards tinged for some distance with a millty hue, moat pro-
bably from a momentary cause, as during its whole course its waters are
generally clear. This river winds a good way through a very beautiful
country, passing the old scat of the Glynns, now belonging to Lord Vivian,
where it curves sweetly beneath fine woods, and at length reaching Lostwithiel,
becomes, a little below the bridge, navigable down to Fowey Harbour, which is
its estuary. It receives many tributary streams, and, except the Tamar, is the
largest freshwater stream in the county, with a course of about thirty-six
miles, six and a half only of which are tidal. It was once navigable above
LostwithicL
Nothing could exceed the
solitude and silence of these
moors ; for in the course of
three hours' march we met
no human being. Here and
there a cottage appeared,
built of cob, and sometimes
a tree near it, generally rery
sniaU. The gurgling of the
water over the stones in the
bed of the Fowey was the
only sound perceptible. A solitary rough-coated horse or cow might be seen
feeding in some distant insufficient enclosure of turf, or rough stones piled heed-
lessly upon each other; while now and then, towards the east, a rugged peak or
tor, " horrent" with granite crags at the summit, and deeply embrowned with
heath below, rose over an intervening eminence, giving significant notice
that in the same direction lay several of the most singular, and, for the most
part, unexplored roeky hills of the county, extending almost to the Tamar.
Among them are Caradon, 1,200 feet high, and otliers above 1,000 feet, upon
parts of wliich it might be supposed Milton's "Battle of the Angels" had
occurred, only that in place of " whole promontories," they had hurled granite
cubes at each other, as large as houses, and left them where they fell. The
district thus alluded to is one of a savage but very grand character.
We crossed the Fowey river, and walking over much uneven and nij^cd
ground, found ourselves enveloped in hills, or rather tors, every summit consist-
ing of pointed granite rocks, with vast masses of the same material strewed
54 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
upon the sides. Passing south of Hawke's Tor, and leaving that of Trewartha
behind to the north, we ascended Kilmartli Tor, the t^p of which is one of the
most sin^il.ir collections of granite
rocks that can be imagined. At a dis-
tance, all sorts of buildings may be
fancied erected along the ridge, but
on a near approach nothing but vast
masses of granite, generally cubical in
form, meet the view. Kilmarth Hill
is 1,200 feet high, and the prospect
from amid the gigantic rocks, that
crown it as with a diadem, is very
fine and extensive. The rocks, for
which it is most remarkable, are re-
presented in the annexed engraving;
but the entire summit is a singularly
confused heap of the same materials,
grotesquely, irregularly and regularly
shaped, of which neither pen nor
pencil can g^vc an adctiuate idea.
Sharp Point Tor is directly south of Kilmarth, is equal to it iu height,
and on the south-east side has a curious assemblage of rocks. Immediately to
the south of this tor, on a hill of less elevation, hut equally wild and rocky,
are the stones, called the Hurlers, said to be men transmuted into stones for
hurUng upon the sabbath-day. They are a singular relic of antiquity, consist-
ing of three circles of upright stones ; the largest circle occupies the centre, but
the three would be bisected by a line drawn through all their centres. Many
of the stones have been taken away for use,— a disgraceful act, when it is consi-
dered that there are countless thousands of the same kind of material for build-
ing, or for gate-i>osts, equally at hand, though not perhaps quite so shapely
for the latter purpose. The height of these stones at a mean is about four
feet. Antiquaries ascribe to tlie Hurlers a druidical origin.
The summits of all the liills, over a large district hereabouts, possess
singular appearances of the same nature as the present Kilmarth rocks,
already mentioned, stand upon the ridge of a very lofty eminence, and seem,
though in a different manner, momentarily ready to overreach the centre
of gravity, and fall down with " hideous ruin and combustion." The Kilmarth
rocks are not near so high as those of tlie Cheeseivring. Borlase makes
both rock deities of the Druids, but ascribes their aspect to natural causes,
except in the holes upon their summits, which he erroneously considers
artificial.
But the hill upon which the celebrated rocks stand, cidled the Cheese-
wring, has been passed by ; it Is north of that on which the Hurlers appear.
CORNWALL. 55
and south of Sharp Tor. The following is a sketch of thU singular natural
curiosity, which is about twenty-four feet high.
The hills being all rocky, and the storma of countless ages ha^-ing washed
the earth from between crannies on their summits, have left them, when suffi-
cicntly firm, to stand alone, ]uled in the fantastic shapes they now assume.
The granite is of the more ancient geological formation, yet time has openited
upon it in many places, principally through the agency of water, decomposing,
and scooping into hollows, certain parts of tlie solid block ; two of these
hollows are awd to exist on the summit of the Cheesewring, as the country
people have named the pile, from its resemblance to those excellent comestibles,
placed one upon another.
These enormous rocks, thus
resting upon each other cheese-
fashion, overhang their base so
much that the wonder is how
they Bust^n their position, and
withstand the shock of the ele-
ments. A smaller stone than
those above it rests upon three
or four others of still smaller
dimensions, and then an enor-
mous stone succeeds, which, cal- -^ ,
culating from the entire height of
the pile, must of itself measure five feet thick, by ten or twelve in diameter.
This huge mass carries two others of a less size, that upon the summit being
considerably smaller than the one beneath it Standing on the shady side of
the Cheesewring, wheu the sun was shining, the imposing cliaractcr of the pile
was peculiarly striking, not unmingled with apprehension. The stones which
compose this singular work of nature arc much rounded, and possess none of
the sharpness of angle shewn in some representations of tlie subject. Both
the Ch^sewring and the Hurlers are in the parish of Linkinhome,
The parish of Linkinhome with its church, situated in the northern division
of the hundred of East, four miles north of Callington, in the manor of
Caradon priory, was dedicated to SL Meliora, and once belonged to tlie priory
of Launccston, to which it was given by the son of Henry I. There is a free-
school here, founded by Charles Roberta in 1710; two-thirds of the interest of
705/. 14*. Id,, thus devoted, are p^d to a schoolmaster, and the remainder to a
mistress for instructing girls. In this parish tliere lived a well known and
singular character, bom about the commencement of the eighteenth centurv,
whose name was Daniel Gum. He was bred up to the trade of a stone-cutter,
and was early distinguished for his reserve and indulgence in meditative habits.
It appears, that, through the bias which nature gives in early life to particular
pursuits, this man, without instruction or means to obtain information, acquired
56 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
a love of reading and study. He applied himself closely in his early years to
mathematics, for his progress in which he became celebrated throughout the
vicinity of his residence. The student, denominated idle by the world,
is in reality far more laboriously and honourably employed than the mass
of mankind. Gum, finding that his labour for subsistence engrossed the
larger portion of his time, and philosophically reasoning, that, if he could
curtail his necessities, there was no need of working so large a portion of the
day as he had been accustomed to do, determined, in the first instance, to save
himself the outlay of house-rent, — no inconsiderable portion of every man's
expenses, let his station be what it may. Not far from the Cheesewring, in
searching for stone during his employment, he discovered a huge slab or block
of granite, lying in a sloping direction, and sufficiently large, if he could exca-
vate a habitation beneath it, to give him a retreat, where he might dispense
with the onerous outlay of house-rent, and at the same time find that place fpr
the studious seclusion, in which, of all things, he most desired to spend hia
moments of leisure. Accordingly he went to work on this wild heath, and
excavating the soil beneath the block, obtained a considerable space, the
sides of which he built up to support the stone above, with walls carefully
cemented in lime, making a hole through the earth at one end of the stone,
and lining it with the same material, to serve him for a chimney. Let none
smile in derision at the humble habitation of the studious stone-cutter, who
was thus content to view from his mountainous abode scenery of such an
extent, so grand and beautiful, as to be rarely paralleled even in this island
of beautiful landscape. The tors and rugged eminences of Dartmoor and
of Exmoor were seen to a wide extent in the eastern quarter ; up as far as
Hartland to the north ; Plymouth, with its noble heights and sound, was
plainly visible in the south ; and on the west, the hills of St. Austell and Koche
Rocks, — a circumference of nearly one hundred and fifty miles, including every
object that could delight the eye or feast the imagination. Who shall say,
wliile tliis humble man was contemplating such a sublime view from the dwelling
despised by the world, what feelings of gratitude for the enjoyment he experi-
enced at the sight might not have ascended to the great Creator of them f In
fine weather, by day and night, he frequently ascended the roof of his lofty and
independent dwelling, and gazed in silence of words, but not of thoughts, upon
nature around, or upon the starry heavens, watching the motions of the
brilliant orbs so all-eloquent to the sight. Upon the surface of his granite
roof this extraordinary man carved diagrams with his chisel, illustrative of his
Euclid, — even the most difficult problems, — ^and these remained to show the
invincible character of that undefinable impulse which leads men of superior
minds to conquer all obstacles in the way of their intellectual advancement.
Gum was never known to leave the craggy but grand eminence upon which he
dwelt, even to attend his parish church, or any other place of congregational
worship. Perhaps his adoration was humble, and silent, and deep, — pure from
CORNWALL. 57
the heart, and elevated in the sentiiDcnt, — that communion of the epirit which
passes all form and language. Gum died, where he had eo long inhabited,
in hia native parish ; and, while the harlot, Fame, trumpeted forth the praises
of slaves and parasites, departed —
" The world uokDoviog, by the world uoknown."
In proceeding to St Clare, locally St Cleer, we passed the singular
memorial, called the " Other Half Stone," a granite pillar, resembling part of
& stone cross, the upper end fractured just where it might be presumed
the transverse portion had been attached. It is nearly eight feet in height,
and ornamented as in the above illustration. The probability that the
portion of the stone which was missing might be discovered, induced a
search, and in dig^ng the surrounding ground a second fragment was met
with, the fracttured part of which did not fit the shafl. This fragment bears
an inscription in Latin, — "Doniert entreats prayers for hie soul."* Doniert
is supposed to have been Dungertb, king of Cornwall, who was drowned in
the year 872.
* " Doniert rog&vit pro anima." Cornvall pouessed sereral of these inacnbed sepulchral stones,
wUcli were recently in czUtence. At St. Clement's, near Truro, one served for a gste-post, haring
«ot DpoD il the wordi, " Isoiocus Vitalis filios Torrici." Another, removed from ita original tile at
the cross-rotuU oear Fovey, and flaog inio a ditch, is mscribed, " Hie jacet Cirnsius Cunowori filius."
Between the chnrches of Gnlval and Madron a stone serves as a foot-bridge, with the inscription,
** Cnegnmi lil Enana." Knans wai the first king of Armorica, or Britttmy. At Worth; Vale,
near Camelford, a stone was taken np from serving as a foot-bridge, and preserved by one of the
Ladies Folwoatb, having upon it the words, " Catin hie jacet filius Magari." In St. Blacej pariEh,
where many fanman remains were discovered, there were columnar inscriptions of a sinjilar character ;
and <Mie near IKchel, which read, " Suani hie jacet" A square stone found in Cambom was placed
■gainst the church, by order of the late Lord dc DunstaQville, iuscribcd " Leniut jusit hec altare pro
Boima sna," Leniot is an old Cornish name.
58 KNGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
We now hurried forward to St. Clare. The
church, built of granite, ia a handsome structure,
consisting of two aiales and a nave. There ia
a fine zigzag Saxon door on the north eide ; the
windows, differing from each other in pattern,
make it probable they were donations, in which
the donors consulted their own taste ; they con-
bun some painted glass. The tower is one hun-
dred feet high, and admirably proportioned.
The hamlet consists of only a few mean build-
ings, and, with the church, stands upon a slope
facing the nortli. From the valley beneath, a hill
rises with great regularity of outline, through
which runs a murmuring brook. Upon this hill
stands the Trevethy Stone, at a spot visible over
a large circumjacent country.
Having walked round the church-yard, we
were induced to seek a temporary rest in a hum-
ble inn, the sign of which we do not recollect,
but there is only one place of the kind in the
church-town, and its description may serve for
that of its class throughout the county. We
entered a room about fifteen feet square, through
a passage very neat and clean. Upon the left,
on entering, was a large chimney, or, more cor^
rectly, hearth, as the term was understood by
our forefathers. This chimney place was at least
six feet wide, and five high. In the back of its
dingy recess were numerous hooks for hanging
pots and kettles. A trivet, over a small turf fire,
sustained an earthen pan of milk, the richer part
of which was coi^ulating into that unrivalled
delicacy, called " clouted cream," — matchless
with coffee, fruit, or in its own simple character,
— a delicacy, which tliey who know not are to be
pitied, and they who do know have no more to
acquire in the knowledge of a perfect condiment.
They place the milk in a vessel, with a large
surface exposed to the air. Some use a brass
pan, but in general an earthen vessel ie preferred, in the shape of the sec-
tion of an inverted cone, the wide part upwards. Upon this is hud a cover,
sustained by two upright pieces of wood, so as to make it an inclined
plane, that the whole surface of the railk may be exposed to the mr
CORNWALL. 59
between this lid and the edge of the vessel The milk is only suffered to
simmer. Experience dictates the time it should remain over the fire, which
is seldom more than two or three hours ; it is then removed, and stands for
twelve or fourteen hours in a cool place, when the cream is taken off for use
in its natural state, or to be made into butter. In the last case, the operation
is speedily performed by the hand in a wooden bowl, simply by moving the
cream round in one direction. The quantity of butter thus produced is a little
less than that given by raw cream from the same quantity of milk, but then
the latter is ameliorated, and will not so readily turn sour. This milk is a
favourite beverage, with or without the addition of water, among the farm
people and servants, who will not touch skimmed milk from its disposition to
acidity. The most delicate cream is not obtainable from cattle fed on the
richest pasturage ; it is destitute of the flavour acquired from herbage sweet
and less gross^ which is cropped by the beautiful Devonshire cattle, frequently
intermingled with plants peculiar to the west. Thus the honey gathered near
the Land's End, from the rich heaths and wild flowers, is preferable to any
other in England. Spenser knew of this delicacy, perhaps through Sir Walter
Kaleigh, when he wrote —
** She would often call him home.
And give him curds and clouted cream.**
This cream is peculiar to Cornwall, Devonshire, and Brittany, no doubt
carried over by the Cornish Britons, who settled in that part of France. The
"names of Trevanion, Carhayes, Grylls, and Scobell too are still found in Brit-
tany as in Cornwall, annexed to individuals or localities ; and many of the
habits of the Cornish may no doubt be traced there yet in the same manner.
At the side of the fire-place stood a " settle," as it is called in this county,
or a large wooden-backed seat ; a table, nearly seven feet long, with a corre-
sponding form on one side, and the window seat, nearly as long, on the other,
a few chairs, and a clock that ^^ ticked behind the door,'' completed the furni-
ture of the room, not forgetting the well-loaded dresser. Here we saw baking
upon the hearth, a mode as old, perhaps, as the days of the patriarchs. A
clean iron plate was laid in the capacious recess, which last permitted several
culinary operations to proceed together ; upon this plate the loaf was placed,
and an iron kettle reversed over it, upon which the turf embers were heaped.
The bread thus baked was excellent.
On qidtting this humble abode^ one of the inmates conducted us to the road
by which the well of St. Clare was to be found, and also pointed out the
distant path to the Trevethy Stone. The well of St. Clare ir situated on a
descent. The end wall only remains erect, covered with ivy and overshadowed
by an ash tree, as the engraver has here represented them.
The stones which lie in front are massy, and consist of groins and ribs be-
longing to the roof, cornices, and portions of the mouldings of a window.
60 ENOLAHD IN TUE NIKETEBKTU CENTURT.
The destruction of this -^ ^
pretty little chapel must
have taken place long ago ;
probahly in the time of
Henry VIII. This trans-
lucent spring BtiU supplies j
the neighbourhood from its
tranquil ware, and ia looked
upon with veneration. As
we stooped to quaff the de-
licious water, we thought
that if her saintship's character had been as transparent and lustrous as the
water of her well, she merited canonization. The lady died in 1252, at 70
years of age. In 1294 it is proved that the church was rated and endowed,
and perhaps the well chapel was erected about the same time, or both that
and the church between 1252 and 1294.
Descending further into the valley, and coming upon an open space, we
soon ascended a well-paved path between hedges ; and arriving nt a gate, dis-
covered near it, in a field of wheat, the object for which we were looking. It
is the laigest Cromlech now in existence in this country. The view of it
surprises, from the magnitude of the upper stone or slab, and its adjustment
upon the imposts ; rendered still more wonderful from the supposition that
the mechanical powers were unknown at the time it was erected. Older than
the inscribed solitary stones of which we have before spoken, and belonging -
to an order of sepulchral monuments much more complicated in the con-
struction, we become more anxious to acquire the knowledge respecting it
which we are at the same time conscious we can never attun. In the Combh
tongue Trev, or Tre, is a house, and m(A a grave ; hence " Trevethy " \»
the "house-grave." There are six granite imposts and two parallel slabs, one
of which is much smaller than the other ; both are placed in a direction from
east to west in the manner of an inclined plane, the most elevated part to
the east. We had no means of ascertaining the size of the upper horizontal
stone ; but take its length to be fourteen or fifteen feet, the thickness fifteen
inches, and the breadth nine or ten feet Some give the length sixteen feet,
the breadth ten, and the thitJtness fourteen inches. This enormous mass rests
upon the points of the imposts, seven or eight feet from the ground, and bears
upon five of them, one having so much of the weight that its apex seems
slightly cracked. There is a small hole at the higher end of the upper slab.
The middle impost at the eastern end is deficient in the lower comer, as if
it had been cut away to afford admission under the inferior slab within side.
This may be observed in the following representations of the eastern end
and southern side. The hill rising behind it in the engraving, half obscured
by clouds, is Caradon.
CORNWALL.
It was impossible not to feel, while we were coYered by the shadow of a
monument erected for some mighty"chief of the past, that " forty centarica"
pie
ble
the
.ed
se-
rai
ith
62
ENGLAND IN TU£ NINETEENTH CENTURY.
We posted from Liskeard to Callington : the road presenting a succession of
the most formidable hills that ever troubled weary horses. About half way
we observed, on the left side of the road, the little church of St. Ive, of
which the Duke of Cornwall is patron ; it once belonged to Tavistock Abbey,
and had been a preceptory of the knights hospitallers, restored by Queen
Slary in 1575. The hamlets of Cadson and Diner-
dake are in this parish. The manor was once the
property of the Killigrews, from whom it came, by
marriage, to the Wreys. Mr. W. Morshed, by his
will, in 1739, gave his lands of Keason, here, for the
education of poor children ; but his bequest has never
been carried into effect. Several manor houses are
become the dwellings of farmers ; among them is Ap-
pledorford, once belonging to the Trevenor family.
The church of St. Ive is b handsome edifice, with
windows of elaborate tracery, and a fine tower of
twelve pinnacles ; four at the angles and eight sur-
mounting the buttresses, of a better proportion and
presenting a neater appearance than most edifices so
superfluously decorated.
The houses in Callington are principally disposed in one main street, tolerably
broad. Near the church, on the north side, a short street leads to the Laun-
ceston road, which town is distant about ten miles. This road, soon after
leaving Callington, and passing Badmore mine on the left hand, and Kit Hill
upon the right, having beneath it the Holm Bush mines, goes through a
country well cultivated and in some places highly picturesque. In one spot,
between four and five miles from Callington, the road descends into a well-
wooded valley ; after passing, upon the right-hand, Whiteford House, charm-
ingly situated, the seat of Sir John Call. In this valley the Inny flows on its
way to the Tamar, into which it falls opposite a place called Inny Foot The
Inny rises in the moors near Davidstow. On the opposite side of this stream
a very steep hill is ascended, and upon the summit stands a small inn, from
which the distance to Launceston is five miles.
Callington has been a market-town since the reign of Henry III., when it
belonged to the family of Trevenor ; and it possessed^ from a remote period,
the grant of an annual fair. It was made a borough by Queen Elizabeth, but
was disfranchised under the Reform Act. The town and parish have increased
in population, owing to the activity of the mines in the vicinity. It is
governed by a portreeve, annually elected. There is no edifice in Callington
worthy of notice, except the church, which has three aisles ; the centre aisle
being very lofty. It was built about 1460, by Nicolas de Ashton, who with
his wife and family are interred here ; their effigies yet remain engraved upon
a brass plate. There is an alabaster monument in the church to Lord
CORNWALL. 6S
"Wiilougliby de Broke, lord of the manor, who died about 1502, being then
steward of the duchy of Cornwall. Thie church ia under the same presentment
as that of SouthhiU, and is properly a chapel of that parish. In tlie church-yard
is an ancient octagonal stone cross, or rather the shaft, carrying a representa-
tion of the crucifixion. Callington, where King Arthur is smd to have had a
palace and kept his court, is five miles from Newbridge upon the Tamar.
The road to Tavbtock, wliich crosses this bridge, lies along the side of Hengist
Down. The level it takes without approaching near the summit, the highest
part of which is Kit HiU, before named, affords one of the finest views in the
kingdom. Kit Hilt summit consists of granite in massive craggs; schistose
rocks repose against the base, and, upon this summit, the mine has been worked,
the quartz discovered in which was impregnated with wolfram. The country
commanded from this elevation is of immense extent, including nearly the
whole course of the Tamar, the sea terminating the horizon southwards, both
in Plymouth Sound, and still farther M'est towards Looe. Dartmoor Tors
linut the prospect to the eastward, while northward it appears illimitable.
Westward the tors and hills about Caradon are seen, one beyond the otlier,
all appearing spread like a rich carpet of Persia's loom underneath the feet.
Taking the road from Callington to Saltash, for a short distance, and then
turning down a lane on the northern side, we arrived where a second lane
branched off to the right band, and two or three cottages nestled in a hol-
low. Near these is a farm-house, close to the back of which ia situated
Dupath WelL The building is entire ; the walls and roof are of granite, the
roof ribbed and groined with the same material A spring of very pure water
rises near the door, and is _ _ _
received in a stone vessel,
overgrown with briars.
Overflowing the granite
trou^, at the edge of
which it rises, the water
runs ioto the little chapel,
inundating the floor, and
then flows out at the end,
under a small window
worked in the stone. Fur-
ther on the stream is dam-
med up, and broods of
ducks and.geeae find solace _
in the water once so re-
nowned. The spot is a very pretty one, though encumbered and defaced
with all kinds of husbandry rubbish. Several green shady paths meet here,
wet from the neglected water, once the routes of pilgrims to visit this storied
and pellucid spring.
64 ENOT.AND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Deeply shrouded in the gloom of departed time is one of the histories con-
nected with Dupath Spring. It was the site of a fierce combat, the scene of
heroic enterprise and deeds of noble daring, for a lady's love- It is well some
monument yet remains, replacing that which she, the disconsolate, raised to
bear witness how nobly and how well her knight had combatted in her behalf.
It was at Dupath Spring that he met his rival, who was not the beloved of her
for whom he came to challenge the mortal combat. He had neither known
her in that verdure of youth, when if an attachment of the heart be formed, it
hangs like the cherished dream of some lost delight upon the spirit, only to
strengthen itself by recurrence, and to deepen the sadness of the recollection.
Gotlieb was a Saxon, wealthy indeed, and sufficiently proud, while firom his
rank he was entitled to ask the daughter of the noblest baron in the land ; but
he was not qualified with the *' prevailing gentle art," which is sovereign in
winning the love of woman.
Sir Colan had known the lady in his earlier years, but had presumed
no farther than to be satisfied he was viewed with eyes of strong partiality.
In possession of little wealth, — ^which circumstance was sufficient to render
hopeless the consent of the father of his mistress, — after exchanging vows
of constancy with her, he went abroad, for the purpose of seeking both
fortune and reputation, through the perils and hazards of war, according to
the custom of the time. Sir Colan obtained both fortune and reputation,
returning home full of hope in the smile of her whom he loved better than
life. On his arrival, he was informed that the hand of his beloved mistress
had been solicited of her father by Gotlieb, and that it had not been re-
fused, although the maiden expressed her repugnance to the marriage. There
was only the alternative of challenging his adversary to prove his right, ac^
cording to ancient practice ; and this alternative was embraced by Sir Colan
with joy. The time was fixed, the place of the combat was appointed near
Dupath Spring, far from the eyes of the multitude ; for few were those per-
mitted by the consent of the combatants to be present. The contest was fierce
and long ; for both were skilful in the use of arms. Sir Colan received the first
wound, wMch rather seemed to inspirit than discourage him. As if nerved
with fresh energy, he pressed his adversary so vigorously that he inflicted
upon him a severe wound, and by a second effi^rt drove his sword between the
joints of his armour, and slew him on the spot. He was not himself unscathed ;
his wound soon rankled, and the more from his impatience to make his mistress
his own before the altar. This impatience retarded that which a more enduring
disposition might have secured. Day by day his danger increased. At last
he was informed that death must soon be upon him. They solicited him to
send for an ecclesiastic without delay to shrive his soul, and urged him to forget
earth in the prospect before him of soon ceasing to be a partaker in the hopes
or disappointments of the living. The wounded knight smiled, but made no
other reply than that which has been so beautifully put into his mouth, in
CORNWALL. 65
verse, by an elegant writer,* whom we have akeady quoted, but who gives the
knight the name of Siward, —
*' * Briog me,' he said, ' the steel I wore
When Dapath's spring was dark with gore,
The spear I raised for Githa's glove.
Those trophies of my wars and love.'
** Upright he sate within his hed.
The helm on his nnyielding head ;
Sternly he leaned upon his spear-
He knew his passing hoar was near.
** * Githa, thine hand I' How wild that cry I
How fiercely glared his vacant eye !
' Soond, Herald !' was his shout of pride —
* Hear how the noble Siward died !' ''
Leaving a spot consecrated by tlus touching story, and passing along a
narrow road, eastward of the well, we came at once upon a cottage under-
neath the brow of a green hill. One of the finest thorn trees we ever
saw, grew only a few yards in its front, and at the root of this thorn gushed
forth a spring of the purest water, received in what had evidently been a stone
font of antique workmanship ; the overflowing water afterwards ran down a
small declivity. On one side of the spring stood a young woman, washing
some articles of linen, comely, and for her station well dressed ; so that, in
combination with the scenery and the cloudless sky, we almost fancied our-
selves to be in the south of Europe. Inquiring our way from one of the
sweetest rural pictures we ever beheld, to the banks of the Tamar, we were
directed to a path ^^ about a gun-shot ofi*," rather a singular description of dis-
tance for a female to adopt ; perhaps she was the wife or daughter of a game-
keeper or poacher, and accustomed to the term. We entered a coppice, and
quickly found ourselves in the right road. We had not gone far before we
came upon the workings of an abandoned silver mine. " A wild sort of an
adventure this undertaking, friend,'' we observed to a man who was passing ;
in allusion to the abandonment of what, evidently from the works, had been
begun with great spirit.
" WDd enough, to think of finding silver that would pay them here," said
he whom we addressed.
It was a London speculation, I suppose ?"
I believe so ; I have heard all sorts of stories about these kind of things,
when people did not know what to do with their money. They say sUver urns
were shown about London as made of the silver out of some mines here ; and
where there is a chance of making money a Londoner is never behind-hand."
" Then you think there was no chance of any thing good turning up here?"
* The Rev. Mr. Hawker.
K
66 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
"I must not aay that; there ia the proverb, you know—' Hingston down
well y'wroiight, is worth London town dearly bought;" but I believe expe-
rienced miners thought the same as I do about the matter. Whether this was
a London or a Cornish adventure, I do not know ; but I do know eome London
ones, not many miles off, where money waa plenty at first, and there were some
that did not lose by the loss. Old miners could tell many stories about these
undertakings." Here our conversation terminated, our informant passing off
by a different road from that which we were going.
We quickly reached a village called Metherell, and came in sight of the Tamar,
winding far below among dense woods ; and crossing a field, in which was a
triangular building that at a distance looked like a church tower, we found
ourselves at the back of the old mansion of Cothele, buried in woods of oak,
ash, and chestnut, a delightful seclusion. The house stands a considerable height
above the Tamar, yet below the brow of the hill at the foot of which that river
glides BO gently and stealthily along. This antuent embattled house is built
round a quadrangle, one
side of which is occupied
by the hall, hung with old
arms, armour, and stags'
horns ; one figure in com-
plete mail stands at the
upper end. Heads of an-
telopes and deer recall the
chase of ancient times. A
massy wooden table and
' form are placed across the
' window, which contains a
fragment or two of pMnt«d
glass. On the north side
of the house, there is a
square tower, in which the
apartments are larger than
elsewhere. A door, in the
north-weat angle of the
hall, leads to the interior
apartments, which are fur-
nished after the fashion
of the time of Elizabeth.
Cabinets of antique make ; old music books, one of wliich bears date 1556 ;
brass dogs on the hearths, such as were used before coal fires were introduced ;
carved worm-eaten chairs, and beds of antique fabrication ; with furniture ready
to fall to pieces from age, stand exactly aa they stood when tenanted by stiff-
ruffled Indies and gentlemen. Some of the rooms are hung with tapestry. One
CORNWALL. 67
contains the history of Romulus and Remus, exceedingly well executed. The
tapestried rooms puzzle the stranger, from their having no appearance of a door,
the tapestry being uplifted to enter them. Some carving on the cabinets is well
worthy a close inspection, for its beautiful execution. In all parts of this old
mansion there are objects exceedingly interesting to the lover of antiquities.
Drinking vessels, china and earthenware, various domestic utensils, and many
things of which it would puzzle a modern domestic to divine the purpose, —
*' Brown floors below of polished oak,
And ancient tables round about,
Of Noah's broker, perhaps, bespoke.
When the ark's family went out"
There is an old chapel, the painted windows of which have been injured. This
is a great curiosity, and highly interesting from its exhibition of the simple
places of worship in the domestic architecture of the past time. Still remaining
attached to this chapel is the altar iumiture ; on a part of which the figure of
the prophet Jeremiah is embroidered, perhaps by some " ancient" of the fami-
lies of Cothele or Edgecombe. There is in addition a set of the twelve apostles,
worked upon purple velvet sprinkled with gold.
We were once surprised by evening in those rooms, — long years have since
passed, — the impression was striking.* The moon was up, the harvest moon ;
and the " tales of other times " seemed about to be realized. The tapestry '
looked alive, as the moonbeams, streaming through the narrow windows, par-
tially but dimly lit the space within. We looked out upon the black dense
woods from one of the apartments, conjecturing what might have been the
personal appearance of those who had been the inhabitants of that house.
Many a fair arm had rested upon the same stone window sill ; and many a fair
* Perfectly illustrated in the lines : —
" Twilight comes on, and wraps in gloom
The rooms now changed to ghostly places ;
Windows, like loopholes in a tomb.
Make spectres seem the fairest faces.
" The tapestry frowns, the owlets scream.
Each footstep yields unearthly sounds,
Mirth dies, the red stars dimly gleam.
Unbodied beings go their rounds.
** The armour in the hall is moving.
The helm-plumes wave, and from their cases
Swords seem to start ; all clearly proving
How senses sometimes quit their places. —
** And man, creation's whim, the wonder
And god of his own vain condition.
Becomes, before no voice of thunder.
The craven worm of superstition !"
68 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
face gazed from thence upon the same moon and the same woods. In the
recesses of the same oriels^ the painted light colouring their features, the
lovers of ages gone had whispered soft things together. Stately dames had
trod those chambers, and what was then deemed the pomp and pageantry of
rank had fluttered in the full sense of all but their own nothingness. Every
thing now was silent, deserted, dead: — where did the missing ones sojourn ?
" Echo answered. Where ?"
Cothele was the seat of the family of that name until the reign of Edward
III., when Hilaria de Cothele, heiress of William de Cothele, married William
Edgcombe, or, modernised, " Edgcumbe," and the house came to the present
family. Connected with Cothele as Lord Mount Edgcumbe must feel himself, —
very few individuals in England remaining in possession of a family residence,
unaltered for so long a date, — he may well take a pride in its maintenance.
But the interest of Cothele is not confined to the antique mansion itself; the
woods, which go down from the house to the river, contain some noble trees.
The chestnuts are of enormous bulk ; and the largest, now cut down, were the
astonishment of all who saw them, — ^being above a thousand years old, and
flinging out gigantic limbs that challenged the proudest oaks for size and pic-
turesque beauty. It is interesting to contemplate this mighty senility among
the ancients of the forest, when previously led into a certain train of associ-
ations. Amid the grandeur of their decay every gigantic limb looks great
truths. We had just left the dwelling of other days, and stood imder the very
boughs that, still alive, had cast their shadows upon those who inhabited the
desolate chambers we had quitted — those passed to the other side of the
widening gulph opened between them and ourselves. Irretrievable as the sepa-
ration is, we seem at such moments to discover a link which, though but of
gossamer, is a connexion between their humanity and our own. Here the
foliage rises—
** Shade above shade, a woody theatre
Of stateliest growth."
A sinuosity of the river contributes to increase the imposing effect of these
dark masses. We looked upwards towards the outline they described upon
the heavens with admiration, fore-shortened as they were, and standing out
from the azure above. There is a projecting point on the foot-path which
leads towards Calstock, running parallel with the river all the way from the
chapel ; and there is a little quay upon this path, from whence these woods are
seen to great advantage. From this place the following view is taken.
The chapel just mentioned, and of which the roof is observed at some dis-
tance among the woods, is connected with a memorable incident. It stands
upon a perpendicular elevation, which projects from the bold sweeping hill above,
and is reared upon the only rock which presents itself along the base of the
elevation ; except one or two close to the water, rising very little above it» and
CORNWALL. 69
richly tinted with Uchen.
Sir Richard Edgcombe
being suspected of par-
tizanship with the Earl
of Richmond, during the
reign of Richard III., it
was detennined to secure
him, and he was closely
pursued from his house into
the woods. Having gained
a little upon his pursuers,
the thought struck him,
just as he reached the sum-
mit of the rock upon which
the chapel stands, to put a
atone into his cap and ding it into the stream, while he himself slipped down
the face of the rock ; for, although of a fearful height, roots, trunks, and
branches of trees were growing out from the chinks, by which it was easy to
descend some portion of the way, so far indeed, as not to be seen from the
summit The rock projects into the water, therefore its face is not visible
from the same side of the river. Sir Richard's pursuers thought he had drowned
himself, and gave up the pursuit. He thus gained time to cross over into
Brittany ; and upon his return built the chapel, in grateiul recollection of his
escape. Carew relates the story somewhat differently, and says that Sir
Richard threw hia cap into the water while his pursuers were hot at his heels ;
but it is evident that in such a case he could hardly have escaped. The chapel
is small and plain. In one of the windows is some pamted glass, having the
female effigy of a saint, the crucifixion, and the family arms. On the altar is
a gilded crucifix and the image of a bishop ; and upon the wall an old painting
of a female holding a book, while opposite to it is the representation of an
angel, with a sceptre Sir Richard Edgcombe was comptroller of the household
to Henry VIL ; and having been sent upon an embassy to France, died at
Morlaix, upon his way home, in 1489, and was buried there. The represen-
tation of him here shows a knight in armour, kneehng before a desk, and by
hia side a bishop, the counterpart of the figure upon the altar, which some
affirm to be the resemblance of Thomas a Bcckct. It was here, at Cothele, that
the mother of Richard Kdgcombe, who was the first baron, created in 1742,
was singularly recovered from death. She had been Ul, had apparently expired,
and her body had been deposited in the family vault ; the interment over, the
sexton, who knew that a gold ring, or rings, were upon her fingers, went
into the vaidt; and opening the coffin, proceeded to dislodge the super-
fluous ornaments, and in so doing pinched the fingers, perhaps not very
mercifully. All at once he observed the body move ; he became terror-struck.
70 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
and fled^ leaving his lanthom behind him. The ladj goon recovered
sufficiently to get out of her coffin, and move away from the place of her
interment. She regained her healthy and had a son five years after this sin-
gular event.
Cothele stands in the parish of Calstock, the latter being a living in the gift
of the Duke of Cornwall ; and the fine hanging woods, tinted in autumn with
hues that seem peculiarly their own, in warmth and richness, ahnost reach from
Cothele to that little town, where there is a ferry over the river. Calstock is
about five miles from Callington. The church stands upon tlie summit of a
lofty hill, overlooking the Tamar, and commanding a noble prospect ; but the
ascent from the water is tedious. In this church is a burial vault of the Edg-
combe family, built in 1588. There are monuments to Pearse Edgcombe, who
died in 1666, and to the Countess of Sandwich, the widow of the gallant Earl
who lost his life in combat with De Ruyter, in 1672.
These allusions to the scenery on the banks of the Tamar require some
notice of that celebrated Cornish river. The Tamar rises upon Sherston
Moor, in the parish of Moorwinstow, not far from the source of the Torridge,
which flows into Devonshire, and near a third stream, which reaches the sea
westwards. The Tamar has a course of fifty-nine miles to Plymouth Sound.
Passing near Yeowellston, where a road crosses it out of Devonshire, and
receiving two or three insignificant streams from each bank, it flows tolerably
direct until it reaches the aqueduct-bridge, which carries over it the Holsworthy
branch of the Bude canal; the Launceston branch running nearly parallel
with its course on the Cornish side. Near New-Hay it furnishes a reser-
voir for the Bude canal. At North Tamerton, about fiftjeen miles from its
source, to which place it gives a name, it is crossed by a bridge of stone,
and begins to put on that character of interest which increases as it flows
southwards ; at every bend displaying changes in the highest degree attrac-
tive to the lovers of picturesque landscape. Near Alvacot it runs between
eminences clothed with coppice woods in a narrow vale ; and a little above,
receives from the Cornish and Devonshire sides several streams. It then
passes Great and Little Tamerton; and near Newbridge is joined by the
Werrington.
It 18 said that the banks of the Werrington river were the scene of the loves
of Edgar and Elphreda. The meeting of the lovers is asserted to have been
here ; and is strengthened by the fact of the spot where they met being to this
day called " Ladies' Cross," about two miles from Launceston, and a mile or
more west of the Tamar, in a part of the parish within the limits of Devon-
shire. Tradition adds, that the bed in which the king and his mistress slept
was long preserved there. Elphreda was the daughter of Orgarius, Duke of
Cornwall, and was one of the loveliest women of her time. The fame of her
beauty reached the ears of Edgar, who sent his favourite nobleman. Earl
Ethelwould, of East Auglia, to ascertain if what was said of her beauty were
CORNWALL. 71
true, intending in that case to ask her hand in marriage. Ethelwould set off
for the West, and soon reached the residence of Orgarius ; when he himself was
so taken with the beauty of the lady that he wooed her, and obtained her
father's consent. Ethelwould returned to the king, and made a very indifferent
report of the lady's charms ; saying she was fair, but not answerable to the
report made of her ; at the same time he asked the lady of the king for himself,
as by obtaining her hand he should thereby greatly increase his fortunes. The
king, confiding in his favourite's honour, gave his consent, and Ethelwould
solemnized the marriage. Soon afterwards the fame of Elphreda's beauty was
sounded louder than ever at court, and the king began to suspect the deceit
which liad been practised. He went down to Exeter, and sent forwards word
that he would meet with Duke Orgarius in the forest of Dartmoor ; Ethelwould
and Elplureda being then staying at the residence of Orgarius. Ethelwould,
suspecting the king's motive, imfolded to his wife the real state of the matter,
and how he had disparaged her beauty to the king, and entreated her to dress
herself to the least advantage, that in mean array she might be less regarded.
Her husband then, renewing his entreaties with flattery and a loving kiss,
hoped he had succeeded in his object, — ill judge as he was of woman's ruling
passion ! Elphreda began to reason with herself upon the folly of concealing
her beauty from a monarch whose queen she might have been. **Must I
needs befool myself to be only his fair fool, who has so despightly kept me
from being a queen ! He may answer it to his master, who hath bubbled me
with a coronet for a crown ; and made me a subject, who might have been a
sovereign." Then, ** right woman in doing nothing more than what is for-
bidden," say the chronicles, she made the most of her beauty. She bathed and
anointed herself with the sweetest perfumes, curled her rich locks with care,
and sprinkled them with diamonds ; over her breast pearls and rubies glittered
like stars ; and from her ears depended diamonds of the richest water, sparkling
as she moved gracefully along, more angel than woman in appearance, to the
presence of the king, whom she received with a grace and obeisance that looked
like enchantment. Struck with admiration, and disgusted at the perfidious
conduct of the man who had abused his confidence, the king went out hunting,
and finding a retired spot where opportunity favoured, upbraided Ethelwould
w^ith his perfidy, and slew him. Edgar afterwards took Elphreda for his wife,
and had two sons by her, Edmund who died young, and Ethelred, afterwards
king of England ; who reigned in place of Edward, the son of Edgar by a first
marriage ; but who, when hunting near Corfe Castle, was treacherously miu*-
dered by order of Elphreda, as he was proceeding to visit her unattended, in
the sixteenth year of his age, a.d. 979. Elphreda afterwards became a
penitent for her crimes, and died in the monastery of Worwel, in Hampshire,
covering herself with crosses, and in dreadful fear of the Evil One taking her
to himself.
The Attery next joins the Tamar, and just below it is Poulston Bridge ; after
72 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH
which, a wood-
en bridge intei^
vening, that of
Greyston spans
the river tn a
very beautiful
situation, as
may be judged
from the illus-
tration.
The Lyd river
from the De-
vonshire side,
and the Inny
from Cornwall, the last near Gather Mather woods, now fall into the
main stream.
This may suffice for a description of the river downwards to Inny Foot Wc
will now meet that point, proceeding upwards from Plymouth Sound. On the
Cornwall side, after quitting the Narrows at Devil's Point, the private gardens
at Mount Edgcumbe are perceived in all their redolence. Next, the house
appears, at the end of a fine avenue of overshadowing oaks and elms. Further
on is a road that leads to Maker church, and a rock crowned with an obelisk.
These are succeeded by the creeks of Millbrook and St John. The former,
called by Leland a " rich Gchar town," was a borough, but was excused from
returning members ; being too poor to pay four shillings a-day to its repre-
sentatives. Near Millbrook is the brewery for the Navy. Torpoint, a bustling
village in time of war, and a chapelry of East Antony, having a ferry acroM
Hnmoaze to Morice-town, suc«eeds ; and is the mwl road to Falmouth by
Plymouth. Thanks, a seat of Lord Graves, is a little further on, upon the
Cornish shore; and soon after, the woods of Antony House come down to the
water, in dark-green promontories, and form the southern entrance of the
Lynher river, the view of which abounds in picturesque objects. Ince Castle,
nestled in wood, seems to close up the view ; cornfields and meadows appearing
yet higher over the trees. The opposite point of land, forming the entrance
of the Lynher, is that upon which stands the town of Saltash. The Devon-
shire side, from Devil's Point, is full of interest, derived more from art than
nature. Arsenals, wharfs, a powder magazine, and the town and lines of
Devonport, cover a large portion of the shore. A pretty creek nms up to a
place called "Weston Mill, and the land comes down rather abruptly to the
river as far as the Saltash ferry; where, by one of those selfish vagaries of
feudal times, the natural boundary was broken, and Cornwall crossed a river,
three furlongs wide, to attach a piece of land a mile or two square in the sister
county. All the way to this place the ships of war in ordinary are stationed.
CORNWALL.
and 80 fine is the harbour that they have space to swing round at single moor-
ings. Narrowing at the ferry, the Tamar soon expands again, each hank vying
wifli the other in beauty. The river now puts on a lake-like form. The
Cornish ahore falls in above Saltash, which stands upon one horn of a fine
crescent, convex westwards, answered on the north by the promontory on which
is situated the church of
Ijandulph, with its em-
bowering trees, — the beau
ideal of a place for the
weary to be at rest; and
over these, smiling corn-
fields and pastures rise
still higher. Bound this
Dortiiem point a gentle
hollow agun intervenes,
wilii the village of Car-
green upon its northern
side.
The manor of Landulph once belonged to the Courtenay family ; and the
old mansion house of Clifiion yet renuuns, with its hall and chapel; both much
decayed. The church of Landulph is remarkable for containing, upon a small
metal tablet, the following inscription : —
FALEOLOGUB,
OU^UAL LINE or THE I^ST CHBIBTUN ■MPEBOBS Ot OBXBCE,
CHE BOH OF TSEODOItE, THE BON OF JOHN, THE BON OF THOHAB, HECONQ
PALEOLOOTTS, THE EIGHTH OF TSAI MAKE, AND LAST OF THE
IN COMtTANTINOPLS, TILL BDBDITED BT THE TDREa,
BALLS, OF HADLBT, IN SCFFOLK, OBXT.,
TBEODORE, JOHN, rEEDINANDO, MAMA, AND DOBOTHI.
KB PBFABTED THIS LDE AT CLTFTOH, THE 21ST Ot JANDABT, 1636."*
The history of two sons of this descendant from one, of whom Mahomet II.
declared he " had found many slaves in Peloponnesus, but no man save him,"
is unknown ; but Dorothy, the younger daughter, was married, at Landulph*
to William Arundell, in 1636, and died in 1681. Mary, who died unmarried,
was buried in the same church in 1674.
About twenty years ago, the vault in which Paleologus was interred was
* TbcN ii BD error id Hub daU, u the eDtry of bit borial a Odober 20, 1636.
74 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
accidentally opened ; and curiosity prompted the lifting of the lid. The coffin
was entire, made of oak. The body was sufficiently perfect to show that the
dead man exceeded the common stature. The head was a long oval, and the
nose believed to have been aquiline. A long white beard reached low down
the breast. Theodore, the elder son of Paleologus, was a sailor ; and died on
board the Charles ILj as is proved by his will, dated 1693. He appears to
have possessed landed property, and to have left a widow named Martha. The
marriage of Theodore's sister, already mentioned, is entered in the register,
" Dorothea Paleologus de Stirpe Imperaiorvm.'*^ In Landulph, then, it is pro-
bable, rests the last survivors of a great dynasty, descended from the race of
Comneni, the sovereigns of Byzantium.
From Landulph, the course of the river becomes north-west as far as the
point upon which Clifflon stands ; the Cornish shore presenting several pretty
indentations, above one of wluch is the farm called Hay. Returning to Saltash,
and tracing the Devonshire bank from the passage-house, the Tamar's lake-
like form is equally preserved by an indentation upon that side, presenting a
scene of extraordinary beauty. A creek, called Budshed Creek, runs up to
the village of Tamerton Foliott ; and a little northwards, separate by a point
of land which severs Budshed from the Tavy, here joining the Tamar, the
landscape is truly striking. The narrow and wood-covered shores of Budshed
contrast their deepness of foliage with the waters beneath, that flash brightly
on one side of the creek, and lie dark as death upon the other, from the
sombre hue of the objects mirrored in their bosom. A long vista opens up the
Tavy ; bounded on one hand by the shades and rich foliage of Warleigh, for
a considerable distance, and then by the woods of Maristow, the house being
seen behind all. Glancing up the Tamar itself, towards Hall's Hole, having
on the right the small creek of Liphill, the river, if possible, increases in
beauty. Over the mainlands on the north, towards Beer Alston, the tors of
Dartmoor, beyond Tavistock, rise in darkly-grey undulations against the
azure of the sky. The glance cast down the Cornwall shore, discovers hills,
fields, and woods, thrown back in an amphitheatrical form. The river here,
viewed at high water, when it presents an expanse of above a mile wide, and
an unbroken reach of between four and five, is enchanting. Delicious are the
rural nooks upon the shores ; and while the scenery is ever disclosing fresh
beauties in wood, hill, pasture, rock, and stream, the mind is kept alive, and
the fancy perpetually employed in anticipation. Here the waves sparkle, every
dash of the oar r^ing a sensible freshness, and difiusing flashes of light from
the reflecting crystal ; — ^there the water seems to sleep in a tranquillity like
that of the blessed, — green coloured from the reflected herbage, the very *^ rio
verde," — ^the " green water," — of the Spanish ballad
But our oar must be plied ; it is not fitting to linger too long about the
loveliness that so carries the mind captive. The river grows narrower. On
CORNWALL. 75
the Cornwall side is a promontory, meeting a corresponding hollow upon
that of Devon ; and here commences one of those serpentine curves to which
the Tamar owes a great part of its picturesque attraction. The first point
passed, keeping close in the channel which lies upon the Devonshire shore, at
once a north-western course is exchanged for a south-western, and this is
changed again very soon for a north-eastern. Upon clearing the first curve,
nearly in a line with a 'projecting point of land on the Devon side, PentiUy
Castle appears over the Cornish bank, rising abruptly from the water, — a
vision of beauty upon a noble eminence. Pentilly is a building in that modern
Gothic taste which has yet to acquire some definite name* It was erected
irom the designs of the late Mr. Wilkins, and looks well from the river. The
cost to its owner, Mr. John Tillie Coryton, was 50,000/. All around is well-
wooded ; the foliage, luxuriant. There is a wildness too about the spot, and
wild objects appear. The graceful heron may be seen watching its prey;
and many other aquatic birds. Coming round the land, and catching the house
suddenly from the water, the effect is much heightened. The stranger uncon-
sciously " suspends the dashing oar," that he may enjoy, to the fullest extent,
a acene so charmingly picturesque.
It was opposite Pentilly, some years ago, that a singular accident occurred
from lightning. Mr. James Tillie was then owner of the castle, as it was
called, since removed to make way for the modem building. Mr. Tillie
had pushed off his boat into the river, with a few friends, intending to fish ;
and the party, with servants, were waiting the proper time of the tide for the
salmon ; when, on a sudden, a violent clap of thunder wa^ heard, and an ad-
jacent field and meadow seemed to be in a flame. A ball of fire, at the same
moment, shot over the hedge of a steep wood on the opposite bank of the Tamar,
and passed diagonally across the boat, from the bow to the stem-quarter, with the
speed of thought. Mr. TiUie's servant received a violent blow on the shoulder
and head. A gentleman who sat next to him was struck deaf for a consider-
able time. Mr. TiUie was in the middle of the boat, and distinctly saw the ball
pass him, about three feet distant from lus face. He described it as oval, and
somewhat pointed. He was struck on the back part of the head ; his eyes
closed for the moment, and he sprang up, he supposed, two or three feet, from
the shock ; and yet was afterwards surprised to find himself upon his legs,
imagining he was still seated. The comer of his Jiat was taken away, as
if it. had been shot off by a bullet. Another servant was thrown on a fishing
net, and remained senseless for several hours afterwards ; his face was black-
ened ; while a tenant of Mr. Tillie, named Pethan, was struck on the temple
by the ball, and fell dead into the river. He was instantly taken out, with his
dress on fire. He had no wound, of consequence, upon his person, but his
clothes were torn, and smelled of sulphur. Three persons were standing upon
the shore, among whom the ball fell. One received a violent blow upon the
head ; the second had his eye-brows singed ; while the third, between whose
76 ENGLAND tS THE NDIETEENTB CEKTURY.
legs the ball went down isto the sand, only perceived a sudden warmth come
upon him.
Upon the north aide of Pentilly Caatle, a little distance off, a small stream
faUs into the Tamar, near the foot of an eminence called Mount Ararat,
crowned with a tower. The whole hill to the grounds from the house is
finely wooded. With this solitary tower is connected a story of Sir James
Tillie, one of the owners of Pentilly, who died in 1712, and left the estate to
his sbter's son, James Woolley, who took the name of TiUie. Some said that
he was an atheist ; others, that he was a bon vivant, who cared nothing at all
about religion, and acted up to the sensual maxim, " Let us eat and drink,
for to-morrow we die." His enjoyments in this world, being of such a cast^
he desired that, when he was dead, the recollection of them might be kept up,
among the living, by the mode of his interment; and that he might be placed
in a chMr before a table, garnished with bottles, glasses, pipes, and tobacco, in
his customary dress, and that he might thus be phiced in an apartment under
the tower. He was placed, according to his deure, as respected tiie site of hi«
interment, not in a chair, but in a coffin. It had been reported tiiat the whole
matter was a fable, and that no such inhumation ever took place ; but we were
informed, by a gentleman well acquainted with Pentilly, that some years ago
a lady of the family being desirous of discovering whether there was any
truth in the tale, had the vault or chamber opened, and the dead man's re-
mans were discovered to have been deposited there in a coffin ; while, in the
upper part of the tower, his bust was found in white marble. The estate came
afterwards to the grandson's child, John Coryton ; whose son is John Tillie
Coryton, Esq., the present owner.
The side of the river op-
posite Pentilly rises high,
and consists of rock, with
here and there a little wood.
It is remarkable, that as
one Mde of the river puts
on a less interesting cha-
racter, the other generally,
from its attraction upon
the opposite shore, restores
the balance of beauty.
The Tamar now makes
a long curve between the
hills, until it reaches the
quay of Cothele, about two miles above Pentilly Castle. Here the river is
bounded by the most luxuriant wood on both sides, up to a hollow called
Dane's Comb, on the southern side of Cothele House. When, gliding along as
if it embodied all the tranquillity in the world in its own bosom, the Tamar
CORirWALL.
washes the chapel rock at Cothele, and bends at a sharp angle, taking a south-
east turn, and passing under the town of Calstock ; a poor place, but, from por-
tion, contributing much to enhance the effect of the picturesque scenery around.
From Calstock it winds round Harewood House, the seat of Sir Salusbury
Trelawny, most charmingly situated, and ahnoet surrounded by the river ; and
passing Morwellham Quay, upon the Devonshire side, to which place sea-borne
vessels ascend with the tide, it makes a retrograde turn, and comes back to within
half a mile of Calstock, measuring overiand ; though, by water, the distance is
above three miles. The Devonshire bank is bounded by the lolly heights of
Morwellham, and the towering crags called Morwell Bocks. The Cornish
shore is low, as if there had once been a lake upon that side. Few spots can
exceed in grandeur this part of the Tamar. Granite rocks with perpendicular
faces, except a few hollows filled with vegetation, extend a considerable distance
along the river. Some, time-rent and shattered, seem scarcely to maintain
their places. Now, peaked in immense masses, they tower towards the sky,
as if their bases were set deep in the bowels of the world. Here, oaks grow
from small rents or recesses, where they can fix their roots ; in other places,
the rocks scarcely show a little heather or tangled grass. This scenery con-
tinues up to what is called the Weir Head. About the Weir Head there is
much that resembles some scenes in Derbyshire, but upon a larger scale.
Here a weir crosses the Tamar, in order to feed a lock which conveys barges
higher, the water falling about three feet. This spot generally limits the
voyages of boats up the river.
It must not be imagined ~ "
that this fine river loses
its attractions among the
granite precipices at the
Weir Head. These rocks
continue to Newbridge ;
and, as the reader will ob-
serve in the steel engrav- '
ing, the scenery here is such i
aa is rarely surpassed in i
beauty. The picturesque
effect of the bridge is re-
markablygood. Itisjoined,
on the Cornish side, to
the bottom of a steep hill,
op which the road conducts directly to the great elevation of Kingston Down :
on the Devonshire side, towards Tavistock, the shore is much lower. The
distant scenery consists of noble wood-covered eminences, nin iUn g meadows,
with cultivation and wildness intenningled, the stream Sowing gently and
transparently along. Newbridge too is as novel in form, as happy in portion.
78 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
and makes an enchanting picture It« eurrounding beautiea increaae, upon
ascending the hill on the Cornish side: —
" Still the prospect vider spreada,
Adds n thousand woodi acd meads ;
StiU it widens, — widen* Mill,
And unks tlie newlj-rlsen hill."
When the river is traced further upwards, it preserves a character equally
fine, though lees expanded. The vales become narrow, the sinuosities rather
lengthen, green woods replace rough ground, and fertile meadows occasionally
border the stream, that now rolls over pebbles, with soothing murmurs, or
rushes over beds of schistine rock. Soon aflerwards Warm Wood appears,
and then the Swiss cottage of the Duke of Bedford, at Endsleigh, and ne^
Endelcigh itself, in a situation of surpassing beauty. A more delicious retire-
ment cannot be imagined ; the woods on both aides come down to welcome
the gushing stream, that bears health and vigour upon its current, as it
dances in the glorious sunbeams, or glides along, through the umbrage deep
and gentle, and " without o'erflowing, full," Here the Tamar makes almost a
double circlet, and receives the Inny at the point where we quitted it, to
describe the ascent from Plymouth Sound.
We now return to Callington, here delineated ; the distance to Saltash is
nine miles, through a district well cultivated. On the way to Saltash, upon
the left of the road, stands the church-town of St. Dominick. Francis Rous,
a distinguished personage under the government of Cromwell, was a narive of
Halton, in this parish, and, becoming provost of Eton, was buried there in
1659. Charles Fitz-Geoffiy, the rectar, who died in 1637, was the author of
some poetry, published in the reign of James I., in a book, now very scarce,
entitled " Choice Flowers and Descriptions."
The road passes through St. MeUion, which contains the unimportant
villages of Bealbury and Keason. Crocadon House was ori^ally the
birth-place and residence of John Trevisa, who translated the Bible, and
aeveral abstruse works. His fanuly becoming extinct in 1690, the estate
was purchased by the Corytons, and occupied by them until possessed of
Fentilly Castle. It is partly demolished, and the remnant is a farm-house.
t*
CORNWALL. 79
In the church of St. Mellion there is a monument to the memory of William
Coryton, dated 1651. He was member of parliament for Launceston, when
Charles L endeavoured to establish absolute power; and was imprisoned^ toge-
ther with Hampden, Pym, and others, for refusing to be taxed, without the
consent of parliament. He was afterwards active in procuring the petition
of rights, and was prosecuted, in the Star-chamber, for detaining the speaker
of the House of Commons in his chair. His monument bears the following
inscription : —
*' This marble stone is placed on
The thrice-renowned Ck>r3rton ;
(Bat his own name, a trophic, shall
Outlast this his memorial.)
Graye, wise, and pions. Heaven him lent
To be his age's president
Both good and great ; and yet beloved ;
In judgment just, in truth approved.
Honour'd bj the offices he bore
In public ; but by meekness more.
Loyall in warre, in peace he stood
* The pillar of the Commons* good.
Wordes may not set his praises forth,
Nor praises comprehend his worth ;
His worth doth speake him thus, in bricfe,
Cornwall's late glory, now its grief."
Penton's Cross is an insignificant village, from whence a road leads to Lan-
dulph, having an entrance to the grounds of Pentilly, on the side of the estate
opposite to the Tamar ; the road afterwards passes between the churches of
Botus Fleming on the left, and Landrake on the western side. The last-
named church-town is four miles from Saltash, in the direction of St. Germains.
Botus Fleming is three miles north-west of the same town. The manor once
belonged to the VaUetorts and Courtenays ; it is now the property of Mr.
Charles Carpenter, whose seat is called Moditenham, and lies east of the
church ; in which there is the figure of a Crusader recumbent. The scenery
in the neighbourhood is of a very pleasing character. A pyramidical monu-
ment stands near by, erected to the memory of a Dr. Martin of Plymouth,
eighty years ago. At this place the Earl of Bath, being at the time go-
vernor of Plymouth, in concert with ]Mr. Waddon, lieutenant-governor of
Pendennis Castle, with whom he was upon a visit, negociated for the delivery
of both fortresses to the Prince of Orange. Besides this infidelity to James II.,
some verses circulated through Cornwall, purporting to be written by a Roman
Catholic priest, but most probably issued for the purpose, by threatening the
clergy with the loss of their livings, detached them all, except two, from their
all^iance to the Stuarts. The verses were as follow : —
** HenricuB Octavus
Sold the land that God gave us ;
But Jacobus Secundus
Shall refund us.**
80 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
The town of Saltash consists of one main street^ so steep that a carriage
cannot go up or descend. At the bottom of this principal street a mean-looking
cross-street runs parallel with the Tamar. At the northern extremity the
ferry-boat lands its passengers from the Deyonshire side. A turnpike leads from
the ferry along the river for some distance, perfectly level, and falls into the
Callington and Launceston road. Saltash is a corporate town. Many places
are admirably situated in a landscape, and look inviting at a distance, that are
really mean, — such is Saltash ; the position is admirable, standing on a point
of land that juts out into the Tamar. Seen from the water on the northern
side, the houses rise tier above tier. Upon the southern side a few fields inter-
vene, and conceal the Lynher river, while in front, deep and broad, the Tamar
glides at its own '' sweet wilL^ There is no building in the town worthy of
notice, except the old chapel of ease, dedicated to St. Nicholas, built upon
the same solid rock as that on which the town stands. The town-hall^ with a
market-house beneath, was erected about thirty years ago. The chapel is a
gothic edifice, with a low, strongly-built tower. It ^contains a monument to
the memory of three brothers, named Drew, who were drowned. The assizes
for Cornwall were held in this town in 1393, and it still possesses singular
privileges. It was a free borough in the reign of King John, and returned
members to parliament from the time of Edward VT. ; among whom were
Waller the poet, and Clarendon the historian. The shipping possessed by the
merchants here in Elizabeth's time was considerable ; vessels of the laigest
size came up to the town. A carrack, taken by Sir Francis Drake in that
reign, cleared of a very rich cargo, is said to have been burned here by
accident.
But if the town itself be mean, the prospect from the upper part makes
ample amends for an ascent through a miserable street, whence the road
branches off to St. Stephen's church, upon the left of the Callington turnpike.
Here, at a gate looking south-east, is a noble view, stretching over the whole
harbour of Hamoaze, covered with vessels of war in ordinary ; glancing over
Maker Heights and Mount Edgcumbe, and commanding the distant country
around Plymouth and Devonport, as well as the woods and shores of Anthony.
Art and nature are here combined with great effect Bright waters, dark woods,
black war-ships, arsenaLs, ruins, creeks, and the ocean, are displayed in a rich
harmony of landscape, that is scarcely to be equalled. The noble sheet of water
forming the port of Plymouth harbour, mirrored beneath the eye from an
elevation just lof);y enough to command the whole without confusing distant
objects, and the foliage of the hue which Gilpin observes is so rich in the West
of England, fill the mind of the spectator with indescribable pleasure.
Leaving this gate on the left, and having glimpses of the same scenery for
some distance, we soon reach the parish church of St. Stephen. It is an
ancient structure, built of slate, with a lofty tower. In the churchyard is seen
a stone, denominated a leitch, or leach stone, peculiar to some parts of Cornwall,
COHNWAI,!,. 81
Upon which the coffins are placed that are brought for interment. There are
monuments here to the memory of members of the BuUer family ; and there
is a tradition that one of
the dukea of Cornwall,
Oi^arius, was buried here,
a body having been found
wrapped in lead, reported
to have had inscribed upon
it, as well as could be
made out, that the de-
ceased was a duke, whose
heiress married a prince;
referring to E^phreda and
£dgar, whose story has
been already given. The
dimensions of the body were said to be those of a very large man. St. Ste-
phen's church is but a short distance eastward from the iioe old castle oi
Trematon, which appears crowning an eminence of much picturesque beauty.
The ground in approaching this ruin on the cast is marked by great boldness.
A deep ravine intervenes, and must be passed before attaining the steep and
toilsome ascent, which leads upon that side to tliia most perfect of all the
remains of the ancient castles of Cornwall, until it was mutilated about thirty
jears ago, in an inexcusable manner, for the erection of a modem house. Ivy
mantles the waUa and battlements. The mound is covered with trees, rising
abruptly from the gorge on the eastern side ; upon the western it is of much
less elevation, from the nature of the ground. The silence and solitude
of the approach, and the impression the scene produces, marked by grand
outlines, render Trematon and its embattled walls objects of well-merited
admiration.
This castle waa held under the earls of Cornwall, in the reign of William
£ufus, by Re^nald de Valletort, and was built before the Conquest In 1339,
the Valletorts being extinct, Henry de Pomeroy, aa heir of Richard do Valle-
tort, relieved the castle to the Black Prince, with all right and title to the
same, and it then became the property of the duchy of Cornwall. When we
first visited it, many years ago, the walls of the keep and those of the base-
court were entire, even to their battlements. The area enclosed within the
outer walls was about an acre. The walls were six feet thick, pierced with
loop-holes, and there was a walk just within the battlements, all round, upon
vrhich the besieged might stand in case of attack, to defend them. The build-
ings within this court were gone. The gateway was a square tower, and in good
preservation, consisting of three arches, with grooves for portcullises. This
waa the entrance to tlie base-court, at the eastern end of wliich, upon a lofty
mound, stood the dungeon or keep, the whU of which was ten feet thick, and
EKOLAND IN THE NINETEENTO CENTLHY.
between twenty and thirty high, without windows, and of an oval form. The
entrance of the keep was on the weat side ; there was a sally-port under, and
the whole was surrounded by a deep moat. From the battlements the view
of the scenery over hill and vale, land and water, — was enchantment itaelf.
Nothing was wanting to delight the eye, or rivet the attention. Even the
little valley immediately below, watered by a creek from the Lynher river,
exhibited a mill and cottages, forming a charming glen, contrasting its humble
and quiet scenery with the magnificence of the eafltle-hill, and the prospect
Been when the eye glanced at more distant objects.
We descended from Trematon to a ferry which crosses the Lynher river to
East Anthony, passing the walla of a building said to have been tlie chapel of
the manor-house of Shillingham. In our way we were much struck with the
view of the opposite side of the Lynher, down to which, and pendant over the
waves, came the dark groves of Anthony House, the seat of the Eight Hon.
Keginald Pole Carew. Belund the deep foliage of these woods, corn-fields and
pastures were seen, up to the brow of the distant bills. Far beyond, the
whole of Hamoaze spread its waters between ; and, rising further ofi", the Une
of land, with the church tower and tufts of trees at Mount Edgcumbe, ap-
peared, called Maker Heights, over the nearer and darker scenery, grey
from distance. In the middle picture, almost buried in foliage, Anthony
House exhibited its roof and the windows of some part of the upper story.
We have endeavoured to give some idea of this beautifiil union of scenery in
the above sketch.
In crossing over wc passed upon the right Ince Castle, anciently called
Innes, once the property of the earls of Devon, beautifully situated up the
Lynher, and at no great distance from the ferry. It is a large building, with
turrets at the angles, and was last inhabited by Edward Smith, Esq. We
found it untenanted ; Mr. Smith belonged no more to the living ; and here we
should be wanting, if we did not mention our respect for a gentleman of
science and urbanity, whose hospitable reception of us many years ago we
cannot foiget. The ships of war in ordinary occupy the front of the vignette
on the opposite page; Ince Castle is in the distance.
Anthony House, on the southern bank of the Lynher, is a large mansion,
charmingly embosomed in woods. It was built by Gibba in 1721, in the
CX)RNWALL.
fashion of that time, for Sir William Carew. It contains sonie good pictures,
but nothing eo interesting to ourselves ae one of Richard Carew, at tliirty-two
yean of age, the honest and pleasant historian of his native county. There is a
fine head of Sir Kenelm Digby, by Vandyke,— and what head of Vandyke's is
not fine? — fine almost as nature herself. In the church of East Anthony is the
monument of Kichard Carew, with several others; among them, that of Lady
Margery Arundel, who died in 1420, consisting of her effigy engraved upon a
brass plate. That of Carew, the historian, gives his birth in 1555, and hia
death in 162(X The following verses were found in his pocket. It appears
that he was at prayers in his study about four In the aflernoon of the 6th of
November, 1620, when struck by the common destroyer. His grandson
placed the lines in the church.
" Full thirteen fives of yenre I kiiliDg have o'erpast,
And in Ibe fourteeotli, weuy, entered am at last ;
Wbile rocka, Mnd«, ttorms, and lealca, ta take mjr bark away,
Bj grier, troubles, Borrows, licknesa, did assay i
And yet arrived I am not at tbe port of death,
Tbe port to everlasting life that openetb ;
Uy time uacertain. Lord, long cannot be,
What's best to me's nnknown, aod only known to Tbee,
Oh, by repentance and amendment gnmt that I
May still live in thy fear, and in thy favour die !"
"VVe found here a memorial to Jane, relict of Sir Alexander Carew, whose
husband, while secretly making terms with the Royalists, he being commander
of St Nicolas' Island, in Plymouth Sound, on behalf of the Parliament, was be-
headed upon Tower Hill for his treason, in 1644 ; bis widow survived, it appears,
until 1679. There is also a monument in this church to the memory of Captwn
Graves, R.N. of Thanks, who greatly distinguished himself in attacking St.Jago
in 1740. Among other effects of lightning, one is recorded as having
happened here in 1640, when fourteen persons attending divine service were
struck down by it and injured The view of the port and arsenal of Plymouth,
from the hill at Torpoint, is singularly striking. Torpoint is a chapelry of
Anthony parish. The creeks of Sl John and Millbrook intervene between
this village and Mount IMgcumbe. St John's rectory, at the head of the
creek of that name, contained nothing that repmd our visit; so leaving Mill-
brook on the left, which we have already mentioned, we crossed over to the
84 ENGLAND tN TIIE NINETEENTH CESTIRV.
sea in ^Vhitsun Bay. Here a noble expanse of ocean burst upon us in full
majesty, etretcliing its blue waters from the celebrated promontory, called the
Kaiue Head, in a line concave to Looe Island.
We had come to this jKirt
of the shore to see an arti-
ficial grotto, excavated in tlie
cliff, of which we heanl a
report rather too glowing ;
but the magnificent ocean
scenery amply made up for
any disappointment we ex-
perienced in regard to this
object The grotto to wliich
we allude is not far from
Higher Tregantle village.
The place is called Sharrow.
There was formerly a con-
siderable pilchard fishery carried on there. A lieutenant in the navy, named
Lugger, was stationed at Higher Tregantle during the American war, and
being much troubled with the gout, had perseverance enough to cure himself
by a common-sense prescription of hia own. The cliff at one place goes down
perpendicularly for twenty feet, and then projects in a sort of platform, about
the same number of feet, again descending, step fashion, to a considerable depth.
In the perpendicular part, this oflicer began an excavation in the schistose rock,
and in time completed a grotto, fifteen feet long and seven high, with a seat
round it- In the centre he placed an oaken table, and carved in the solid rock
sbtty-aix lines of poetry, not very comprehensible. They are a description
of an imaginary palace hard by, and make allusions to a fishery once carried
on in the bay. The view from the entrance of this grotto commands the
whole bay, and " Sharrow Grot" has long been a wonder in the neighbour-
hood. Still better, the labour of the excavation cured Mr. Lugger's gout
WTiile standing beneath the arcli at the entrance of this grotto, we will just
sketch the history of the mast^like structure seen from thence at the verge of
the ocean horizon, to the reflecting silver of which the mariner is so deeply
indebted for his security. The Eddystone rock^ lie in a part of the channel
off the Cornish coast, more than any other dangerous from their position.
There are several rocks in a very small space, and close around them is ten
fathoms of water. A single rock, higher than the others, presents a perpen-
dicular front in one direction, but to seaward, as indeed does the whole reef, it
slopes down under the waves with a smooth surface : and upon this rock tlie
light-house stands. In the year 1696, a Mr. Winstanley undertook to erect a
building which shoidd serve as a light-house, and render the navigation of this
part of the channel more secure. Accordingly, being duly authorized, and
CORNWALL. 85
provided with the materials he deemed necessary, Winstanley completed his task
in about three years. We have seen a representation of this singular work,
and are astonished how it resisted the action of the sea for a single winter. It
was constructed of timber, with numerous projecting parts, which were calcu-
lated to hold the waves, and aid in its own destruction. The work did stand
from 1699 to 1703. In the month of November, in that year, some repairs
being imperiously required, and just completed, Winstanley left the Barbican
at Plymouth to proceed to the rock. As he was embarking he was told that
the sky portended bad weather; and some doubts were expressed to him
of the stability of his work. Winstanley came from Littlebury in Essex ; and
it does not appear probable that he was, until too late, acquainted with the
fury of the seas rolling in before a south-west gale in the mouth of the channel.
Piqued probably at what was said, he observed, as he was stepping into the boat,
that he only desired the most violent storm that ever blew might happen when
he was at the light-house ; so secure was he of the strength of his building.
The thing he desired unhappily occurred. The same night, the 26th of
November, 1703, there arose one of the most tremendous storms ever experi-
enced in that part of England, not only strewing the shores with wrecks, but
doing much damage on land.* In that storm, Winstanley and his light-house
disappeared for ever ; nor was the smallest fragment of the edifice ever after-
wards discovered, save a bit of iron, a cramp, most probably, that remained
attached to the rock. Soon after the destruction of the light-house a fine
vessel was lost on these rocks, and every soul perished. In consequence, a
Mr. Kudyard undertook the task of erecting another light-house. He seems
to have been an ingenious man, and to have combined both wood and stone in
the work with considerable skiD. After this second light-house had stood
above forty years it was destroyed by fire, and the destruction was attended by
several singular circumstances. In 1755, after the workmen had been com-
pleting some repairs, it was discovered by the man upon the watch to be on fire.
It was about two o'clock in the morning. The man aroused his comrades, and
they did all they could to subdue the flames ; but unfortunately the sea was
seventy feet beneath the lantern, where the fire broke out, and they had to
descend that distance for water, which afterwards they had to throw four yards
higher than their own heads. The fire gained ground, but all further exer-
tions to subdue it were stayed, by the pouring down of the melted lead from
the covering of the cupola. The man who was uppermost, employed in
* From the words of Winstanley himselfi a judgment may be formed of the fury of the seas in this
part of the channel. He says, in an extant letter, " Finding in the winter of the fourth year the effects
the sea had upon the house, and burying the lantern at times, though more than sixty feet high, early
in the spring I encompassed the building with a new work, four feet in thickness, from the foundation,
making all solid near twenty feet high ; and taking down the upper part of the first building, and
enlarging every part in its proportion, I raised it forty feet higher than it was at first, and made it as
it now appears ; and yet the sea, in time of storms, flies in appearance one hundred feet above the
vane ; and at times doth cover half the side of the house and the lantern, as if it were under water."
BNQLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
tlirowing the water, received a good deal upon his neck and shoulders, aod,
from looking up, the mouth at such a time being involuntarily open, some of
the lead passed down into hia stomach, — a thing which he insisted upon was
the fact while ill at Plymouth, where he soon afterwards died, being ninet^--
four years of age. Upon a poo-mortem examination, the poor man's notion
was found to be correct, some ounces being taken from liis stomach. The
rock afforded but a narrow ledge above the sea, beyond the base of the light-
house, to which, driven down from story to story, as the fire burned, the poor men
at last descended. Fortunately, some fishermen of Cawsand being out, saw
the fire, after it had been burning from two until ten in the mormng, and pro-
ceeded to the rock. The sea was calm, but not altogether free from the
ground-swell, or ttndulation of the waves, which, during the calmest weather,
frequently breaks upon the rock, forbidding communication as effectually as
a gale of wind. The poor men were soon obliged to leave the ledge at the
base of the ligh4>-house, and get into a hollow in its side, it being low water.
There they sought shelter from the burning beams, red-hot bolts, and melted
lead that fell off and threatened their destruction, after the lowest room was no
longer tenable. Tliat room was at a considerable height, as the lower part
of the light-house was solid, and consisted of alternate layers of oak beams and
granite courses. Upon landing at Plymouth one of the poor fellows, panic-
etricken, fled, nobody knew whither ; as he was never heard of again.
The celebrated Smeaton constructed the present building in 1757. It is
built of Cornish granite, the stones dovetailed into each other, and the iirst
course into the rock. Thus the whole is a mass of solid stone, nearly a third of
the way up the building. Its strength is undoubted : it having resisted the
CORNWALL. 87
most violent storms, a tremulous motion only having been felt, which is a mere
vibration that would be almost felt on a rock of adamant, in such a singularly-
exposed situation. The graceful shaft of this work was formed upon the
model of the trunk of an oak tree. To the base of the lantern the height is
seventy feet, and the whole between eighty and ninety. Such is a brief
sketch of this noble work. To form an idea of the fury of the sea to which it
is exposed, it must be remembered that it is twelve miles from the nearest
land, opposite the eastern end of Whitsun Bay, in full exposure to the Atlantic
waves, that roll unbroken with majestic power towards these rocks, which
scarcely appear above the surface in fine weather. Here their proud crests
are stayed, when within a hundred or two of yards they approach like giants
in full consciousness of their strength, over a depth of thirty fathoms. The
reef stretches north and south about one hundred fathoms, interrupting the dif-
ferent tidal sets in this broad part of the channel, and thus augmenting the
fury of the sea when in a state of tempestuous iigitation. From this inclination
towards the south-west quarter, the mountain waves in succession from the
deep sea run up along the slope of the rocks beneath, and break with uncon-
trollable fury. Imagination can conceive nothing equal to their violence. We
have seen them fly thirty or forty feet over the ball of the light-house, above
the lantern, burying it in their raging spray, though it is not less than eighty
or ninety feet above the rocks, and one hundred above the ocean leveL We
have seen the sea break high up towards the lantern on the day after a hard
gale, when little wind has been stirring.
The position of a light-keeper here, some years after the first establishment
of a light, and when the complement of light-keepers was but two, was a
singular one. The two men attended to the lights four hours alternately.
One of the two died, and a signal was made to the shore ; but the weather,
as is often the case for several weeks, forbade any landing upon the rock. The
body of the dead man became offensive. The survivor feared to remove it, lest
he should be accused of murder ; and it being a month before the commimica-
tion could be effected, the odour was so offensive that it was with diflSculty the
boat's-crew could approa<5h to fling it into the waves. Three men were subse-
quently kept upon the establishment of this extraordinary place.
We have adverted to encroachments, no doubt effected for selfish purposes,
upon the original boundaries of Cornwall and Devonshire, sometimes of the
most unaccountable character. Thus, though separated by the estuary of the
Tamar from Devonshire, a part of Mount Edgcumbe, including the house, is
declared to be in that coimty. The little village of Cawsand is divided by the
line, and locally by a small gutter, into the villages of Cawsand and King-
sand. This gutter a house covered, in which an oflicer was some years ago
said to have taken up his residence, foiling the harpies of the law by retiring
from his sitting to his bed-room. The whole parish of Maker is still ecclesias-
tically in Cornwall, but for civil purposes only apart, though originally it all
88 ENQLANl) IN TUE NINETEEXTH CENTURY.
belonged to that county, as it does geographically. We shall not, therefore,
essay a description of Mount Edgcumbe here; it being immaterial within
which county boundary we enter upon the taek.
P.1ASl!n<T nnl^ fur fi-nm 'Xfnlcpr Mnrpr. ntlfli-liHl tn thc
1.1
d.
Hi
of Eame exiiibits nothing worthy of notice, but the head of the promontory
conunands a fine sea view all the way to the Lizard. On its summit is the
remnant of a vaulted chapelt which serves for a sea mark.
We now returned to Hamoaze, and engaged a boat to St. Grermans. The
day was fine, the air soft, thc heavens one sheet of unsullied azure, while every
distant object came sharply out. The shadows of the mastless ships of war
blackened the waveless water as they lay upon it like slumbering leviathans,
while the rich shores seemed a fit abode for happy spirits. We arrived opposite
Sheviock woods in the evening. These woods fringe the left bank of the
Lynher, ascending. The parish of Sheviock contains but one village, situated
upon a hill, strangely enough named Crofthole. It is about five miles on the
road from Torpoint to Liskeard. Nearly in the same direction, southwards,
in Whitsun Bay, is a fishing station, called Port Wrinkle. A bridle road
leads along the edge of the clififs here as far as Looe. These cliffs arc called
Batten Cliffs, and it requires some resolution to pass them on horseback, from
the path being for some distance along their vei^, where a tribal deviation
would dash both horse and rider to pieces on the crags beneath. Sheviock
church is old and ugly, with a species of cone in place of a tower. It is siud
to have been built by one Dauney, whose wife agreed to construct a bam hard
by, and that the bam cost l^d. more than the church; which is not unlikely.
In this parish is Trethil, once belonging to the family of Wallis, — a name
celebrated in the person of Captain Wallis, the discoverer of Otaheite ; whose
daughter, the widow of Mr. Stephens, of Tregenna Castle, St. Ives, is, we
believe, still living.
COBNWALL. 89
We landed a mile or more from St; Germans, which is a poor village,
although the parish is large, and contains numerous seats and hamlets. It is
worthy of notice principally for ita church, which was once the cathedral of
the bishopric of Cornwall. This church belonged to a priory, the revenues of
which, at the destruction of the monasteries, were valued at 243/. 8g. There
is a free school here, endowed by Nicolas Honey.
The church is built in the Saxon style of architecture, specimens of which
are rare in the county; and is said to have been founded by king Athelstan.
The present portion of the ancient building, — for the Chancel fell down in 1592,
just after the service wae concluded, thus contracting the dimensions ; — the
present portion is 105 feet long by 67 broad, and consists of two aisles and a
nave. In the part now used as tlie chancel, there is an ancient seat, called the
bishop's chair, standing on a bit of old tessellated pavement. The north
(usle is divided from the nave by five short thick columns. All the capitals
are equare, curiously or-
namented in the Saxon
manner. Six round arches
range above the columns,
apparently of the ^e and
style of those in St Al-
ban's abbey. The south
usle has pointed arches,
and is altogether of a dissi-
milar order. Some painted
glass is yet remmning in
the windows. On the wall,
behind the gallery, is an
inscription, containing the names of the bishops of Cornwall until thirty years
after William I., when the sees of Cornwall and Exeter were united. The
names are those of St, Petroc, Athelstan, Concanus, Buidocus, Udridus, Briti-
vinus, Athelstan, Wolfi, Woronus, Wolocus, Stidio, Aldredus, and Burwoldus.
There are monuments here to members of the Elliot family ; and one, by
Rysbrack, to Edward Elliot, is magnificent. Walter Moyle, of Bake, so well
known for his learning, lies interred in this church ; and there is an acrostical
epitaph to John Glanville, unworthy the trouble of copying. Not so the fol-
lowing lines to the memory of Mrs. Glanville : —
" While faithful earth doth ihj cold relics keep,
Aod son aa waa tbj nature is thy steep,
Let here the pious, hnmble place above.
Witness a husband's grief, a. husband's love, —
Grief that no rolling years can ere efface,
And love that only vith bimself must cease;
And let it hear for thee this hcartrdt bossl—
'Twas he that knew Ihce best, that loved thee most I"
90 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
There is nothing worthy of remark in Port Elliot^ it being altogether a plain
building. The house contains a few good pictures^ principally portraits. The
estate has been much improved since it came into the possession of the present
family^ and we were much struck with the judicious manner in which the
grounds have been arranged. Wood, rock, and water combine to render Port
Elliot a pleasing country-seat The ancient priory came into the possession
of the Elliot family by an exchange of property with the Champernounes.
The refectory of the priory is in the space now occupied as the dining-room of
the Earl of St. Germans. The burying-ground was taken into the lawn of the
house by the late Lord Elliot, who obtained some power of the bishop for that
purpose, and the sepulchral memorials of course were all removed, which
occasioned much discontent among the parishioners. The parish is large^ and
possesses many seats, generally of resident gentlemen. Bake, the old resi-
dence of the Moyle family, is now the seat of Sir Joseph Copley. Catchfrench
belongs to Mr. Francis Glanville, and lies a little out of the road from
Torpoint to Liskeard, a distance of seventeen miles, abounding in beautiful
scenery. Here are also Aldwinnick, the seat of Mr. C. Trelawny ; and Cold-
rinick. On the right hand, about four miles from Liskeard, stands the church
of Menheniot, the vicinity of which exhibits much lovely scenery and valleys
of great picturesque beauty. In this parish, the house that lately served as
the poor-house, was once the residence of the ancient family of Trelawny : it
is little more than a ruin.
Liskeard is a considerable town, situated on the side and at the foot of a
rocky hill, and is one of the oldest in the county, having been made a free
borough by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in 1240. It returned two members
to parliament from the time of Edward I. to the passing of the Reform Act,
but only one since. The manor was part of the possessions of the dukes of
Cornwall. It had a castle, the site of which only remains, and a chapel in
what is called the Park. There is a grammar school here, endowed with 30/.
by the corporation ; and a charity-school for poor children, founded by the
trustees of the Rev. St John Elliot. The church is lai^e, standing upon an
eminence near the eastern entrance of the town, with trees around. The
granite tower is poor, and ornamented with heads, fancifully conceived, having
upon it the date of 1627. The church consists of three aisles, plain, and un-
decorated, and is partly built of granite, and partly of slate. The town-hall,
originally erected in 1707, has been altered since in the upper part; and is
supported upon granite columns, beneath which the market is held. This hall
was recently strewed with rushes upon particular occasions, as was the custom
of old time. There was once a nunnery here of the Sisters of St. Clare,
which is now converted into dwelling-houses ; and there is a well, called Pipe
Well, considered to possess sanatory virtues. The streets are irregular, but
well built and clean ; those most devoted to purposes of trade are in the lowest
part of the town, and run nearly east and west. Here is an open space or
CORNWALL. 91
aquare, through which the mml-road p&aaee ; on one side of which Btanda
Webb's hotel, a very fine establishment, remarkably well kept, and without a
superior in the county.
About four miles north-west of Liakeard is St, Neot's church-town, having
one of the finest parish churches in the kingdom. It occupies the site of a
monastery that stood there in the time of Edward the Confessor, all of which
subsequently disappeared. The present church is built of granite, and is sup-
posed to be of the date of 1480. It stands in a pleasing vale, well wooded
and watered. The interior
roof is of wood, lozenge-
shaped, and ornamented.
The building includes two
aisles and a nave. At
the east end is a stone
coffer, once contuning an
arm of St. Neot, left by
the holy founders of St
Neot's, Huntingdonshire,
when they stole the rest
of the body to carry
thither, A.D. 974. Some
drunken workmen, in
1795, rified even this last
treasure, which, on being
opened, disclosed a hollow
in the wall, closed with a
stone. This hollow cont^ned about a quart of fine earth, adhering in clots,
and of a dark colour. Some " uncouth rhymes," in praise of St. Neot, are
suspended by the side of the relic, said to have been written before the
Reformation. St. Neot lived about the year 896, and the painted windows in
this church, containing his history, have made the church renowned. There
are sixteen windows in all.' Two contain representations of events in the
Old Testament, from Adam to Noah. A third has the legend of St George,
and a fourth that of St Neot The remaining eleven windows have images of
saints, most of them renowned. The account of St Neot thus depicted, repre-
sents hb retirement, which it is said in the legend was from a desire to escape
the multitudes that followed him. Afl«r living in Cornwall for seven years, he
went to Rome, and obtained leave to build a monastery here, which he accord-
ingly finished. Near the monastery was a never-failing spring. It appears
that whatever concerned St Neot was the especial care of heaven ; he found
three fishes in this spring, wtiich his piety would not suffer him to touch, until
* Thete baT< be«n Ulel; restored, ot a great expenic, by Mr. GrylU, to whom the TicBr»j[e
92 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTll (TENTCRY.
he had received aupcmatural instructions why they appeared bo conveniently
near to his abode. He, therefore, prayed for information, and an angel de-
Bceoded on purpose to tell him that he might make his dinner of the aquatic
fare, provided he ate but one at a meal. If he could be bo self-denying he was
informed he would ever continue to find the number of three kept up for his
sustenance. Being one day very ill, and his appetite qualmbh, Barius, his
fiuthful domestic, thought of the fish, which he might dress two or three ways,
and meet his master's delicate stomach by one mode of cookery, if the other
would not answer. He accordingly went to the well, and taking two of the
fish, boiled one and fried the other. Brining them up on one dish, he presented
them to St. Neot, with that concern natural to so exemplary a domestic The
eaint, apprehending that mischief had been done to the sacred fishes, asked his
servant, with great trepidation, whence the fish came. Barius, with all the
innocence of one who has done no evil in his own belief, stated the fact, and
that by the step he had taken he was in hopes to please St. Neot's palate.
" How," s^d the indignant Baint, " hast thou dared to violate an express
command, and to take more than one fish at a time, presumptuous fellow that
thou art ?" The saint then commanded Barius to take back the fish and fling
them into the spring, while he himself fell prostrate in prayer, in consequence
of his servant's sin. Barius soon canft back overjoyed, and told the stunt that
the fish, although cooked two ways, and well done, were no sooner thrown
into the water than they disported about as lively and active as if they had
never been grilled or boiled at alL St Neot, not willing to lose lus dinner
after such a wonderful event, sent his servant to catch one of them ag^,
which, on being cooked and served up, miraculously restored him to health.
We returned to Lis-
keard, and taking a road
on the southern side of the
town, passed for two miles
through a beautiful, well
cultivated, but hilly coun-
try, until we came to a
path-field shortening the
way to the church of St
Keyne. From this field,
northwards, there is a fine
view of Liskeard, and the
towering granite-crowned
hills that lie some miles
beyond it The only house
near the church of St Keyne is an inn. The gat«s of the church-yard were
locked, and we could discover nothing of the renowned welL We observed
a utone cross built into the church-yard wall, one arm of which projected
beyond it, and gave aa no very high idea of the parochial regard for anti-
qaities, — sacred or profane. This edifice is constructed of schist.
We were obliged to enter the inn to inquire our way to the celebrated well.
We found two females and several children, and learned that the ancient
repute of the water, in its own neighbourhood, has not diminished, great faith
being still reposed in its virtue of eanferring domestic authority,
St Keyne, or Keyna, upon whom some bestow no very reputable character,
though others allow her a considerable degree of piety, was daughter of
Br^anus, a prince of Brecknockshire, in Wales ; and being fond of a wanderj
ing life, left her home on a pilgrimage to St. Michael's Mount St Cadoc,
her nephew, about the year 590, set off after his aunt, but could not persuade
her to return, until she was visited with an heavenly admonition upon the
subject Both saints were hospitably received in Cornwall, and although
king Arthur was his contemporary, St Cadoc engrossed a good deal of the
public regard. Being thirsty, as be was going to the MouDt, he struck his
stick into the earth, and a spring of piu-e water bubbled forth, curing all the
diseased persons that had due faith in its efficacy. The Cornish, full of grati-
tude for ajich benefits, erected the church of St Keyne to the lady, who, in
return, gave them the well, so potent in domestic afTairs. This well lies down
a green lane, a good run from the church ; it b on the left side, surrounded by
foliage. Over it there are five trees, an oak, one very noble elm, and three ash.
The water is pure and well tasted, but the well is of so small a circumference
that there is barely room for the trunks to stand. Bound it a wall is raised,
isolating it completely. It is a puzzle to discover how the roots of trunks
six inches in diameter are disposed of, in
order to obtain due nourishment One
of the ash trees is dying. Upon the
decay of the previous trees, mentioned in
1602 by Carew, Mr. Bashleigh, of Mena-
billy, nearly a hundred years ago, planted
those which now exist Carew gives the
following account of the well in rhyme : —
" Id name, and sbspe, and qualily.
This veil u very qaaiat ;
The name to lol of Kejne befel,—
No'oTifr holy saint
" The ibape, four treei of divers kinds.
Withy, oak, elm, and ash.
Make with their roQts an arched rf>o^
Whose floor tliis spring doth wash.
" The qualily, that man or wife.
Whose chance or choice attains,
first of this sacred stream to drink,
Thereby the mastery gains."
94 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Dr. Southey wrote a ballad about this well, too long to quote. It concludes
with the following stanza : —
** I liastened as soon as the wedding was o*er.
And left my good wife in the porch ;
But i*faith she had been wiser than I,
For she took a bottle to church !"
This was not the case exactly, if the following story be that from which the
lake poet took his subject : it is vouched to be authentic A farmer not &r
from Liskeard had two daughters, named Mary and Jane. They often talked
together about the well, and the advantage it proffered ; yet both thought it
would seem strange to set off afler the marriage rite, and leave their bride-
grooms in the lurch — ^the good men too might outstrip them in getting to the
well. Many were the schemes canvassed by the two girls to compass an object
they deemed so desirable. Mary was of a pertinacious disposition, — firm and
unyielding. Jane was a gentle creature, with perfect simplicity of character ;
but both gave strong credit to the virtues of St. Keyne's welL Mary's notion
of marriage was that of a convenience, — ^to secure herself a settlement, and to
be her own mistress. Jane thought nothing of herself, if she could but be
certain of securing the whole heart to the possession of which she might
aspire. Jane first had a lover, and matters proceeded in the common tracks
up to the time fixed upon for the marriage. Mary, somewhat piqued at her
sister's good fortune, reminded her that, as soon as the marriage ceremony was
concluded, she was ready to render her any assistance in outwitting her husband.
To the surprise of Mary, Jane answered, that she had told her lover their secret,
" for how could she keep any secret from William ?" and that he had bar-
gained with her, and stipulated in return that he would not himself drink the
desired draught. Mary was indignant; she upbraided Jane with betraying their
secret. Jane meekly replied, she could have no secrets from him she loved.
Mary was sullen at the marriage dinner, and no longer reposed confidence in
her sister; but time wore off every other consequence of this difference.
Mary had no lover for several years, and had entered upon that state
of womanhood which many liken io character to the amphibious. She was
hardly gone so far as to be beyond hope a confirmed old maid, and yet she
was young and blooming no longer. A widower, knowing she was a notable
housekeeper, paid her his addresses. Unfortunately, he had heard something
of the dispute about the well between the sisters, but was not aware of the
particulars. Half in jest, he one day said to Mary, — *' So, my dear, you are
determined to fly out of church to the well of St. Keyne, after the ceremony ;
I shall take care you don't get there first."
" Who can have told you such nonsense, Robert; — I should like to drink
first, too."
** My dear Mary," he replied, partly in jest, and partly in earnest, "recollect
that it is rule a wife and have a wife, with me."
CORNWALL. 95
'' I don't understand you, Kobert ; you do not mean to be a tyrant, and not
to love me tenderly, I hope."
" Was I a tyrant, Mary, to the poor dear creature I buried only last June ?
You knew us both well enough to answer that question yourself. Did I not
love her, am I not constant, do I not fondly cherish her memory ?"
** It is all very well talking," replied Mary ; who was wisely determined to
go to the altar notwithstanding, recollecting her own age. " He spoke of ruling
a wife," thought she : '^ I do not like that, and I am glad he let me know so
much beforehand."
Mary was more than ever determined to secure both the husband and the
authority ; but it was necessary to outwit her lover, and he having extracted
the promise from her that she would not, as she had threatened, set off for the
well when the ceremony was over, and thus "make them appear foolish to
their neighbours," to use his own words, she was puzzled how to manage
the matter; for drink she was more and more determined to do, with her
characteristic pertinacity. The wedding-day came; the ceremony was con-
cluded ; the party set off for the house of the bridegroom's father, where dinner
was provided ; when Mary called Robert aside, and hastily applying a bottle
to her lips, turned to her husband and said, " Not to appear foolish to our
neighbours, my dear Robert, now we are alone I may drink, you know ;" and
she applied the bottle hastily to her lips — then, holding it up to Robert, said,
" You have a wife, rule her now, if you can !"
Leaving St. Keyne's well, and passing down into the lower part of the
valley, the road comes suddenly upon the Looe river, which flows through a
narrow but very beautiful defile, well wooded, and abounding in picturesque
sites. The hills look into the recesses of the vales, so as to admit of a conti-
nual change of scene. All around is verdant and fertile ; abrupt eminences
are crowned with tufted groves ; corn-fields wave ; and the beautiful cattle of
the sister county are seen browsing, at times, almost over head. The little
river flows along, clear as amber, amid rocks, knolls, and cottages, looking like
peace itself. A narrow canal, from Liskeard to Looe, runs, in some places,
parallel with the river ; but, owing to the nature of the ground, in no way
deforms the landscape by its stiffness. We have never seen a sweeter vale ;
all so much in miniature, so snug and narrow, and ever varying. About
two miles above Looe this beautiful valley expands into a fine estuary, present-
ing no outlet, and fringed with woods, clothing lofty promontories ; the water
putting on the appearance of a lake. The southern termination of this estuary
is in the sea, which is concealed by a stupendous hill ; near the foot of which
are the towns of East and West Looe, which are behind the fine old bridge, of
which the following is a representation.
East and West Looe are small towns, consisting of a few narrow streets,
or rather alleys. In East Looe stands a little chapel, with a low embattled
tower, not far from the entrance into the river seawards. There is a small
96 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
breastwork at the mouth of the port, which has several times been injured by
the waves, and this alone protects the town from their fiiry. Vessels of coo-
siderable tonnage may enter; but they must be able to take the ground, for at
low water the harbour is almost dry. West Looe is situated at the base of a
very lofty hill, over which, until a new road was made, the only outlet to the
westward was almost inaccessible, from its steepness. New roads have been
made in other directions, and these picturesque towns are now easily accessible
from Torpoint, Liskeard, or Fowey. They lie as if at the bottom of a huge
puncb-bowL Gardens and cottages line the hill-aides, filled with shrubs,
flowers, and fruit trees ; literally " han^ng gardens." Here myrtles bloom,
and geraniums exude their fragrance, throughout the year ; all is romantic and
striking to the stranger. West Looe is situated in the parish of Talland ;
East Looe in that of St Martin. Some little distance from the mouth of
the harbour is Looe Island, on which stood a chapel dedicated to St. George.
It ia covered with grass, and inhabited only by rabbits, and is the property
of the Trelawny family. Sir Charles Wager was a native of West Looe. A
great earth work, supposed to be Roman, commences above West Looe, and
is continued towards Lostwithiel, a distance of many miles.
The parish church of St. Martin, having some remains of Sason architecture,
is about a mile and a half north-east of East Looe. It coutmns a monument
to the memory of Phillip Majolue, a merchant of some note. There is also a
memorial to the Bev. Jonathan Toup, who wrote annotations on Suidas and
Theocritus, and was thirty-four years rector of the parish. He died in 1785.
The town of East Looe was incorporated in 1567 ; and West Looe in 1575.
In East Looe a mathematical school was founded in 1716, under the will of
John Spacot, Esq. of Penhale. There is a town-liall in West Looe, which
was once a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas; all the buildings are close to the
river. Morval, the manor of which was once the property of the Glynn lamily,
belongs now to Mr. John Buller. The church stands near the house. The
last is a fine specimen of the old ma'nsions of the English gentry. At Wring-
worthy, near Morval, wliile the latter was the property of the Glynns, a
CORNWALL. 97
member of that family was barbarously murdered by the retainers of one
Clemens, whom he had superseded as under-steward of the Duchy of Corn-
wall. The county seems to have been kept in great terror by this ruffian ; for
the widow of the murdered gentleman petitioned parliament that her appeal
might be tried by a London jury, and that in default of the appearance of
Clemens, he might be dealt with as convicted ; which prayer was accorded.
The inventory of the stock, which appears to have comprised all the household
property of Mr. Glynn, and which was carried off, is curious, as it shows of
what that stock consisted in the house of a gentleman during the fifteenth
century.
Opposite Morval, a branch of the Looe river runs up to Duloe. The church
contains a monument to one of the Coleshill family, dated 1483. The parish
is dividecl into the West, North, and South districts.
Not far east from Duloe is the parish church of Pelyn, or Pelynt, a spacious
edifice. In this church are some monuments of the Buller and Trelawney
families, and the following epitaph : —
" Here lies an honest lawyer ; wot you what ? —
A thing for all the world to wonder at !"
The following is inscribed here to the memory of Edward Trelawney, — an
anagram of the name : —
** O what a babble, vapoar, puff of breath,
A nest of worms, a lump of pallid earth.
Is mud-wall man : before we mount on high.
We cope with change, we wander ^ alter, die r
Trelawn, the seat of the Trelawney family, is in this parish. Jonathan
Trelawney, who died in 1721, was one of the seven bishops sent to the Tower
by James II. The Cornish were preparing to march, in order to set him free,
and the burthen of a song current at the time runs —
" And shall Trelawney die ?
And shall Trelawney die ? —
Twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why !*'
Toiling up the steep hill behind West Looe, the traveller, diverging to the
lefl upon the summit, reaches Talland, with its little cove, about two miles
distant. The church stands upon a hill that goes down abruptly into the sea ;
and near it is the manor house, surrounded by trees, and now occupied by
a farmer. There was formerly a cell of Benedictine monks at Talland.
About a mile further on this coast is Polperro ; part of which is in this parish,
and part in Lansallos, where an ancient bishop, St. Hyldren, is buried. Pol-
perro possesses a secure port for ships of 150 tons burthen, in one of the most
romantic spots it is possible to conceive. Over the town are some ruins of
a chapel dedicated to St. Peter.
The inhabitants support themselves principally by the pilchard fishery,
o
98 ENOI.AND IN THE NINETBENTB CENTURY.
and the refuse of the finny tribe is suffered to tu-cumnlate on the dunghilk,
in order to be used for manure, so that the odour is very offensive.
The road out of Pol- .-■ r .
perro, towards Fowey, is
through a profound ra-
vinci which leads to higher
ground, and this last tei^
minates at Bodinnick Fer-
ry, oppo»te the town of
Fowey. This ferry crosses
one of the safest and most
beautiful of harbours, and
lies in the parish of Lan-
teglos, in the church of
which parish are some
memorials to the Mohun
family, two of whom died
in 1508 of the sweating
eickneas.
The situation of Fowey,
now only a fishing town,
is highly romantic; lying
upon its own estuary,
which is environed by lofty
wood-crowned hills, and
navigable for six miles
towards Lostwithiel. Op-
posite Fowey, but more towards the entrance of the harbour, is the village
of Polruan, in Lantegloa parish, with its creek, and over all are the ruins of
a chapeL Fowey consists chiefly of one long street, parallel with the harbour.
The houses are built of stone. The hill to the westward of tlie town rises so
rapidly as scarcely to allow the ascent of a carriage. Upon this hill-aide,
the church, a strong old edifice, with a lofty tower, stands at no great distance
from the water. It consists of three (usles, and may be dated about the time
of Edward IV., to judge from the style of its architecture. The roof is
adorned with carved work and figures, principally cherubs, supporting armorial
shields. It haa a number of memorials to different indi\iduals. The best in
workmanship, and moat singular in point of inscription, is that to the memory
of John Rashleigh, who died in 1581. This church is dedicated to an Irish
sunt, the first bishop of Cork, who is entombed here; his name was St.
Trim-barrus.
At the termination of the principal street, we entered by a rope-walk upon
a meadow, at the extremity of which is a square tower, the outer part wanting ;
CORNWALL.
having fallen into the sea within the last thirty years ; it was the ancient defence
of the port Farther on, passing eeverrf little covee, among rocky promontories
we reached a second tower, upon which guns were formerly mounted, and to
theite are answering towers upon the opposite, or Polruan side of the harbour*
The eutrance from the sea is narrow, and was once defended by a chain drawn
across. Nothing can be more beautiful than the scenery round this lovely
haven, so environed with romantic heights, and commingling every thing attrac-
tive that can enhance the charm of fine landscape. The shores are bold; the
harbour safe, deep, and waveless ; and the climate eotl and agreeable. But the
days of Edward HI. and Henry V. are departed, and with them the glory of
Fowey. The contingent to the fleet of Edward on the expedition to Cal^s
from Fowey was greater in ships than from any other port in the kingdom.*
Out of sixty vessels belonging to Fowey, forty-seven ships and seven hundred
and seventy men went with the king. The Fowey sailors were styled the
" Fowey gallants," and quartered their arms with Rye and Winchelsea, from
the circumstance of reftising to " vaile their bonnets " at the command of those
ports when they were sailing by them, upon which the cinque-port seamen
came out to enforce the demand, got well beaten, and were obliged to
fly back Into their own harboiurs. ,The Fowey men entering the French
porta, kept them in constant alarm. They enriched themselves both by plun-
der and trade, and the French were so annoyed that they fitted out an expe-
dition agunst the town, which landed secretly at midnight, when they killed
all they encountered, setting it on fire. The braver part of the inhabit-
ants repmred to Place House, and resisted the French so eflFectually that they
retreated to their ships. In the reign of Edward IV. the Fowey men were
accused of piratical practices, and of actual rebellion against the crown. A
bui^ess was executed, and the Dartmouth men were ordered to take away
their ships, a blow which Fowey never recovered ; although, in the reign of
Charles IL, the brave townsmen saved a fleet of merchantmen from eighty
Dutch sml of the line, beating off the Hollanders with the guns of their httle
towers. Hugh Peters, who was executed for supporting the parliament cause
by the ministry of Charles IL, was a native of this town.
• Tarmooth lent fbrty-three ; Dutmoath thirty-two i Plymonth twenty-six ; Loodon tweotj-GTe ;
Bruli^ twenty-two ) Porttmoatfa five. The king had only twenty-fiTe of hii own (hip*.
100 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
We have mentioned Place House^ which is still standing. It was the
property of the Treffirys, the male branch of which becoming extinct in 1658,
the last of the family bequeathed it to William Toller, his nephew, upon
condition of his taking the name of Treffry. It is now the property of
Mr, J. F. Austen, who has recently added Treffry to his former name, — a
gentleman who is carrying into effect considerable improvements in the vicinity
of his residence, and restoring Place House in perfect good taste.
Not far from Fowey, to the westward, upon Tywardreth Bay, is MenabiDy,
the seat of Mr. William Bashleigh, containing a most valuable collection of
minerals, having above 1,000 specimens of copper alone. In the grounds
there is an artificial grotto : pebbles, crystals, and shells are the materials of
the building. The form is octagonal, and six of the sides contain collections
of different Cornish ores of tin, silver, copper, lead, and iron. Fossils, agates,
jaspers, quartz, fluor spar, together with shells, coralloides, and similar objects
are very appropriately arranged among them. Here are two links of the
chain which was once used to close up the harbour of Fowey in the reign of
Edward IV., taken up by some fishermen, entangled in their nets ; the links
are of a triangular shape, covered with shells, and the iron nearly decomposed.
One of the finest specimens of chalcedony ever discovered is treasured up here.
We were much struck with a beautiful table in the centre of the grotto, com-
posed of thirty-two specimens of Cornish granite; each specimen the segment
of a circle, and very highly polished. Mr. Rashleigh's house stands near the
shore of the bay, aroimd which there are extensive sands ; at Tywardreth
church-town a Benedictine monastery once stood. Many Roman coins have
been found about the shores of tliis bay. Here are the stream works of Porth,
which were much injured by the sea in 1801 ; they are chiefly remarkable for
having been worked before iron was used for mining tools. Several of these
have been found in the works, shaped like pickaxes, and made of holly, oak,
and box-wood. There are other villages in the parish, as Par, which gives a
name to the sands at the head of the bay. Highway, and Polkerris. A monu-
ment stands in the church to the memory of Thomas Collins, the last prior of
Tywardreth monastery, who died in 1532.
Returning to Fowey, and ascending the beautiful river of that name to
Lostwithiel, we passed, on the left hand, the church of St. Veep. In the
valleys, as we have before observed, the wooded scenery of Cornwall must
be sought. We have rarely seen a vale of greater beauty than this, — so
shaded, tranquil, and gracefully curved. A branch of this river runs quite up
to St. Veep, where there was anciently a priory. Walter de Exon, who left
behind him the life of the renowned Guy Earl of Warwick, once resided there,
A monument stands in tliis church to the memory of William Bastard, a bar-
rister, who left the tenement of Nethercombe to the poor of this parish and to
that of Duloe for ever. St. Winnow's church is beautifully situated upon the
eastern side of the river, at a spot which, for picturesque effect, may challenge
CORNWALL. 101
any moreeau of river scenery in England. This church contains a number of
monumental tablets.
Boconnoc church dates its erection about the time of Henry VI. To the
disgrace of the parochial authorities its nimierous old monuments were some
years ago taken down and thrust into a vault. The whole interior is
defaced, — tracery, muUions, and rood loft. One bit of sculpture that has
escaped the spoiler's hand, is supposed to be a votive tablet for the recovery of
a sick child. A gigantic figure (St. Christopher) is watching over a sleeping
infant, while Death stands at the foot of the cradle, at the head of which an
hou]>-glass is in the act of falling. There is no tower to Boconnoc church,
notwithstanding which it contains three bells, suspended three feet from the
ground, in a belfry only eight feet high : they are rung with the foot. About
two miles northwest of this church is that of Broadoak, or Braddock, exhibit-
ing nothing worthy of observation. Upon Braddock Down a skirmish
between the troops of Charles I. and the parliamentarians took place.
Boconnoc, a fine seat in Boconnoc parish, having been purchased by the
grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham, is, therefore, connected with that
illustrious name. It is a convenient house, with the finest grounds in the
county : the house was began by Lord Mohun, and finished by Governor Pitt.
Boconnoc has some good paintings, and a fine bust of Lord Chatham, under
which are the following lines : —
" Her trophies faded, and reversed her spear,
See England's Genius bend o'er Chatham's bier ;
Her sails no more in every clime nnfiirled,
Proclaim her dictates to the admiring world.
No more shall accents nervous, bold, and strong.
Flow in full periods fh>m his patriot tongue ;
Yet shall the historic and poetic page,
Thj name, great shade, devolve from age to age —
Thine and thy country's f\itc congenial tell.
By thee she triumphed, and by thee she fell."
The grounds of Boconnoc are retired, varied, and broken. The little river
Lerrin runs through them into the Fowey, along a well-wooded valley. The
timber is principally oak and beech. A pleasant ride has been made among
the woods, six miles in length. A lawn of 100 acres adjoins the park, which
last contains an obelisk to the memory of Sir Richard Lyttleton, 123 feet
high, erected in 1776 : it stands in the midst of an old entrenchment, cast up,
perhaps, in 1645, as a similar work, upon a neighbouring hill, is known to have
been made by the troops of Charles L This monarch, in his struggle for
absolute power with the parliament, took up his head-quarters in the house;
and while here, made a second ineffectual attempt to corrupt the Earl of Essex,
then commanding the army of the parliament. There remains a narrative of
the events which then took place, corrected by the king's own hand.* Charles
• By Sir Edward Walker ; it abundantly displays the inconsistencies of Lord Clarendon's history.
102 ENGLAND IN TUK NINETBENTU CENTURY.
continued at Boconnoc about a month, and then quitted Cornwall for ever.
An idle story haa long been current here of the king's being ahot at, and that
the ball struck an oak tree on which hie standard was displayed. The upper
part of this tree was blown off in 1783 during a storm. The king was
receiving the saorament, it is s^d, as the ball went through it ; and for more
than a century, a woodpecker's hole was shown as the identical place. After
the shot was fired, the tree, shocked at the event, would never afterwards put
forth any but variegated leaves '. Now the most minute accounts of the move-
ments of Charles I., and all that happened to that unhappy monarch, are
extant, written both by friends and enemies, but no allusion is made to such a
circumstance. It is probably another version of a shot really fired at tliekin^
when he was at HaJl Walk, near Fowey, by which a fisherman was killed.
Mr. Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, who died in 1727, was the purchaser
of the celebrated Pitt diamond in India. He was the son of a trader at Brentford,
and a native of the west of England. He purchased
i in India, for the sum of 48,000 pi^odas, the diamond,
j known as the Pitt diamond, for which the R^ent of
j France gave 135,000/. It cost 5,000i cutting, and the
r' I chips and filings were valued at 7,000i The weight
1 I is 136i carats ; and a commission of French jewellers
\ I valued it at 12,000,000 of hvres (about 500,000/.)
\ It is one inch and one-sixth long, and three-quarters
of an inch thick, and is among the crown jewels of
France. It is here represented of the exact size.
The slander uttered against Governor Pitt, in consequence of his good for-
tune, propagated by the well-known lines of Pope, supposed to refer to him,
induced that gentleman to vindicate himself from the charge of having surrep-
titiously obtajned this jewel, by publishing the details of the transaction, which
fiilly cleared his character, in the negotiation, from any thing but feir mercan-
tile dealing. The elder son of Mr. Thomas Pitt was named Eobert, and,
succeeding his father in possession of Boconnoc, had three sons, the eldest of
whom was the first Lord Camelford, whose son fell in a duel ; and the youngest
the great Earl of Chatham, whose son William was afterwards Prime Minister of
England. The house and grounds of Boconnoc became subsequently the pro-
perty of the late Lord Grenville, through marriage with the Hon. Anne Pitt.
Lostwithiel, two or three miles west of Boconnoc, is a small but ancient
borough, partly In the pariah of its own name, and partly in that of Lanlivery.
We have rarely seen an inland town more agreeably situated ; lying in a deep
and romantic hollow, watered by the translucent river Fowey, over which
it has a bridge. This town was made a free borough by Bichard, King of the
Romans, and sent members to parliament from the time of Edward L unt^ it was
^franchised under the Reform Act It is said that there was once a palace
of the EWIs of Cornwall in this little town, but upon no valid authority ;
CORNWALL. 103
but the appearance of Bomc ruins gives reason to
ve had a castle or place of defence,
a grammar-school, supported by
as well as one for writing ; and
I endowed hy the trustees of a
ir J. Elliot, and also a Sunday-
jets are three in number, narrow.
The houses are about 140, and
gh road from Plymouth to Truro,
h, dedicated to St. Bartholomew,
rge and two small aisles, and was
urteenth century : it ia adorned
This church was injured by an
owder, and was used as a barrack
t army. Here is a curious font,
Jl retains many remarkable spe-
! evidently Saxon, others Gotliic,
re given four of these fonts. The
wednack, the second that which
;, the third at Padstow, and the
-ne.
el font is octagonal ; the material
: is covered with figures very ill
is a huntsman with a horn in his
: upon his finger ; lions ; the head
serpent round it ; a dog, with a
s head ; and the crucifixion. A
never decorated a vessel before,
■ed or profane use. There are
its in the church. One of the
I, with figures in relief, erected to
the memory of Temperance Ken-
dall, who died in 1579, the wife
of William Kendall. The parish
is confined to a portion of the
town, and to a few meadows.
The shire-hall is a building of
great antiquity, used as a stan-
nary- court ; to which adjoins the
stannary prison, the only one in
the county.
A mile north from Lostwithiel
are the fine ruins of Restorme
104 ENGLAND IN THE MINETEENTH CENTURY.
Castle, situated upon an eminence, the foot of which ia watered by the river
Fowey. They are beautifully mantled with ivy, and surrounded with trees.
This castle was a residence of the Earls of Cora wall. The outer walls inclose
a circular area of 110 feet, and are nine thick : they are surrounded with a
deep moat, overgrown vrith
briars. The entrance is on
the south, under a squai«
turretted gateway, now in
ruins. The apartments ex-
tended round the interior,
agunst the outer walls, and
consisted of two stories of
chambers, mostly lighted
from the court within.
There are traces of two
staircases, and a chapel,
twenty -six feet long, by
seventeen wide. We have
never seen a ruin more com-
pletely clothed with vegeta-
tion. There was once a chapel
in the park, not far off, and
dedicated to the Trinity.
Lanhydrock House, three miles from this town, is an old edifice, built of
granite, occupying three sides of a quadrangle. Some of the rooms, orna-
mented in a very uncouth manner with plaster, bear date 1636. This was
once the residence of the Robartcs, Barons Truro, and Earls of Badnor, and is
now inhabited by the Agar family, who are their representatives. The church
is a very pleasing little edifice, mantled in ivy. Lanlivery, adjoining Jjost-
witliiel, is a living, the property of the Kendall family of Pelyn in the same
parish, and several monuments to different individuals of that family are
erected there : — the earliest for Walter Kendall, in 1547, to whom the
advowson of the vican^^ was first granted.
The distance to St. Austle from Lostwithiel is eight miles; the road in one
place almost touches upon the head of Tywardreth Bay, by Par Creek, near
the church of St, Blazey, or Blase, styled Fanum in the year 1294, when it
was taxed under that name.* Bishop Blaise landed at the head of the bay, say
the Cornish people, and his effigy is preserved in the parish ; yet as the good
bishop was beheaded a.d. 298, and in 1087 the church was not thus named,
this landing seems rather a difficult point to establish. The church was more
probably dedicated to the patron of the wool-combers, some eight or nine
In this pariih, wbere \i\» Istfaer k«pt a inuUl iun, wai bora lUlpb Alleo, of Prior P*rk, Bath, the
frUod of Pope and Gay, vbo fanned a part of the PoM-OSce revenae.
CORNWALL. 105
hundred years after his decease. The festival of Blaise is still kept on the
3d of February, though the villages in the parish have much declined in popu-
lation. St. Austle is a poor town, but the parish is populous, and extends over
10,018 acres. It was so named from St Austol, a hermit The church, an
interesting fabric, is dedicated to St Austin, and decorated with all kinds
of sculptural monstrosities. The tower is handsome ; the second story con-
tains eighteen statues in niches, richly ornamented, resembling personages it is
not easy to designate. Various imi)lements used by miners are represented on
the walls and seats. Over the south porch is an inscription, supposed to be
the Cornish words Ily Du, " Give to God ;" a second contains the letters
I. N. R. L, but these interpretations of both inscriptions have been disputed.
St. Austle has a small worsted manufactory. In the town pavement is a flat
stone, called the " Men gu^ stone ; a witch is said to have been burned upon it,
and bargains were formerly made, and proclamations read over it, but the
original purpose is unknown. There are several villages in this parish, but
none, save that of Charlestown, situated upon Tywardreth Bay, is worthy of
mention. This may be called the port of St. Austle, as it contains a pier for
sheltering vessels, a basin, and a number of fishing boats, with a considerable
trade. A large portion of the clay found near St Austle, called china clay,
but really disintegrated granite levigated and washed, is shipped from thence
to the manufactories of pottery in Staffordsliire and other parts of the king-
dom. Near St Austle is the ancient tin mine of Polgooth. To the north-
west of the town is a second singular tin work, called Carclaze Mine, which is
open to the day. Nothing can be more dreary than the aspect of the earth's
surface in these districts. The Carclaze mine, excavated out of a barren
hill, looking like a huge punch bowl, a mile in circuit, is from twenty to
thirty fathoms deep, and though it has been worked for 400 years, is still pro-
ductive, and still enlargifig its enormous circumference. The stamping of the
ores is carried on within the mine.
The parishes of LuxuUian and Roche lie, the first north-north-east, and the
last north of St Austle. The living of Luxullian belongs to Sir J. C. Rash-
leigh : that of Roche is vested in trustees, under the will of Mr. Thornton, of
Clapham. It was named Roche from a family of that name, who once held
the manor. About a quarter of a mile from the church are the celebrated
Roche rocks, breaking through the barren heaths around, upon the highest of
which is a chapel, dedicated to St Michael. It was said to have belonged
anciently to a hermit, and to have been last tenanted by a leper : it forms a
striking object from a great distance around. In this parish also is Hens-
barrow Hill, from whence there is a most extensive view over the country
from sea to sea. From St Austle a short railway goes to Pentuan stream
work, near which the stone of that name is obtained. There are numer-
ous barrows on the downs in this neighbourhood; but the curiosity that
attracts the attention of the superstitious is a phosplioric or electrical light,
p
106 ENOr.AND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
which appears near the turnpike at Hill Head, somewhat less than a mile
out of the town. In summer rarely seen, it is visible almost every night in
winter, and has been so, from time immemorial. In general stationary^ it
moves but little from the spot where it appears, but sometimes mounts
upward, and again descends. On approaching the place where it is observed,
it disappears, though all the while visible to persons at a distance. The direc-
tion has been accurately observed by taking the angle at night, and examining
the spot in the day ; but the cause has never been discovered.
Polgooth mine is on the road to Truro, a mile or two out of the towii.
It is in the parish of St. Mewan, the church of which stands upon the right
hand side. Here, too, is the celebrated tin mine of Hewas, though part of the
workings are in St. Ewe parish, in which several specimens of gold have been
found, and traces of the habitations of the Jews when they worked the tin
mines. The seat of the Tremayne family, caUed Heligan, is plea«mUy ritu-
ated in St. Ewe. A hill, crowned with a singular mass of crags, from whence
there is an extensive view, is a remarkable object in St Mewan, called Mewan
Beacon. The church of this parish is very old, and terminates in a pointed
roof without pinnacles. The traditionary story is, that by some supernatural
agency it was prevented from being carried higher, as the largest stones laid
upon the building in the day time, being removed in the night to a consider-
able distance, the work could never be completed.
Mevagissy stands south of St Austle about six miles, and east of Tr^ony
about the same distance. This was one of the most noted fishing towns in
Cornwall, until the visits of the pilchard to its shores became less frequent
The name is derived from a couple of the saints in which Cornwall once so
much abounded, — St. Mevie and St. Issy. The bay is truly fine, and opens
full east, disclosing a vast expanse of sea as far as the Eame Head. The town
lies at the termination of a very agreeable vale, but was difficult of access for
carriages until a road was opened of late years to remedy the inconvenience.
The streets are wretchedly narrow; and from this cause the fish are obliged to
be carried in baskets to the cellars, between two men with poles over their
shoulders. Mevagissy contains some good houses, and the interior of the
humblest is remarkable for its cleanliness : yet the odour of the fish is not
prevented from being perceptible to the stranger. The fishermen are a fine,
active, and daring race of men, trained to hardship from their boyhood. They
have a good pier to secure their boats, but the harbour is dry at low water.
There is no endowed charity in the town, notwithstanding which, it is amply
provided with schools. The church stands in a sheltered nook, out of the
town, and is destitute of a tower : having no peal, the sexton plies a hand-bell
through the streets to call the people to divine service. A little jealousy in
their piscatory calling exists between the fishermen of Gorran Haven, about
three miles distant, and those of Mevagissy; the Gorran men accuse the latter of
having sold their bells, for money to pay for pulling down- their tower ; tradi-
CORNWALL. 107
tion stating that a tower formerly existed^ and disappeared, nobody can tell by
what means. The soil about this town is fertile, though the surface is very
irregular. The manors of Pentuan, Penwame, and Trelevan stretch over the
entire parish. Penwame was the property of Richard Carew, the son of the
historian, called the "One-handed Carew." His hand being shot off at the siege
of Ostend, he returned with it to his quarters in the evening, when, presenting
the shattered and severed limb to his landlady, he observed, " There is the
hand that cut the pudding this morning."
As Mevagissy is one of the Cornish fishing towns most noted for the capture
of the pilchard, we will now give some account of that important source of
profit to the county, which will prevent a recurrence to the subject hereafter.
On the western coast, where the high price of corn and butcher's meat is out
of all proportion to the labourer's wages, he is unable to obtain either. Fish
and the potatoe plot constitute his sole dependence. It is to be feared that the
potatoe will, as in Ireland, soon become the sole nourishment of the poorer
class in English counties where fish is not to be had. The dense population of
the west of Cornwall, in which production can be little increased beyond the
present limit, renders importation from a distance necessary, and adds the price
of carriage to that of a high market In every little cove, where it is possible,
some of the families living near contrive to keep among them a boat for fish-
ing, and thus they supply themselves, and a,re able to dispose of the surplus
to their neighbours. They preserve the fish by salting or drying. Sometimes
this resource is exhausted, from the continuance of stormy weather for weeks
successively, and then the condition of these poor people is deplorable in the
extreme. In such cases, one of them, remarking on their hardships during
stormy seasons, said to us, ** We do the best we can, though sometimes half
starved."
But the fishery of the pilchard not only gives the poor food and employment,
in the season, but returns a considerable profit to the capitalist who supplies
the materiel for the pursuit upon a large scale. The pilchard resembles the
herring at the first glance, but is shorter. The dorsal fin is so exactly ad-
justed, that it may be balanced, by holding the extremity of the fin between
the fingers, of which the herring's form will not admit ; the scales, too, adhere
closer than those of the herring. Whence this fish comes, or whither it goes,
is an impenetrable mystery of nature's keeping. The pilchard is never found
so &r north as the southernmost part of Ireland ; nor, indeed, except a stray
fish, have any been found north of Cornwall ; they sometimes approach the
shore in greater numbers, and much nearer than at others; most probably
coming northwards from the deeps of the Atlantic. Their arrival is about
the third week in July, and they remain to the end of September. They
have numerous enemies in the fish of prey which follow and devour them.
The grampus, catfish, blue shark, dog-fish, and that rare small species of
shark, called the Porbeagle, about four feet long, devour vast numbers.
1()8 ENGLAND IN TlIK NINBTEBNTU CENTLRV.
The Porbeagle, of which this engraving is a representation, belongs to tJie true
shark inbe, the sub-^nus Carckarias of naturalists.
. St. Ives is upon the north coast
' - what Mcvagissi^ is upon the south,
in this fishery. Besides these two
towns, Looe, Polperro, Fowey, Gor-
ran Haven, St. Mawcs, Falmouth,
and Mounts Bay, pursue the fishery
to a considerable extent, though not
at all seasons with equal success.
The seine, or net, measures from
220 to 260 fathoms long, or more
than a quarter of a mile, and is sbi-
toen fathoms broad in the middle. It is fastened on each side to two stout
double ropes, and at each corner to four strong warps, about fifty fathoms
long. The upper edge is rendered buoyant by corks, while the lower is sunk
to the bottom, by lead weights attached to the opposite side. Thus when
thrown into the sea, it stands upright aa a wall, the lower side resting on the
bottom, lest the fish should escape under; and hence this kind of fishing is
only carried on in fif^en or sixteen fathoms of water. The net is carried in a
boat of about eight tons burthen, and is folded so as to be thrown overboard
by two strong experienced men, without the least entanglement; one at the
head-rope or corked aide, the other at the foot-rope or leaded border. In the
seine boat there are five rowers besides the bow oarsman, who watches the
huer, and directs the steering from his signals. The htier, from the French
word huer, "to call," or "cry out," is always a man of great experience; since
upon Ids judgment depends the success of the fishery. Before dawn he is
upon some lofty cliff, ready to observe the sea, just at that part of the summer
when a warm July or August haze oomes over its surface, which the people
say, brings " heat and pilchards," from their occurrence at the same season.
From the cliffs a shoal of fish is readily perceived by an experienced eye, aa it
is accompanied by a change in the hue of the water over them, which is shaded
on the surface by their uncountable multitudinousness ; the shadow or peculiar
tint they cause, moving along with them. Perhaps the boats are close to the
beach, away from the huer, and opposite the town, ready to obey the signal of
their chief; and, except a man or two left to take care of them and watch the
huer, it is possible the rest of the crews and the inhabitants of the place may be
buried in slumber. The grey of morning heralds the sim's appearance, — now
his disc is upon the horizon that is streaming with the new-bom light,— and
the huer may be descried with his gaze directed over the ocean. In each hand
ho carries a green bough, with which to telegraph his orders. Mom advances
yet more, and the sun's orb bathes the eastern horizon in gold, — but to the sun
the imcr's back is turned, his regard is where, below him in another direction.
CORNWALL. 109
the waveless ocean sleeps, like " an unweaned child." All is silent, or the
silence is only broken by the gentle soothing music of the ripple upon the
yellow sand, borne upon air ^* fresh as a bridegroom." Still the huer makes
no signal; the streets being yet voiceless, and the beach deserted. On a
sudden he looks more attentively to seaward, — ^looks again,— shifts his position,
and looks still more intently, — now he sees the approaching shoaL He makes
the signal to the boats ; one of their crews, left in charge, rushes up the beach
into the streets, crying " Havar! havar !"* from the old Cornish word "havas,'
** Found ! found !" The word is caught up, and rings from house to house
along the shore. The boats are fully manned, three in number, and push off;
while many smaller craft along-shore are getting ready to follow, at the
proper time, to land the fish. " One and all," the Cornish watchword, imites
the spectators and the actors in the busy scene ; and *^ Havar, havar I" echoes
among the rocks. The fine athletic form of the huer is descried urging for-
ward the boats, the crews of which are tugging at the oar, with all their
might. In the first boat, manned by nine or ten men, the seine is carried,
carefully covered with a tarpaulin ; the next boat carries what is called the
tuck-seine, with which the fish are taken up out of the larger seine, when they
are hemmed within its meshes ; the third, called the lurker or cock-boat, carries
only three or four hands. These boats are well supplied with ropes, anchors,
grapnells, and whatever the emergency may chance to require. The rowers tug
hard until they arrive opposite where the huer stands ; perhaps a mile or more
distant. He makes the signal for them to anchor, three or four hundred yards
from the shore, off a fine sandy cove ; and, accordingly, the seine and tuck-seine
boats drop their anchors ; but the cock-boat proceeds to sea, in order to recon-
noitre the shoal. The huer is still intent upon his duties ; aloof from all, he
weighs the best mode of proceeding. To fulfil his office well, he must possess
a quick eye, a placid temper, an active mind, be prompt in resources, be gifted
with strength of body and the capacity of enduring great fatigue ; he must
be good-humoured and sober, know how to make his men respect him, be per-
fectly impartial, and inflict fines for punishments upon his crews when they
neglect their duty, or exhibit marks of intoxication. But see, the shoal is
approaching, — the people are crowding down to the distant beach ; many of
them anticipating the comforts a successful haul will bring to them and their
families, in the wages they will receive for curing the fish ; the less sanguine
calculating their sore privations, in case of disappointment.
For a time all is uncertainty ; at length the huer sees a moment which he
deems opportune ; he makes the signal to weigh anchor and remove the tar*
paulin from over the seine. All is now silent, and every eye is fixed upon
the chief, who, calm and collected, is too absorbed in his business to employ
his thoughts upon results in place of existing action. He is anxious that the
* This cry is only in the vesternmost fisheries. It has been thought best not to occupy space by
making local geographical distinctions, when the subject is generally applicable.
no ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Bhoal should not pve him die slip, which too frequently happens. He makes
the Bigoal to throw over the eeme. Two strong and stout seiners begin hj
flinging overboard the warps affixed to the comers of the net, and fastened
to a buoy previously prepared. The rowers, directed by the bowman who
watches the huer, pull with all their might; while the two men in the stem
sheets, one at the upper or corked side of the net, and the other at Uie lower,
the warp being run out, are flinging the net into the sea to encircle the shoaL
^ "^rt^ ^^^ ''^ *^^ ^^^ seine. The seine being flung out,
-V.,. 'ZJ^^^ the ends are brought round so as to meet; the fish being
i.-;-, " I enclosed in the circumference, the leads and lower side rest^
- : : \ iQg upon the sand at the bottom of the sea. The warp ropes
are first united close to the network, and then the ends of the
net are lifted, and the net tied close to the meshes from top to bottom, tie
ties being about a fathom asunder. This is done as rapidly as possible, and the
ends of the net again dropped. The fieh are now safe, and might remain for
days, or even weeks, in security, unless a gale of wind were to arise. From
the junction at the ends of the net an anchor is carried out, and two or thre«
grapnels from other parts of the circumference, to prevent it from being pressed
upwards by the fish. The seiners' crews, and tboee of the numerous boats
that have joined them from the shore, give three huzzas, by way of salute to
the huer, who stands afar and alone aa before. These are answered by the
people on shore, till the cliffs ring again. Nothing can be more animated than
the scene, combined as it is with the glories of land, ocean, and sky.
The next thing done is to drop the tuck seine within the lai^r net, in
order to bring the fieh to the surface, and load the boats which throng to the
spot to carry them on shore. This generally takes place at low water, and is
often prolonged into the night, the soft moonlight night of summer. No
CORNWALT-
sight can be more enchantingly beautifuL The tranquil sea, broken by the
numerous oars, that eeem Bporting with brillianta, heightened by contrast with
the black boats continually in motion over its boeom, shines like one measure-
less and glorious mirror, to where the sky melts into its lustre. There is bo
little difference in Cornwall between the warmth of the night and day at this
season, that no chill damps the pleasure of the time spent in watching the busy
labour. The fish, lifted out of their native element^ are literally poured into
the boats as the tuck seine is emptied, and their white wet sides look like
streams of liquid alver. The joy of hmnan hearts, flung into the extreme
beauty of the picture, renders it one
of the most interesting which ima-
gination can conceive. Sometimes
strange fish are found entangled in
the nets ; as this angel fish, or monk,
a shark of a singular form, but a
rare species. The terrible white
shark seldom appears, and equally
seldom the harmless basking shark.
Sun-fish are sometimes caught of a
large size.
Five hundred hogsheads at once is thought a fair capture. In one season,
60,000 hogsheads have been taken throughout the county ; averaging each 3,000
fish, and making in all 180,000,000. What an infinity of production must
thus exist in the ocean ! The number of fish in a hogshead will depend on their
relative size from fatness, which differs much in different years, running from
2,500 to 3,000. The fish are now taken to the cellars, and placed in rows,
with a layer of salt between each row. It requires eight bushels of salt to
cure a hogshead of pilchards, so as to sustain the hot climate of Italy, where
they are often kept for twelve months. After remaining in salt thirty-two
days they are packed in casks, in regular layers, and submitted to considerable
pressure. Tlie vacancy thus caused is filled up, and the fish pressed a second
time, and again pressed and filled. After being submitted the third time to
this process, the cask is headed, and is fit for exportation. The pilchard being
very fat, is better for this pressure ; and returns about a hogshead of oil, for
every twenty hogsheads of fish. Nearly half the salt once used is preserved,
and used again in the following season ; aft«r which, it is found to be one of
the best manures that can be laid upon land, and is readily sold for that pur-
pose. A hogshead of this fish, called when thus treated, " fumades," from the
Spanish " fumados," — is equal to three barrels of herrings, as it contains four
hundred and a quarter of dried fish. The cost of the boats and seine together
is about 1,200/. ; and 50,000 bushels of salt may be the average consumption.
It is not easy to discover the number of persons employed in tJiis fishery ; but
it must be considerable, though not equal to several modom statements put
112 ENGLAND IN TUE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
forth on the subject^ and that of the capital employed; which last, some cal-
culate at above 30O9OOO2. The fish have been sold, from as low as eighteen
shillings, up to thirty-six, the hogshead.*
The herring fishery is principaUy carried on at St Ives; as, though abun-
dant on the northern coast of Cornwall, this fish does not double the Land^s
End, and pass up the English ChanneL Of other modes of fishing, there is a
great variety. The driving net, it may be as well to observe, is only used
at a distance from the land, for fear of scattering the shoals, which it is so
advantageous to keep near the shore, f
The chiu*ch of Gorran is about two miles from Mevagissy : this parish is
bounded on the east by the sea. There are sites of entrenched places of
defence in this parish ; one near Portmellin, a fishing cove, encloffling about
100 acres, on the manor of Goloures, not far from the Deadman Cape.
Here is a double entrenchment, above twenty feet high, and the remnant of
a mound, still called Castle Hill. The manor of Bodrigan, in Gorran, once
* One half the salt used serves again ; and that which is spoiled sells for manure, at 10<L the bosheL
The broken fish bring Id. ; garbage for the soap-boiler, 6(L ; and dregs for the currier, lOd per gallon.
The cask costs Ss. Ten women salters, get lOd, per hogshead. The seine men have Ss. per week
each, about seventeen to a seine. Then there is a most onerous tjthe exacted, against reason, justice,
and the rights of humanity ; for which custom is pleaded, that has been made custom by inability to
resist past exactions; on seines it is compromised for 1/. ld«. Id, per seine. In 1769, no less than
485/. U. Sd, was paid for tythe j the twelfth of the fruit of the poor fisherman's hazardous labour is
extorted from him, — an exaction which ought not to exist in a free country ; and which, if legally just,
is not so moraUy, and ought to be commuted at the public charge.
t The principal fresh-water fish in Cornwall are trout and eels. Of trout, there are the grey, in
the Alan river ; the black, in the Fowey, sometimes above two feet long ; the Bartholomew trout, in
the same river, generally taken in August ; the Loe Pool trout, a distinct species. The salmon pele,
or trout, is common. The salmon is taken in the Alan, the Tamar, and the Fowey. The jack, perch,
and carp are not found, unless in artificial waters, stocked by individuals. But the ocean is the great
fish-magazine of GomwalL There is the whale, called the blower ; the grampus, about eighteen feet
long, and weighing half a ton ; the porpoise, dolphin, blue shark, greater dog-fish, and porbea^e, which
follow the shoals of small fish ; the porbeagle is commonly called the sea attorney, among fishermen ;
the fox-shark, called the thresher, from its being frequently seen to belabour the grampus with its taiL
Skates and rays abound, of all kinds, with the three tailed, and a species without spines. Angel and
mermaid fish, frog-fish, sea-devils, pearl or luga-leaf, turbot, whiff, halibut, sole, aolea kevia, called the
lanthom, from its transparency, congers, firee-eels, sand-eels, sea-adders, needle-fish, saw-fish, rock
and common cod, the power or poor fish, whiting-pollock, rawlin-poUock, blind haddock, whiting,
hake, ling, tunny, (a species of mackerel, weighing 1 cwt) common mackerel, scad or horse mackerel,
whistle-fish, the dracunculus, the draco marinus, or sea-dragon ; bass, mullet, red and grey ; surmullet,
John Dory, pipers, grey, streaked, and red, and gurnard or rocket, tub-fish, the comber, herring,
pilchard, shad, sprat or sparling; the skipper, girrock, black-fish, sea -bream, wrasse, butter-fish,
gold-sinny, cook, cockling, and &ther-la6her. To enumerate every species would be tedious. The
turtle b sometimes, but rarely, met with ; one has been taken off the Land's End that weighed 6 cwt,
and another off Fahnouth, 8 cwt. Seals are conmion on the northern coast, but are become shy of
man. The principal shell-fish are oysters, muscles, cockles, limpets, wrinkles, crabs of all kinds,
lobsters, the long crab, shrimps of every variety, hermit shrimps, bemards, and scallops. Of
Zoophytes on the shores there is no end ; among them are polypi of many species, sea-slugs, sea-
worms, sea-nettles, sea-jellies, star-fish, blubbers, cuttle-fish, the Inligo, or ink-fish, sea-ancmonies,
in all their varieties.
CORNWALL. 1 13
belonged to the distinguished family of that narne^ which held large estates in
ComwalL The male line was extinct in 1330, but was revived by one of the
Trenowiths, who married the heiress, and transmitted the name to Sir Henry
Bodrigan, in the time of Richard III. Sir Henry, having served the reigning
sovereign, was attainted of treason by Henry VIL, and endeavoured to con-
ceal himself upon his estate of Bodrigan. The emissaries of the king pursued
him, but aware of their arrival, he retired by a back door, tradition says, pur-
sued, by his neighbours, Edgcumbe and Trevanion, who were, perhaps, looking
to a share of his estates in the way of reward. From the «hore Sir Henry got
into a boat, and made his escape, and Edgcumbe contrived to get a large part of
the property. The castle was a magnificent place. The chapel, hall, and kitchen
were pulled down as late as 1786. A large barn, and a house, the residence
of a farmer, are aU that now remain. The story of the common people is,
that near a barrow, now called Sir H. Bodrigan's castle, upon a swampy spot
of ground, Trevanion and Edgcumbe defeated Sir Henry, and that he fled to
the edge of the cliff, a place called to this day " Bodrigan's leap," whence he
sprang desperately down a hundred feet, and lighting upon soft grass and
sand received so little Injury that he was able to get into a boat lying near,
and to reach a vessel, which conveyed him to France. When he got off from
the shore, he turned round and cursed Trevanion and Edgcumbe, and their
posterity ; and the people say, Bodrigan's curse has had its effect to this hour.
Sir Henry was a favourite of the people for his generosity and hospitality, and
a century ago was still spoken of with great respect by the older part of the
population, to whom his history had been transmitted by their fathers.
St. Michael Carhayes, about four miles from Mevagissy and Tregony, con-
tained the old seat of the Trevanion family. It was the mother church of
St. Denis and St. Stephen in Brannel ; yet the whole population is not above
a hundred. Trevanion, or " the town in the hollow place," gave its name to
the family of Trevanion, — traced back six generations before Edward IV.
The male line became extinct in 1767. But there were two sisters left; one
of whom married Dr. Bettesworth, and the other Admiral Byron, grandfather
of the poet. The grandson of Dr. Bettesworth assmned the name and arms of
Trevanion in 1801. The house at Carhayes, built by the Arundels, stood on
a hill, but was afterwards demolished, and a new one erected in the valley.
This last was demolished in turn, and a modem edifice of nondescript gothic,
from the designs of the architect of Buckingham palace, occupies its place,
erected at a great expense, and not yet completed. The park is fine, and the
vicinity beautiful There is a good deal of wood on the estate. From this
parish to the eastern side of Carrick Road the country is very fertile, com-
prising the parishes of Veryan, St. Just, Philleigh, Gerrans, St. Anthony, and
the town of St. Mawes, of the castle of which the steel plate is a representation,
taken from the batteries under Pendennis, on the opposite side of the entrance
into Carrick Road and Falmouth Harbour.
114 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
St. Just, called St. Just in Roseland, extends along the side of Carrick
Boad from Tolvem, on the north, to St. Mawes' Creek, at the western extre-
mity of which creek stands the town. St. Mawes is a miserable fishing place,
with a safe harbour, running some way up the country. It was a borough,
disfranchised by the Reform Act. The castle was built by Henry VIII., as
an inscription over the gate records. It commands the eastern side of the
entrance to Falmouth Harbour, but is a feeble work, in a military sense,
the defence of the harbour depending on the strong fort of Pendennis, upon the
Fahnouth side. This parish is extremely fertile. St. Anthony in Boseland
is on the opposite side of the creek to St. IVfawes, and is four miles from
Falmouth by water ; upon its western point it has a revolving light, very
useful to vessels approaching Falmouth from seaward. There was formerly a
chapel in this parish^ dedicated to St. Anne. Gerrans, north of St. Anthony,
stands near a small bay, open to the eastward, four miles north-east of
St Mawes. On Cargurrel, an estate in this parish, there is an old fortifi-
cation, called Dingerein, supposed to have been the residence of King Geren-
nius, A.D. 506^ and consisting of the remnant of a strong earth work, north of
Gerrans church. A subterranean passage leads from these works to the sea, cut
through the side of a hill-cliff, and now called the Mermaid's Hole : it is large
enough for a man to enter upright, and runs about fifty yards inland, where it
contracts so that a person must proceed further on all fours ; it is considered
to have been an old sally-port. King Gerennius is supposed to be buried
in the neighbouring parish of Veryan, where there is still existing an
enormous barrow, 372 feet in circumference. Veryan lies north-east of
Gerrans parish, eleven miles from Truro ; and is pleasingly situated, having
the sea south-west and north-east, with the Nare Head stretching out
between. At Portlooe a fishery is carried on in a pleasant cove, opening
south-east. Veryan church consists of a nave and aisle, nearly equal in size.
The pillars within have inclined from the perpendicular considerably, and are
secured by iron bars. There are some monuments in this church,— one to
Richard Trevanion, governor of Pendennis Castle, dated 1712; and there is
a school, established by the Rev. Mr. Trist. Philly, or Filleigh parish, lies
west of Veryan, bounded northward by the creek which runs up towards
Tregony. The old name of the parish was Eglos Ros, the " Heath-church,''
whence Ros, or Roseland. The church is dedicated to St. Felix. Ruan
Lanihome, between this parish and Tregony, is noted for having had for
its rector the Rev. John Whitaker, the antiquary and historian of Man-
chester. It is seven miles east-north-east of Truro. The name signifies
'^ the iron church near the river ;" and near the village are some remains of
a castle, which was unroofed in the time of Leland the antiquary. Several of
the towers were standing subsequent to the commencement of the last century.
Not far from the castle ruins was Trelonk House, belonging to a giant of
wonderful dimensions, according to vulgar tradition, who used to be at
CORNWALL. 115
continual war with the owner of the castle^ and was a second Bluebeard. The
combatants hurled rocks at each other, and disturbed even the elements with
their conflicts. The house is remembered to have been a large, well-built,
old mansion, castellated, and the approach well secured. The church of
Lianihorne is small, and was founded about the year 940. Nearly on the opposite
side of the creek lies the little church of Lamorran, or Lan Moran, five miles
from Truro ; it is a small living, the property of Lord Falmouth. Cornelly,
another parish, has its church-town a short distance from the same creek, and
nearer to Tregony. Trewarthenick, the seat of the Gregor family, very beau-
tifully situated, lies in the vicinity.
Tregony, eight miles from Truro, is in the parish of Cuby, and consists of
one street, of no very striking appearance. It was disfranchised under the
Reform Act. This town is supposed to have been the site of the Cenio of the
Romans. The old town stood lower than the present, and had a castle, of
which few traces remain, while the Fal was once navigable quite up to the houses.
Tregony belonged to the family of Pomeroy, and seems to have had a market
in the time of Henry I. During the last century, both Tregony and its
neighbouring town of Grampound were more remarkable for borough corrup*-
tion than for any kind of traffic. By Lord Falmouth Tregony was trans-
ferred to Lord de Dunstanville, as the price of his lordship's withdrawal from
opposition at Truro. It was then sold to Mr. Barwell, of Sussex, and Sir
Christopher Hawkins possessed a portion, during which it was the arena of
the most violent, profligate, and corrupt contests. In the church of Cuby, just
without the eastern end of the town, there is a monument to Hugh Pomeroy.
In Old Tregony, on the north of the present town, there was a church dedi-
cated to St. James, of which some fragments were remaining within memory,
and this rectory is held still with the vicarage of Cuby. The parish
church of Creed lies two miles north from Tregony ; it is situated in a pretty
vale, and has some memorials of the family of Quarme of Nancor. The town
of Ghrampound stands on the side of a hill ; it first sent members to parliament
in the reign of Edward VI., and received several privileges from John of
Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, in 1332. There is a chapel dedicated to St.
Naunter, in this town, where the rector of Creed performs the service on
Sunday afternoons. A market-hall is situated at the east end, and on the west
a bridge over the Fal is crossed by the road to Truro, through Probus and
Tresillian. The country in the neighbourhood is very pleasing. A new road
has been made of late years to avoid the hill going out of Grampound towards
Truro ; it falls into the old road near Trewithen, a seat of the late Sir
Christopher Hawkins.
Probus, three miles on the road towards Truro, has a church possessing the
finest tower in the county. Once called Lanbrabois, from Lan Probus, it was
held by Edward the Confessor himself; and the parish formerly boasted of
eight chapels. The ancient fiunily of Wolvedon, united with the Tregians of
I ] 6 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
St Ewe^ made this parish their residence^ and erected a noble house at Golden,
supported by an income in their time of 3,000/. per annum. Painful is the
history attached to the head of this family, affording a disgusting picture of the
execrable spirit of religious persecution, during times in which the only
difference between the persecuting parties was that the one burned and the
other onl^ hanged its victims.
Near Probus there are remains of encampments, which some attribute to the
Romans, and others to the Danes, perhaps the work of neither; these remains are
considerable^ This church tower is exceedingly handsome, built of granite,
and rising to 108 feet: it is much embellished with sculpture both of animals
and foliage, and was built in the reign of Elizabeth. There are two schools at
Probus ; one an endowed grammar-school, for which Mr. John Williams,
of Treworgy, left 10/. per annum in 1688. There is a holiday feast in this
parish, called " Probus and Grace," which seems connected with that rarity, a
married saint. Descending a long hill, we came into the road that leads to
Bodmin from Truro, adopted of late years to avoid an ascent, and, proceeding
for some way along a valley, we entered the village of Tresillian, where the cause
of Charles I. received its final blow in Cornwall in 1646. It once belonged to
the notorious Justice Tresillian, and was given by Richard II. to one Howley,
who married TresilHan's daughter. It is now the property of Mr. Slade Bennet.
There is a bridge here over a stream that falls into one of the creeks of
Falmouth Harbour. Cromwell, with his iron horsemen, secured Wadebridge,
and Charles's forces retired to Truro, Fairfax following them to this bridge,
where the royal army signed a capitulation in 1646.
Passing through Tresillian, a creek of the sea comes up among wooded
hills on the left of the road, and passing Pencalenick, where the scenery
is very beautiful, a new cut from the ancient road, upon the right, winds
north-westwards, to avoid a very steep hill descending into Truro. Across
Tresillian Creek, nearly opposite Pencalenick, is the small church of Merther,
in which parish Tresillian is situated. A monastery existed there formerly,
of the order of poor Clares.
On reaching Truro, close to the town on the left-hand, is Tregols, the seat
of the Spry family. Truro is entered through St Clement's-street, so named
from the parish in which the street stands, being separated from St Mary's
parish by the little river Allen, which joins another stream at the quay, and
forms the creek or river of Truro. A bridge, called the East Bridge, crosses
the Allen, over which a lateral street is continued from that of St. Clement
into the heart of the town. The duchy-manor of Moresk, the ancient site of
the castle of that name not being now discoverable, extended over all this parish*
The manor was given by Edward the Black Prince to Sir Walter de Wood-
land. Penair, the seat of Captain Reynolds, R.N., Bodrean, the residence of
Mr. H. P. Andrews, Pencalenick, already mentioned, and Polwhele, the
ancient scat of the Polwhele family, are in this parish ; but the principal part of
CORNWALL. 117
the population is within the town or borough of Truro. The vicarage of
St. Clement is iu the ^ft of the crown. The church* is a plain edifice, con-
taining nothing remarkable, and situated about a mile and a half from
Truro, which is here represented from the river.
Truro stands in a hollow among hills, and in three parishes ; that of St. Cle-
ment has already been mentioned, separated from St. Mary's parish by the
little river of SL Allen, which meets a stream, dividing St. Mary's from
Kenwyn parish at the quay ; St Mary's parish being confined to the penin-
sula formed by the two riTer3.t St. Mary's contained in 1631 about 2,920
inhabitants. The larger portion of the town is in Ecnwyn parish, while that
in St. Clement is about equal in population to St. Mary's. The united
population within the town is, therefore, considerable.} Truro is a town of
Two epitaphs here " instruct the rnstic moralists to die" in tlie following lines—
" Here lie two little ones,
Whose tart were tender as their bonei."
The second is equally oiiginal : — -
" Father, and mother, and I,
Chose to be buried as nnder ;
Father and mother lies buried here,
And I ties buried yonder 1"
t Leiand describes the Cornish capital much as it stoodwithin haman memory. After mentioning
the nmin stream that forma the riTer, he says ;— " The ereke of Truro afore the Tery town it devided
into two panes, and eehe of them hatb a brook comming doun and s bridge, and (he town of Tmni
betwixt them booth. The Whitefriars house was on the west arme ye Kenwyn-streete. Kenwyn-
streete is severed from Trora with this arme ; and Clemente's-itreete by est is separate on the est
side from Tmm by the other arme. One parish church in Troru self. Kenwyn and Clemente's-
streetesbalh several chnrchis, and here the name of the sainctei of the paroch cburchis. There is a
caslelle a quarter of a mile by vest out of Trum, tongging to the Erie of Cornwall, now clere down.
The ule thereof it now used for a shoting and playing place."
% Nearly 10,000, it is presumed, as in 1S31 they were between 8,000 and 9,000, judging by the
fiirmer deeennial increase.
118 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
more remote antiquity than is generally reported. In 1087 it consisted of two
manors^ called Trewret and Treured; and it is stiU distinguished as the
borough and manor of Truro. The town, incorporated by King John, but
some accoimts say by Henry L, was styled the Burgus de Truru. King John
made it a coinage town for tin, and it possesses a hall onot used for that purpose.
Whether the castle was built then is unknown, but it wm inhabited by Richard
de Lacy, or Lucy, in the twelfth century, and sent representatives to parlia-
ment in the time of Edward L The mound upon which the castle stood, at
the head of Pydar-street, after being much reduced for vmious purposes, is now
fenced round, and serves for a cattle market. From the Castle Hill the
church of Kenwyn is distant about half a mile, and hai been lately rebuilt in
very good taste, the fine old tower still remaining. Tha view from the church-
yard is extensive and beautiftd.
This is one of our finest country towns of its sixe; its population and
buildings are on the increase ; while, from its position at the head of the branches
of Fahnouth Harbour, and standing about midway between die two seas, it
must always constitute a great central point The streets are numerous and
well built. Where Lemon-street opens into the centre of the town, there was
anciently a religious house of Clares, besides that which stood north of
Kenwyn-street, being an old Dominican chapel and friary. Lemon-street
branches from the main street in the middle of the town, and is the outlet to
Falmouth, bearing near its termination a monument to the memory of one of
the Landers, who died in Africa. Both brothers were natives of Truro. The
western road crosses what is called the West Bridge, and passes along
Kenwyn-street; while the northern, leaving Kenwyn church on the left, after
leading through Pydar-street, runs directly to Piranzabulo. On the right in
Pydar-street is an open space, in which is situated a theatre and ball-room,
built of free-stone, and decorated with medallions of Grarrick and Shakspeare ;
the eastern side of the square, or cross, as it is called, is terminated by the iU-
designed spire and end of the church, — monuments of bad taste^ more especially
attached, as they are, to one of the most beautiful edifices of the time of
Henry VIL that remains in the county, very much resembling that of Laun-
ceston. Some fragments of painted glass in the windows yet remain, and
carry the date 1518. Li the church is a monument to the memory of John
Bobartes, who died in 1614, and was one of the Badnor family. There is also
a monmnent, inscribed, " To the pious and well-deserved memory of Owen
Penals Phippen, who travelled over many parts of the world, and, on the
24th of March, 1620, was taken by the Turks, and made captive in Algiers.
He projected sundry plots for his liberty ; and on the 17th of June, 1627, with
ten other christian captives, Dutch and French, (persuaded by his counsel and
courage,) he began a cruel fight with sixty-five Turks in their own ship, which
lasted three hours, in which five of his companions were slain. Yet Gkxi made
him conquer ; and so he brought the ship into Carthagena, being of 400 tons,
CORNWALL. 119
and twenty-two ordnance. The king sent for him to Madrid to see him ; he
was offered a captain's place and the king's favour if he would turn papist,
which he refused. He sold all for G^OOO/., and returned into England, and
died at Lanoran, 17th March, 1636 :—
Melcomb, in Dorset, "was his place of birth.
Aged 54 ; and here lies earth in earth.
** GEORGE FITZ PXMAL8 PHIPPEN.
M
U
t(
IPSinS PRATER ET HUJXTB ECCLE8UE RECTOR.
n
There is a town-hall and a good market here ; the latter is scarcely large
enough for the population of the town. Over the market, removed from a
more ancient structure of the same kind, Which stood in the centre of the
principal street, called Boscawen-street, formerly divided longitudinally by a
row of houses, is inscribed —
" T. B. JENKINS DANIEL, M AIOl^
" Who seeks to find eternal treasure,
Most use no gaise in weight or measure." — 1615.
There is an excellent library, established in 1792, called the "County
Library." There is also a County Infirmary, opened in 1799, consisting of a
spacious freestone building. A humane institution was established in 1812 ;
and one for lying-in women. The parliament of the Lord Warden of the
Stannaries and the Vice-Warden's courts are held here. The endowed
grammar-school is noted for having contributed to the education of several very
celebrated public characters. It has two exhibitions of 30/. per annum, founded
by the trustees of the charitable bequests of the Rev. St. John Elliot; and there is
a charity-school, endowed with 5L per annum out of the same bequest ; and a hos-
pital for ten poor housekeepers, founded by Henry Williams, in 1631, and en-
dowed with land producing 120/. aryear. Foote, the comedian, was a native of
Truro, and bom in a house near the coinage-hall, not, as commonly stated, at
what is now the Red Lion Inn. There are two smelting-houses for tin at this
place ; and from hence much tin is exported, after being cast into bars and
ingots. The coinage of tin, as practised for many centuries, has been recently
abolished ; and the duties upon that metal, due to the Duke of Cornwall, are
levied in a different manner, rendering the old practice unnecessary. In
ancient times, by a particular grant, Truro possessed jurisdiction over all the
harbour, now denominated the harbour of Falmouth ; not that the grant could
have recognised the Mayor of Truro as the Mayor of Falmouth, since the latter
town did not exist until after the commencement of the seventeenth century.
It is clear, therefore, that the visitation of the Heralds in 1620, and their
statement of an ancient grant being in existence, respecting the chief officer
of a place that did not exist a few years before, must be either untrue, or refer
solely to the jurisdiction over the waters forming the harbour.*
• c<
We find also that the Mayor of Truro hath always been, and stiU is, Mayor of Fahnouth, as by
an ancient grant, now in the custody of the said Mayor and Burgesses, doth appear.*' Hale says,
130 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
The neighbourhood of Truro is pleasimt ; the narrow wooded valleys in the
wcinity, each with ita little brook, are oharming seclusions; while hill and
vale offer agreeable eitea, occupied by villaa or maoeions, and along the
river there are points of great picturesque beauty. The salt water falls
to Mopas, at every secession of the tide, nearly two miles lower down, and
there ships of more than 150 tons must unload. There is a ferry at Mopas to
the parish of St Michael Penkivel. Near this ferry, in 1747, twenty pounds
weight of Roman coins were
found, the largest number
and latest of Gallienus and
Carinus, or before a.d. 284.
The scenery of Truro river,
80 very beautiful, termi-
nates in Carrick Road. Im-
mediately below Mopas, on
the eastern bank, is Tre-
gothnan, the seat of Lord
Falmouth, a modern built
bouse, charmingly situated.
From a creek of the river
may be seen the church of
St. Michael Penkivel, here
represented, in which repose
the remains of the gallant
Admiral Boscawen.
The grounds of Tregothnan extend along the eastern wde of the Fal or VaL
Trelissick, on the western, belongs to Lord Falmouth as well as Tregothnan.
Wood and water here combine to decorate scenery that must be seen to be
justly appreciated. Further down are Feock church and several country seats
in very i^reeable and picturesque localities.
Before proceeding further, we shall take notice of a singular remnant of
old times in a ndghbouring parish, connected with the ancient language and
literature of this county, and of a portion of Devonshire ; for it appears that
the Combh tongue was spoken in the South Hams' district in that county as
late aa Edward I., although the Cornish were driven from the Ex, their old
boundary, to the Taraar three centuries before. Adjoining the parish of
Kenwyn is that of Piranzabulon, which extends to the sea on the northern
coast. It was named Perran, or Piran, from one of those marvellous Irish
" tbat King John gave Tniro the rojalt; over the whole harbour ai far ai Caricke Road and Black
Rock Iiland, in coDttderatioD of twelve pence paid to the inaiior coun." This right Tnjro eierci«eil
for 500 yean, until oae of the KUigrewi obiHincd trom King Charlea IL the traosrer of the privilege
from TntTo aa an augmentation to Ibe rector; of FalmoDth for ever. The question wu tried in 1 709.
and decided in favour of Falmoatb.
CORNWALL. 121
sajnta, who, when their country was the seat of all the learning of the eaat and
■west, according to ita own writers, but ogea subsequently to its monarcha
1[>ecomiQg related to the Pharaohs of Egypt, by marriE^es at Memphis, used to
perform the m<»t extraordinary feats. St. Piran, about a.d. 460, fed ten Irish
kings, with innumerable armies, for eight days upon three cows, lie lived to be
200 years old without sickness ; restored both men and animals to life ; and fUll
of years and miracles, at last determined to honour ComwalL To render his
mission more striking, he embarked upon a mill-stone, and safely reached what
18 now Piranzabulo, or else Padstow, (antiquaries have not yet agreed which.)
In Cornwall he became the patron of the tinners, who keep his feast on the 5th
of March ; and he left a well to them, long held sacred, called Fenton Berran,
or St. Piran's Well, not to be confounded with a parish of that name. It is
even now of pot«nt efl5cacy in curing ricketa and other diseases to those who
have faith in the miracles of St. Piran, or St. Perran. In this parish there is
found the largest Plaen an guare, or amphitheatre, used for the performance of
miracle-plays, which time has spared. There is another in St. Just, in Penwith,
with stone seats, but the present is of turf, and called " Piran Bound." Of
this structure the following is a correct representation.
A represents the area of the
amphitheatre, one hundred and
thirty feet in diameter. B the
benches, in number seven. As the
rise of these is but a foot, it is
evident they were formed for
• standing rather than sitting. C
is the top of the rampart, seven
, , feet wide, on which spectators
"■'. mightstand three or four deep. The
* outer slope of the rampart goes
down into a ditch, D, from whence
the earth was (aken of which it
is made. Within the area is a
foss or pit, E, three feet deep by
thirteen in diameter, and round it is a seat or bench of turf, i^ is a trench,
running from this pit to the seats where the spectators were placed, four
feet six inches wide, and one foot deep, terminating in a semi-oval recess,
eleven feet long by nine wide, making a breach in the seats or steps. Most
likely the pit E served as an orchestra, and the passage F was covered,
and led to the place, G, where the performers retired, which was probably
covered also ; perhaps this pit represented the infernal regions. The perform-
ances, no doubt, took place over the whole plane of the ampliitheatre, from
every part of which the actors would be visible to the spectators. There are
two breaches in the seats, H H, which leads to the supposition that there were
122 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTLRY.
two eotranceB ; but the amphitheatre at St. Just shows but one entrance ; and
one of the present openings appeared to us as if it had been nude for a common
foot-path, long since the
amphitheatre had ceased to
be used for miracle-plays.
We have engraved a sec-
tion of this "Bound."
We made a calculation,
by taking the circuDoference
of the lower step or seat,
and giving the recession of the seat^, and consequently the larger diameter of the
uppermost to balance the entrance and pit, the spectators supposed not to be
seatedi and allowing twenty-two inches for each person, that this amphi-
theatre, with seven rows standing on the steps, one line at the bottom, and
two on the summit, would hold 2,200 persons, and not be crowded. That the
spectators stood is evident from the lowness of the steps, which just permits
one line to look over the heads of that before it. To this day in Cornwall
every thing noted in the way of exhibition is called a miracle-play. From a
passage in one of these plays, written 400 years ago, it is a &ir point of doubt
whether the Cornish believed in transubstantiation. With the order of
bishops they seem to have dealt very cavalierly."
Of writers before the Cornish language was extinct, there was Hucarius of
the abbey of St. Germans, in 1040 ; he lefl one hundred and ten sermons,
and was a holy and learned man. Geraldus Comubiensis, who lived about
1150, left a MS. in Latin, now among the Cotton MSS. In 1170, John of
Cornwall was a favourite with Pope Alexander III. ; he wrote concerning
Christ's Incarnation (De Incamationc Christi) against Peter the Lombard ;
Bali, in Leland, says he flourislied in 1173 ; he was styled a catholic doctor.
Simon Thurnay flourished at Oxford in 1200, on whom a supernatural judg-
ment fell for his pride in his great learning. Michael Comubiensis, a Cornish
poet, flourished in the time of Henry IV. ; his name is also given as Michael
Blaunpayne; he wrote Latin verse, and well too; he lived in 1250. The
epigram, of which the following is a translation, was written by Michael,
upon the jester of Henry IV., wlio abused Cornwall :—
*' Gambed like b goat, spurow-thigh'd, side as boar.
Hare-month 'd, dug-nosed, like mule thj teelh and chm;
An old wife's brow, bull-headed, black as moor ; —
If such withont, what (hen are jou within?
By these my aigna the wise will truly conaler.
How little thoa dost differ from a monster !"
• There was a Ha™ an guare near Redruih, now nearly destroyed j another on the liiard Downs,
neur Landewednaek,— a road rum through the middle,— it is 117 feel in diameter. In Roan M^or
was one of sixty -Bii feet, and in Ruan Minor one of nbety-rtiree feet in diameter, of which the tam-
pike-roulcnu off a portion. They are all foand in the western part of the coanty.
CORNWALL. 123
In other verses he describes Cornwall, at that remote time, as it is at
present, — " No sea so full of fish ; of tin no shore." He also says that Eang
Arthur always put his Cornish men in the front of the battle. ^Michael
be^ed an exhibition of Henry in some Latin lines.* From many of his
verses preserved in Camden he seems, for his time, to have been no contemp-
tible poet. One Thomas Famabie, Mayor of Truro, born in 1575, was a
student of Merton College, Oxford, and left some learned notes and annota-
tions, with the " Anthology of Greek Epigrams, and a Latin translation."
A. comic pastoral in Cornish is extant ;t and the late Mr. D. Gilbert has
printed all the Cornish MSS. that have been found translated.} It appears
that in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, are two MSS.; one on parchment, con-
taining three interludes, or ordinalia ; the first treating of the " Creation of
the World," the second of the " Holy Passion," and the third of the " Resur-
rection." The second MS., on paper, contains one ordinaley ^^ Of the Creation
of the World and the Deluge," and was written by William Jordan, 1611.
-Al third work existed, entitled " Mount Calvary," of much higher antiquity ;
and all were translated by Mr. Keigwin, about 1680. Unfortunately the
translation of *^ Mount Calvary," and that of the " Creation," by Jordan, alone
can now be found ; and these Mr. Gilbert has preserved by his edition of them.
Jordan was a native of Helston. In the death of a language there is some-
thing painfully striking; as being the medium through which for perished ages
" Regia rector, miles vt Hector, dux vt Achilles,
Tequia sector, melle vector, mel mihi stilles !'*
t The following are two of the stanzas : —
" -Pray whither so trippingly, pretty fair maid.
With your face rosy white, and your soft yellow hair?"
^ Sweet sir, to the well in the summer-wood shade,
For strawberry leaves make the young maiden fair."
** Shall I go with you, pretty fair maid, to the wood.
With your face rosy white, and your soft yellow hair?"
" Sweet sir, if you please, it will do my heart good.
For strawberry leaves make the young maiden fair."
CORNISH.
** Pelea era why moaz moz, fettow, teag.
Gen agaz bedgeth gwin, ha agaz blew mellyn ?"
^ Mi a moaz tha*n venton, sarra wheag,
Rag delkiow sevi gwra mnzi teag."
** Pea ve moaz gen a why, moz, fettow, teag,
Gen agaz bedgeth gwin, ha agaz blew mellyn ?"
" Greuh mena why, sarra wheag,
Rag delkiow sevi gwra muzi teag."
There is a notion that strawberry leaves improve the freshness of the complexion by rubbing them
on the skin.
t " Mount Calvary," 8vo, and the " Creation of the World." Edited by D. Gilbert, Esq. 1827 .
Nichols and Son.
124 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENT CRY.
perished generations of men communicated alike wants the most trivial, or
the " thoughts that wander through eternity."*
There are no printed books in the Cornish tongue. Dr. Moreman, of Men-
heniot, in the reign of Henry VIIL, was the first who taught his parishioners
the Lord's Prayer in English. In 1640, at Feock, near Truro, the sacrament
was administered in Cornish; and the Rev. Mr. Robinson, near the Lizard
Point, preached in Cornish in 1678. In 1700, the language was still spoken
by the tinners and fish-people of St. Just, and the western side of Mounts Bay.
Borlase said, that in 1758 it had ceased to be spoken ; but ten years after that,
* One of these interludes is supposed to have been written in the time of Richard m. In the
interlude in the Bodleian Library, called " The Creation," God the Father speaks at the opening ; we
copy from Borlase, as the translation has been lost : —
** The Father of heaven — I the maker,
The former of every thing that shall be made-
One and three in truth,
The Father, Son, and the Spirit —
This day it is my will
Of my especial favour to begin the world.
I have said it — ^heaven and earth
Be ye formed by my counsel T'
The metre is agreeable and harmonious. The Cornish runs—
" EQ Tas-a Ngf-ym Gyl-wyr,—
Formj^-er p&btra vyth-gwrys ;"
consequently the measure is that of Bryden's verse, ** SofUy sweet in Lydian measures." The
stanza consists of eight verses, with alternate rhymes ; sometimes changed for one of six, when the
first and second rhyme together, the fourth and fifth, and the third and sixth. In this drama there
are fifty>six characters, and yet more in two of the other pieces. All the hosts of heaven and the
infernal regions, even the Trinity, are personified. " The Creation " occupies the ages from the
beginning of the world to the erection of Solomon's Temple. Thus, though the diction of the dialogue
is good, all dramatic rules in the plot are §et at defiance. A christian bishop is, oddly enough,
ordained to look after the edifice of a Jewish sovereign* Still more incongruously, the wages of the
workmen who built the temple are places or estates in Cornwall, — Enys, the seat of the Enys family,
near Penryn, Penryn-wood, Arwenick, near Penryn, Tregeuler, Kegyllek, and all the field of
Behethlen. In this building of the temple, ** The Martyrdom of Maximilla," a legend, is introduced,
in which a bishop, a crosier bearer, a messenger, four torturers, Maximilla, Gebel, and Amalek, are the
actors. The bishop rewards the torturers for their cruelties with three Cornish estates. It would
seem that bishops were in bad odour with the Cornish people, by thus charging one with putting a
saint to death ; a thing as incongruous as just before making one of them a keeper of Solomon's
temple. The first of wise men finishes the entertainment by reciting an epilogue, in which he charges
his audience to come early the next day, to see ** The Passion" represented. Solomon then gives the
audience their dismissal in these words—
** In the name of the Father,
Ye minstrels holy,
Tune your pipes.
And let every one depart to his home."
The •* Creation and Deluge," by Jordan, is inferior to ** Mount Calvary," which is translated into
prose ; the last being narrative and not dramatic, solemn as well as pathetic In Jordan's piece, the
directions for the actors or the stage manager are singular ; as they explain the nature of many things
which could not be learned firom the dialogue. First, God the Father is to appear, and then Lucifer,
CORNWALL. 125
two old women of Mousehole understood, according to Mr. Daines Barrington,
what was said by a neighbour called Dolly Pentreath, than whom they were
only ten or twelve years younger. This woman, commonly reputed the last
who could speak Cornish, was in her eighty-seventh year in 1773 ; but would
frequently walk three miles out and home the same morning. One William
Bodener, in 1776, could write both Cornish and English; and he stated that
four or five others then lived who could speak the language. John Nancarrow
of Marazion, learned the language in his youth. Mr. Polwhele says, that
this William Bodener, of Mousehole, was many years younger than Dolly
who styles himself the *'laiithoni of heayen/' and angels of different degrees, both of God and of
Lucifer. It is directed that " hell should gape " at one part of the dialogue. *' Adam and Eve '* are
directed to be ready, " dressed in white leather,'* but not to appear till called, and *' then to rise."
Paradise is ordered to be represented with fruits, flowers, a fountain, and a tree ; and the Father is to
take a bone out of Adam's side. Adam is to lie down and sleep, and the " conveyer" is to take Eve
from his side ; the conveyer answering, it is presumed, to a modem stage-manager. Animals, birds,
and fish, are introduced ; and a serpent is ordered to be made, '* with a virgin's face, and yellow hair
VL\}on her head." Lucifer b to come, and, slaying the serpent, to enter into its body. The serpent
enters the tree and sings. These and many more are directions for the performance.
The play begins by God the Father declaring his intention of creating the world. Lucifer addresses
the angels, in his pride, and declares he is better than the Father. Angels of his own party applaud
him ; while those faithful to God rebuke him. The Father then appears and rebukes the rebel angel ;
who replies, full of jealousy against man, of whom the Maker had announced the creation. He insults
his Maker, and Michael is commanded to turn him out of heaven. A combat ensues, and Lucifer is
worsted. [The instructions for the stage are to fight with swords. Lucifer to go down to hell ; and
every degree of devils and spirits to be sent down to hell, and ** lost spirits, on cords, are running into
the plain ;" or bottom of the amphitheatre, we presume. Hence the whole circle, below the last step,
must have been occupied by the actors.] The second act exhibits the creation of man, and his fkll.
Lucifer is represented as '* a sweet angel ;" and Eve goes through the tempting of her husband with
true feminine skill. Adam clearly sins not from desire for the apple, nor curiosity to know good from
evil, but because Eve declares if he does not eat he shall " lose her love." The stage instruction when
the serpent is discovered by God, orders that Lucifer shall come out of the serpent, leaving it in the
tree, and " creep on his belly into hell." Li the third act Death appears, Cain and Abel are bom, the
latter is murdered, Cain banished, and Seth born. Cain's parents curse him ; he answers, —
" I am enough accursed.
There is no need that you should curse me more ;
I cannot bear what you have dealt to me.
And my own mother too from her whole heart I —
I will fly far from hence, before I rest, —
So thick the curses heaped upon my head,
I doubt if earth hath ere a dwelling for me I"
The fourth act contains the death of Cain and of Adam. Lamech, nearly blind, sets off to shoot or
hunt, attended by a servant ; and mistaking Cain for a wild beast, slays him. Lamech kills his
servant for directing his aim, though it was done unwittingly. Devils appear, and take Cain away ;
his words when dying, to Lamech, must have been striking in the original tongue ; we have turned
their meaning into metre : —
Cain. I am deformed, covered with hair,—
Fve lived continually, now burned with heat.
Now chilled with hoary frost ; aye, day and night !
The sons of men I never will'd to see, —
126 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Pentreath, and used to converse with her. He died in 1794, and left two sons,
but neither knew enough of the language to converse in it. This engraving is
a likeness of Dolly Pentreath,
from a drawing made by an
inhabitant of Penzance, who
died about the close of the
last century.
Dolly Pentreath was aged
102 years when she died,
and was buried very humbly
in St. Paul's churchyard, near \t
Penzance; where some igno- '',. ',
rant writers have given her
both a stone and epitaph. \«
Mr. Tompaon, an engineer
of Truro, who had made
the old Cornish language his
For beasts were my companioDi. Twas that I
KiU'd tbe cbari Abel, made m j mffering.
Lameeh. Wherefore dld'et (bou kill him?
He was (hy brother ; — 'twas a iricked deed.
Coin. He did control me, — I waa born before h'un j
Yet he ne'er reyerenced me before the world.
Enraged, I suddenly did slay my brother :
No sorrow bear 1 for it ; but the curees, —
The cone of Gwi, of mother, and of aire ;
These are npoa me, for that act nioae '.
My heart ia proud as ever ; though close bj
Death stands, T will not ask forgiveness,
Doubting of mercy for my bygone deeds.
J know that God relentless, will not pardon.—
Ob, I am dying! I'll not forgiTe even thee.
My Eoul turns hellwards, to its dwelling.
Winter and summer tide, there to inhabit I" (Cain diet.)
Adam now directs Seth to Paradise, where the future ia rcTcaled to him by an angel, in a sort of
pbantasmic scenery ; wherein he sees the past and the future, with the scheme of human redemption ;
reminding us much of Milton's description of the revelation of fhture erenta to Adam in Paradise I«st.
Similar ialerludes perhaps fiimLbed the great poet with the hint. Seth relates all he has seen to
Adam, whom Death soon afterwards takes, and devils cometof^h; but Lucifer inlerferea, and says
Adam ia ordained b; the Father to rest in limbo ; they must nol touch him. Lucifer tells the reason
wherefore, as adroitly aa an Oxford doctor of divinity could do. In the flfUi act, Enoch is translated,
and points to the snn and firmament as he is carried upwards. Two pillars are erected, and book*
put into them, writtfiu by Seth, cont^niog all that has happened from the foundation of the
world ; — that the antediluvian tiistory may be preserved. Noah receives bis iustructions to build
tbe ark. Bopes, pitch, and tools are displayed ; at all which Tubal-Cain, and others, laugh. The
beasts are put into the ark, rtuo falls; af^rwards a raven and a culver are let fly. The ark islet), an
altar built, frankincense burned, and *'some good church songs sung." A rainbow, too, appears; (it
would be cnrioDS to know how they managed their scenery ;) and the piece closes with an epilogne.
CORNWALL, 127
study, wrote the following epitaph upon Dolly, which he circulated among
his friends ; hence the tale of a tomb-stone, that never honoured her
remains : —
** Old Doll Pentreatb, one hnndred aged and two,
Deceased and buried in Paul parish too : —
Not in the church, with people great and high.
But in the churchyard, doth old Dolly lie." *
The intercourse of Cornwall with Brittany, and intermarriage of families,
was common until the reign of Henry VIL ; this contributed to keep alive
the language, in more purity than it afterwards maintained, f
The parish of Piran-zabulo,J is half overwhelmed with the sand blown
up by the sea. The manor of St. Piran has wholly disappeared beneath the
deluge that has rolled over it. No less than three churches are recorded to
have been built, and abandoned from this cause; and in 1835, a building was
laid bare by the shifling of the sands, which some believe was the original
church of St. Piran. § It seems rather to have been the chapel attached to a
hermitage ; as it measures but twenty-five feet in length, by twelve and a half
in breadth, and about the same in height. At the eastern end is an altar,
three feet high, plastered over ; and on the north side, a small door ; but there
is no window in the whole edifice. A second door enters what may be called
the nave of this chapel, decorated with ornamental work. That it is of consi-
derable antiquity cannot be doubted. Laying aside the ridiculous legends
current about St. Piran, he is said by Roman Catholic writers to have been a
bishop and a follower of St. Patrick, and to have retired in his old age into
Cornwall, where he led a hermit's life, taking up his residence about fifteen
miles from Padstow. Some of his disciples went with him, and remained
imtil his decease. A white cross upon a black ground, the old standard of
Cornwall, was the banner of St. Piran. The progress of the sand, disgorged
* In Cornish : — '- Coth Doll Pentreath cans ha deau ;
Marow ha kledyz ed Paul pl£u : —
Na ed an Eglos, gan pohel brfis,
Bes ed Eglos-hay, coth Dolly es."
f Sorae of the expressions in Milton and Shakespear, obsolete elsewhere, may be yet traced in
Cornwall Tan was the word once used for fire ; they still say, for ** light the fire,'* **tine the fire."
Milton says, " tine the fierce lightning." " Rear," for '* early," used by Milton and Shakespear, is
still used in Cornwall *' Commercing," for " conversing," is Cornish ; so Milton, "" Looks commercing
with the skies." " I censure," for ** I am of opinion," as Shakespear writes, is still used.
{ In a note, at page 8, on Cornish etymologies, we quote some as bearing the Jewish stamp ; that
people having worked the mines in the time of King John. The observation is Mr. Warner's ; and
Paran-zabulo very much resembles Hebrew. Whatever the first part of the name may be, — ^Paran,
Perran, Piran, or Berran, so difficult is it to decide about the names of Irish saints who go to sea on
millstones, zabvio is by another writer derived from the French sabuUm^ ** fine sand."
§ The miners give St Piran the credit of first showing them tin, wholly forgetting the trade of the
Fhcenicians to Cornwall, 1,400 years before St. Piran was born. They keep his feast on the 5th of
March, and every one seen in a state of ebriety on that day is called a '* Perraner." The saint, him-
self of the true Milesian stock, is said to have held **thin potations" in very particular abhorrence.
128 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
from the ocean depths in such vast quantities, rolling over fertile lands, and
changing the aspect of a large superficial space, where in time it frequently
condenses into strata of considerable hardness, in fact into sandstone, is a sin-
gular operation of nature. When the west wind blows strong, the advance of
the sand in tiny waves is easily observed, and may be arrested by planting a
belt of rushes parallel with the sea. What are called ^^ towans " in Cornwall,
where the sands have assmned the form of enormous hills, in many places
covered with short sweet grass, seems to be owing to some other causes thaji
are now in action. This sand consists almost wholly of comminuted shelLs,
triturated to great fineness, of which the ocean must possess stores inex-
haustible.
Returning to Truro, and taking the road to Penryn, — which has been changed
in direction, a short distance from the former town, to avoid a steep hill, —
passing by a smelting-house for tin, at Calenick, situated at the head of a creek
from Truro river, we go on to the village of Piran, or Perranwell. On the
right hand stands the church of Kea, a modern building of humble pretensions,
and Killiow, the seat of the Gwatkin family. In this parish are four tumuli,
known as the Four Burrows ; which were opened, and found to contain ashes
preserved in urns ; which last were protected by broad stones, forming small
chambers. In this parish too was the wood of Nansavallan, of late denuded
of its old attractions by the axe, —the scene of happy recollections to numbers
now in the vale of years. Some parts of this parish, bordering on Truro river,
exhibit very beautiful scenery. At Chacewater, a populous village of Kea
and Kenwyn, a chapel of ease has been erected recently, one of the most (
extraordinary exhibitions of bad taste in architecture of which it is possible to
conceive. Further on this road, upon the left hand, is Kiliganoon, a seat built (
by Mr. R. Hussey, of Truro, who died in 1770. It afterwards became the
property of Admiral Spry. It stands in the parish of Feock, or St. Feock,
one of the many Cornish saints unknown to existing history.
The new road to Penryn, — the older was one of the most pleasing in the
county, on its approach to Piran- Arworthal, — the new road crosses Carnon
stream work, and passes through an agreeable valley, having the woods of
Carclew and part of Restronget creek on the left hand. At Piran- Arworthal
there is an iron foundry, and, not far from the village, a strong chalybeate
spring, called Piran WelL The church is small, but neat. Carclew, the
seat of the most popular and respected family in the county of Cornwall, that
of Lemon, of which Sir Charles Lemon is the present representative, is a very
charming residence, displaying scenery of great beauty. Between Carclew
and Penryn is Enys, the seat of Mr. J. S. Enys, one of the oldest estates in
the county, having been inhabited by that family from the time of the
Plantagenets.
Penryn is a town of no pretensions in building or trade, but very beautifully
situated. It stands upon a ridge, which on the northern side goes down into
CORNWALL. 129
a vallej, watered by n branch of Falmouth harbour, carrying upon the other
side the slope, thickly wooded, upon which etands the church and vicarage-
house of St. Gluvias, buried in foliage. The road to Falmouth passes through
the lower part of the town, and crosaes the creek over a bridge. There was
once a collegiate church of Black Canons here, but there are no remains of it
left, and dwellings are erected where it stood ;* the archdeacon of Cornwall,
the Rev. Mr. Sheepshanks, is the vicar. Mr. Temple, the friend of the poet Gray,
was also the incumbent, and equally distinguished for literary acquirementa.
Pearyn was incorporated by Jamee I., and was governed by a mayor, recorder
portreeve, eleven m^stratea, and twelve assistants. It is a very ancient town,
had a court-leet before the Norman conquest, and sent two members to par-
liament from a very early date -, but under the Beform Act Falmouth has
been admitted to shase in the return. The town-hall has been lately re-
edified of granite.
Northward of the town was the scene of that extraordinary murder, which
Lillo chose for the subject of his tragedy, called " Fatal Curiosity." Upon
inquiry we found that all which till lately remwned of the farm of Bohethland
was a bam, recently burned down. It is singular that the names of the
parties in this dreadfiil history should have been kept so secret oa not to
be known. It was in the reign of James I. that there lived in Penryn an
individual, at one time in good circumstances, whose youngest son turned
out bad, left hie home, and went to sea, pursuing a course little better than
piracy. During the term of fifteen years, which the son was absent, ihe
iather'fi fortunes declined, and he and his wife took up their residence, in
• LeUod My* of Ibe creek of pghoooth harbonr ibti go« up to PenrjTi, " At the end it br«ik«th
into two anucs, th« letae to the college of Glwenith in Tiridis ^idu^ or vsgmire, M Perio, the other
toStGlnTiu, Ibe puwhcbnrch of Pinrine thereby." "Good wood aboat the ioatb and weit tide of
Penriae."
130 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
embarrassed circumstances, at Bohethland farm, in continual expectation of
arrest. The son, in his roving career, being in a vessel, off Rhodes, that caught
fire while attacking another belonging to Turkey, was fortunate enough to save
himself by swimming, having about him some jewels, which were recognised as
belonging to a Turkish officer, who had been plundered on the high seas. In
consequence, the young adventurer was sent to the galleys, among other
christian slaves ; but from this slavery made his escape, and getting on board
an English vessel, reached London, whence he embarked for the East Indies,
as the servant of a medical man, saved a good deal of money there, returned
to England, and was cast away upon the shore of his native county, in a small
ehip proceeding from London homewards. Again his life was preserved by
swimming on shore; and he proceeded to Penryn. Here he met with his
sister, married to a mercer ; revealed himself, poor as he was in appearance,
but having much wealth concealed in a bow-case about him; and with his
sister agreed that he should remain disguised until the next day, when, joined
by herself and husband, they should altogether share in the joy of his disco-
very. In the mean time the youth went to his parents as a stranger, and they,
in compassion at his story, permitted him to lodge in the bam ; but the tales
he told by the kitchen fire lasted so long that his father retired to bed, while
the son continued to draw tears from the mother's eyes, which, unfortunately,
he comforted with a piece of gold, to explain that he could pay for accom-
modation. He was shown to his lodging, and here he exhibited what other
property he had about him, telling his mother it was sufficient to retrieve her
husband's wants, or she secretly thinking so. The wife, on retiring to her
husband, told him of the wealth her unknown son possessed ; and, like another
Lady Macbeth, overcame his scruples and refusals to commit a crime to
obtain it, when both arose, murdered their son, and left his body to be dis-
posed of as opportunity offered. On the following day the sister and her
husband came up to share the family pleasure at the return of the lost son ; and
inquiring for the sailor who had lodged there the night before, the parents
at first denied that any one had done so. The daughter then revealed who
the stranger was, and alluded to a mark on his arm in proof, by which it is
probable she had recognised him when he first came to her. The father
rushed to the spot where the body lay in its blood, recognised it, destroyed him-
self with the knife which he had used for the assassination ; and the wife,
frantic, also committed suicide. The daughter, stricken with horror at the
dreadful catastrophe, did not long survive. This horrible incident seems
well supported in the main facts both by record and tradition, and adds addi-
tional testimony to the truth of the observation, that ** truth is stranger than
fiction."
From Penryn to Falmouth the road skirts the water, and enters the latter
town by the suburb called Green Bank, beautifully situated upon the side of a
steep hill, having in front the widening part of the harbour, which terminateB
CORNWALL. 131
with Penryn creek ; and on the opposite side, the villages of Little Falmouth
and Flushings which run along the edge of the sea, and here and there rise
upon the green and pretty hill behind^ terminating in Trefusis Point, which,
with Pendennis Castle opposite, forms the entrance to what may be more
particularly denominated Falmouth Harbour, or basin, as distinguished from
Carrick Road. Flushing stands in the parish of Milor, so named from a
Cornish saint, Meliorus, son to one of the dukes of Cornwall. The situation
of the church is secluded ; the building itself possesses nothing striking in
appearance. The village of Flushing, built at the termination of a winding
valley, owes its foundation to some Dutch settlers, and the land belongs to the
Trefusis family, now that of Lord Clinton. Trefusis is charmingly situated,
and the prospects from the vicinity of the house are very beautiful, but the
house itself, since the accession of the family to the Clinton title, has been for-
saken, and is inhabited by a farmer.*
Falmouth, from the termination of the new buildings on Green Bank, south-
eastward, consists of a narrow ill-built street, running parallel with the harbour,
which may now and then be seen close by at the end of some narrow opening
among the houses, or down a low and dingy passage. Passing through this
street, beyond the Custom-house, very good habitations commence along the
open strand towards Arwinik, and extend some way further, though not
continuously; while, on the hill behind, rows of excellent dwellings rise,
terrace fashion, overlooking the narrow main street below, the entire harbour,
Trefusis Point, the Boads, the land beyond them, and the castle of Pendennis ;
one of the most beautiful landscapes that can be imagined. Farther to the
south, the houses on the hill-side, called Woodland Terrace, making a sudden
* Leiand makes no mention of a town where Falmonth stands, temp. Hen, VIIL After visiting
Badock ckorch he comes to Arwenik, now in Falmouth town ; he calls it ** Mr. Kiligrew's place,
standing on the brimme or shore within Falmonth Haven. This place hath beene of continuance the
anncient house of the Kiligrews. The very point of the hayen month being an hille, whereon the
king hath builded a castel, is callid Pendinant, and longgith to Mr. Kiligrew ; it is a mile in cnmpace,
and is almost enyironed by the se ; and where it is not, the ground is so low, and the cut so little, that
it were insulated. There lieth a little cape or foreland, within the hayen a mile, almost against
Mr. Kiligrew's house, caulled Trefusis. Betwixt this cape and Mr. Eiligrew's house, one great arme
of the hayen rennith up to Fenrine town. Penrine, three good miles from the yery entery of Fale-
math hayen, and two miles from Trefusis. There dwelleth an auncient gentleman, called Trefusis,
at this point of Trefusis.'* Mr. Beckford, in his travels, yol. iL, describes a younger gentleman here,
with all the habits of an ** auncient," in the year 1787. We cannot forbear quoting this strikingly
elegant and admirably descriptive writer respecting Trefusis. Mr. Beckford was on his way to Portugal,
waiting at Falmouth for a fair wind, and under date of March 8, 1 787, he writes, " What a lovely morn-
ing I How glassy the sea; how busy the fishing-boats ; and how fiut asleep the wind in its old quarter I
Towards evening, however, it freshened, and I took a toss in a boat with Mr. Trefusis, whose terri-
tories extend half round the bay. His green hanging downs, spotted with sheep, and intersected
by rocky gullies, shaded by tall straight oaks and ashes, form a romantic prospect, very much in
the style of Mount Edgcumbe.
^ We drank tea at the capital of these dominions, an antiquated mansion, which is placed in a
hollow on the summit of a lofty hill, and contains many ruinous halls and never-ending passages.
They cannot be aaid» however, to lead to nothing, like those celebrated by Gray in his Long Story ; for
1S2 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUBT.
turn, commsod a still more extendeid field of vi^on. The wiodows being
directed to tlie ocean-eide of the promontory, upon wliich the castle stands,
the eye sweeps over the whole expanse of sea, formed by the point of St An-
thony to the eastward, and Manacle Point westward, a glorious bay, into which
the Helford Biver opens, and the promontory towards the Lizard ehoots away
southwards until it sinks into the azure of the deep.
The date of the charter of Falmouth is 166 1, appointing a corporation, witli
a mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, also a right of markets and fairs ; and
pving the KiUigrew family the ferry from Green Bank Quay to Flushing.
The town has a commodious basin and quays. The hills behind rise preci-
pitously to a considerable height; and before the building of Green Bank
Hrt. Trefiws terminsled the penpecliTe. She u a QstiTe of lADaanne. We ihould hsTc twj much
enjoyed her convenation, but the moment tea was over he ooaM not reaist leading na ronnd his
improTemeata in keanel, (table, and oz-ttall, though itwu pitch-dark, and we were obliged to be
eicorted by groonu and groomlingt, with caudles and laalhorni ; a very neeesnrjr precautirai, is the
wind blew not more Tiolently without the house than within.
" In the conne of our peregriaarioog, through halls, pantries, and anti-chambm, we patted a stair-
case, with heavy walnal railing, lined ttom top to bottom with efflgiet of anceston that looked qaite
formidable by the bomy glow of our lanthomi ; wbich illaminaUon, doll u it was, occasioned much
alarm amongst a collection of animali, both (iured and featbered, the delight of Mr. IWiins's
In another place, describing a dinner at Trefiisit, at which " we had tn tbe table a savonrj jng,
right worthy of Otaheitc, and some of the finest poultry I ever lasted; and routJ the table two or three
brace of odd Cornish gentlefolks, not deficient in bumonr or originality," Mr. Beckfbrd proceeds:
" About eight in tbe evening, six game cocks were ushered into the eating-rooma by two limber lads
in scarlet jackela ; and after a flourish of crowing, the noble birds set to with surprising keenneM.
Tun* of brilliant feathera soon flew about the apartment ; bat the carpet was not stained withtbe
Mood of the combatanti ; for, to do Treftuia justice, he baa a generous heart, and takes no pleasure in
cruelty. The cocks were unarmed, bad their spurs cut short, and may live to flgbt fifty luch harmleM
battles." Hov is Trefusis changed giuce then I The bouse ia tenanted by a farmer ; its owner became
Lord Cliuton and died ; big eldeat son auccceded him, and he too is no more ; a third enjoysthe title,
but " tbe ball of their ftthera remuns deaolate."
CORNWALL. 133
the entrance from Penryn was oyer one of them, by BassetHstreet. The
Town-Hall is bnilt of brick, and was once a dissenting-chapel, presented for
its present purpose by Martin Killigrew in 1725. The Custom-house was
erected in 1785, close to the packet station, and near Arwinik* The church,
erected in 1662, and dedicated to the Stuart saint, Charles L, is situated
in the centre of the town, on the hill-side, above the narrow street before
described ; in point of building, offering nothing worthy of observation. It
is a rectory, being a dismembered part of the parish of Budock, which last
church lies at a considerable distance from the town ; and was so constituted by
Sir Peter Edlligrew, who obtained an act of parliament for the purpose in the
reign of Charles IL, as being for the convenience of himself, servants, and
tenants at Arwinik, and his new town of Falmouth. There are also seve-
ral dissenting chapels and a Jews' synagogue. Fahnouth was begun in 1613
at Smithike, the old name of the place, where it was founded ; for before
this, two or three cottages, standing near by, were called Penny-come-quick,
and were the only hmnan habitations. The street passing by Arwinik ter^
minates in the road leading up to Pendennis Castle, a place well fortified, in the
modem style, the works carried round an old circular stone castle, with loop-
holes, erected by Henry VIIL on a site of still older date, fortified with a turf
rampart. The grounds at Arwinik axe changed from what they were.
Mr. Beckford, in his Travels, under the date of 1787, says : — ** Just out of the
town, in a sheltered recess of the bay, lies a grove of tall elms, forming several
avenues, carpeted with turf. In the central part rises a stone pyramid, about
thirty feet high,* well designed and constructed, but quite plain, without any
inscription. Between the trees one discovers a low white house, built in and
out in a very capricious manner, with oriel windows and porches, shaded by
bushes and prosperous bay. Several rose-coloured cabbages, with leaves as
crisped and curled as those of the acanthus, decorate a little grass plot, neatly
swept, before the door. Over the roof of this snug habitation, I espied the
skeleton of a gothic mansion, so completely robed with thick ivy, as to appear
like one of those castles of clipped box I have so often seen in a Dutch
garden." This, so accurately sketched, was what remained of Arwinik in
1787, and for many years after. But now the pyramid has been removed, and
made a conspicuous object in a field on a hill at some distance ; the groimd
where it stood being let for building. Soon, it is probable, all that remains of
Arwinik will disappear. The house was set on fire by the owner, that the
parliament troops, besieging Pendennis, might not find quarters in it; and
being partly consumed was never rebuilt; a portion only being made habitable.
The' KiUigrews were a very ancient family here, and built the house in 1571 ;
being great favourites with the Stuart dynasty, the name must be familiar
to all who are acquainted with the history of the court of Charles II.
* Erected by Mr. Martin Killigrew, in 1737, of Constantine granite, at the cost of 455/., fourteen
feet wide at the hose, and forty feet high.
134 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Thomas Killigrew, the celebrated wit^ being in Paris, and the people there
curious to see the first wit in England, were (Usappointed ; until, walking with
the king one day at Versailles, his Majesty pointed out to him a picture
of Christ crucified, and on each side two other pictures, one of himself and the
other of the pope. " I thank yoiu^ Majesty for the explanation,^ said Killigrew ,
** I had heard that our Saviour was crucified between two thieves, but I never
knew who they were until now," He is said to have put under the plate
of Charles IL at supper, the word a0, written five times over. The king
demanded an explanation. ** Why," said Ejlligrew, " the country has sent aU ;
the city lent all ; the court spent all ; and if we don't mind ally it will be the
worse for us (mIL*^ Tom Killigrew was known too as a dramatic author; he
died in 1682,* and the name is now extinct; while the property of the family
is in Lord Wodehouse by marriage. Pendennis Castle was defended with great
.bravery for Charles I. by John Arundel ; and the siege enduring six months^
when it was at length taken by starvation, the garrison marched out in a
miserable condition, so that many died afterwards from their sufferings and
privations. Except Bagland, in Monmouthshire, this was the last place belong-
ing to the Stuarts that held out against the Parliament. From the ramparts,
the view of the harbour of Falmouth, Carrick Koads, and Falmouth Bay,
without the entrance, offers a prospect of uncommon beauty. This entrance is
about a mile and a half wide, and there is a rock in the centre, called the
Black Bock, upon which there is a pole erected as a mark to seamen. Upon the
opposite side of this strait is St. Mawe's Castle, which Mr. Creswick has so
beautifully illustrated in the steel engraving, taken from a battery beneath the
castle ramparts. So fine and extensive is this harbour and its dependencies,
that it is observed by Carew, a hundred sail of vessels may anchor in it, and
not one see the mast of another. The finest anchorage is in the part of the
Boads called St. Just's PooL This port has long been renowned as the packet
station to the West Indies and the Mediterranean ; and it is not only the best
for this purpose as a harbour, but from position, upon the old seamen's sound
maxim, applied to every sort of vessel traversing the sea with despatches^
*^ always make the first i)ort:" meaning that accidents and delays may happen
* The last male of the direct line of the Killigrews was Mr. George Killigrew, who was killed in a
duel at Fenryn« He had two sisters ; upon the marriage of one of whom with Mr. Martin Lister, of
Lister, in Staffordshire, Sir Peter Killigrew settled much of his property, on condition that Mr. Lister
shonld take the name of Killigrew. On this branch becoming extinct, the Killigrew property fell to
Lord Wodehouse. A singular story is told of Lady Jane Killigrew, that at the close of the Kign of
Elizabeth two vessels, belong^g to the Hans Towns, putting into Falmouth by stress of weather, and
haying Spanish property on board, she, with a number of other persons boarded them, although "such
Dutch ships of the Hans Towns were always free traders even in time of war," and murdering two
Spanish factors whom they found in the vessels, carried off two hogsheads of pieces of eight, their pro-
perty. The plea of Spanish property did not avail ; the parties were all tried, and all executed, except
Lady Jane, who got a reprieve, and finally a pardon. In her trouble, the corporation of Penryn having
been very kind to her, she presented the Mayor with a silver cup in 1612, to show her gratitude.
in runmng even the shortest additional distance, and terra ^rma is the first
thing to be regarded.
The parish church of Budock is a mile and a half from Falmouth, westwards ;
and Sir Nicolas Parker is buried there, one of the governors of Pendennis
Castle, about the year 1600. Mabe, a mile and three quarters more to the
westward, is principally remarkable for the vast quantity of granite it contmos,
not in detached rocks alone, but in quarries, from whence it is exported by
way of Penryn; and much of that stone used for building the great bridges in
the metropolis, was sent from Mabe. This last parish borders upon Constantine,
the church of which, as well as the handsome tower, is built of granite. The road
from Penryn and Falmouth to the town of Helston passes through Mabe
parish, and has received numerous improvements within a few years. This
road leaves Wendron on the north, the parish of which Helston is the
daughter church, before it reaches that town, AVcndi-on being distant between
three and four miles. About a mile and a half from Mabe, in the adjoining
parish of Constantine, is the Tolmen, or large stone, which Borlase, in his
history of Comwatl, ims^ines to be a rock deity of the ancient Britons. Its
site is upon the verge of
a hill, having a hole un-
der it, which the above-
mentioned author seems to
tlunk was a sort of sacred
passage connected withidol
worship. The vast size of
this Tolmen, in Cornish
meaning the " holed stono,"
would be more striking, if
any can credit that it was
placed in its present posi-
tion by human means, of
which we altogether doubt
the possibility.
This enormous mass is considered to weigh not less than 750 tons. It is
thirty-three feet long, by fourteen feet six inches deep, and eighteen feet six
inches in diameter, laterally, the shape being that of an egg somewhat flattened.
On the summit are several hollows, the work of time, and the action of water.
It is possible that the hole beneath may have been enlarged, or even perforated
altt^ether, for superstitious purposes ; but that thb mass was ever lifted in its
present position for such an end, no one who has seen it will believe. As tn
the cases of the Cheesewring and Kilmarth rocks, which carry hollows of a
umilar kind upon their surfaces, the position of such rocks is the result of the
dimntegration of the earth around, and its conveyance by the rwna to lower
ground, leaving the indissoluble matter in its original position. The church-
136 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
town of Constantine lies south of the Tolm£n, near where two riyulets form
the creek of Polwheverill, and fall into the Helford river, on the northern
shore. There is a singular escape recorded by Hals^ of an inhabitant of this
parish, whose name was Chapman. The yicinity of the roads in the mi n ing
districts contains numerous abandoned shafts; and frequently they lie over
commons unprotected by fences on either side, so that strangers in dark nights
may easily fall into them. IVIr. Chapman had been to the town of Bedruth,
about seven miles off, and was returning with his servant ; both master and
man, the worse for what they had drank, and yet not so far gone as to forget
that they had to pass over these dangerous places, and to reflect that it would
be prudent to dismount and lead their horses. The servant proceeding first,
leading his own horse, did not immediately miss his master, who suddenly
walked into a shaft twenty fathoms deep ; — his horse, starting back, escaped.
About fifteen fathoms down he was stopped by a cross drift; below which
was six fathoms of water. Here upon his fall ending, and finding the earth
and stones he brought down with him plash in water below, he succeeded in
preserving his position, so as not to fall further, when he must inevitably
perish. He kept his feet against the opposite side of the shaft;, drove his
sword into the earth to hold by, and, in great fear, lay athwart and suspended
over the abyss beneath. This state, extraordinary to say, he endured for
seventeen hours, when those who were searching for his body, as they sup-
posed, in some shafts near, heard his groans, set a tackle over the mine, and
descending fhstened a rope round his body, and drew him to the surface, very
little injured, though he had fallen ninety. feet; and had he gone three feet
lower he must have sunk in the water, having escaped being dashed to
pieces against the sides of the shaft;. Mr. Chapman lived many years aft;er
this miraculous escape ; his seat was at Carwithenick, now the property of
Mr. Hill.
The atmosphere was hazy when we quitted Falmouth for Mawnan, situated
on the extreme point of the Helford river, upon the eastern shore. We de-
scended a hill by the sea, just beyond Falmouth, and came to a species of lake,
called Swanpool, separated by a bar of sand and pebbles from Falmouth Bay.
We could not see the termination inland, from the haze ; above which we soon
afl«r mounted, and saw the sea and land covered with fleecy vapour, upon
which the sun shone bright. The summit of Pendennis Castle, with one or
two elevated points besides, pierced above this bed of vapour, which obscured
the whole horizon, rising like islands out of a sea of cotton flakes. The heaven
above was cloudless ; a more beautiful sight could scarcely be conceived. We
imagined ourselves the sole habitants of the nether world, in a solitude of the
most singular character, elevated on the point of a hill that constituted our
nniverse. Presently breaks began in the fleecy plain beneath us, and exhi-
bited through them the sea, and bits of land These breaks widening, the flaky
vapour began heaving and wreathing, in cloudy convolutions ; till at length it
CORNWALL. 137
rolled away to seaward, and the nether world appeared itself agnin, refulgent
with the Bimbeams, the ocean sparkling, and nature spread out, decked in the
uQcloying witchery of a summer raoming in the south of England.
We proceeded parallel with the sea ; and passed, situated on the right hand,
Penwame, once the estate and residence of a very ancient &mily of that name,
a name by which the whole district thereabouts waa known in the time of
Alfred, and under that name taxed in Doomsday book, 1087. Hals says
that in hia time the barton of Penwame had upon it a free chapel and burying
place, before Mawnan church was built, and by being in possession of the lands
of Pen-^warne, or Penwame, that the head of the Penwame family was b^liff, or
lord, of the hundred of Kirrier, by inheritance. This respectable family began
to decay in Queen Elizabeth's time, when Mr. Peter Penwame parted with
all his lands except the barton. In 1732, another Mr. Peter Penwame died,
leaving two eons ; his grandson, Mr. John Penwame, and the representative of
this old family, practised the law at Penryn, and died in London, in 1836, at
the age of eighty, deservedly respected for his talents and virtues, leaving a son
and a daughter. The Penwame property was purchased by Mr. Noel, a mer-
chant of Fahnouth, who was afterwards knighted ; and now belongs to the
Rev. Mr. Ustick, his nephew.
Near Mawnan church, an ancient
edifice here depicted, a glorious pro-
spect opens upon the stranger. The
church stands not far from the cliffs,
on the northern side of the en-
trance to Helford river, and still more
to the north is Eosemullion head,
which with Anthony or the Zoze
point, form two homs of Falmouth
Bay, commant^ng a very beautiful
field of view. . The prospect up the
Helfoid river, and the fertile land on the opposito side, is equally fine. Keep-
ing parallel with that river, we reached the passage house, and crossed over to
Helford, a village with some little trade, and thence proceeded to Manaccan,
once Uie residence of the Rev. R Polwhele, the historian of Cornwall, who was
the rector. It has nothing worthy of observation, but the metallic substance
called manaccanite was first discovered in this parish. There are some noble
views from hence across the sea, over St Anthony's church, and the mouth
of the Helfoni river, to the castles of Pendennis and St. Mawes, with the higher,
land beyond all ; an extended coup-d'ceih Little Dinas, here, was fortified to
defend Uie entrance of the Helford river, and held out for Charles L, until
forced to surrender ; and near the church are ruins, where the lemiuns of human
bo^es have been found — the site, it is supposed, of a religious house. There
are also some remains of ancient camps, called Great and Little Dinas, in
138 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
St. Anthony parish ; they consist of triple entrenchments, and Little Dinas
was the site of the fortified post above mentioned, as holding out for
Charles'!. South-west of St. Anthony and Manaccan, is the church-town
of St. Martin. There is nothing worthy of notice in this parish, which, in
common with all parishes bounded northwards by the Loe Pool and Hel-
ford river, is said to be "in Meneage." In the bordering parish of IMawgan,
three noted Cornish families, — ^the Roskymers, Carminows, and Vyvyans, —
once had their residences : the latter only now remain, at an ancient seat
named Trelowarren. On the accession of George I., and during the Pre-
tender's excitement to a rebellion in the behalf of the Stuarts, Sir Bichard
Vyvyan, a well-known Jacobite here, was arrested and sent to the Tower.
The messenger is said to have been delayed at an inn in the eastern part of
the county, on some excuse, while an emissary reached Trelowarren, and
gave its owner notice, which enabled him to destroy many papers that
might have afforded evidence against him, but none of sufiScient weight
being forthcoming, the prisoner was discharged, with one or two others who
were arrested at the same time. The Boscawens, perhaps the most ancient
county family, subsequently the Lords Falmouth, were laudably instrumental
in securing the county, and preventing any display in favour of the Pretender
by the enemies of the house of Brunswick, having previously assisted in bring-
ing about the expulsion of James II. This parish borders on the Helford
river, opposite St. Keveme, on the eastern side of the Lizard promontory. Who
St. Keverne, this patron saint, might have been, or when he lived, has puzzled
many wise heads. Some imagine that he is the same with St. Kieran, a saint
of the fifth century ; or perhaps he was identical with St. Kevin, whose friend-
ship for King O'Toole is so admirably told by Mr. Lover, in his Irish Stories,
especially when the character of St. Keveme is taken into consideration. It is
not unlikely he was an importation from the island, which in those times, if
we are to believe its chroniclers, concentrated all the learning, piety, and no
doubt the larger part of the poverty of Western Europe; for in the year 800,
Dusblan, Machreu, and IVIaxlium, from thence, doubled the Land's End, and
arrived in Mounts Bay, in a boat made of one ox-hide and a half, being unable
to afford a better, and with only seven days' provisions, two days' of which
stock only was exhausted when they made the land.* This church stands on
very high ground, and has a spire, replacing one which was destroyed by light-
ning in 1770, in the month of February; when not only the spire was rent in
pieces, but the roof of the church itself, and the stones scattered to a great
I distance. The vicar, it being in the hours of divine service, was struck in-
sensible ; but only ten persons were slightly hurt, though nearly the whole
congregation was struck to the ground, and deprived for a time of all recollec-
tion. Among other monuments, there is one to the memory of Major-Genend
H. G. C. Cavendish, Captain Duckenfield, and the Hon. E. Waldgrave, who,
* Mathew of Weetminster.
CORNWALL. 139
With sixty-one soldiers, perished by shipwreck, in the Despatch transport, in
Coverack Cove, returning from Spain, in December 1809, it is generally sup-
posed through the mismanagement of the master of the transport. There are
numerous coves on the sea shore in this parish ; where fishermen's boats are
kept, and successful captures of fish are made ; and the tithe of fish was once
exacted here, the right to it being transferred in marriage settlements. This
unjustifiable claim on the labour of the poor, being only defended on the
plea of custom, was resisted : a trial at law ensued ; when that which rea-
son and justice equally impugn, but custom has been too often successfully
pleaded to sanction, was overturned, and the right of the poor to the pro-
duce of their own labour, from the great storehouse of all mankind, was fully
established.
A wonderful escape is recorded of eight persons, belonging to this parish,
going home from Falmouth, in 1702. They were in an imdecked boat of five
tons burthen, and were driven out to sea during a dark and stormy night.
The gale continuing all the two following days and nights, the people on
board at last descried the coast of Normandy, — having been driven a hundred
leagues from Falmouth, — ^where, though it was war time, they were kindly
treated and sent home again, eight weeks after their departure ; having been
three nights and four days on the sea, during the tempest. Fortunately, one of
the persons in the boat was a woman, who, being an inn-keeper, was taking
back with her from Falmouth some white bread and three or four gallons of
brandy, which preserved their lives, as the accident took place in the in-
clement month of January. It is singular how a good turn done to a fellow-
creature is often unexpectedly rewarded, for one of the eight persons in this
boat, a Mr. Samms, as soon as he and his party got on shore, exhausted, was
recognised among the armed men who came to demand who they were, by a
French gentleman, who said, " I know your person, and recollect your kind-
ness when I was once cast away on the coast of Cornwall," and embraced him.
This kind Frenchman then paid them all the most humane attention, and their
story and escape reaching the court, Louis XIV. ordered them to be sent
home on the first opportunity.
This parish partly consists of magnesian rocks, and partly of calcareous ;
diallage, and the serpentine of the Lizard, traversed by asbestos, are also
discoverable within its limits. Upon the serpentine, but there only, the
most beautiful of heaths grows in astonishing profusion; the erica wxgans
of Linnasus, sometimes denominated muUtfiara, and didymc^ from the double
antherae of the flowers. It is singular that the growth of this plant is strictly
limited over the serpentine rock, appearing again on a patch of that rock near
Liskeard, and it marks the border to within a yard or two of distance. A bed
of roses is more fragrant, but cannot surpass in beauty of form and richness of
colour, these heaths of the West of ComwalL The erica pagans is seen no
where besides in England, and the large purple and white heaths, that grow
140 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
at the Land's End, are equally fine, though not of the same rare species,
literally enamelling the ground.*
This parish, with Mawgan in Meneage, adjoining, contains some of the most
fertile land in England ; indeed the whole of the peninsula of the Lizard, par-
ticularly on the eastern side, confesses in its powers of production, a southern
latitude, although exposed to western storms. Both corn and grass are thrown
up between the rocks that abound here, with wonderful affluence, owing to
the genial nature of the climate, among which water does not lodge, while
moisture from the atmosphere is never wanting. Sixty Winchester bushela
of wheat haye been harrested from an acre ; and barley is sown and reaped in
nine or ten weeks> yielding above seventy bushels the acre, seventy-five being
a common crop. It will not be out of place while in this fertile district, to
notice in brief the agriculture of the county, which has hitherto been only
a secondary pursuit. It is not easy to say what proportion of the land is
waste, but Borlase, more than fourscore years ago, calculated the lands of
every hundred as twenty cultivated to eleven waste ; the state of things now,
from the great number of enclosures since, must be very different. It is pro-
bable that the waste land at present is much under 200,000 acres, taking the
superficies at 850,000. But although so much land has been brought in, the
supply of corn has not been equal to the demands of the population, as it was
in Camden's time ; and the price of grain is generally too high.
The more productive districts are placed on both sides of the high central
ridge, which forms the backbone of the county, covered with heaths and rocky
wastes stretching from the Tamar to the Land's End. Round Stratton,
on the north-east, there is a fertile district, producing much com, bounded in
* The erica vagans, and erica ciliaris ; Sibthorpia Europsea ; asparagus officinalis ; carduos aconitis;
panicam dactylon ; tamarix Grallica ; ligusticnm Comubiense ; the hybrid antirrbinnm linaria, called
peloria; osmunda regalis, and many of the Cryptogamia ; fuschia gracilis, nine feet ux inches
high, by forty feet in circumference, and eight or nine other species ; the hydrangea, six feet six high,
and forty •five in circumference ; agapanthus umbellatus ; aristolochia sempervirens ; aster argophy^
lus ; Bouvardia tryphilla } calceolaria, five or six species ; coUectea spinosa, from Chili ; camellia
Japonica, several varieties ; Charlwoodia Anstralis, covered with a mat on frosty nights; eriocephalns
Africanus ; echium nervosum, five feet four inches high, stem six inches in diameter, twenty-five
feet in circumference, and from thirty to forty spikes of flowers ; many varieties of geranium ; helio-
tropium corymbosum; jasminum revolutum; leonitus leonurus, covering eighteen feet of wall;
Richardia ^thiopica ; vergilia capensis, seven feet three inches high ; verbena chamoidryoides and
pulchella ; olea fragrans, on a south waU, and many others, grow without protection in the open air,
in the west of Cornwall.
The indigenous plants of Western Cornwall are numerous ; among them, besides some named in
the above list, are Alisma, of two varieties ; bee orchis ; camomile ; eryngium, or sea holly ; field gen-
tian ; common alkanet ; columbine ; lesser snapdragon ; heath shield fern ; sea cabbage ; sea rocket ;
campanula hederacea ; sea centaury ; convolvulus Soldanella ; daucus maritimns ; euphorbia peplis ;
exacum filiforme ; geranium columbinum and sanguineum ; glaucum luteum ; various curious mosses {
bergamot mint ; round-leaved mint ; myrica gale, Dutch myrtle ; orchis pyramidalis ; star of Bethle-
hem ; femfew ; wild madder ; woad ; santolina maritima ; hairy saxifrage ; orpine ; vernal squill ;
sedum anglicum ; trifolinm subterraneum ; and others, too numerous to catalogue in a note, grow in
the open air in Cornwall, and several of the first enumerated above are indigenous.
CORNWALL. 141
one direction bj unproductive moor land ; and on the same northern side of the
central heights^ there is another rich district, extending along the banks of the
Camel river from Lanteglos to Padstow, and from thence to Cubert, west-
wards, where wonderful crops are produced. So good is the soil, that they sow
first wheat, then barley, without any intermediate crop, and having sown
grass-seed with the barley, cut it for hay the next year ; then giving one
year's rest, they repeat this practice perpetually, and get in return per
acre from twenty-four to thirty-five bushels of wheat, and from thirty to
forty-five of barley. Still further westward upon the northern coast, at Phil-
lack, ninety bushels of barley have been produced upon one acre. In truth,
the diversity of soil in Cornwall is great, and implies in itself a great diver-
sity in fertility. The demand for timber in former times caused all that was
serviceable for that purpose to be used for refining ores, or in the machinery
of the mines, while the consequent exposed surface of the higher lands forbade
the spontaneous growth of wood; hence there is no shelter of that kind.
Along the southern coast, and in the vales and low grounds^ which run up
high inland, there are rich loams and marls. The most common soil is
black growan, as it is locally termed, prevalent on the higher lands, consisting
of black earth, intermingled with gravel or disintegrated granite ; below this
a bed of quartz sometimes interposes, and below that a yellowish clay.*
Those who go to the expense of removing the quartz always find their account
in the creation of estates permanently and abundantly productive ; but in many
districts the ground has only to be turned up to become capable of bearing
grain of any kind. Among the growans spaces are often found filled with
excellent vegetable earth, that, when drained, makes good meadow land. A
second, and very productive soil, consists of decomposed schist^ which throws
up excellent wheat and barley, even to the verge of the cliffs overhanging the
ocean ; and the soil over the granite in the west of the county is fertile, it would
seem^ in proportion to the smallness of its elevation above the sea. There is
a good reddish soil occasionally met with resembling clay.
From the Tamar to the Fowey, on the southern side of the county,
stretching up the shores of the former river a good way, and inland from the
sea to Liskeard^ there is a very fertile district, producing immense crops of
corn ; for here climate, soil, and the convenience of lime carriage, all contribute
to the fertility. Between the Fowey and Fal, particularly in Roseland, the
fertility is no where surpassed. Continuing along the same shore, across the
river Hel, the eastern side of the Lizard has been already noticed. By Mounts
Bay sixty bushels of wheat have been raised on an acre ; and it is said that
* The clays of Cornwall are found in useful variety. There is white from decomposed granite,
osed for making china, exported in great quantity ; pipe clay ; seyeral species used hy metallic
casters; Lennant clay, for making furnaces; Ludgvan clay, used for assaying; Liskeard clay, a
species of steatite ; and at Truro, a crucible clay which stands the fiercest fire. Ochreous earths are
numerous: iron ochre is called gouan.
142 ENGLAMI) IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
1,000 acres round Penzance now let for 10,000/. per annum. Barley, as well as
wheat, and all grain, is bound in sheaves, and built up in the field in the form
of a cone, the heads turned inwards, and an inverted sheaf or reed straw
tied on the apex, by which means it is secured from the weather. The
internal parts of the county and highlands are only cultivated here and there
in patches. The farmers on the coasts about Padstow and Fowey do not
send their surplus wheat to the thickly-peopled western districts, finding it
more convenient to sell to the merchant ; while large tracts of land lie waste
which are very capable of cultivation. The duchy lands are by far the most
extensive of those possessed by any single proprietor, and they were once
much more so. The farms are generally small, commonly granted upon leases
for lives, and in the mining districts are smaller than elsewhere. The manage-
ment of land is generally to make it bear grain as long as it is foimd profit-
able, and then to grass it for some years until it has recovered. They pare
and bum the surface, and for manure use ashes, sea-sand, sea-weed, lime,
refuse salt, and dung from the farm-yard or town, when it is to be obtained,
with the refuse of the pilchard fishery ; an excellent manure, bought at 10^.
the Cornish bushel, (three Winchester,) and unequalled for green crops, when
mingled with sand or earth, to prevent its forcing too luxurious a plant.
The farmers say that one fish will fertilize a square foot of land for many
years, and that after this apparent exhaustion a small quantity of quicklime
ploughed in will revive decomposition, and impart fresh fertility. Many
farmers foUow the later improvements in husbandry, but too many continue
wedded to old prejudices, when turnips are sown after wheat ; the manure used
is dung and sea-sand ; after which barley and grass seeds follow.*
The implements of husbandry are those of the sister county, but the farm
vehicles are of all kinds. The spade is little used ; the shovel, a larger and
more powerful instrument, being generally adopted; hence the labourer
seldom exhibits that crippled appearance of the back, too oflen observable
where the spade is habitual. The Cornish plough is a very simple instru-
ment, and has borne off the prize against fourteen different sorts in the county
ploughing matches.
* The sands used for manure in Cornwall must not be confounded with fine grayeL Thej are
taken wet with sea-water, and mingled with earth before they are laid on, and consist almost wholly
of comminuted shells. How the ocean supplies such exhaustless stores of this material seems wonder-
ful. Shells are lime ; and this manure, therefore, consists in reality of lime and sea-salt At Kinanee
Cove, among the serpentine the sand is very beautiful and shining. The sandy coves are numerous,
and portions of them partake of the colour of the surrounding strata as well as of shells. Some are
pale blue ; others reddish, or bright and glossy from intermingled talc ; others are yellow, or white ;
and some angular fh)m fracture, while other kinds are rounded. The coral sand is most valued for
manure, and is principally found on the southern coast
The shells in Cornwall which are most noted are the following, and some are Tery beautiful.
The blue-rayed limpet ; tellina proficua ; cardium exiguum, a nondescript species of Venus, which
Maton named '*cardioides ;" mactra listeri is found very perfect in the Camon stream works j patella
peUicida ; p. fissura ; mytilus modiolus ; trochus conulus ; turbo cimex, and turbo fasciatus : helix
CORNWALL 143
Potatoes are the great resource of the inhabitants of the west of Cornwall ;
this root succeeds well, two crops, consisting of 900 Winchester bushels,
haying been grown upon an acre on the shore of Mounts Bay. In the
common mode of ploughing, at the end of April, after paring and burning,
from 450 to 600 bushels are often produced ; this is owing to the summer
never being too dry, and the earth being always warm.
The harvest is commonly begun in July, or during the first week in August
Red and yellow clover, trefoil, rye grass, turnips, ruta baga, and cabbages of
various kinds, are the most common crops. Wheat sowing generally begins
at the end of September. Oats are sown in February and March, with both
rye and pilez, the Avena nuda of many naturalists. The pilez is sown upon
poor land, and furnishes a species of oatmeal, or is given to fowls ; the vulgar
name is ** peUows." The cottages are built of stone or cob, many of them
thatched, and others slated, when the latter stone is easy of carriage; but
most modem farm buildings are of stone, and slated ; many good dwellings are
of cob upon a foundation of stone. Most cottages have a garden attached ;
and in many of them the miners employ their leisure time, sometimes taking a
little land in addition out of the common and fencing it, cropping the ground
with potatoes ; the land being had upon easy terms, on a lease for ninety-nine
years and lives. We may add that Cornwall in general now partakes in the
agricultural improvements of our other counties, in reference to tillage and
the breed of stock.
The cattle are generally of the Devonshire sort ; all kinds have been in-
troduced, and one breed, designated Cornish, does not exceed six hundred
weight, when fat, running upon the wastes a good part of the year. The
horses are of mixed races, of all kinds ; the genuine Cornish horse is rare,
the breed small, hardy, and sure footed. Mules, formerly used to a great
extent for carrying ores, are discontinued in many places ; and the number of
pack-saddle horses also, by which means almost everything was formerly con-
veyed, though dung pots are still used the old way in hilly districts. The
small sheep, which feed upon the ^^towans," or sandhills, cropping a short
sweet grass, near the sea, yield a mutton of a very prime character, much
esteemed in the county.
maculosa, a rare species ; patella radiata, and striis mgosis ; the fools' cap ; sword-tooth shell ; wavy
striated trochns, pearl coloured; striated papillaceous top-shell pearl coloured; nautilus (rare);
white ruddy-spotted snail ; smooth flat-twisted river snail ; comua ammonis snail ; the high, striated
white cochlea, or hastard ventle-trap ; yellow conulated chalke, with black furrows ; small red and
white variegated ditto ; small white smooth ditto ; small needle ditto ; purple marked ditto ; purple
spotted cowries, or nuns ; smaller ditto, without spots ; larger striped concha Veneris ; quadrangular
striated muscle ; a small and rare species of ditto ; smooth foliated purple concha ; winged scallop ;
rough echinated scallop ; regularly marked ditto ; purple ditto, variegated with white circular fillets ;
purple ribbed ditto; light purple tellina, with horizontal striae, eminent, and parallel to the margin ;
white crooked-bill bivalve of the bamicle; polished tellina, with a serrated edge; flat, smooth, small
sea-egg ; round and flat ditto ; depressed cordate ditto ; narrow-mouthed balanus ; wide-mouthed ditto.
Fossil shells are rare in Cornwall, owing to the rocks being, for the most part, of primitive formation.
144 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
The duchy lands in Cornwall consisted of seventeen manors in the time of
Edward III. The duchy belongs by right to the son of the king regnant^
who is heir apparent to the crown ; and as such requires no investment or
creation to obtain the right and title, whereas the princedom of Wales requires
a new creation for every succeeding prince. The property originaUy con-
sisted of the castles, manors, parks or boroughs of Launceston, Trematon and
Saltash, Tintagel, Restormel, Clymesland, and park of Kerrybolock; the
manor of Tibesta and bailiwick of Powdershire ; the manor of Tewynton ;
manor and borough of Helston ; manors of Moresk, Penkneth, Penlyn with
the park, Belaton, or RiUaton, with the beadlery of Eastwy velshire ; the
manor of Helston in Trigshire, and park of Hellesbury ; the manor, borough,
and park of Liskeard ; the manor and fishery of Kellestock ; the manor of
Talskydo; and the borough or town of Lostwithiel. The Duchy of Corn-
wall also includes the fee-farm of the city of Exeter ; the manor of Lydford,
and whole of Dartmoor; the manor and borough of Brodnish; and the
water and river of Dartmouth, in Devonshire. Wallingford, in Oxfordshire ;
Berkhampstead, in Herts; Byfleet, in Surrey; Meere, in Wilts; Ejiares-
borough, in York ; Isleworth, in Middlesex ; Kennington, and other lands in
Surrey ; Rising manor, in Norfolk ; and the manor of Chislemere, in Coven-
try, belonged to this duchy ; but Henry V. separated Isleworth to form the
monastery of Sion, and conveyed other lands in lieu, worth 200/. per annum
more to the duchy. Henry VIIL severed Wallingford and its castle from
the Duchy of Cornwall, but annexed in its place the following manors in
the county, viz. those of Westa-nton, Port Low, North Hill, Port Pigham,
Laudren, Triloweia, Tregonoe, Trelagon, Crofthole, Trevithem, Courtney,
Landulph, Leighdura, and Tinton, forfeited by Henry Courtney, Marquis of
Exeter. This king also added seven other manors, which he took away firom
Tywardreth monastery, and eleven that were the property of the priory of
Launceston. In all there were ten castles, now in ruins ; nine parks ; one
forest ; fifty-three manors ; thirteen boroughs, or towns ; nine hundreds ; and
extensive tracts of waste or moor-ground. The produce of these in the time of
Henry VIIL was 10,095/. 11^. Qjrf. — a very large sum for those days. The
tin coinage dues out of this sum were 2,771/. 3*. d^cl. A large part of these
possessions were alienated by the Stuarts to favourites, frittered away by
ill-management, or sold to raise money. The estates of the duchy are gene-
rally farmed on leases of lives, renewable ; some for fine certain, others upon
a calculation of value, and have been so ill-managed as to bar the improve-
ment which would have taken place upon the property of private individuals
under the same circumstances. The land revenue of the duchy is not now
more than 5,000/. per annum, with the tin dues, yielding about 15,000£ The
other landed property of the county is much subdivided.
There are numerous plantations in Cornwall, but the woods are chiefly con-
fined to the valleys ; and timber is too valuable even there to be permitted to
CORNWALL. 145
remain to any great age. The trees planted are the epruce, piaeaster, large,
beech; Cornish and wych elm, oak, ash, plane, lime, and chestnut, which all do
welL Fruit trees thrive everywhere The apples are of many kinds, some
peculiar to the county ; but very little cider is made west of Truro. Orchards
are plentiful, and plums, peaches, nectarines, mulberries, with every kind
of garden fruit, except the apricot, are common. The apricot tree, though it
bears well for two or three years, afterwards declines and ceases to bear at all,
in several parts of the county. In horticulture, every vegetable comes to high
perfection that is carefully cultivated.
On the borders of St. Keveme parish, near the Nare Head, there is a fine
view across Falmouth Bay, from the western side of which the castle of Fen-
dennia is seen to great advantage rising boldly from the sea.
Adjoining St. Keveme, on the south, is the parish of Ruan Minor, in which
is the little fishing cove of Cadgwith. All the way from the Manacles to the
Lizard, on this Uie sheltered side of the peninsula, is a succession of small and
pretty coves, as Coverack, Dowuance, Lankidden, Ecnnack, Caerleon, Cadg-
with, and others, forming a variety of interesting scenes to the lover of the
romantic and grand. Grade, a small parish, intorvenes between Ruan Minor
and Liandewednack ; in which last lies the celebrated Point of the Lizard,
marked by two light^houses, to distinguish it from the single light at Scilly, and
the three at Guernsey, thus preventing mistakes which might be fatal to mari-
ners. The church-town lies eastward of the villt^ called the Lizard ; while this
last is about the same distance northwards from the cape so renowned, — the
last land of their native isle that was visible to many who were never agiun
destined to revisit its shores, and the first seen by joyous spirits whom
years and climes had long separated. From hence, vessels outward bound on
voyages that have become matters of history, took the observation by which
they were to career over the bounding deep to unvluted shores ; and proud
14$ ENGLAND IN THE NINETEBNTH CENTURY.
war-shipe dated their departure to scenes of disaster or conquest. The Lizard,
the most southern promontory of Engknd, stands in lat. 49°. 57' 55". 8 N.,
and in long. 5°, 1 1' 1 7", 7. W. The two lighthouses, which are about half a mile
south of the village, on high ground, exhibit nothing remarkable in their
appearance. For many years coal fires were adopted in these lighthouses, they
being constructed before Argand reflectors were introduced; and the fires
were kept bright by bellows, which ceasing to act the lights became dim.
The inventions of wiser times have been naturally introduced, and the coal
has long ceased to "pale its ineffectual fire" in dangerous uncertainty. The
Lizard is an excellent place for a geological student, combining precipitous
cliJfa, convenient for observation, with a rare conformation. Nor does the
botanist find it less interesting ; for here are many rare plants, among them
the erica vagans and other heaths, the asparagus oflicinalis, herniaria glabra,
and beta maritima.
Passing round the Lizard Point, the coast at once displays the effects of the
continued action of the prevalent west and south-west winds. Precipitous,
shattered, rugged, and consisting of hard serpentine rock, it sturdily resists
the uncontrollable fury of the Atlantic storms ; and from hence high up in
Mount's Bay shows a most inhospitable shore, near which if a ship become
embayed there is no hope of her escape.
A short distance from
the Lizard Point is Ki-
nance Cove, studded with
rocks, and hollowed into
caverns by the wintry tem-
pests. The serpentine,
beautifully coloured and
veined, is exhibited to great
advantage by the action
of the sea, while the mag-
nificence of the scenery
is renowned. The rock
appears polished in some places, with all its variegated colours ; here brown,
there green or purple ; veined with red or some lightbh colour, always difter-
ent, and continually attracting the eye by novelty of tint. There is a fimnel-
shaped cavern, with ita mouth seawards, having a small hole perforated
quite through to the other side of the ledge of rock in which it is situated ;
and at half-tide, when it is sufficiently clear of water, the waves rolling in,
drive the air before them, condensing it more and more aa they advance
towards the narrow end terminating in the hole ; the air is then forced
through with great violence, and a terrible roaring noise is heard for a great
distance ; this is called " the bellows," by the people of the vicinity. It is
upon this part of the coast that the steatite, or soap-stone, is raised for making
CORNWALL. 1 47
china, occuring in veins in the serpentine, out of wliicli, and very near the seat
we saw some workmen raising it. Here a bleak down, colled Pradanack,
extends along the coast, and nearly to the church-town of Kuan Major inland,
than which nothing can be more desert in appearance ; the winds sweeping
over the surface, directly from the shoreless Atlantic, with nothing to check
or turn aside their full action. Crossing Pradanack Down, we arrived at
MuUion, distinguished by its coves, rocks, island, and a sandy shore, for ever
white with ocean foam.
The church of Mullion
is old, and some stoned
glaas is yet left in the win-
dows, principally the arms
of families now extinct.
The tower was built in
1500. There is a monu-
ment within the church
to the memory of the
Rev. T. Flavel, who died
in 1682.» Gunwallo, to
the north of Mullion pa-
rish, is said to have been
BO named from the patron
saint, Winwallo, a petty
Welsh prince, who fled into
Brittany, and died abbot of Landeveneck, near Brest, in 529. This church
stands among sandhills, close to the sea,t and the parish extends to the Loe
lake, along the shore. To the eastward lie Goonhilly Downs, celebrated for
their breed of horses in days of yore, so denominated from ffoon, a down, and
holier, to hunt, in Cornish. Cury, a parish north of Gunwallo, in which the
families of Bonython and Bellot have lefl traces, is small, and borders upon
MaWgan in Meneage, already mentioned; while to the north, Mawgan inter-
vening, is the ancient borough of Hclston.
Helston, twelve miles from Falmouth, is a pleasant town, consisting of two
principal streets, broad and clean, crossing each other at right angles, and dis-
* The followbg lioes occar npOD il : —
" Earth take mine eartb, my sin let Satan bsTe it,
The world my goods, my Eonl mj God who gave it ;
For from Ihese foar, earth, Satan, world, and God,
My fleib, my ain, my goods, my soul I had."
t Here ii aoother odd intcriplion on a lombalone i —
"Weahalldieall,
Shall die all we i
Die all we shall.
All we shall dif."
148 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
posed on the sides of hills which descend with easy slopes. It was taxed in
the Doomsday record as Henliston^ and is a stannary town^ incorporated first,
it is supposed, by King John. It returned two members -to parliament from
the time of Edward I., latterly under the nomination of a patron who at one
time corruptly bargained for the right, by paying the poor-rates. Under the
Reform Act it returns but one member. Owing to some confusion in the
charters, in the early part of the reign of George III., the corporators, in
whom was vested the right of nominating, rather than electing, members of
parliament, became so reduced in number as to be incapable of performing any
corporate act, though conveniently enough they could still nominate the repre*
sentatives. A new charter was accordingly obtained, the individuals named
in which were to return the members ; but six of the old party resisted this,
and returned the members themselves, and a committee of the House of
Commons decided for the smaller number. The church here was struck by a
thunder storm in 1727 ; and Lord Godolphin, in 1763, erected a new one, not
in the best taste, though sufficiently spacious ; it is dedicated to St. Michael^
and is a daughter church of Wendron, a rectory ; the incumbent of Wendron
appointing the curate. The notorious attorney-general, Noy, to whose advice
Charles I. was indebted for the loss of his crown, sat for this borough. Hel-
ston was one of the decayed towns in the reign of Henry VIII. ; and in 1694
had a population of only 1,368^ but in 1831 numbered 3,293. In the
registers of the see of Exeter, mention is made of a chapel and hospital of
St. IVIary Magdalen, in Helston ; and there is a grammar-school, to which is
paid 13^. 6$. 8c/., out of the corporation tolls. Leland says, '^ An hospital of
St. John is yet standing at the west-south-west end of the town, of the foun-
dation of one Kylligrin," (Killigrew); and the same writer adds tiiat there
had been a castle at Helston. The place where the hospital of St. John stood
is still marked, with an upright stone and a sword graved upon it. This town,
by locality so remote from intercourse with the rest of the country, and out of
the direct line of great roads, is noted for the continuance of old customs, and
the kindly manners of its inhabitants have been long a subject of remark;
here traces of the old diversion of hurling are stiU to be met with. Helston
has several dissenting places of worship, sunday-schools, and charities ; and
Mr. Penberthy, who died in 1783, left the interest of 500t, for the use of the
poor not in the workhouse. There is a bowling-green, kept upon tiie site,
as it is supposed, of the ancient castle, and used by the more respectable inha-
bitants ; and the town is celebrated, from time immemorial, for a festival on
the 8th of May, which some have considered, but erroneously, a remnant of
a festival in honour of the goddess Flora. It is called the " Furry Day f and
the same kind of commemoration of the month of May was formerly kept at
the Lizard. In fact. May-day was even recently a species of holiday through-
out Cornwall ; the townspeople decking their doors with green boughs of the
whitethorn, when in blossom, called " May," by the children and common
CORNWALU 149
people. The word Furry is (terived from the old Conmhfeur, a fair, or holiday,
according to Polwhele ; but Mr. Davies Gilbert was of opinion it is derived from
the word ** foray," a word used by the Lowland Scotch, in their medley of a
tongue, formed from the English word " forage," to rove abroad in search of
plunder, coming from the Latin, — ^a word applicable enough to the mode in
which the semi-barbarous chieftains of Scotland lived by plundering one
another, or their neighbours, but hardly to be supposed possible of application
to a holiday in a spot so remote as Helston ; where too, a different language
wfus not long ago spoken, and where the existence of the festival now is most
probably owing to remoteness of position, the small accession of strangers
among the inhabitants, and the absence of the habits of thinking and occupy-
ing time common in the more populous towns of the kingdom. Mr. Gilbert
goes on by applying the festival to the celebration of a victory over the Saxons,
who landed at a cove called Porthsasnac ; but the etymology seems fanciful.
Leaving this part of the subject ; — ^upon the eighth of May the inhabitants of
Helston are accustomed to usher in the auspicious morning with music; all
work among the labouring classes is stopped perforce, as those who are found
working undergo a mock trial and punishment. The party that begins the
Saturnalia goes first to the grammar-school, to secure a holiday for the urchins
there, and then collects contributions from house to house, and augmenting,
proceeds into the country to collect flowers and green boughs, when they are
said to /(ulS^ or po^ into the country. This word in Cornwall is pronounced
fadpy by the vulgar in general, and is applied colloquially, as, ** How d'ye
fadgy ?" meaning *^ How d'ye go on ?" or " How d'ye fare ?" On the return
of the party, preceded by music, dancing commences in the streets, and all
classes of the inhabitants till lately joined in, and continued to dance through
the town, and in and out of the houses, carrying flowers and green boughs ; and
many friends coming from the neighbouring towns to join, all being innocent
gaiety. Nor was such a time without its social use in bringing the poorer
class in contact with the wealthier, and keeping up a kindly feeling, which
once in a year could hardly be productive of great self-sacrifice to those who
carried their chins the most loftily. Mr. Gilbert complained that the practice
was diminishing every year ; plainly showing from what cause, by stating that
all was fast tending towards ^^ the single entertainment of a balL" It appears
that if the ladies had heretofore succeeded in their will, the very memory of
the festival would have been lost. It is thus that, before the mixture of
vulgar pride and ignorant exclusiveness so prevalent in these times in the
middle ranks of society, the separation of the different classes is with much
impolicy rendered wider. The classes never momentarily linked, and kindliness
changing to indifference, dislike and antipathy towards each other are shown
upon the most trivial occasions ; thus old things that are harmless, and even
beneficial in their existence, are disappearing with what of old things may be
very wisely resigned. Mr. Gilbert says, that fade is used to express both the
150
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
dance and the air sung In celebrating the day. This air, he says, is no doubt
the remnant of ancient British music ; and something like it has been traced
in Wales and Ireland* As the music is esteemed a curiosity, we give it here.*
1
ir j i r.r, n c ;ti^
U^jii i tjiaji^'i i EL tUiujJi'i' tjU^^ ill "
[rrrrrirr. r. c iJiir^j^n 1 11 11 1^^11 ] 11
About two miles south-westward from Helston, is a lake called the Loe
Pool, formed by a sandbar which the sea has formed across a channel, con-
sisting of several streams and a rivulet called the Loe. This bar, running
parallel with a shore which fronts the prevailing quarter whence the wind
blows, acts as a complete dam to the efflux of the water, which rises so high
at times, in consequence, as to cover a space of seven miles in circumference,
and to stay the working of some mills. On these occasions it is the custom
for the mayor of Helston to present two leather purses, containing each
three halfpence, to the lord of the manor, for leave to cut the bar. A very
* What is called the Furry Song consists of unconnected stanzas, ridiculous enough. They, na
doubt, replaced some that were more ancient Two or Ihree of them run as follow : —
" Bobin Hood and little John,
They both are gone to fair, O,
And we will to the merry green wood,
To see what they do there, O ;
And for to chase, O,
To chase the buck and doe,
With halantow,
Jolly rumble, O.
And we were up as soon as any day, O,
And for to fetch the summer home,
The summer and the May, O ;
For summer is acome, O,
And winter is agone, O I
" Whereas those Spaniards,
That make so great a boast, 0,*^
They shall eat the grey goose feather,
And we will eat the roast, O ;
In every land, O,
The land that ere we go.
With halantow, &c. &c. •* As for
» The '* grey goose feather*' plainly refers to the arrow ; which would fix the date of this part of
the song before gunpowder was much used.
CORNWALL. 151
small aperture, just sufficient to allow a stream from the interior to act upon
the sandy is sufficient to give the fresh water the power to sweep it away, with a
tremendous agitation of the sea outside ; after which the bar is speedily formed
again. The scenery round this lake is picturesque and beautiful ; and the
shores are well wooded, with rocks here and there appearing. The ocean
stretches far away beyond the bar, uniting with the aerial tint of the sky ;
'^colours dipt in heaven" mingle over the intervening space, as the sunbeams
play and dance along the serene deep, or clouds, ffitting between, cast gauzy
shades, like spectre islands, upon the blue plain of waters. Thus we saw both
lake and sea^ — a more perfect combination of landscape scenery is hardly to
be found. The property belonged for ages to a family named Penrose, the
name of the estate, which becoming extinct, it was sold to Mr. Hugh Sogers,
whose son is the present owner. It was upon the bar of the Loe Pool that
the Anson frigate was lost, in 1807, with Captain Lydiard and a great many
of the crew.
Wendron, or Gwendron, is a large parish, noted for producing, and having
produced through many bygone ages, a good deal of tin ; the soil is granitic.
The parson of this parish was one of the last whom the common people
believed, a century ago, to possess cabalistic power; his name was Jago*
Whenever parson Jago wanted his horse held, he struck the ground with his
whip, and a demon immediately rose at his command to perform the service !
Beyond Wendron, north-westwards, is Crowan parish, the church of which
contains many memorials of the ancient family of St. Aubyn, originally from
Mount St Aubyn, in Normandy. One of this family was the member for
Cornwall who so steadfastly opposed Sir Bobert Walpole, and of whom Sir
«* As for St George, O,
St. George he was a knight, O,
Of all the kings in Christendom,*
King Georgy is the right, ;
In eyery land, O,
The land that ere we go.
With halantow, &c. &c.
" God bless Aunt Mary,t Moses,
With all her power and might, O ;
And send ns peace in merry England,
Both day and night, O ;
And send us peace in merry England,
Both now and erermore, O.
With haUntow, &c. &c/'
* These lines are clearly a modem introduction.
t This alludes, no doubt, to the Virgin Mary~*' aunt ** is true Cornish so applied ; and the Vii^
Mary was appealed to perhaps ftx>m the new futh not having completely put down the old ; though
what Moses had to do in the business it is difficult to conjecture. Paul's church, in Mounts Bay,
was burned by the Spaniards in 1595, which would seem to fix the part of the fragment alluding to
the Spaniards, as originating about the end of the reign of Elizabeth.
152 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Robert is reported to have said^ that he knew the price of every member in
the house except the little Cornish baronet. There is a charity school hei^
endowed by the St. Aubyn family; but Clowance^ their ancient seat, was
unfortunately burned by accident Sithney, Breage^ Germoe» and Piranuthno,
are four parishes that border upon the eastern side of Mount*s Bay^
between Helston and Marazion. Sithney church is about a mile and a half
from that of Breage ; and Penrose, already mentioned, is in that parish,
together with Portleven, where an attempt has been unsuccessfully made to
form a harbour for the shelter of vessels, much wanted upon this shore. There
was once a hospital of St. John in Sithney, and a logan stone, called Mtn
AmbeTy now off its balance. In Breage parish is Godolphin, the seat of the
family of that name ; the most celebrated member of which was Queen Anne's
minister, related by marriage to the great Duke of MarlborougL The family
property here was not large; and the honour becoming extinct in 1785, the
estate descended to the Duke of Leeds. Hals says, the word " God-al-gan,"
in Cornish, signifies ^^ God's downs ;" Carew, that Godolphin means ^' a white
eagle." The house, now tenanted by a farmer, has a portico of white granite,
from Tregoning hill, not far distant; north-west of which is a second
hill, called Godolphin, consisting also of granite, and rich in metallic ores.
In Breage is the celebrated copper and tin mine of Huel Vor ; and in this
parish too is Pengerswick tower, near Sidney Cove, standing in a bottom ; the
remains consisting of some fragments of walls and two square towers, faced
with hewn stone. The larger tower consists of three stories ; winding steps in
the smallest of the two conduct to the summit of the whole. The lower story is
crenelled, and the door machicolated; but many of the rooms have fallen in, and
what remain are used as granaries and hay-lofls by the farmers who live near.
There are pieces of poetry on the panels of the lower rooms, which are of oak,
carved and painted very curiously ; but the designs to which the lines refer
are nearly obliterated. The following, under the title of " Perseverance," is
very pleasing : —
" What thing is harder than the rock ?
VHiat softer is than water cleere?
Tet wyll the same, with often droppe,
The hard rock perce, as doth a spere :
Even so, nothing so hard to attajne.
Bat may he hadd with lahour and payne.'**
• The following is the entire poem on these panels : —
*' Even as the herdsman safely maye,
And gentilye lye downe to sleype.
That hathe his watchful! doggis alwaye
His floke in safetie for to keype,
So may that prince he qweyet then.
Under whom ralythe faythftil men. ** The
CORNWALL* 153
The painted design was water dropping from a rock. It is said that at the
latter end of the reign of Henry VIIL a Mr. Milliton, having killed a man,
privately purchased the manor here in his son's name, and passed his life in a
secret chamber of the tower, known only to a trusty friend or two. The son
here mentioned, is known to have been governor of St Michael's Mount in
the reign of Edward VI. The road leading to the tower is paved for a con-
siderable dbtance. Germoe, the westernmost of the four parishes, contains
nothing very remarkable, except the saint's chair of stone in the parish church-
yard, which the people have named King Germoe's throne, most probably that
of some obscure siunt, to exalt whom perhaps the Cornish distich was written,
** Germow Mathern,
Breaga Lavethas.'*
t(
Germow a king, Breage a midwife." Leland says, St Germoe's tomb was there
in his time, and his well a little outside the churchyard. In this parish the great
combat took place between two saints, whether both of the old Irish importation
stock or not is unknown. These were St. Just, whose parish is near the Land's
'* The Shipmen teste withe hoystrons wynde,
To anker holde do flee at laste,
While the dolphin, to them most kynde.
Doth claspe abom to holde hyt faste ;
Such anker-holde a prince shocdde bee
To his subjects in myserie.
** When marriage was midd for vertew and loye.
There was no divorce, Godd'is knot to remove ;
But now is much people yn such luste.
That they break Godd'is wyll mosto juste :
Wherefore onto ol snche let thys be sufficient,
To keipe Godd'is lawe, for feare of his punishment.
In the burning lake, wher is awst ofuH torment
** The laimee, wyche lakith feit to goo,
Ys borne uppon the blind *is back ;
So mutually between theme twoo.
The one supplieth the other's lacke. —
The blind to laime doth lend his might.
The laime to blind doth yelde his sight.
** What thing is harder than the rock?
What softer is than water cleere?
Yet wyll the same, with often droppe.
The harde rock perce, as doth a spere.
Even so, nothing so hard to atta}me.
But may be hadd with labour and paine.
** Beholde this asse, wiche laden ys
With riches, plentye, and with meat.
And yet thereof no pleasure hathe,
But thystells, hard and rough, doth eat
In like case ys the rich niggarde,
Wich hath inoughe, and lyveth full hard."
X
154 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
End, and St. Keveme, whose church-town we have already noticed near the
Lizard. St. Just went to pay the southern saint a visit, and after a hospitable re-
ception took his leave j but no sooner was St. Just gone, — we must not confound
the name with the virtue, as we do justice with law in other cases, — no sooner
was the visiter gone, than St. Keverne missed some plate, a commodity which
it is hard to credit that any Irish saint brought honestly into Cornwall with
him from home in those rude days ; so he made up his mind at once that his
pious brother had feloniously abstracted the valuables, and picking up three
stones, of a quarter of a ton weight each, from Crowzas Down, he put them
into his pocket, — the stones contracting, or the pocket expanding to receive
them ; which, the saintly records do not express. St. Keveme overtook St.
Just in Germoe parish, a little beyond Breage, and, charging him with the
robbery, bade him " stand and deliver.*' St. Just plumply refused, and a
combat ensued ; when St. Keverne made such good use of his pocket ammu-
nition, that St. Just was forced to disgorge his plunder and fly. As the holy
pockets of St. Keveme were empty, ready to deposit his rescued property, and
it was no use carrying back his weapons, he threw them down, where they are
this day to be seen, on the left side of the road from Breage to Marazion, stuck
in the ground, carrying the outlandish name of Tremen- keverne* They
are said to have been frequently removed for agricultural or other purposes,
but as oft;en as this was done they were found in their old places the next day.
Singular enough, they consist of what the people now call iron stone, none of
which was ever discovered in Breage, Germoe, or their vicinity; but there
is a plenty upon Crowzas Down, which St. Keveme must have crossed in
pursuit of " his brother rogue," an additional confirmation of the popular story,
if so probable a story stand in need of confirmation. Piran, or Perranuthno, or
Little Piran, church stands in a vale which terminates in the sea ; it is a neat
but unadorned building, and the parish is small ; it once had an oracular welL
A cove is pointed out here, into which an ancestor of the Trevelyan family
escaped, borne on his horse, when the fabled country of Lionesse, between the
Land's End and Scilly, was overwhelmed by the sea. The relation of a clergy-
man at St. Erth,* a maiden lady of course, used to go to the Land's End in
consequence of a dream, having prepared decoctions of herbs, and got by rote
an incantation for raising this land of Lionesse out of the ocean depths, with
its one hundred and forty churches ; but the ocean, from the Long Ships to
Scilly, was as deaf to the " voice of the charmer," as it was to King Canute
when he commanded the waves not to wet his royal toes.
We enjoyed a very interesting view of Mounts Bay from Cudden Point,
in this parish, giving the scene a point of view that rather enhanced
its beauties. St. Hilary parish adjoins Perran-uthno, named from a saint
of Poictiers, who was seized with pitiable terrors upon finding that his
daughter preferred matrimony to single blessedness, — so says the legend, — and
* As related by Mr. D. Gilbert,
CORNWALL. 155
notwithstanding had the gratification of seeing her expii'e at his feet in
the single state. Another oddity of this saint was, that he condemned errors
on abstruse points of doctrine more than heinous moral offences. The church
is in a high, agreeable, and secluded spot, surrounded with trees, but decorated
with a clumsy spire, standing three miles from Marazion, or Market Jew,
known in Doomsday book as Tremarastol ; a town probably older than any
other in the county, being situated near the great mart for tin, the ancient
Ictis, at St Michael's Mount,* Carew calls it Mairaiew, signifying a Thurs-
* Before the capital of the British empire was founded, or the Romans had invaded its shores,
Cornwall was known to the Phcenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and later, to the people of Mar-
sillia, now Marseilles, who carried on a traffic in tin. Of these nations, the Marsellois alone
communicated with Cornwall overland, most prohably through Brittany, taking thirty days for their
journey to the shore opposite Cornwall. This intercourse rests upon no idle antiquarian conjec-
ture, but upon indisputable testimony, corroborated by many important collateral circumstances ; and
trade has in all ages been the most important agent in geographical discovery. Herodotus mentions
the Scilly Isles 440 years before Christ ; but says that he knew nothing of them. The first land dis-
covered by the Phoenicians, and therefore used as a general term for the extreme west of Cornwall,
was the Cassiterides, or iE^tryminian Isles. St Michael's Mount is clearly understood in the descrip-
tion still extant, as the place where tin was shipped, being brought thitbcr in waggons at ebb-tide, at
which time it was, as it is at present, alone accessible from the opposite shore of Marazion. In further
proof of this, little tin is raised in Scilly. The commerce no doubt began there, though the supply
was small; traders, whose moving principle is self-interest, finding a better market near, would
be wiser than to make so dangerous a spot to navigators a deposit for a commodity which might
be had in plenty, without the additional carriage, near the mainland, saving the cost of thirty miles of
perilous navigation. About two hundred years before Christ, the Greeks had become acquainted with
Cornwall, as the intention of writing upon the Cassiterides, and the mode of preparing tin, is expressed
by Polybius. *^ No Greek coins have been found in Cornwall," says Borlase, although some are decidedly
Greek, as far as can be judged by comparison with the engravings of those which collectors state to
be such, given by Borlase himself, who says of these, that they must have been '* struck by a people
well acquainted with the Greeks and Komans.'* They are evidently Greek, most probably colonial.
The coins referred to are in " Borlase's Nat. Hist." Plate XIX. figs. 7, 48. Many more would, no
doubt, have been found had the Greeks possessed a settlement in the county, which was not
the case. Although this note is long enough, it will not be amiss to add from the ''Historical
Researches*' of Professor A. H. L. Heeren, what he adduces in evidence from Avicenus upon this
matter. The remarks of Professor Heeren having caught the attention of the present writer in 1832,
who saw that this profound scholar and historian was not, from the nature of his observations, acquainted
with the locality to which Avicenus, quoting Hamilcar, refers, he ventured a few critical remarks
upon the subject in a periodical work, of which he is informed th<i learned German professor has
acknowledged the reasonableness. It appears that the Carthaginians were the carriers for the
Phoenicians, but kept their route a profound secret. The quotation from Hamilcar*s voyage states, that
the .^strymlnian Islands, or Cassiterides, abounded in tin ; that the inhabitants glided over the sea
in canoes of skins (the coracles of Wales, used in one or two places of the principality still, being
wicker frames covered with skins). The voyage occupied Hamilcar himself four months, a time very
likely to be consumed in coasting along the shores of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on a voyage
first performed by the Tartessians, or Phoenician colonies in Spain, principally from Gades, the
modem Cadiz. According to Hamilcar— for the account of the voyage was the result of his own
experience — his vessel was impeded by quantities of sea-weed, a proof how close he was obliged to
keep to the shore. During the infancy of navigation, even in a stormy sea like the Atlantic, the voyage
was rendered more hazardous from the very necessity of thus hugging the land. It is probable, there-
fore, that the Cassiterides, or Scilly Isles, being the first discovery, gave the name to all that was
known of Cornwall by the Phoenicians and their progeny of Carthage. Tin is mentioned m the Bible
among the riches of commercial Tyre, and was brought from the westward.
156 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
day's market) and Norden, Marca-jewe, with the same meaauig.* It sent
members to parliament before the dissolution of the priory at the Mount; and
the French landed and plundered it in 1514. The names of Market Jew
and Marazion^ we think, are derived from a different origin, and show how rife
the intercourse and habits of the Jews were in Cornwall ; the tin smelting
houses are called Jews' houses to this day. One story regarding the etjiaology
of this place is that some Jews being shipwrecked there, they called the place
Marazion, from ^^mara, bitter," a bitter or melancholy Zion to them; but
Market Jew seems to be the older name. The town is said to have flourished
most during the pilgrimages to Mount St. Michael; at present it is a small
place, very agreeably situated, directly opposite to and about 450 yards from
St. Michael's Mount. The road winding round the bay to Penzance and the
Land's End passes through it ; and at its western termination is a large house
built by a Mr. Blewett. The position of this town is more pleasing than that
of Penzance, from its connexion with its own Mount, and the view it com-
mands'; but above all, it possesses a site preferable for consumptive persons
to that of Penzance, the situation of which last, improved as it is by art, is
in other respects so much more attractive ; but then it is exposed to the full
sweep of the easterly winds, those scourges of England and parents of disease,
from which Marazion is completely sheltered. There is a chapel of ease in
Marazion, dependent upon St. Hilary ; of which parish the Rev. Malachy'
Hichens was vicar, the nephew of Mr. Martyn, who published the large map
of Cornwall. Mr. Hichens was the assistant of Dr. Maskelyne in 1761, and
had the whole care of the Greenwich observatory while the doctor proceeded
to St. Helena, to observe the transit of Venus. On Dr. Maskelyne's pub-
lishing the Nautical Almanack, and for the first number, Mr. Hichens held the
post of computer, and afterwards that of comparer, which last office he kept
up to 1809, the year of his death. He was bom in 1740, and died at the age
of sixty-nine.f His fourth son contemplated a history of Cornwall, and left
some collections for it ; he was also an able poet. In the church are memorials
of the Godolphins, Pennecks, and others. There are numerous mines in
St. Hilary parish, as well as in those which border upon it ; and there are
traces of very old workings in several places. Leland says in the time of
Henry VIH. that there were no greater tin works in Cornwall than were on
Sir William Godalcan's ground, near Heyle, which seems to confirm Mount
St. Michael as the ancient Ictis, from the quantity of tin-land within a few
miles of it.
Leland sayg of tbc Moant, that it was once given to a college at Cambridge, " syns given to Sion."
He calls ^larazlon, ** Markesin, a great long town, burned 3 or 4 anno Henry VHI., by the French."
This tovn now is neither long nor great
t Mr. Davies Gilbert, in his work upon Cornwall, took the superficial measorements of the Cornish
parishes from a MS. given to him by Mr. Hichens, as the boundaries laid down in the map of his
uncle, Mr. Martyn. We have found them nearly all erroneous compared with those given, we pre-
sume, from the ordnance survey ; and we have taken them from the government returns in preference.
COENWALL* 157
' In Gwinear, a neighbouring parish to St. Hilary, there is a village called
Drannock, where there lived a young man, whose fate was so singular that we
cannot avoid relating it. He fell in love with a girl of the same village, whose
name was Elizabeth, and they were considered to be engaged; both were of humble
parentage ; and she was a lovely creature, in all the bloom of youth and hope*
She appeared of an irritable disposition, but it is possible that this was nothing
more than the warmth of strong attachment, evincing itself in the desire to
possess in totality the affections of him whom she loved ; since in this respect
the affection of woman can tolerate no divided empire ; the strongest is alwayd
the most jealous love. After some difference, the cause of which was
unknown, — but it is certain there was a little disagreement, perhaps a " lover's
quarrel," — Thomas pretended to pay some attention to another female, at least
he went with her to a public place of worship. Elizabeth, hearing of the cir-
cumstance, and being of a temperament peculiarly constituted to feel acutely,
took a prayer-book, and folding down the leaf to the 109th psalm, went out
into a field and hung herself. The very same evening, on returning from
the chapel, her lover inquired for her; and being told that she had not been
seen for two or three hours, exclaimed, *^Good heaven, she has destroyed
herself!'* Dreading such an event from her disposition, or making the excla-
mation from some singular impulse, it was found a presentiment but too
true — she had hung herself; and the prayer-book was found, with the fearful
execrations contained in the text marked out. The poor man cried in agony^
** I am ruined for ever and ever !" He fled from the village, where he had
spent so many happy hours, as if it had been a nest of scorpions ; he changed
from place to place in search of peace, but there was no peace for him — ** I am
ruined for ever and ever I"
Time, that cures most griefs, only changed his into the chronic state from
habitual suffering ; and thus, if custom can make an easiness of torture, it may
be said to alleviate its acuteness only to make its hold more sure. He avoided
church when there was a chance of the fatal psalm being read ; and shunned
passing by a reading-school, for fear he should hear the dreadful words. He
was injured in pursuing his labour as a miner, and this was, he thought,
the effect of the malediction ; he was under a curse — the curse of her whom
he had loved and murdered ! Every cross thing that befel him was the result
of the dreadful spell hanging over his head. He never slept soundly, for
Elizabeth appeared to him in his broken slumbers, with the agony of strangu-
lation upon her features, — the prayer-book in her hand, open at the dreadful
psalm ; and he was oflen heard to cry out in agony at such times, ^^ O Betsy,
my dear Betsy, shut the J)ook, — shut the book !"
At length he was persuaded to marry ; and, strange to say, he assented to
it, because every momentary change brought a miserable but grateful inter-
mission of remembrance ; but she to whom the offer was first made refused him ;
asking whether he desired to bring the curses of the dead girl upon her head.
158 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
In tbe end he engaged to marry one who had no superstition, and was pos-
sessed of a good deal of fortitude. He went to the church of St Hilary for
the performance of the rite, and while upon his way was overtaken with one
of the sudden and violent storms not uncommon in Cornwall. He saw
his dead mistress in the storm; he heard her curses in the roaring of the
wind ; he marked her garments in the sheeted lightning ; he closed his eyes,
and saw her in the darkness of his soul; he became convulsed with fear^
or, afler the phrase in which the circumstance was described, was " doubled
up with terror," — helpless, and for a time lost to all around him. His friends
led him on, wholly unconscious of what he was about to do ; but before they
reached the church, which was three miles from where he resided, the heavena
had recovered their serenity, and the sun shone out brightly.
. He was a kind husband, and left a son and daughter, though he scarcely
survived two years after his marriage; for as the novelty of his new state sub-
sided, his old feelings returned. He knew no ease, and his body began to fall
away like ashes from consuming wood, owing to his mind preying upon it;
nor did the tranquillity of his soul for one moment revive, although nothing
came of the maledictions, which he feared. Coincidences remarkable enough
still followed the poor fellow even to the grave. While his body lay in
St. Hilary church for interment during divine service, upon a Sunday after-
noon, the 109th psalm was read in the ordinary course, and exactly at four
o'clock, the hour when Elizabeth destroyed herself, so that the congregation
was astonished. The execrations of the psalmist were no otherwise ftilfilled.
Thomas's two children preceded him to the grave ; and were never fatherless,
nor obliged to beg their bread ; and his wife married again, three years after
his death, therefore the widow's curse did not light upon her; and his own
relations were remarkably numerous, so that his name seemed in no way
likely to be extinguished.
We entered Marazion after sunset, and by the time a hasty repast had been
taken it was as much night as it is at all in the close of the summer. We
flung up the window, and saw before us, ascending in solitary majesty from
the waves, clothed in deep shadow, the far-famed Mount St IMichael, its apex
crowned with the tower, which Milton describes as the spot —
^ Where the great vision of the guarded moant.
Looks t'ward Namanco's and Bayona's hold."
The French say the Archangel appeared on their Mount St Michael in
Normandy, and the Italians claim the honour for Mount Garganus. Pyrami-
dical, and somewhat uneven in outline, it projected its imposing gloomy
mass grandly upwards, about a quarter of a mile from us ; not as seen in the
engraved view at low water, but as a complete mountain island, the tide being
in, and the calm sea between us and its expanded base. The sight was unique
and truly sublime. Lights were glancing from the houses at the foot near the
pier, and more remotely from across the bay, near Penzance, which, wrapped
V
CORNWALL. 159
in blackness of shadow by the hills behind it» marked out the situation of that
town. We gazed again and again on the shady grandeur of this imposing
object, which looked much higher than in reality ; several bright stars appear-
ing just over the summit seemed to diadem the throne of the Prince of Arch-
angels. The atmosphere was serene, — soil even to luxuriance, — and yet upon
regarding those starry orbs amid the short-lived contentedness of the moment^
while enjoying the grandeur of the rock once consecrated to superstition^
we could not help recalling the lines which Byron has borrowed from the
Spanish poet* —
** O who can look npon them shining,
And torn, to earth without repining ;
Nor wish for wings to flee away,
And mix with their immortal ray !"
Here, then, was the place, a.d. 495, according to legends, which constitute all
the hope and religious faith of some, where sat the Archangel, who has been
considered the guardian of seafaring men. We could not help wishing, —
forgetting for a minute or two that heaven's messengers have not been accus-
tomed to pay such ^^ angel visits" since the light of knowledge has scattered
the absurdities of superstitious times, — we could not help wishing we could
witness the sight at a moment so appropriate, when we were as fully in the mind
to enjoy the poetry of the thing as the blindest groper in the gloom of the dark
ages could have enjoyed his dream of the angelic apparition. We fancied the
glorious form of the celestial visitant couchant upon the external angle of the
chapel tower,t his archangelic wings luminous with colours that made around
them an atmosphere of their own light, and thousands gazing through the
dimness of the night with awe and wonder at the shining vision from the
ample circumference of the beautiful bay. It would have been a noble sights
and truly elevating to the mind. Well does the mount of the humble town of
Marazion deserve to be the theme of the poet, and the object of universal
admiration. Spenser says —
** St Michaers Mount who does not know.
That wards the western coast"
Carew styles it, "Both land and island twice a-day." Drayton, in his
Polyolbion, makes considerable mention of it. William of Worcester J
records the absurdity of its having been a " hoar rock" in a wood, part of the
fabled land of Lione8se,§ which, though never engulfed except in romance, a
* Argensola.
t Michael, before the tower was built, used to perch upon the highest crag ; afterwards he found
the tower, they say, more " convenient"
X Apparicio Sancti Michaelis in Monte Tumba antea vocato, ** Le Hore Rock in the wodd.**
§ In the history of Prince Arthur we find an account of the Ladye of Liones, and how Sir
Tristram de Liones fought to deliver Mark, king of Cornwall, fW>m ** Irish truage/' The earlier
writers upon the topography of England were credulous persons, whose inventive faculties not being
over keen, were content to borrow fh>m the writers of romance what they found suitable to support
160 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
lady tried to charm up again ! The Italian romance writers speak of it; and
some antiquaries declare it to be the Mount Ocrinum of Ptolemy. St Keyna,
we have already seen, paid a visit to the mount; and her nephew, St. Cadoc,
did the same about 490. After five hundred years of renown, Edward the
Confessor founded a priory of Benedictine monks here ; and aflerwards Bobert,
Earl of Moreton, made it a cell to the abbey of St. Michael in Normandy.
The church of St. Michael was, no doubt, the parent church of St. Hilarys,
as the prior here presented to that church. There was once both a nunnery
and a monastery, with a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, built by the
Earl of Moreton in the reign of William II., and also a chapel to St Michael ;
but the last has long disappeared. • The nunnery was detached from the
monk's cell, and had much carved work, both of wood and stone, in its con-
struction. St. Michael's Mount descended, about the time of Bichard L, to
one Pomeroy, who fortified it. Before the modem alterations, the present
chapel consisted of a nave, divided into an idsle and choir by the cancel
of the rood loft, which last was carved with a history of the Passion. There
were three stalls in the choir, and two tall windows at the altar, with three
on each side of the nave, and a handsome rose window at the western end.
The aisle was forty-eight feet long by twenty wide ; the choir twenty-one
feet long ; and on the right of the altar was a small door, which led down by a
few steps into a vaulted room, nine feet square. All the walls are thick, with*
out buttresses ; and on the top of the tower, which has a fine peal of six bells>
and is well proportioned, at the external angle, are the remains of a gothie
lanthom, in which the monks most probably kept a light for the guidance of
shipping. The outer part being broken away above the base, is called
St. Michael's chair,* and the vulgar say that this was the place in which the
supernatural vision sat; but Carew says it was on a crag just without tlie
building, very difficult of access. A ridiculous notion prevails, probably from
the confused connexion of St. Keyna with the mounts that whoever sits in
this lanthom chair will have the mastery in domestic affairs. This is a much
more trying experiment than drinking the water of St Keyna or Keyne's
Well ; for let the reader imagine the pinnacle of a lofty church tower to be
hollow, the tower standing upon the brink of a precipice, at the base of which
the sea thunders ; or let him imagine a very large lanthom, in place of a pin-
nacle, to be placed in the same spot, fractured longitudinally, and the external
portion gone, while the inner portion, several feet high, remains entire. The
dangerous feat is to sit in the bottom of this fragment, the place, in a lanthom,
where a light is fixed. The feet have no rest, but hang over the tower and
anj fiction which they imagined to be fact Science in later times most demolish many similar
theories, as Sir Joseph Banks proyed there could he no mermaid according to the coQimon notion of
the thing, by the very structure of the parts rendering such a creature as a tenant of the seft
impossible.
* Kader-migel in Cornish.
CORNWALL. 161
abyss beneath ; and the back of the lanthorn ascending behind, there is no
moving out but by wriggling about, and getting the knees on the seat, and so
rising up and coming round upon the roof of the tower, by striding in over the
parapet We ventured to stand in the famous chair, but did not adventure to
sit, on account of the diflSculty of rising and getting round on the knees from
a position in which the feet dangle over such a fearful gulf, where the restless
ocean, to the most distant point of the horizon, spreads out a vast plain
beneath. It is a foolhardy act; and yet many, even ladies, adventure,
stimulated by a little lurking ambition of rule, and no small portion of cre-
dulity in the virtue of the act
Before the recent improvements weQe effected, the buildings approached
much more nearly to the appearance which the old monastery must have
carried. On arriving at the summit a low gate was entered, having a port*
cullis, a few steps within which was the guard-room on the lefl hand ; beyond
this was a wooden gate, the chapel entrance being on the right, and an
embattled terrace on the left; further on was a gothic stone door-case, with a
window over, which led into a room, fifty feet long by eighteen wide, that had
once been divided by partitions. A passage here led into the chapel of
St Mary, which was that of the nunnery, and in which passage a staircase
led to their cells ; but the flooring had much of it fallen in. In the east end of
the chapel, over the altar, was a window ; and there were some carvings of arms
there, and near by was a small door in the eastern wall, with a little court
below it, and a terrace to look over the walL In another court stood the refec-
tory, thirty-three feet long, sixteen wide, and eighteen high; the roof of tim-
ber was carved. East of this was a small room, with a chamber above, and yet
further east a small parlour, with a bed-room over, where Charles II. slept on
his way to Scilly ; and in a little court below there was another small room.
On looking over the parapet in this comi;, the perpendicular precipice of the
mount on that side, with the sea thundering under, struck strangers with
surprise and fear. The cells of the monks were west of the church and refec-
tory. Such it is said was the state of the buildings, a good deal of which were
ruinous, until the adaptations to modem convenience took place, principally
in the interior. The ancient parts which remain little altered are the
entrance, guard-room, refectory, and chapeL In repairing the lost, an unin-
ecribed grave-stone was found, supposed to have been placed over the body of
Sir John Arundel, of Treriee, who was killed in a skirmish near the mount in
the reign of Edward IV., during the wars between the houses of York and
Lancaster ; and in levelling a platform for the altar, under the east window, a
door was discovered, stoned up, which, on being opened, led into a vault under
the church, nine feet long by six or seven broad, in which was found the
skeleton of a large man, but no remains of a coffin.
St Michael's Mount is the property of the St Aubyn family, who purchased
it about the year 1660. It was given by Elizabeth or James I. to Cecil, Earl
Y
162 RNOLAND m THE NINETEENTH CENTrRT.
of Salisbury ; but vfas seized by Charles 1. when William Cecil subscribed
the York declaration in 1692, and took the side of the English people. It
■was then consigned to the Bassets, the staunch adherents of the Stuarts, to
the last of the race; and thus granted to them, they sold it to the St. Aubyo
family, after a very short possession. Here Lady Catherine Gordon, wife of
Perkia Warbeck, took refuge, and many families secured themselves during
the rebellion of the Cornish in the reign of Edward VL The improvements
of the interior by the St. Aubyn family for five generations have made it
a comfortable residence. The prospect from some of the windows, but above
all from the top of the chapel tower, is unsurpassed in grandeur and beauty.
On the land side, the shores of the flat bay rise amphitbeatrically on all sides
to a considerable altitude, in every direction presenting objects of interest, —
towns, churches, villages, woods, mines, and an undulating outline. Towards
the ocean the prospect is of the grandest character ; one shore stretches away
headland afler headland, to where the Lizard shoots far out into the wave, —
a long line of apparently table land. St. Clement's Islands, and the coast
towards the Land's End, form a cape much shorter, and apparently nearer
at hand, than on the eastern side, completing the hom of the crescent west-
wards. Between these two points the ocean alone appears in its most impos-
ing attribute of uncontrollable immenedty, as the Atlantic, across the Bay of
Biscay, to the most western land of Spain, hes on the south, and dies into
distance ; and across the land, on the north, no shore intervenes between the
line of horizon beheld there and the land of the New World, both seas rolling
■visibly from the summit of the mount.
The old refec-
tory above men-
tioned, fitted up
At present as a
simple apart-
mentof a family
residence, but
scarcely at all »
altered from its (
ancient state,
is decorated i
"with a cornice,
exhibiting dif-
ferent hunting
scenes and ani-
mals followed in the chace, and passes under the appellation of the " Chevy
Chace Koom," of which this is a representation. The royal amis and datf^
1644, mark the upper end of the apartment, and at the lower are the arms of
tlie St Aubyn family.
CORNWALt. 163
We crossed at low water from Marazion^ passing a rock, shown in the steel
engraving, called the Chapel Rock, upon which a species of oratory formerly
stood, where the pilgrims to the shrine of St Michael offered up their orisons.
-The road from Marazion runs nearly south, and is about 450 yards long; at
the termination, on the right hand side, a convenient basin is formed for
. shipping. It was erected on the site of a less convenient work of the same
kind which had existed there before, probably at the expense of the monks,
by Mr. Blewett, a merchant of Marazion, who held a lease of it from the
St. Aubyn family ; and near it are cellars for the fisheries, and upwards of
seventy inhabited houses. On proceeding a little further the ascent becomes
•steep, and the stranger perceives that the mount itself is a mass of granite
-breaking through schistos rocks, affording fine studies for the geologist; and
' still proceeding upwards, a few cannon appear, covering that part of the bay.
From hence it is not far to the entrance of the house where the late Sir John
St. Aubyh frequently resided for a short time, and pursued the improvements
with his well-known good taste. There is a well of fine water, thirty-seven
feet below the summit in the solid rock, and near it is a tin lode. The, build-
ings and their additions, with the rock, form a pyramid, the base of which
18 about a mile in circumference, and the whole, we were told, is extra-
parochiaL*
The priors of St. Michael's Mount, from 1260 to 1410, when Henry V.
.suppressed the alien priories, were, de Carteret, Perer, de Gemon, de Cara
Villa, Hardy, de Volant, Auncel, and Lambert. The lands belonging to this
house, as parcel of Sion Abbey, were rated in the time of Henry VIIL at
110/. 12^. There is extant a bill of Adrian in 1155, confirming these pos-
.aessions to the abbot and monks here and to those of Normandy. After the
Restoration, it appears to have been granted to Mr. Melliton, it is presumed,
of Pengerswick, already mentioned, for a term of years ; then to Harris, of
Gulval, and afterwards to another, and then to Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, as
already mentioned.
Stories of monkish origin state that the mount was once a rock situated in a
wood ; and some persons deem this to be proved from the discovery of trees
and various vegetable substances, as nuts and acorns, under the sand upon the
secession of the tide. The marshy nature of the soil up to the hills on the
eastern side' of the bay renders it probable that the sea once flowed up to
• In 1676 a boll of fire struck the granite wall of the chapel of St Michael's Mount, broke through
the stone work, marking its way by a stroke four inches broad and two deep, from one end of the
long side wall almost to the other : and rebounding struck the oak dems of the dwelling-house entry,
and shattered them into two or three pieces ; then flying into the hall it fell on the floor, and broke in
pieces by the side of Mrs. Catherine St Aubyn, without hurting her, leaving a sulphureous smoke
behind. Its remains appeared to consist of metallic matter, like coal and cinders congealed by fire ;
it was observed to come from seaward towards the mount This description tallies rather with a
aneteoric stone than electric fire.
164 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
them ; nor is it at all improbable that all the flat part of the shore of Mount's
Baj is the site of one of those undermined or submerged woods which are
found in other parts of the county^ in some instances far inland, out of reac^
of the waves. The stream works have disclosed them, where similar appear*
ances have been met with, twenty or thirty feet under the present level, as at
Carnon and at Par; the sea only laying that bare here which has been long
shown to exist in other places. Not only vegetables in substance, but at Camon
human skulls have been discovered ; and at Par an antique tobacco pipe was
found beneath a bed of alluvial deposit more than twenty feet thick* That no
change has taken place in Mount's Bay for a time long beyond the connected
annals of England, is pretty clear, from the fact, that Soman coins have been
exhumed from the sand in Mount's Bay, so placed for concealment; the loca-
lity then cannot have altered since that was done. The description of the
ancient Ictis, too, can apply only to St. Michael's Mount, not to the SciUy
Isles, which the abundance of tin in its vicinity confirms. Reasonable persoiiB
must dismiss this extraordinary submersion, with the tale of the land of Lio-
nesse. It may not be amiss with such tales, which modem science abundantly
refutes, to add, that the mount had in king Arthur's time a giant for a keeper;
and that the locality was the haunt of enchanters, and of a scene of wonders
only to be found in misbegotten romances.
From Marazion to Penzance the road curves along the shore of the magni*
ficent Mount's Bay for the space of three miles, having the ocean on the left
hand; and it now spread itself in a broad expanse of imsullied azure, scarcely
exhibiting the narrowest border of white in the gentle ripple of the waves
upon the sand. So serene and tranquil, so heart-soothing and attractive was
the sight, that we could scarcely fancy its majestic surface had been or could
be arrayed in the terrors of the storm ; seeming in truth —
** As though it ne'er had man beguil'd,
And neTer 'would beguile him more."
For some distance after leaving Marazion, there lies upon the land side of the
road a strip of marshy ground; a portion of which, nearly, half a century ago,
we learned had been drained by Dr. Moyle, a medical gentleman of that town,
for which he received the gold medal of the Society of Arts, Manufactures,
and Commerce. This operation was effected by an ingenious contrivance, since
that time pretty generally adopted under similar circumstances, — the introduc-
tion of a wooden tube, closing with a gate hung horizontally, and sunk in a
deep cut nearly to the level of the sea at low water. When the tide retired,
the internal pressure of the fresh water opened the gate, and the discharge
continued until the tide rising again closed it by the external pressure ; in
this mode maintaining a continual self-action. These marshes, broader at the
end towards Marazion, grow narrower and disappear, from the approximation
CORNWALL* 165
of a range of heights almost close down to the sea, near Penzance^ having m
one party slightly elevated^ the church of Gulval parish^ the principal village
of which parish, called Chyandower, is close to Penzance town. Here,
too, is a seat of the Harris family, of Liflon, in Devonshire, called Kenegie,
conmianding a noble prospect; with a well, named Gulfwrell, or the " Hebrew
Brook," (here we have the Jews again,) once attended, according to Borlase,
by an old sybil, whose death he speaks of, in his time, as very recent. The
water of this well was deemed oracular, and was consulted for the purpose of
recovering lost cattle or stolen goods ; the question being put before the old
diviness, the well answered at her potent invocation. As, for example, sup-
pose the health of an absent person was inquired about ; if he were well, the
water was seen to bubble ; if iU, to be discoloured ; and if dead, to remain stilL
Even now it is spoken of as possessing some virtues that are not very clearly
defined.
Ludgvan parish, on the north-west from Marazion, and north-east from
Penzance, borders on Gulval further inland. In this parish was bom the
noted Dr. Oliver, of Bath ; but it is more celebrated for its connexion with
Dr. Borlase, so well known as the natural historian and antiquary of his native
county. Castle an Dinas, an old military work, consisting of two stone walls,
circular, and one within the other, is in this parish. The church stands on
high ground, and commands a noble prospect, and here Dr. Borlase was buried,
where he was the incumbent for fifty-two years. He was bom in St. Just,
which living he also held, and died in 1772, in his seventy-seventh year. He
was an indefatigable student of the natural history and antiquities of Corn-
wall ; and though somewhat fanciful regarding Druidism, stone deities, and the
supposed rites of ancient British worship, it must be recollected that he was
utterly bereft of the light which scientific discoveries, since his day, have
thrown upon many of the subjects of which he treated He has the merit of
collecting, and placing in a comprehensible form, almost everything that
relates to the two great objects which he was eager to record or explain. He
wasted little time in hunting out the musty genealogies of families unknown
beyond their own narrow circle ; he contributed little to gratify the idle, or
foster the pride of the ignorant ; he fiew at a nobler quarry, and followed up
his object with indefatigable diligence. In his antiquarian researches, and his
endeavours to elucidate the natural history of his native county, he borrowed
from none, but he made Nature his book ; he looked himself upon the things
which he described ; he reflected upon what he saw, and, uniting learning with
a due regard to what seemed to him the just view of his subject, he became a
careful recorder of the result. His observations, sometimes acute, always
erudite, and often singularly ingenious, fix the reader's attention, even when
he may not find it possible to concede justness to his views. Cornwall owes
more to Borlase than to all besides who have written upon the county.
Curious as the imperfect Notes of Hals and Tonkin may be deemed by those
166 BNOLAND IN THE NINETEENTB CEHTDBT.
trhom the progress of time lias not instructed that personal Eistory can only be
generally important or attractive where it is connected with individuals
beyond the obscurity of a provincial circle, they are not to be counted with
one whose ^m was so much higher, and from whom every writer since has
borrowed so lai^ly. Borlase will wear his honours long, for they were
honestly earned.
This digression may be pardoned, from being made upon the road-side, in
view of the church where the duet of this good man reposes ; but we must
continue our route. Passing some extensive tanneries, we entered Penzance,
the last town of the west, and proceeding westwards along a spacious street,
ascended gradually, until
.we came in sight of the
town-hall and market-place,
substantially built of gra-
nite, with a done pedi-
ment, solid, and in good
taste, of which the accom-
panying engraving conveys
a representation.
It is unfortunate that
this building was construct-
ed upon the same spot as
the old hall, since it is a
serious obstruction to what
would otherwise have been
a fine wide thoroughfare in
the heart of the town; and
the wants of an increasing
population required the space. The people of Truro were wiser, and removed
their market from the middle of a much broader street. At the western
end of the town -hall, a street descends towards the sea; and another, in
the opposite direction, ascends a hill leading towards Modern, the parish
■church, which is a mile and a half from the town; thus the principal streets
assume somewhat of the appearance of a cross, one arm or street leading
towards the pier, a solid and useful pile of building, constructed by the cor-
poration. In this street, on the right, a handsome church, or chapel of ease,
built of granite, and well proportioned, has been lately erected; but the
window-frames are unhappily formed of wood in place of stone, and have a
bald defective appearance. We entered the chapel-yard, and were struck
■with the numerous tombstones of those who were not recorded as inhabitants
of the town ; most of whom had probably gone there in the hope of benefiting
by the salubrious climate of that part of England. Many of these, when
medical attendance liad become hopeless at home, were sent thither to die,
CORNWALL. 167
'who, liad they been BCDt od the jirst appearance of symptome affording ground
for apprehension, might have recovered, or secured a term of existence more
protracted. We contemplated these memorials of our fellow beings, cut off
in the bud or bloom of existence, with piunful feelings, on reflecting upon the
sorrow their loss must have caused, and the high and affectionate hopes of the
living that had thus terminated in disappointment.
Penzance is between nine and ten miles from the Land's End. The decli-
vity upoh which it stands is sheltered by tall hills from the prevalent Atlantic
west winds; but this very circumstance exposes it, in the bight of the bay, to
the cold eastern blasts, which, in its own mild climate, are more keenly felt, in
consequence of the general equability of temperature. This was a coinage
town for tin, and it possesses a considerable trade ; the high water of spring-
tides is twenty-two feet deep at the pier, and vessels of a good size can
approach it for unloading or shelter. There are several dissenting chapels
in the town, a Public Dispensary, a Geological Society, the Transactions of ,
which are among the best that Wve been published anywhere, in or out of
the metropolis; and the society possesses a good collection of minerals, a
laboratory, and, what is more than all, many members possessing considerable
zeal, as well as practical scientific knowledge. This institution is one of
which Cornwall stands most in need, abounding as that county does in too
many who are content with following preceding examples. Until lately,
nowhere was there less disposition to leave the beaten track, or to credit tW
improvement was possible, — that all which might be known was not yet
acquired. Kecentiy Sir Charles Lemon offered to ^ve 10,000/. for endowing
a mining college, and could obt^n no support for such an innovation.
Penzance possesses a zealous and useful Agricultural Society ; and in the
.■vicinity are some plants and flowers well worthy of attention, as not being
grown anywhere else in England in the open tur, "We were much struck at
168 ENGLAND IN TUE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
eeeiag the fronta of very lai^ houses covered with flourishing myrtles of
several varieties up to the very roofs; from one of such myrtles cuttings
were taken in one season which served to heat the oven for many weeks.
Over the town-hall we found a large room fitted up as a temporary
theatre, into which we entered for half an hour, and in that time had enough
of the performances. The piece represented a Ctreek pirate; and furiously did
the " star" of the company tear the corsair character to tatters. A number of
Mount's Bay fishermen were present, who seemed very attentive to the
acting and the stmt of the chief performer in his flashy Greek dress. At
length one of them looked expressively upon his comrade at what was clearly
a nautical blunder,-^" That woiildn't do in our bay, Jim !" Polwhele records
a very amusing story of one of these hardy fellows, which took place at
Manaccan, hut he tells it imperfectly ; for it happened when his predecessor, the
Rev. Mr. Peard, was vicar, and the latter told it to a fiiend of ours.- The
reverend gentleman stated, that he had got to the part of St Paul's shipwreck
where it is s»d they " threw out an anchor by the stem." The a^or stared,
listened further, and theu exclaimed so loud as to be heard all over the church,
" All wrong ! All wrong ! — Put about I Put about ! — Bad seamanship ! —
D — me if I wouldn't have saved ship and caigo." He was fined five shillings
the next day for the oath.
We visited the market,
and found the price of pro-
visions very moderate; fish
of all kinds was cheap, and
good enough for the solace
of the most profound al-
dermanic palate.
The fishwomea
carry their fish
' in a basket of
the above form,
called a cowal, or
coweL They are
a well -looking
'■ - " race, and live, for
the most part, at the neighbouring villages of
Newlyn and Mousehole, coming in on market-
days with a burden that would crush a porter.
The cowal is borne by a strap passed over
the head, as shown in the accompanying
engravings.
Some of the girls of these villages are very pretty, having teeth beautifiilly
white, auburn hair, and rosy cheeks ; others have very dark eyes and hair ; but
CORNWALL.
169
all are round in the limbs^ and walk with a mixture of elasticity and firmness ;
erect in their carriage, and the form admirably developed. They bring train
oil in pitchers for sale, their garments bearing the perfume as strongly as
the inhabitants of Northern Bussia, while they cry " Buy my train ! Buy my
train l^ with a drawl^ ^' traain." It is said in Cornwall that one of the
"things," called in London "men about town," in the country a "beau,"
was so stricken with these girls that he made love to them in the market-
place, so far in one case as to suppose he might snatch one of those indul-
gences, for taking which surreptitiously cockney magistrates have been known
to inflict heavy fines. The gentleman approached the rosy lips that so
attracted him, but before the object sought could be seized, the odour of
train oil was so powerful, that the attraction and repulsion ensuing displayed,
in perfection, *Hhe action of the centripetal and centrifugal forces, terminating
in a whirkbout"
The purity of the English spoken in Cornwall we have mentioned before;
and in this remote town it is striking. The domestic servants speak as well as
people of the higher class, never having been half a dozen miles from the place
in their lives. As it is part of our duty to lay before the reader every pecu-
liarity of the localities which we may happen to describe, we give the follow-
ing Dialogue between two country women, Grace Penvear and Molly
Trevisky, as a specimen of the " vulgar tongue," rather as it was fifty years
ago than at present
** G. Fath and trath I b'liere in ten parishes toond,
Sachy roag, suchj yellan es not to be foand !
If. What*8 the fnssing un Greacey long weth a cheeld-vean ?'
G. A foBsing aketha!' 'Od splet es ould brean —
Our Martin's cum horn cheeld so drank as a beast.
And so cross as the gallish from Berranzand* yeast,
A comm'd in a tattering, a cossing and swaring.
So hard as a stomps^ es, tarving and tearing.
M, Neyer mind et nn Greacey, goa pat en to bed ;
Al sleep ale tha lecker away fram es head.
G, Why I wodn't go neaat on to git the king's croirn.
For a swears ef I speak to on al cleaye my skall down.
Thee'st neyar en ale tha bom days fath and shoar,
Dedst behould sochy maze-gerry* pattick afore,
Why a scat* ale to mi^jons and joads' for the noans,'
A dome bnssa* of scale milk about on the stones.
And a catch'd np a showP^ for to steeye" ma oatright.
But I rann*d away ready to fainty for fright
Loard ! tell ma an Mally, what shall I do by an?
For sartin as deth I'm afeard to go ni an !
Jf. I knaw what I'd do ef so be 'twar my case,
rd scat^' the ould chacks" o'an, I'd trem an Greace.
G. Fm afeard o' my life to go neast the ould yellan.
Else, plase father, I VIeeye I shad parfectly kill an.
; Was eyer poor creychur^^ so baal'd" and abus'd ?
Ma arms are like bassam," the roag haye a bruis'd.
z
(1) LnOetAiU. A eoi m nonmode of addiyw
amonf both msm ; uted as lUlUas um •
dhnlnatlfe.
(t) Bxelanatloii, probably from Um old
Comiib.
(S) PemBiwnd.
(4) A itoDiM, properly stamp*, li a madiln*
for Cfuibiqf eopiMr ore. Iron-headed.
(6) •• Mate" U a eommon word for '"
'Mad*
h) the wvatem ronntlet.— *' Mase-gvrry.'
"wild
h«adcd •• Pattlek," la old ConiiUb for a
fuol.
(6) Daah'd.
C7) Small plaeea. both by tearing and ft*r
lure.
(A) Tlie nonce.
(9) Glome buMa, ao earthen Teucl.
(10) Shovel.
(11) CleaT*.
0») SUp.
(IS> Pace or ehevht.
(14) Creature.
(15) Brat
(Ifi) Blue coloar.
170
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CfiNTURY.
I made for es sapper a mnggotty ^f pie,
Ef a doo clunk ^* a croom'* o*t I wish I may die;
M. Ah I I toiild tha afore that the job was adone.
That theed'st cam to repentance as sare as a gan :
Bat thee wadst not hark to me, not doubting, for why.
That beshnre tha didst knaw on much better than I ;
Bat I knaw*d the trem o'n afore tha had'st got an.
And toold tha a mashes^ o' stories aboat ao.
Bat tha answered so toytish, and shrink'd ap tha noase,
A gissing t'wor great stramming lies I suppose I
There's won of es pranks I shall aleways remember,
*Twill be three year agone come the ighth of NoTcmber ;
Tde two pretty young mabyers'* as eyes could behould.
So fat as the butter, jist iteen weeks ould ;
They war picking about in the town-place** fDr meat.
So I heaved down so pellows" among them to eat,
When who but your man come a tottering along.
So drunk fath I thoft he wad fale in the dung;
A tumbled es hoggan-bag'^ down by the dore.
So I caal'd to the man, as one wud to be shure, —
** Uncle Mart*n, dost hire cheeld ? take up tha bag,"
*• Arria,"** says a, ** for what art a caaling me dog?**
A drawd forth towardes ma, no better nor wus.
And nact the mabyers both stiff with a great more ** of ftiss.*'
Like anow an I haadn't got hastie away,
Ad a done as a ded to Jan Hous to'ther day.
When a got in es tantrums, a wilful ould debel.
And slamm'd the poor man en the head with the kebel."
Fath and trath then on Greace ef so be a doant alter,
I b'leeve en ma conscience ele poof* in a halter.
G. When the licker is rann'd away every drap,
Tes too late to be thinking of stapping the tap ;
An marridge mast go as the Loard do ordain.
Bat a passon*^ wud sware to ba used so cheeld vean.
Had I knaw'd tha coose*^ o'n but nine weeks ago^
rd never have had the ould vellan I know ;
But a vow'd and a swared that ef Fd be hes wife,
I never shnd lack ale the days of my life ;
An a broft me a nackin ** and com sieve from Preen"—
In ma conshance, thoft I, I shall live like a queen.
But 'tes plaguy provoking, od rat hes ould head !
To be pooted and flopt so — I wish a wor dead I
Why a spent half es fangings'^ last Saturday night —
Like anow, by this time, tes gone every mite.
But m tame the old debel before et be long,
£f I caant with my vistes,*^ I will we ma tongue !" *
(17) Lainb'^ entnOi.
(18) Swallow, mm *'cl7Bk," old
(!•) A cniBBb.
(M) A gimk m
(11) Toonf fowls, bvm "nab." (dd Cor-
•B Uvar*** an iaftst.
(If) SpMeheA»etliefire«t«rtte
(B) raw. « ipedM of cntft flvcn to fbwio
in Cornwall. TlM ovcim mrnit^ a sort of
(M) Dinner I
(») Old Coraiah fbr-*« Oh
1 eaelanuUkiB of sorprisr,
(M) Root,
(ST) Purse.
(V) The boekct med fcr dravinr up
from a mine : called a eorvc in eoal dMiicta.
(9) Pool
kick.
(30) Panon.
(31) Course.
(St) nandkerchlcf.
(33) Penrfn.
(34) Wafcs.
(3S) Piste.
* Dr. Paris has erroneously attributed this Dialogue to Dr. Walcot, and has annexed a note to a
copy of it, which exhibits a complete misunderstanding of the phrase, ** cheel-vean,*' little child, and
an attack upon the fair fame of the Ck>mish lasses. The fact is, that the foregoing dialogue was
written about 1790, by an exceedingly clever bat eccentric individual, a Mr. Fox, who died at Bristol
within the last twenty years. He was an excellent Persian scholar ; and once kept a shop at Fal-
mouth, which was burned, together with his hoase : when he found the fire too powerful to be sub-
CORNWALL. 17 i
Penzance is a corporate town ; which boon it owes to James I.^ in 161 9^ who
deputed its government to a mayor and eight aldermen, with twelve assistants.
The present corporate income is upwards of two thousand a year ; and the
town, not having been a Cornish borough of the olden time, ever furnished an
honourable exception in the mode of managing the public property ; nowhere
has it been better disposed of in improvements ; and nowhere has the equitable
outlay of similar funds better exhibited in its results the judicious mode in
which it was effected.
This town is situated in the polish of Madron, or Madem,* a living in the
gift of the Rev. M. N. Peters ; but the gift of the chapel of ease belongs to
the corporation. Who Madron, or St. Madem, was, is unknown ; being either
so ancient or so obscure a personage, except perhaps in the district of Penwith,
that ecclesiastical and profane records are utterly silent about him. At the
time of the Norman conquest, Madem was denominated Alverton. The
church, about which there Lb nothing meriting notice here, stands in a com-
manding situation. The scenery in the vicinity is very picturesque ; and there
are numerous private houses which, as edifices, require no observation, either
on account of their size or architecture, but which stand in situations scarcely
to be surpassed for beaufy of prospect. Castle Homeck, Trengwainton, Tre-
reife, Trenear, Nancealvem, Rose Hill, Lariggan, Kenegie, and Boskenna,
are among the principal country houses in the vicinity of Penzance^ At
Madem, among the old memorials is the following: —
** Belgium me birth, Britaine me breeding gave,
Cornwall a wife, ten children, and a grave.'*
In this parish was bom the late Sir Humphry Davy, whose chemical dis-
coveries have immortalized his name. Madem Well, in the same parish, we
found, after a long search, situated in a moor, a good distance from the church,
in a northerly direction. All that remains of the votive chapel that once
belonged to it, may be seen here. The popular belief in the virtues of this
well have not yet ceased; once it was universal. Bishop Hall descanted upon
Madern Well, in his '* Great Mystery of Godliness ;" and, though the
water has no medicinal virtues that chemistry can detect, the prelate gives
examples of its curative and miraculous virtues* The chapel at this well
seems to have been constructed upon the model of many others in the county;
dued, he mounted a hill behind the town to admire the effect of the reflection in the sea, the fire
happening at night ; he was uninsured. — In the second case, Dr. Paris should have recollected that
the phrase, ** cheel-yean,*' is used between persons of the male sex. There is the line in another
dialogue, every way equal to the above in humour, between Job Mungler and Jan Trudle, wher^
Mnngler tells how he has hid his property from the French, and says : —
** So &r doubting, ched-veanj as I tould tha afore,
Tve a squadg'd* et down ninety good fathom or more." (D hu ituwmj.
• In the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, in 1291, we find it written ** Ecclia Scl Mademi."
172 ENGLAND IN TUE NINETEENTU CENTURY.
though, except a stone
which served ibr inserting
the central impost of a
window, there are none
with such careful marks
of the tool as we found in
some places. Here crip-
ples were cured, and dia-
eaees healed, more by futh
in being cured than by
aquatic efficacy. Borlase
says, too, that it was
thought to possess oracular
virtues, like that of St
Euny in Sancred, an ad —
joining parish. Pins were dropped into the water, and it was observed how
they lay, heads or points together ; bubbles were nused on certain days of the
year, by stamping upon the ground near ; and thus were events to come sup-
posed to be revealed.
In this parish is the inscribed stone called MSn Scryfa,
in old Cornish, or the " Written St«ne." It is nine feet
ten inches long, by twenty inches broad, and bears the
words Biolobran — Cunoval—JU, or, at full length, Mtola-
hramu Gunovali jUius. The date of its erection, as well
as the person whose name is thus recorded, are equally
unknown.
In Madem parish is the Lanyon Cromlech, on the
side of the roiul from Penzance to Morva; this last
church has been lately rebuilt, and is a vicarage, pass-
ing with that of Madem. The cromlech alluded to
is called the " Quoit of the Giant" by the country
people, and is elevated high enough for a man on ^
horseback to pass beneath it; and tiiere is another
at Molfra, in this parish. The flat stone of the Lanyon
Cromlech ia forty-seven feet in circumference, and
weighs above twenty tons. It slipped off the imposts
during a violent storm, some years ago, but was re-
placed by the powerful machinery that restored the Logan stone to its
position. In Zennar, or Senar, parish, which a<ljoins Madem, is another of
these ancient monument« ; the supporters of which enclose a square chamber,
six feet eight inches by four feet; the uprights eight feet ten inches higli; and
roimd the whole, on the outside only, is heaped a stone barrow, fourteen yards
iu diameter. The upper stone here is above fourteen feet long, by nine in
COBHWALL. 1 73
diameter. In Morva pariah, south-west of an old circular military work
called Chun Casde, of very careful conatruction, the outer wall bmg of
stone, aa well as the divisions withiu, — a work belonging to no ancient
people at present rec(^ised by their fortifications, — near this work is a
third cromlech, having a stone barrow round it. The
Lanyon, Zennar, and Chun Cromlechs, are represented here,
bearing the numbers one, two, and four. The third is
Zennar parish is bounded by a chun of elevations and rocks on the land
side, and is a mile wide; limited towards the ocean by granite cliffs, and
is remarkably fertile. The church is a neat stone edifice, the patron of
which is one of those obscure saints who are so little rare in this coiinty. On
the west of this parish a bold headland pushes into the ocean, called Treryn
Dinas, almost as grand as Cnstle Treryn on the opposite coast ; consisting of
cliffs of trappean rock, bordered with granite. To the cost of Zennar lies the
parish of Towednack, which is barren, with a few fertile spots, and contains
nothing of interest, — the church being a daughter-church to Leiant. There
is an old entrenchment in this parish, called Trecragan. St Just-in-Penwith
is a parish lying to the west of Morva. It was the patron saint of this parish
who robbed St. Keveme of his plate, as we have before related ; a story which
174
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
is perhaps a cruel libel upon his character^ if the accounts of his being sent
into England to convert the Saxons be true; though the miracle of the
Tremen-heveme stones is a sad stumblingblock. He is said to have died in
627. The parish is almost wholly on granite^ and borders upon the sea: near
the cliffs are the remains of an old work^ called Kamid-
jack castle. A wilder country we never saw ; even
the mines, of which there are several, are worked
through granite ; and St. Just church-town, though a
neat little village, is situated in one of the most naked
spots we ever beheld; it contains a stone cross, of
which we give the representation. The mines in the
vicinity contribute much to the benefit of this village;
the church stands on one side of an open space of con-
siderable extent, and is constructed of granite, in a
very solid manner ; a material quite necessary, as it
is situated close to Cape Cornwall, exposed to the
Atlantic storms in all their rage. Here we found a
comfortable country inn, good-humoured attention,
and, what the miners have caused by their demand
to be brewed of excellent quality, that seducing beve-
rage, a bowl of which Peter Pindar says,
'* Invites tlie anwarj wanderer to a kiss,
Smiles in his face, as thoagh it meant him bliss.
Then like an alligator drags him in.*'
Cape Cornwall Is a noble promontory, with cliffs composed of slate rock,
traversed by veins of actinolite, three times the height of the Land's End above
the sea, and separated from it by Whitesand Bay. Hard by is a mine worked
seventy fathoms under the most tempestuous sea which lashes the British
shores ; where the workmen, at their labour, hear the waves thundering over
their heads, in a terrible manner. It is here that the eflforts of the Cornish
miner fill the mind with astonishment ; as, upon the verge of the sea, on a
savage coast, all his operations are carried on, even to refining. At Pendeen
Cove, the ore being found mixed with sulphate of copper, the latter is ex-
tracted and precipitated on the spot ; and at Pendeen, too, is an ancient cave, of
small size, evidently artificial, a place of refuge in early times. In the St. Just
mines rare minerals have been found, such as axinite, similar to that of Dau-
phine; garnet rock, apatite^ prehnite, stilbttey and foliated zeolite^ radiated
mesotypBy and pinite.
The Botallack Mine is an astonishing undertaking on the very edge of the
sea, where the parts of an enormous steam engine had to be lowered two
hundred feet down a rocky cliff, almost perpendicular; and here mules and
their riders may be seen trotting down tracks that the pedestrian stranger
CimNWAIX,
tremblea to pass. The view from below, looking upward, is fearfully grand,
and even more impressive for its combination with the labours of art
From St. Just we coasted the bay of the beautiful white sand that gives it
a name ; and to our surprise, passed some fine corn-fields in hollows that were
surrounded by the most dreary heaths. Before quitting this parish, we must
mention the amphitheatre, alluded to in our description of Piran Round, formed
with stone seats or steps, and several stone circles also, which intersect each
other. Whitesaud Bay, containing some rare species of small shells, is the
Bpot where King Stephen landed on his arrival in England ; King Jolm on
his return from Ireland ; and Perkin Warbcck, who kid claim to the crown of
England ; and here Athelstan embarked for Scilly. We saw some large and
majestic long-bearded goats, in our march from St. Just to Sennen, as wild
and picturesque, with their shaggy coats, as the scenery which surrounded
them.
A drizzling rain came on from the southward, and so enveloped surrounding
objects that we could not see more than two or three hundred yards around
us. In this inauspicious state of the atmosphere for the traveller, we reached
" the first and last inn in England, kept by Richard Botheras," as recorded on
the different faces of the sign. It is close to Sennen church ; and we took our
own " ease in our inn," as night closed in upon an atmosphere that the beams
of a full moon could not irradiate, so that we knew nothing of the locahty where
we rested, — a circumstance which sometimes gives rise to pleasant surprises;
for not a great while before simrise, being sleepless, we approached the bed-
room window, and found the heavens clear, while, directly before us, too low
for a star, gleamed a star-like light; and in a line with it, still higher, we
descried a second object of the same kind. In vain we puzzled ourselves to
discover what those lights
might be, until daylight
unravelled the mystery.
We were in a room front-
ing the west, and about a
mile from the Land's End,
over which, and apparent-
ly very near the shore,
though two miles from it,
are the Long Ship's rocks,
on one of which was a ;
lighthouse. The second -
light was that of the Scilly
Isles, none of which can
be descried by the naked
eye in the day time. The
Long Ship's lighthouse
176 ENQLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
stands upon a fearful ridge of rocka, horridly black and ja^cd when eeen
at low water or half-tide. This lighthouse is built of granite, upon a rock
which rises sixty feet out of the wat«r, aa far as to the base of the lighthouse.
The height of the lighthouse itself to the vane is fifty-two feet, the whole being
112 feet above the sea, yet the gloss of the lanthorn, which is exceedingly
thick, has been repeatedly broken by the waves dashing in spray far over ita
summit The lighthouse ia faithfully delineated in the preceding engraving."
Sennen church-town is about 400 feet above the sea; and the rood to the
celebrated promontory is a very gentle descent, through the village of Mayon,
where there is a stone, no way remarkable in appearance, upon which three
unknown kings are reported to have dined, who came to visit the Land's End.
The soil is fertile, though lying upon granite. The church of St. Sennen,
named from a saint that Hals declares to have been a Persian, is a neat edi-
fice ; in Tonkin's Notes, the same patron saint is declared to have been Irish ;
it is probable that neither the one nor the other is correct. There are memo-
rials here of the family of the Ellises; and the fine granite tower is conspi-
cuous a great distance ofi^. It ia only on this promontory, shooting out into
the western ocean so far, that granite is seen in contact with the waves,
although abounding so much in the centre of the county ; and here its huge
blocks, piled in confused grandeur, cubic and sometimes basaltic in form, are
truly magnificent. On arriving within a quarter of a mile of the rocks, the
slope towards the sea becomes more rapid. A house designed for a small inn,
but never occupied as such, stands just where a steeper descent commences
• The revenue from vnuU pnuing thli light i« 3.000f. per annum ; Britlih shipi paying a hslf-
penn; jier ton, nnd foreipieri a Bhilling Mch vewel.
CORNWALL. 177
Here then we stood^ the waves thundering below> and before us the Atlantic
iHTithout a shore nearer than America; the horizon line> not straight^ but
appearing^ as it really is^ the section of a circle, and blending softly with the
summer sky; — here^ amid a convulsion of rocks and precipices that form
an irresistible barrier to the raging waters, we were impressed with the feeling
of a position amidst a vast solitude, which some speak of experiencing in
deserts.* It is true, there were no arid sands here ; for the richest heaths,
dwarf furze, almost all bloom, only three or four inches high, and several kinds
of wild flowers, of which we did not know the names, enamelled the ground
beneath our feet; but there was an overpowering loneliness, a sense of our
own insignificance compared to what was around us, amidst a silence only
broken by the hollow booming of a restless sea, that broke into the orifices of
the cliff far beneath our feet, or now and then by the shrieking of a cormorant,
or the rushing wing of a sea-mew.
There is a tale related, with the customary exaggerations, respecting the
fall of a horse over the rocks here, and of the narrow escape of the rider,
which, as no name is mentioned, every one thinks he may tell in his own
way. The oflScer's name whose horse thus fell over was Captain Arbuthnot,
about forty years ago, upon the staff of the western district, accompanying his
superior officer, General Wilford, who also had a command in the same
district, to see the Land's End. The general dismounted on the brow of
the descent ; but Captain Arbuthnot, who did not know the nature of the
ground, rode down some way, when, the groAs being sUppery and his horse
cdarmed, he dismounted, and, flinging the bridle over his arm, led on the
aninud, which, startled most probably at the roar of the sea in front, backed
himself over the cliff which was near in another direction, and dragged
Captain Arbuthnot to the edge, before he could disengage his arm, thus
narrowly escaping being pulled over with him. We must again remark that
the Land's End is a low headland, not more than sixty feet in height, as the
ground is all the way a descent to its extremity, and the headlands on both sides
* We have been favoured with the foUowing lines, written on this spot : —
** Bolerinm, thoa whose base the white-plum'd sea
Arm'd with a thousand tempests strikes in vain,
Of adamantine brow, and giant mien,
Our guard from wild Atlantic tyranny.
As on thy fearful marge I track my way.
And view thy far horizon's boundless reign
And misty isles, swart clouds distent with rain
Veil thy majestic realm from ' garish' day.
And then the shrieking cormorant furls her wing,
Amid the gathering gloom and solitude,
Like those the wide creation overspread.
When, whelm'd beneath one universal flood.
Earth lay in watery death, and, suffering,
Hope, with the last of life, to heaven upfled/'
A A
178 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
rise to four and five times the elevatioD; its Comisli name is "Pentetth, tlie
Headland," — or " Antyer Dewetti, the Land's End." We now directed our
steps eoutliward, to Pardenick Point ; first ascending, and then going down
into a hollow, along the edge of a precipice, concave horizontally, and off one
extremity having a curious holed rock, called Enys Dodnan, through which the
sea rolled and boiled tumultuously, covered thickly with birds, the noise of
which was continually re-echoed from the cliffs. Beyond this rock to the
north, anotlier rose out of the waves, called the Armed Knight, An Marogeth
Arvoiced, in Cornish; and it looked something like mail, the masses being
cubic, and united with joints. Pardenick Point rises above 200 feet, and
also consists of granite cubes; which, interrupted by a email hollow, again
project in the singularly grand headland called Cam y voe!, forming one extremity
of Nanjisal or
Mill Bay. The
height of this
grand shore is
seen in the an-
nexed delinea-
tion ; but the
artist has omit-
ted the intro-
duction of a
singular cross
of rock, which
finishes one of
the two points
seen over the
summit.
Here we fell in with a sailor belonging to this bold coast, whom we took
for a guide to the headland denominated Tol Pedn Penwith, or the *'lioled
headland on the left hand." " The declivity is steep, and it requires steadiness of
head to descend towards the sea ; near which, about fifty feet above the beach,
a perpendicular hole or shaft goes down into a cavern, both ends of which the
Bca enters ; it is circular, and as regular as if drilled out of the solid granite, the
sides being perfectly smooth. It was probably formed by the waves meeting
just under a soft place between the granito, and whirling upwards the stones
and pebbles against the sides, thus continually acting upon them by attritjon.
The Land's End promontory is nothing comparable to the scenery in its vicinity
for grandeur; Tol Pedn Penwith alone is far more worthy of a visit, but
most persons prefer instoad to see the most western point of England, Across
this headland are slight traces of ancient works of defence ; all which works the
* For a repreieDtalioD of tbia lieadlaDd, sec page 2.
CORNWALL. 179
Cornish denominate "castlca," though in no way resembling them; we observed
the Cornbh daw or chough haunting these cliffs,*
Continuing further along the eoaat, we passed some landmarks designed for
keeping the course of vessels away from a sunken rock mnch dreaded, called
the Runnel Stone ; over which the sea looked deceitfully smooth. We then
dune down into a hollow, or valley, well cultivated, terminating in a rocky
cove called Porthgwarrah ; and again mounting a steep hill, descended to
St. Levan church-town. Here, upon inquiring for the well and chapel of
St. Levan, of which guide books spoke confidently, we discovered that the
sea had many years i^o washed away
the remnant of the chapel, the steps
still remaining; and as for the welt,
we could find no other than that
here represented, which lies high up
the steep, barren, and rocky shore,
little better than a cliff. It had,
no doubt, belonged to the chapel
below, and is within a hundred yards
of the church.
We found com growing in most of the hollows and valleys of this rocky
parish; and at Porthgwarrah, above-mentioned, which was a narrow vale
ending in a small cove of the sea, it appeared to be of excellent quality. It
had been found worth while by the farmers in the vicinity, at a considerable
expense of money and labour, to employ miners to excavate a short tunnel
for carts through a mass of earth and rock beyond which lay the sand bo valued
in Cornish husbandry.
St. Levan takes its name from St. Levine ; the church stands in a very
retired spot, near the sea; and the parish contains the most romantic and
bold scenery in the south of Cornwall, wholly granitic In the church is a
monument to the memory of a Miss Dennis, the daughter of one of the sui»e-
rior class of farmers, who,. in this remote parish, became noted for her mental
attainments and poetical good taste. She was a friend of the Wedgwood
• The birds of Cornwall are varied and numcroiu ; some kbda are rarely seen eleewhere in Eog-
laad, M the bee-«al«r; the eagle ie found here, the kite, bozzard, goshawk, kestrel — in Coniisti
keytu, and ever; kind of hawk ; the tbnuh, blackbird, lark, miuel bird called the holm-thrush ;
lionett of all species ; gold and ball'finches ; the ruddock, long-eared owl, oulcracker, roller, great
spotted woodpecker, king fisher, biulard, turtle dove, stock dove, starling, nkt-wing, ring ousel, water
ODsel^ oriole, reed bunling, lawn; bunting, redstart, brunbliog, woodlark, yellow wren, sedgebird,
ssDd marten, sand piper, gold plover — in vast flocks, long-legged plover, ring dotterel, oyster eater,
■potted gallinule, coolc, grebe, puffin, arelic and common gull, great and lesser tarn, shear water,
stormy petrel, gooceander, wild swan, heron, common wild goose, dock, widgeon, teal, woodcock,
snipe, partridge — common aod red-legged, quail, landrail, shelldrakc, swallow, Royston crow, night-
crow— or fern-owl, raven, crossbill, hoopoe, green woodpecker with vermilion crown, sea lark, sea pie,
mews, lorrock, gaooet, bemacle, lapwing, curlew, ahag, didapper, golden crested wren, and many
others. Woodcocks' eggs have been found, and hatched by art ; and the young of Ihr snipe have been
taken on Bodmin downs. Singular enough, the oightbgate neither visits Corawall nor Devoik
180 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
family, *wrote a novel called Sophia St Clare, and died in 1809, of consump-
tion, afler understanding .^Ischylus and Pindar in
the original Greek, reading Latin well, being a per-
fect mistress of the French tongue, and well read
in the best writers of these languages, as well as of
her own. In the church-yard we observed this cross
of granite, about six feet in height.
Near the church we entered a humble inn, and
were told by the wife of the owner that she remem-
bered long years back, when she went to Madem
WeU, with her companions, to try her fortune ; but
she had never heard of its being done at St. Levan.
In this part of Cornwall, when a person is drowned,
his voice, many people believe, is heard afterwards, in
stormy weather, at the place where he perished ; when
he. is said ^^ to be hailing his own name ;" to which
superstiiton the following lines seem to refer, the scene being laidin this locality.
St. Leyan's cliS, the CorniBh njatd
Mounts high above the angry tide :
The locks her daik eyes overshade.
Stream to the tempest wild and wide.
Her gaze is where the weltering waves
Thunder along the trembling strand ;
She heeds not how the mad storm raves,
Her lover's voice comes to the land.
He* *' hails his name I" then waxing weak,
A death-shriek seems to come and go—
" My love, 'tis I, thine Ellen, speak —
It lightens so my bosom's woe I"
The waves cnrl higher on the shore,
Louder they rage in fierce turmoil ;
That well-known voice is heard once more, —
She rushes where the surges boil : —
" O William, thou? speak — speak to me —
To me — ^and tell me thou art blest 1"
No more, f<Mr that ungovemed sea
Has borne her to etemid rest
And ndw when lightnings, red and warm.
Kindle the sea-foam as they go,
Beneath St Levan's cliff, the storm
Betums a double voice of woe.
Port Camow Cove, bounded on the eastern side by rocks which shoot far
into the waves, and rise to a great height, heaped one upon another in magni-
ficent disorder, is situated a short distance from St Levan's. This cove is
covered with a beautiful sand, containing many rare shells. It is upon these
rocks that the Logan Stone is situated, — a natural curiosity, which Lieutenant
Goldsmith, of the navy, displaced from its balance, and then lifted again into
CORNWALL. 181
its old position ; the holes where he fixed his tackle are visible in the rock.
Some years ago any body went and rocked tliia nine days' wonder that pleawtd,
OS had been done for ages ; but the notoriety of what the good officer did, has
produced the common result
of turning it into n money-
ehow. The stone weighs
sixty-five tons ; and is regu-
larly chained and padlocked
np since, when the keeper
is not near; by whose au-
thority we know not. If
Borlaae's notion that it was
a rock deity endowed it {
with something like ro-
mance — all romance must
now be dissipated; it is
utterly worthless as a curi-
osity : a granite stone of a
lai^r size may easily be
brought and set up in the London parks, and save cockneys the journey to see
that of Port Camow. The spot where it stands is denominated Castle Treryn,
because it is crossed by two earthen ramparts and ditches, evidently works of
military defence. Those who have a feeling for the grand in nature, and
desire to see
granite rocks of
astonishing di-
mensions, piled
to an enormous
height, the sea
thundering at
their bases,
cresting a wild
shore of ada-
mant, should
not omit visiting
Castle Treryn.
The annexed
view exhibits
some of the rocks of this noble headland ; the fissure in the centre leads t»
another and smaller group, on which, by clambering a fearful height at one of
the angles, the Logan Stone, which stands upon the summit, is rocked. We
have never seen a more imposing mass of granitic rock, or a more striking
object of savage munificence.
182 ENGLAND IN TUE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Close to these rocks we saw growing plentifully the common tliriil; and
the wild carrot, orpine, hairy saxifrage, and eea epleenwort
We next took the road to St Buryan, pacing through a village called Treen ;
and sooD descending a steep hill, and then ascending another, came to a corn-
field, on the left hand side of the road, in which we saw a granite stone about
ten feet high, unhewn ; and a second prostrate at no great distance from it, —
memorials no doubt of a mortuary charact«r. We soon after entered St. Bu-
rian, consisting of only a few cottages. The church was founded by Athelstan,
in the year 930, when he made Cornwall tributary, and removed it« boundary
from the Ex to the Tamar. St Buryan once had a dean and three preben-
daries, was a college of Augustine brothers ; and was anciently visited as a
peculiar by the Chancellor of England. The churches of Sennen and St Leran
belong to it, being one of those abused church livings allowed to be tenable
at all distances, and with all other preferments. The three parbhes aro held
by one incumbent, whose income from them is 1,012/. a year ; and they are
supplied by two curates, the incumbent having besides the rectory of Catton
and the vicarage of Wresale, in Yorkshire. This church is a handsome edifice ;
stands on high ground; and, posaese-
ing a lofty tower, is conspicuous for
a great distance round, but the inte-
rior has been much altered for the
worse by the parishioners. Some
have smd that Tresillian, the Chief
Justice, came from this parish, and
not from Tresillian, near Truro ; the
matter can hardly be worthy of con-
tention, when the man's character is justly estimated There is an inscription
here to the memory of the wife of Geofirey de BoUeit, of considerable anti-
quity; and a singular cross, seen above, stands opposite the gate of the
church-yard.
In a place called BoUeit, in this parish, once belonging to the BoUeit family,
there aro nineteen upright stones in a circle, called the " Merry Maidens," be-
cause they are said to have been turned into stone for dancing upon a Sunday ;
and hence the Cornish name of Dam mean, or the " stone dancers." These
stones are four
or five feet high,
and the circle is
about twenty-
five feet in di-
ameter. Two
large upright
stones, called the Pipers, stand in a field at no great dbtance off Another
cirole of the some kind as the above, and with the same number of stones, but
CORNWALL. 183
having an inclined stone in the centre, is at Boscawen, two or three miles
distant. There are several other circles of nineteen stones in the hundred of
Penwith.
The next place we reached was called Troove, not far from which is a plea-
sant cove on the sea shore. The church of Paul parish, is bordered by the
sea on one side, and touches on the other upon that of Sancreed, in which we
believe, from hearsay, nothing remarkable exists ; we did not enter its borders.
It has been a question who the patron saint of Paul is, for all deny the name
being adopted from the great Apostle of the Gentiles.* It stands near the
brow of a lofty hill ; the body of the church inland, and below the hill-brow,
so that its tower only is seen on the eastern side. This church was burned,
together with the little fishing towns of Mousehole and Newlyn, in 1595, by
a body of Spaniards.! There are entries of persons killed on that occasion ;
and the cannon-ball by which one of them, a Mr. Keigwin, fell is still pre-
served. Mousehole is a large fishing village, on the western side of Mount's Bay,
once called Port Enys, two miles south-west from Penzance ; and Newlyn, a
little larger, is also a fishing village, nearer that town. There are some noble
views on the hills near Newlyn, from whence a road by the sea leads into
Penzance. A piece of gold, in the shape of a crescent, was found near this
place, weighing between two and three ounces, supposed to be a torque, an
ornament worn by distinguished persons among the ancient Britons.
BrCturning for some distance along the road from Penzance to Marazion, we
struck off upon the left^ and proceeded on our way to St. Ives. From the road
we saw again the church of Ludgvan, lying up an ascent on the left hand ;
and soon after passed near an embankment that carries the causeway to Heyle ;
and afterwards a group of cottages at Lelant, in the gardens of which the
fuchsia and the hydrangia seemed to flourish with wonderful luxuriance. We
then came in sight of the sea, on the northern side of the county, where it
forms a noble bay, terminated eastward by Godrevy Island, and westward by
the headland on the isthmus ; connecting which with the main land stands the
town of St. Ives. A part of this bay, with the town, has been already given in
an engraving,^ and is one of the most beautifully curved shore-scenes we ever
* IntheTazatio of Pope Nicholas, 1291, we observe its entry, ^'Ecclia Sci Faulini, valued at
9^ 6«. Bd." This SaiDt Faulinus died on the 10th of October, 644, Bishop of Rochester ; and was not
St Paul de Leon, as Mr. D. Gilbert supposes, since he died in the month of March.
t The Spaniards met with no resistance from the inhabitants, who are said to have been panic-
stricken, in consequence of a ridiculous prophecy current prior to the event, if the statements subse-
quently made are correct Sir Francis Godolphin could not inspire the inhabitants with courage to
resist a mere handful of Spaniards, not more than two hundred. In this church is the following
inscription, bordering upon a bull, "The Spanyer burnt this church in the year 1595." The
prophecy here alluded to was that —
** Strangers should land upon the rock of Merlin,
Who should burn Paul, Penzance, and Newlyn."
There is a rock on the same side of Mount^s Bay, called Merlin.
t Page 5.
184 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
saw, — ^the sea so fine, and the large expanse of sand stainless and free from
rock, and this sand a fine yellow. There was once a lighthouse on the summit
of the little hill over the town, which last has a large handsome well-built
church with a lofty tower, and several dissenting chapels. This church is the
daughter to that of Euny-Lelant. St. Ives is but a populous fishing place, with
two or three mines in the vicinity ; and a little distance above it is a monument
erected by a Mr. Elnill, who left a sum of money to be expended in portioning
out young women, in marriage, every five years, upon which occasion a certain
procession takes place there. Tregeima Castle, the seat of Mr. Stephens, built
in 1774, occupies a lofty eminence not far from the town, and commands a
noble prospect ; and the Heyle river empties itself into the bay at the opposite
end, which is encumbered with blown sands. The pilchard fishery, already
described, is extensively followed here; the fishermen preserve their nets
by steeping them in a strong decoction of oak bark, it being a singular fact
that the oil of the pilchard would otherwise destroy them in a short time.
The town, chartered as a corporation by Charles I., returns one member to
parliament, under the Reform Act, in place of two, which it returned before
irom the fifth year of queen Mary ; its name is said to be derived from
an Irish saintess, who, about 460, contrived to land here from Ireland,
we know not by what conveyance. Smeaton, the engineer, who built the
Eddystone Lighthouse, erected the pier in 1767. During the American war,
when tlie ministry, to use an expressive phrase of Lord Chatham's, hunted
the "shambles of every German despot" for the hire of men to employ in
coercing America to submit to be taxed without her own consent, the Elector
of Hesse Cassel lent out his serfs, to receive so much a-head in return for the
killed, wounded, or missing. A number of these embarked from New York,
then an English garrison, to proceed along the coast to the attack of
Charleston, when they were so injured by a ship running foul of them, that,
short of provisions as they were, they drifted unmanageable all the way over
the Atlantic, before the wind, which blew strong from the westward, to
St Ives Bay, where they arrived half starved. The inhabitants kindly
sympathized with their situation, and relieved their wants, not less impelled by
pity for their sufferings, than indignation, at the reflection that these poor
foreigners were not volunteers, but men who had been coerced by a despot to
risk life and limb for his private gain.
Returning a mile or two along the road we had before gone over coming
from Penzance, parallel with St. Ives Bay, we passed the church of Euny-
Lelant, to which that of St. Ives and Towednack are daughters. It stands on
a point formed by the sands thrown up from the sea, having on one side the
mouth of the Heyle river, and the sea on the other. The sand-drifts here con-
sist of shell-sand ; and in times past accumulated in amazing quantities. There
is nothing worthy of notice about this edifice, nor the church-town, dubbed " the
town,'^ by way of distinction ; but a seat of Mr. Mackworth Praed, called
CORNWALL. 185
Trevethow, stands near^ in which there are very thriving plantations, secured
from the west winds by a belt of the pineaster, which shelters the young trees
effectually until they are themselves strong enough to resist tiie fury of
the blast.
The River Heyle rises near Crowan, flowing for three miles on the ocean-
level, through sands, before it reaches St. Ives Bay, above which it passes
near St. Erth church, a very plain old structure, having three aisles of an
equal size. The bridge here, consisting originally of three arches, is five
hundred years old ; a fourth arch was added, and the roadway improved, prin-
cipally at the expense of the late Mr. Davies Gilbert, whose seat of Tredrea is
in this parish^ A small sum of money was left by the Bev* J. Balph for
founding a free school here.
Heyle, once renowned for its copper smelting, which has been abandoned,
now possesses iron works in which the largest steam engines are manufactured,
with a degree of good workmanship equal to that in any other place of the like
manufacture in England. It stands on a flat, amid extensive sands, which
stretch, with a few exceptions, all along this coast to Padstow ; and some of
the sand-hills, or ^^ towans," rise to an elevation of sixty feet, walls, inclo-
Bures, and parts of houses sometimes reappearing from under thenL There is
a large dam here for scouring the sand out of the harbour. Heyle is a
populous place, boasts an excellent hotel, and carries on a considerable coast-
ing trade, standing in the parish of Phillack ; the old copper works being at
the east end, and the iron works at the west. The church of Phillack is
small, with a granite tower, built among hillocks of sand; in 1825 a cause-
way was made over the river here, which we crossed. The roads were thus
carried above the influence of the tides, to which they were before liable
There are copper mines in Gwithian and Gwinear parishes, the last bordering
upon the metalliferous district of Camborne, like that parish abounds in mines.
Gwithian, like Phillack, is half buried in sand. One inundation is spoken
of on the barton of Upton as happening nearly a hundred years ago, and so
suddenly that a large farm was overwhelmed, and the farmer and his family
obliged to get through the chamber windows to make their escape. In 1808
a shifting of the sands took place, and disclosed the farm-house buried for
nearly a century. Two fields are now covered twelve feet deep that a few
years ago were clear ; and the church-town would have been lost but for the
inhabitants planting rushes. These sands, entirely calcareous, would make
excellent lime ; on the opposite side of the county they are siliceous.
The parish which borders upon the sea, east of Gwithian, Lb Illogan, having
upon the east that of St. Agnes, both belonging to the great mining districts.
Perranzabulo,* of which we have already made mention, lies eastward of
St Agnes. The coast in both these parishes consists generally of very bold
cliffs, here and there broken by sandy coves called ** Porths " by the Cornish,
* Or Perranxabolon ; it is written both ways in the county.
B B
186 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
many of which are highly romantic, sometimes grand, and always wild, rocky,
and precipitous. About St. Agnes's Head the clifls are of great height, gene-
rally perpendicular ; and in their dark sides may be seen veins of metallic ores,
some in progress of working. The bordering parishes of Camborne, Redruth,
and Gwennap, include, with these two, the greater mining field of CornTV all.
Along this northern shore, in the parish of Illogan, is a porth, of which a very
eligible Kttle port has been made, called Portreath, accessible to colliers and
vessels from Wales, connected with the mines by a railway, to which it affords
manifold conveniences, being upon a shore more remarkable for shipwrecks
than for anything else in the local history of the county. Here it may be
proper to notice the charge made against the Cornish of being plunderers at
shipwrecks, and of behaving with barbarity to the sufferers on these occasions ;
the last charge not very likely to be grounded in truth, where so large a pro-
portion of the population is connected with the sea, the effect of which must be
a sympathy irresistible in urging a reverse conduct
Before the care of coasting vessels was confided to a race of men of the
existing experience and talent, the wrecks along this part of the coast used to
be frequent ; and they were the more frightful, because it was rarely the case
that a solitary individual survived to relate from what port the vessel came,
and whither it was bound. Within the last thirty years, these disasters have
been fewer, and occurred only when storms of great violence came on suddenly,
or through the mistake of one headland for another in misty weather. But
though coasting vessels were those which were once most frequently lost upon
this iron shore, the long continuance of westerly winds, and errors in reckoning,
caused many a disaster to foreign ships of burthen, as well as to those of our
own country ; and in general no more was known of any ship cast away here,
or of her crew, than the cargo and fragments, strewed over miles of the shore
at low water, might indicate. No ship could hold together an hour, in a gale
on this fearful coast, unless flung upon some very favourable spot at high tide.
Such spots are few ; the sea breaks, for the most part, against precipices of great
height. One vessel, of which we saw some relics, was never seen entire :
neither her name, nation, nor the fate of her crew, was ascertained. She had
been lost, it was supposed, late in the night ; for on the preceding evening, at
sunset, no sail was seen in the horizon with a telescope. It was blowing fresh ;
and in the morning some planks were found, and foreign kegs of butter, which,
with other circumstances, led the people to believe that the property must
have been Dutch ; no bodies, no clothes, no portions of the masts or rigging
were stranded ; the spot where the shipwreck occurred was only guessed at by
a few fragments of the rib timbers being discovered jammed among the rocks ;
all besides had been taken into the fathomless deep. In one case, a New-
foundland dog was the sole survivor of a ship's living cargo ; in another, a
black man reached the shore through the surf, but died before he could tell
the name of the vessel to which he belonged.
CORNWALL. 187
Nothing can be more untrue than the charge of Cornish barbarity, since in
no part of England shipwrecked persons meet with greater kindness ; though
it is but seldom that this kindness can be put to the test by the escape of any
animated being to experience it. On the wreck of the Anson frigate, thirty
years ago, not only were the survivors most kindly treated, but the efforts
made to assist in the escape of the crew were all which were possible in such
a dreadful scene. One individual, whose name is to us unknown, or we would
print it, — one whose name deserves to be remembered far before the destroyers
of their species, of whom national immorality makes its molten gods, — came
down to the spot. The frigate lay with her bottom seawards, and the waves
roUed over her, and fell in " horrible cascade " on the shore side, and up the
sandy beach, carrying the living and the dead with them, and upon the recoil
bearing them back into the ocean depths. The only assistance that could be
given was by venturing as far as possible into the surf, and snatching the half-
drowned that could be reached out of it, — an effort not to be made at such
times without much hazard. The individual to whom we allude was a metho-
dist teacher, a humble man, who had come down on horseback to the spot.
He rode intrepidly into the foam, and succeeded in getting hold of two of the
crew, one after the other, whom he saved ; but on venturing the third time
into the raging surf, as he was grasping at another, a wave swept both horse
and rider away, in the presence of hundreds of persons who could render no
assistance ; and this man, to us nameless, found in this way the proudest death
and interment that is destined for humanity, — losing his life in the act of
trying to save a fellow-creature from destruction, and having the bosom of the
ocean for his sepulchre.
The charge of want of hospitality or kindness in the Cornish to shipwrecked
persons, then, is not true. We have said that vessels break up almost as soon
as they touch the shore, which for miles is strewed with portions of the cargo
and timbers. These the country people pick up, and the finder too often appro-
priates. It is from this circumstance that the Cornish have been accused of
barbarity and wreck-plundering ; the vulgar had a notion formerly that the pro-
perty saved from shipwreck belonged to any one who was on board that survived,
and if no one survived, to any body who might pick it up from the beach.
They were taught by a claim of some lord of the manor in former time,*
one no more just than their own, that the ship and cargo were not the property
of the owners; and they thought what they secured, with labour, floating
upon the sea, or strewed upon the rocks, sometimes on their own land, they
* These claims of lords of manors over lands or property not their own, ought in many existing
cases to be abolished. A man may not exercise certain rights upon his own fee simple, where the
lord of the manor, who claims such rights, cannot come to exercise them without trespass I Many of
these rights are manifestly wrongs, relics of degraded barbarian times, which no man may resist, says
the wisdom of that jumble of absurdity called common law. But the lord may refrain from claiming,
learing the party on whom the exercise of the right might take place in a state of merciful tolerance
from its operation. Some manorial claims, carried into legal exercise, would involve murder ; — ^we be-
188 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
might appropriate as justly as a claiinant under feudal usages. The right of
the owners, acknowledged by reason and justice, has, in the present time, its
due effect to a considerable extent, and will no doubt be fully established ; but
a salvage allowance will be politic ; for otherwise little will be saved where the
property is sometimes foimd strewed along miles of coast, the sea beating it
about, and the security of it only possible to be effected at the moment it is
discovered. The plunder of wrecked goods in this way, then, was a strife
between two parties, who had neither of them any right to it. Wrecks hap-
pening below high-water mark, and goods washed on shore so foimd, were,
more properly, the right of the public, by a private wrong, as a droit of
admiralty, if the owners were to be plundered of their property at alL To
the claim of the lords of manors who had grants of " the royalties of wrecks/'
Pope alludes in the lines : —
*^ Then ftdl against his Cornish lands they roar,
And two rich shipwrecks bless the lucky shore."
When an example of this sort of plunder was anciently set by the lord, it
Was no wonder if the serf availed himself of the same immorality, standing
more in need of its produce. It is in vain that custom, or right, or authority
can be pleaded to justify practices that, whether emanating from the prince or
the subject, admit of justification by no code of equity, no moral principle,
nothing except the lawyer-made law, that sanctions what is wrong on the
side of power, because it is a wrong of long standing ; here we see its effect.
The humbler classes in Cornwall were much softened and civilized by the
preaching of Wesley and his followers ; the miners, even on the wilder coasts,
are a very kind and civil body of men, though, at the same time, none are more
sensible of an indignity offered to them. We must not confound them with
those who work under-ground in the coal counties, and their brutal habits ;
even the men in the metallic mines in the north of England were once con-
trasted to us by a gentleman there, with a few Cornish men he had in his
employ, to the disadvantage of the northerns. Every day the Cornish men
shifted their clothes afler labour, and washed themselves; but not so their
fellow-workmen, with whom ablution was rare, and they had seldom clothes to
change. In maimer too they were milder, and better behaved. A century
ago it was a different thing ; they did not then, according to report, want bad
examples ; in the superstitious days, when the clergyman of the parish had his
familiar spirit, according to vulgar belief, the plunder of wrecks might have
been made a charge with greater justice.
lieve one manorial custom is still as much a right as others that are exercised in many places, and is
justified by the same law, and as fully, in that sense, *^legal," as many others ; though statute law would
be apt to interfere with the neck of the lord of the manor, afterwards, if he dared to take that which
common law justifies in cases defensible on the same ground alone. We might allude to a manorial
right once exercised on the marriage of tenantry, and which, as a manorial right, is still justifiable, if
the lord will risk another law, under which he who exercises his " right *' to do wrong would infallibly
be brought into no very lordly plight.
CORNWALL, 189
In those days, wreck picked up from the sea-shore was styled *^ a godsend."
The well-known story of " A wreck 1 a wreck I" being cried at the church-
door, and the parson with difficulty restraining the people a moment, on some
excuse, imtil he got down from the pulpit himself into the aisle, and then said,
** My good friends, let us all start fair," might be true enough if we believed
that an educated man even in the " good old times " could be guilty of such an
indecency. It is true, we were told, and have no reason to doubt the correct-
ness of our information, that in those days an individual who had been well
educated, and did not want the good things of this life, but who was a
drunkard, and in every respect a highly immoral man, once tied up the leg of
an ass at night, and hanging a lanthom from its neck, drove it himself along
the summit of the high cliffs on that part of the northern coast where he
lived, in order that the halting motion of the animal might imitate the plung-
ing of a vessel under sail, and thus tempt ships to run in, from imagining there
was sea-room, where destruction was inevitable. The same individual was
accused of having cut the fingers off the dead body of a lady which was washed
on shore from a wreck, to secure the rings which decorated them. The very
rumour now that any man had been guilty of such an atrocity, would expel him
from society in Cornwall, and from the county itself; but for such instances of
inhumanity, on the part of any class, whatever might have happened a cen-
tury or two ago, there is not the remotest foundation in modem times.
We cannot avoid mentioning here, as being, in some degree, connected with
the appearance of what people call a death-ship, on one part of this coast, the
result of an inquiry we made upon the subject. Our informant had lived
there all his days, and told us that in his father's boyhood there was a person
resided in the village of T who was distinguished for his oppressive con-
duct, his private vices, and the possession of property which was acquired by
sinister means. In our informant's words, —
" He was a man well off in the parish ; but that was nothing to him."
" Did you know him?"
" No ; it was in my father's youth ; but he declared it was true, and he
was not given to falsehood ; it Is fourscore years ago ; his name was ."
We shall not mention the name, as some of his descendants may be alive, if
he had descendants, and proceed to what our informant said further.
" What did the people think of hun?"
'* I can't say, because it was before I was bom ; but the death-ship story
pretty well explains that, I should think."
*' The death-ship, what was that?
" Why, Mr. , drank one half his time, and given to all kinds of bad
conduct when he was sober, was taken very ill at last, yet seemed to have no
care about his condition; and, when he could use his tongue, swore and
blasphemed as hard as ever. Just before he died a frightful thing occurred,
which leads me to the purport of your question about the death- ship."
190 ENGLAND IN THE NINETBENTU CENTURY.
'' Well, what was that; he plundered one wreck too many, I suppose?"
" No ; a day or two before he breathed his last, a party of men were work-
ing near the top of the cliffs, where they were several hundred feet in eleva-
tion ; the weather was hazy over the sea ; when, on a sudden, one of them
exclauned, ^ Do you see that ; there is a ship close in with the shore.' All the
party saw the vessel looming through the haze, tall, dark, and square-rigged,
but they could observe nothing further, as it disappeared seawards in the mist,
and quickly vanished from their sight. There was no wind, and the impossi-
bility of navigating without it struck these men, so that it became a subject of
conversation in the church-town.
"In a hollow, at the foot of the cliffs before-mentioned, there was a consider-
able space of sand, dry at low water, and some persons had gone thither to
collect shell-fish a day or two afler the preceding occurrence, when they saw
a tall dark vessel run in almost close without a breath of wind, her siuls
appearing full, and of a deep black colour. The coast abounded in sunken
rocks, among which she seemed to thread a tortuous course without touching
one. No living thing was upon the deck, which they could discern from stem
to stern ; the wheel had no helmsman ; no seaman was on the look-out, and
none hove the lead ; at which sight the observers felt a thrill, as if it was
something, they knew not what, out of the ordinary course of things, particu-
larly as, at the same moment, it lay-to and the sails began to shiver. Thus
riveted to the spot by a sensation which they found it impossible to describe,
the sails again filled, and the ship appeared to glide away xmtil it was reduced
to a mere speck, and disappeared in an instant, apparently at the distance
of leagues, much as the figures of a magic lanthorn glide along a whitened
wall. Some thought, for the moment, it was a deception of their sight, and
rubbed their eyes; for the whole appearance did not occupy any perceptible
duration of time, and yet there was time enough for the strange object to fix
their attention, and allow them the most perfect examination of her form and
tenantless deck. After looking for some minutes at the broad expanse of sea
before them, upon which, to the remotest point of the horizon, not one solitary
sail appeared, they hastened to the church-town, eager to communicate what
they had just seen, when the first news they heard was that the well-knQwn
and notorious Mr. had just expired."
The parish of Illogan, the larger portion of which is an uncultivated tract;
is principally noted for its copper mines : most of the land belonging .to the
family of Basset, long settled here, and supposed to be descendants of some
of the Bassets that came over with the Normans, though not connected with
the branch from whence came the Lords Basset of Drayton, of Weldon, and
Sapcoate, all of which were extinct, in the male line, some centuries ago.
The seat of Lord de Dunstanville, lately deceased, called Tehidy, in this
parish, came into the possession of the Basset family by the marriage of an
ancestor with an heiress of the family of De Dunstanville, to which family, in
CORNWALL. 191
1100, the manor belonged. Tehidy is a modem house, no way remarkable
either architecturally or by position. It stands about four miles from Redruth,
surrounded by plantations, which afford an agreeable contrast to the barren-
ness of the country round. The park and groimds occupy about seven
hundred acres ; and the plantations, of which due care is taken at the first
planting, thrive with great luxuriance ; the oak, beech, chestnut, and syca-
more are found to answer best, and firs and laurels do equally welL
In this parish is the celebrated hill, which Dr. Borlase believed to be the seat
of the Druids, called Cam Bre, and about which the same antiquary is enthu-
siastic in his imaginary discovery of extensive Druidical remains, but which
others cannot see with the same faith as this amiable and learned writer. We
examined the hill from end to end, and saw nothing among the rocks scattered
over its ridge that is not greatly surpassed by the rocks about St, Cleer and
Linkinhome already described. The view from the summit is exceedingly
fine, but commanding a country of little pretension to fertility or beauty of
scenery, though of great extent, including the two seas as a boundary, and on
the west Mount St. Michael, which forms a distant object, while the nume-
rous mines that spread over the land below, and, above all, the amazing
populousness, indicated by the niunberless cottages dotting the soil every-
where beneath, present a lively scene of industry rather than of picturesque
attraction.
We ascended Cam Bre at the eastern end, just opposite Redmth church,
and found the road sufficiently steep — no wider than a horse path; and, both on
the right and left, perforated by small holes, opened in search of the heads of
veins of ore, called " lodes" in the miner's phraseology. Heath and wild flowers
grew in great profusion ; and huge rocks of granite here and there broke out
of the soil in every shape and variety of form. The summit at the eastern
end is crowned with what a little while ago was a ruined castle, one portion of
which was roofed, and fitted up as a summer-house; the view from the windows
being extensive. This edifice was erected upon several large granite rocks,
which, in some places, being considerably apart, were united by throwing
arches over from one to another. Recently this fine relic of antiquity has
been daubed over with plaister, and robbed of all interest ; being battlemented
like a garden-house, wretched chimneys stuck above all, and, so deformed,
h has become tenanted. The defacement which has thus taken place renders it
almost ludicrous, especially on the site which it occupies, being neither castle
nor dwelling, — " neither fish, flesh, nor pickled herring." We here subjoin a
view of this castle before some blockhead was thus suffered to mutilate and
deface it.
Borlase imagines Cam Bre Castle to have been a work of the ancient
Britons; and does not hesitate to connect it with the numerous Druidical
remains which he thought he had discovered upon it. Here are the hollow
stones, which he called rock basins, used in the rites of Druid worship;
192 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTItHY.
but which very plainly, both from sitimtioii and mt^itude, from the want
of adaptation to the object for which he thinks them once appropriated,
and the numbers found everywhere in similar aituationa in Cornwall, must
be taken as nothing more
than hollows caused by
the ctisintegration of the
Btone from the continued
action of the weather.
In one place the Doctor
thought he saw in an
arrangement of the rocks
perfectly natural, a " Gor-
seddan," as he styles it,
or judgment seat of Druid
authority; here was a
holy boundary, and there
a sacred circle; and the
Doctor was so credulous
as to think he had found
the remnant of a grove of
oaks, — oaks that shaded Druidical rites 2,000 years ago I
That Carn Bre may have been an ancient military station, is, from its height
and form, exceedingly probable ; coins, both Roman and British, have b^n
found on its sides ; there are remains of entrenchments on one part of the
summit ; and its vast field of view gave it advantages as a position for observ-
ing the country that could not but strike any predominant military force at
that time occupying the
neighbourhood. Of the
form of this hill, and its
abrupt ascent, a judgment
may be formed from the
annexed view of the
eastern end; the church in
the fore-ground being that
of Redruth.
The column seen on a
more distant part of the
hill is one erected by sub-
scription to the lat« Lord
-'°" ;-_-:.\jj,t:'" 7* '- "-- -'^ ~ de Dunstanville, a most
amiable man, whose punc-
tual fulfilment of the duties of life, with a consideration at once exhibiting the
union of a good heart, a native kindness, and the conduct and manners of a
gentleman, obtained for him the affection and respect of Comishmen of all
classes. We were sorry to see such bad workmanship in a monument, of the
style of which nothing can be favourably reported. A large surface at the
base is exposed to the action of the weather; and the joints are so loosely put
That this hill, standing in a peculiar position, and being visible for so great
a distance, should not have had some connexion with superstition, would be
singular indeed. A rock about seven feet high near the sununit, having
five perpendicidar indentations that divide it into nearly equal parts, is called
the giant's hand; the divisions marking the fingers. The country people say
that the body lies beneath the hill, which was flung upon it, and the hand,
thus protruded, time has changed into stone. The singular hill, called
St Agnee's Beacon, is a distant object from this spot ; and they describe the
buried Goliath as being of such a magnitude as to be able to stride over to it at
one step, — a tale that so surprised an honest tailor who hoard, and half believed
it, that he professionally expressed his astonishment, by asking how it could
be possible to take the giant's measure for a waistcoat At Carn Bre, too,
Lucifer and the saints, including those who sailed over from Ireland ujran mill-
stones and ox-hides to expel the father of evil from Cornwall, are traditionally
reported to have had a fearful conflict, in which the victory for a long time
was dubious, the rocks of Carn Bre serving for weapons, the combat terminating
in Satan's withdrawing from the conflict, but not from the county, from which
the united power of all the saints has never yet been able to expel him.
In this parish there is a hill abounding in tin, called Cam Kye, which has
been worked with very large profit both to the adventurers and the lord of the
soil. The water there is said to be strongly impregnnted with mineral substances.
194 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Camborne is a large parish^ having Illogan on the south, and contains
many considerable mines, to which more particular allusion will presently be
made. The church-town is large and populous, owing its consideration to
the works in the vicinity. There is a good market-house here ; the church*
is an ancient edifice, in which are several memorials of the family of Pendarves,
whose seat is in this parish, bearing the same name, and having very near it
the monument which is delineated in a preceding part of this work, called
Caerwynen Cromlech, f The fine old font once in this church, of which a
cut has been given already,^ has been removed, we were informed, to ornament
the gardens of Tehidy. In this part of Cornwall, as, indeed, throughout the
county generally, the bodies are borne at funerals, sometimes for several
miles, to the church, " underhand," as it is termed, and not on the shoulders
of the bearers. § Along the heath-covered and rocky hills, and through the
sweet over-shadowed lanes of the ever-green and fertile valleys of the county,
the funeral procession, as it winds its way to the " house appointed for all
living," is oftentimes heard to break forth suddenly in a melancholy cadence,
chanting a psalm or a hymn when it halts on the way to the church, which may
be several miles distant from the dwelling of the deceased ; at others singing
a monotonous dirge-like psalm, as the bearers move along what is called the
leitchy or leech path, up to the church, || the effect of which is exceedingly impres-
sive. To such an incident it is probable that a living poet IT of this county, who
does so much honour to the " Rocky Land of Strangers," where he resides,
makes allusion in the following lines, which we feel great pleasure in being
enabled to present to our readers. It is entitled " The Bearers' Chant."
«
(C
Sing I from the chamber to the grave !" —
Thus did the dead man say ; —
A sound of melody I crave
Upon my barial day !
* We noticed the following epitaph in the churchyard : —
" Ah ! my first love, thy dust in quiet lies ;
No sighs disturb thy breast, no tears thy eyes ;
VThile the fond partner of thy nuptial years
Bewails thy loss in ceaseless sighs and tears:
He fondly rears thy orphan charge to see
And sweetly cherish what resembles thee !
Accept, dear shade, the last I can bestow,
This mark of friendship, and this tale of woe.
Till my frail dust shall humbly mix with thine.
And both our spirits meet in realms divine."
t See page 173. j See page 103.
§ Napkins are passed through the handles, or under the coffin, for the convenience of this mode of
carriage.
II See, for a further mention of this term, p. 80, last line.
If The Rev. R.S. Hawker, vicar of Moorwinstow, author of some beautiful little poems, entitled,
" Records of the Western Shore," printed at Oxford, 1832, and of the University Prize Poem for
1827, entitled "Pompeii," recently republished by Rivingtons, in a small volume, called ** Ecclesia,"
CORNWALL. 195
** Bring forth some tuneful instrument.
And let your voices rise ; —
Mj spirit listen*d as it went
To music of the skies.
" Sing sweetly while you travel on.
And keep the funeral slow ; —
The angels sing where I am gone,
And you should sing below.
** Sing ! from the threshold to the porch.
Until you hear the bell;
And sing you loudly in the church
The Psalms I love so well I
'* Then bear me gently to my grave ;
And as you pass along.
Remember, 'twas my wish to have
A pleasant funeral song.
'* So earth to earth, and dust to dust ;
And though my flesh decay,
My soul will sing among the just
Until the judgment-day !'*
Redruth parish borders upon Camborne eastwards, and is very populous ;
the town, consisting of one principal street, of great length, is situated upon
the side and summit of a hill, facing the west, about eight miles from Truro.
The country around is the focus of the middle and most important of the
mining districts of Cornwall, to which the town mainly owes its flourishing
state, standing, as it does, in the midst of a bleak and irregular district, the
earth turned inside out by ancient and modem workings for tin and copper.
The parish church, the patron saint of which is St. Uny, is situated at the foot
of Cam Br^ Hill, not quite a mile from the place, and consists of a modem
nave, with a more ancient tower : a new chapel has recently been erected
within the town, which once possessed a former structure of the same kind,
dedicated to St. Bimion. For some time Kedruth has been an improving
place, having increased six-fold within the last four-score years ; a good deal of
retail trade is carried on, and there are a number of excellent shops. There
are several dissenting places of worship, with Sunday schools for children of
both sexes, and very good and reasonable inns. Northward of the town is the
village of Plengwary, so named from a Plaen an guare^ which stood close to it.
St. Dye is a market-town, about three miles from Kedruth, in the great
mining parish of Gwenap, so called from a Bishop of Nievre, who died in 680,
and to whom a chapel was once erected here ; it is a thriving place, owing to the
mines in the vicinity. The manor formerly belonged to the family of Hearle ;
Trevince is now the property of the daughters of Mr. J. Beauchamp,
brother of the late Mr. Beauchamp, of Pengreep, the male line of this family
becoming extinct in 1818. In this parish is a hill, called Cammarth, whence
there is a noble prospect from sea to sea, the name signifying the knight's
196 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
barrow; many earthen vessels, containing burnt bones, have been dug up
there. On the southern side is a large circular excavation, caused most
probably by the falling in of an old mine, locally termed " The Pit," and
forming an excellent amphitheatre, where the voice of a single speaker may be
distinctly heard by thousands of persons at a time. It was here that Wesley
used to address the miners, who attended in vast numbers ; and the change
wrought in their manners and habits by the Methodists, it is probable, com-
menced at this spot. At present many parishes contain more than one chapel
of this dissenting sect, and the effect has been highly beneficial to the
population. The parish of Gwenap has produced, in a given space, more
wealth from the earth than any other spot in the old world. The church of
Gwenap is large, but has been lamentably defaced by the parish authorities ;
it appears to have been formerly a fine fabric ; the tower stands apart, afler
the manner of a campanile. Scorrier, in this parish, was erected by IVIr. J,
Williams, a mining merchant and adventurer, who died some years since. It
is now in the occupation of his family, and contains a valuable collection of
Cornish minerals.
St. Agnes's parish trenches upon that of Gwenap, which, with that of Red-
ruth and Kenwyn, all meet at the point of union of the four hundreds of
Penwith, Kirrier, Powder, and Pydar, called " Kyvere Ankou," " the place of
death," on account of having been the spot where, according to former
barbarian usage, the unfortunate suicide foimd a grave. The church of this
parish was once a free chapel, augmented and rebuilt in 1484, and dedicated
to St Agnes, as a daughter church to Perranzabulo. Some say it was made
a distinct parish in 1396, and that the building of the present church waa
granted by license in 1482. Here is a hill near the sea, seen from a great
distance, called St. Agnes's Beacon, having on the summit three barrows,
from whence a wide view, thirty-four parishes, a part of Devonshire, and the
North and South Seas, may be seen. Off the shore lie the rocks called the
Cow and Calf, about two miles distant from the main land. At an inlet, or
combe, in this parish, called Trevaunance, there is a pier, where small coasters
load and unload ; and at Dingle Combe there was formerly one of those sea-
side chapels, which, in catholic times, were piously placed on dangerous
coasts, and attended by a solitary, who offered up prayers for mariners, and
was ready to tender assistance to shipwrecked persons.
The four parishes last described form the most important mining district of
Cornwall, in which the mineral wealth seems inexhaustible ; and the labours
of the miner, as well as of the machinist, are exhibited upon a scale of mag-
nitude nowhere else surpassed. The ingenuity of the miner is not to be
judged by its results, at a distance from the sphere of action ; but even there, in
a great degree, by the imagination, rather than the visual sense of the stranger.
In darkness, save from the feeble light of a candle, deep in the heart of the
earth, amid silence and solitude, he plies his vocation, liable to become the
CORNWALL.
197
victim of confined air^ great changes of temperature, and numerous accidents.
For small wages he labours voluntarily ; forgets his perils in the hope of
profiting by fortunate discoveries, until from custom it becomes easy to him;
and at length he is attached to a pursuit that the bulk of mankind regard
with dismay.
The miner's task is performed with very simple implements ; but as far as
the manual part is concerned, none demands greater exertion of body, in posi-
tions more inconvenient, or in situations more calculated to affect the health
by slow but certain deterioration. At great depths beneath the surface of the
ground, the temperature is uniformly high, while the atmosphere is damp and
confined. In Cornwall there is no hydrogen gas emitted resembling that which
causes so many accidents in coal-pits ; but the metallic substances, particu-
larly copper, may be well supposed to afiect the quality of an atmosphere at
depths unknown in coal-mines, much exhausted of oxygen, and strongly
impregnated at times with carbonic gas, so as to produce in works, remote
from conmiunication with pure air, those effects observed in all situations
under similar circumstances.
The ground through which the Cornish miner has to find his way is gene-
rally of a very difficult character, sometimes consisting of solid granite, or
el van rock of excessive hardness. His tools are few, but they are well adapted
to their object ; consisting, besides those represented in the following engrav-
ing, of a small wedge or two of steel, denominated a gad^ which is driven into
the rock by the roimd end of the pick, for the purpose of splitting and
detaching portions from the mass. The instrument. No. 1, is the pick of the
miner; 2, the shovel; 3, the sledge; 4, the borer; 5, the claying bar; 6, the
needle, called by some the nail; 7, the scraper; 8, the tamping bar; and 9,
8
9
Vl
R
the tin cartridge, for blasting where the rock is wet : a horn to carry his
gunpowder, rushes to supply him with fuzes, and a little touch-paper, or slow
198 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
match, to fire the fuze, and allow him time to retire from danger^ comprise,
with a common wheelbarrow, and a kibble, as it is called in Cornwall, known
as a " corve" in coal-mines, the only apparatus of which the working miner has
need.
When there is reason for believing that a vein of ore of good quality has been
found after *' shoding," according to the old practice, as hereafter described,
or after any modem mode by which the conclusion is attsdned, the first
thing commonly done is to explore the place, and sink a ^' shaft" at the spot
which experience may dictate as most convenient for ftiture operations. A
shaft is a perpendicular opening in the earth, made of a different size, accord-
ing to circumstances; but the word is always applied to such excavations as go
directly downwards to the bottom of the mine, and not to such perpendicular
openings as communicate from one level or gallery to another, these last being
called " winzes." The size of a shaft varies ; the largest being generally that
over which the steam-engine works, requiring room for the pumps to be
placed, for the kibbles to pass up and down, and for the ladders and platforms
by which the miners descend. An engine-shaft, of good size, measures
twelve feet by eight ; but those intended merely for the purpose of hauling up
ores or rubbish are not more than half that size. In the miner's phraseology,
** sinking" implies excavating downwards, and ** driving" means working hori-
zontally; and as the first-mentioned perpendicular excavations are called
shafts and winzes, those made or driven horizontally are called " levels,"
or " adits ;" in the first case, they are driven to open communications, or for
getting at the " lode," or vein of ore ; in the second, they are intended merely
to carry off the water. A level is about seven feet high by two feet six inches
wide, so as to allow room for ventilation if it be found necessary to continue
them for a great length. Twelve men are employed in sinking a large shaft,
four at a time, relieving each other every eight hours, or every six, if the work
require it ; in sinking smaller shafts fewer hands are required, but the time of
labour and relief is the same. As the ground is broken, men are employed to
haul it up out of the way. In driving a level, only two men can work at a
time. The sinking is paid for by the fathom, the price varying from as low
as 5L up to 90/. per fathom, where rock of excessive hardness, at a con-
siderable depth, has to be cut through. From 10^. to 30L is paid per fathom
for driving levels, or adits, the price depending, in like manner, upon the
contract for the ground to be gone through. In these prices are included
the expenses of gunpowder, tools, candles, wheeling the stuff, and generally
drawing it to the surface. There is yet a third kind of work, called '* stoap-
ing," which has no relation to sinking or driving, but means the working out
the ground from between the levels directly upon the veins, and getting out
the ore. When this work is pursued above, or over head, it is called " stoap-
ing the backs ;" if below the level, downwards, it is called " stoaping the
bottoms ;" and it is to perform this work that the shafts are sunk and the
levels driven. The men who perfomi it are styled " tribute men," to distin-
guish them from those who work by the fathom, upon auction contract also,
which is styled "tut-work." The tribute worker is paid by a share of the ore
he raises ; a certain number of men taking a particular piece of ground for that
purpose, to be paid a portion of the produce when the ore is made merchant-
able, up to which time they bear a proportion of all the expenses. By this
means the interest of the men and their employer is the enme in getting every
possible quantity of ore, and making it marketable at the smallest expense.
The proportion p^d to the miner is rated at so much in the pound out of the
total sold, and this rate naturally varies even in different parts of the same
mine, from circumstances attending the nature of the work, and value of the
ores. The " pitches," as these takings of the workmen are called, are generally
let every two months, to a party of men, by a system of auction, in which the
lowest bidder obtains the taking ; " the paii" as the party is called, having
money advanced to them for subsistence, locally '"sist money," until the
period of their taking is completed. It is from the pursuance of this system
that differences between the miners and their employers are unknown in Corn-
wall, and that the utmost harmony prevails, as it must needs do where the
interest is mutual, and both parties treat upon an equal footing. Even the
lowest employment at the mines, that of dressing the ores, is effected upon a
similar system. It must be observed that nowhere is businesB done more
methodically. All the contracts are duly entered in a book by a capt^n of the
mine, who makes them on what is called " setting day," which is a holiday at
the mine, and takes place every two months; this capt^n being always a man
of great experience in estimating the work. The " survey," as it is called, is
' either held in the open lur, in front of the counting-house, or in some covered
place contiguous. A large number of miners attend, who are employed, or
may desire to be so. The rules are read,
and the fines attached for breach of
regulations ; and then the first piece of
work is declared at a high price, and
the miners that are inclined bid dowa,
until no one present will go lower,
when the captain flings up a pebble, and
the "taker," as he is styled, is pro-
claimed, and his bargain entered. It is
seldom that the captain f^s to find a
taker at what his judgment tells him
is a fair price ; should he do so, the
work is put by for some future setting
day. No system of arrangement can
be better calculated for the interest of employers and employed, and experi-
ence has proved it so. We here present the reader with the portrait of a
200 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Cornish miner, in his holland jacket and trowsers, with his shovel, and
"hoggan-bag,"* proceeding to his employment.
A large proportion of the ground which the Cornish miner has to open
cannot be penetrated by the pick, and cleared away by the shoveL For this
purpose other means must be resorted to. First, wherever the rock can be
loosened, as slate can generally be, the steel ' gad ' and sledge. No. 3 in the
cut, is had recourse to; but when this is of no effect, the borer, No. 4, is
applied. ' The borer is placed on the rock intended to be perforated, and is
struck with the sledge by a second man, the first turning it round after every
blow. By this means a hole is formed in time, from one to three feet deep,
as may be required. This hole is cleared with the scraper. No. 7, or if filled
with mud, a stick is used ; one end of which is beaten until it forms a species
6t brush, called a " swab stick." The hole is made in a direction fixed by the
experience of the miner, so as, when fired, to loosen, rather than break into
(Shivers, the largest possible mass of rock. When the hole is deep enough, and
of a diameter seldom exceeding an inch and a half, it is made, if possible, per-
fectly dry, and then charged with gunpowder ; but if it be not sufficiently dry,
and cannot be made so, the cartridge. No. 9, is had recourse to, furnished with
a stem which conducts the train to the charge at the bottom ; the hole round
the tube is then rammed full of clay. If the hole be dry, the gimpowder is
introduced into the bottom, and a rod. No. 6, — (too often of iron in place of
copper,) — is placed with the lower end upon the charge, and then clay or soft
rock is rammed in hard around it with the tamping bar. No. 8, — a dangerous
process where copper is not used. The claying bar. No. 5, is sometimes used
to fill the sides of the hole with clay, and stop the chinks that may let in water,
but not always with such success as to admit the charge of powder into a dry
chamber. When the charge is rammed home, and tough clay or soft rock over
it, the iron rod is withdrawn, and a rush previously prepared by taking out
the pith and filling it with gunpowder, (supposing the tin cartridge not to be
used,) is inserted in the hole left by the withdrawal of the rod. A prepared
fuze of paper, or match, called the " snuft," is affixed to the top of the rush,
of a length sufficient to permit the miner to remove out of the way. Some
improvements in this rude and dangerous mode of proceeding are gradually
making way.
The mode of working in the level, or driving, is exemplified in the opposite
page ; the level proceeding from one side of the perpendicular shaft to form a
junction with a second shaft, or reach a vein of ore lying at the point towards
which the excavation is directed. The mode of finding the true direction
of the level, is by the compass, called " dialling ;" not within the sphere of the
labouring miner's operations, he having only to follow the direction which
is marked out for him, and which will bring him without guidance, as he
appears to be operating, to the exact point which has been indicated.
* A bag in which he carries his dinner to the mine.
CORNWALL. 201
The employinent of the miner is very liable to accident; he has not
only to descend to hie labour, and to ascend after it is over, every eight
hours, but be has in many cases to
traverse levels at a great depth below
the surface before he reaches his place
of work, shown in the annexed cut ;
and so deep are the mines, that it
frequently costs an boar to reach
the surface aft«r his labour is done.
Few have an idea of the magnitude of
a Cornish mine of the more extensive
kind; but some notion may be formed
of the vastness of the workings,
when we state that those of the Con-
solidated Mines alone extend sixty-
three miles under ground, or 55,000
fathoms. The ascent and descent are
by ladders, which were formerly per-
pendicular to the sides of the mine,
and fiftiy feet lAng ; but as the mines
have been worked deeper the ladders
have been shortened to half that
length, and placed as slopingly as pos-
sible, to ease the miner, whose weight
is th»i8 rendered more dependent upon his feet than it was before, and less
upon his hands. At the foot of each ladder is a platform, called a sollar, with an
opening or man-hole leading to the next ladder beneath, as shown in the
following engraving, which exhibits the old mode of placing the ladders ; in
the new, that wluch the man is represented as ascending should have been
drawn out, and the man-hole and next ladder have been behind it. Perhaps
the miner has not to descend a quarter of the way down the shaft before he
comes to a level, which he must traverse to a winze, or short shaft, which leads
htm to a level that is beneath that, some portion of which he may have to tra-
verse to a third leveL In such a case, the ladder descent and ascent is rendered
less fatiguing ; but still it is sufficiently so in deep mines to make the action of
the heart feeble and irregular on the miner's coming to the surface exhausted,
finding too an atmosphere often of 30° or 40° of Fahrenheit, from a temperature
beneath of 80", in which great bodily exercise in the moat disadvantageous posi-
tions has been used.* The younger portion of the miners are observed to be
particularly distressed upon these occasiona, both irom want of habitude, and
rilie propensity to travel up the ladders with too much celerity, f
* See Popnlation and Diseaset, at the end of this Tolumc.
t ObtervatioDB of Mr. LaD^on and Dr. Barham.
202 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
In this tngraving, which exhibits the interior of a shaA, with the laddere,
en^ne pumps, and kibbles, the last ascending and descending, some of the minor
details are omitted, that the reader ma^ have a more perfect idea of the whole.
In general, the portion of the engine shaft where the kibbles pass is boarded
off from the rest to prevent acci-
dents, hj any portion of their
contents &lling out, or from their
swinging by striking against the
sides. The hollow on the left
hand is given to exhibit the en-
trance to a level, or it may be an
adit; in which latter case the
pumps would probably dischai^
into it a portion of the water
nused by the engine from what
is called the " sump," or bottom
of the eng^e shaft, while the rest
is pumped up to the surface, or in
the miner's phrase, *' to grass."
The Cornish miner, it may be
truly inferred, is, when equally
devoid of advantages for improv-
ing his mind, a superior being
to the agricultural labourer, who
is ever little above the mill-horse
in his nature. Like a machine
he goes through life, perfonning
exactly the same thing from youth
to old age, neither increa^g, nor
perhaps diminishing his scanty
stock of ideas. " Scud us none of your rural labourers," says an Amen-
can ; " they can ouly do one thing — a ploughman, plough, and a carter drive
a team. Half the year with ue, a saw or axe must be used, and other
occupations must fill up the time when husbandry is impracticable, and we
can teach your rustics nothing of this ; send us a mechanic, we can easily
teach him to plough, harrow, and drive a cart, for that portion of time our
climate demands such sort of work." The reason of this is, that the agricul-
tural labourer is confined by habit to a set task ; he cannot rise above his
drudgery, being held in the meshes of a hopeless poverty, and above all never
thrown in the progreaa of his business upon hia own resources. The Cornish
miner is the reverse of this ; he is perpetually taking a new *' pitch," in a
new situation, where his own judgment must be called into action. His
wages arise from contract, and are not the stinted recompense of emancipated
CORNWALL.. . 203
serfship. Upon emerging from the bowels of the earthy the miner goes into
the ^^ changing house," or place appointed for the purpose, washes, and takes
off his woollen working dress ; then, if the mine was not deep, and his labour
too great, on repairing to his cottage, he cultivates his acre or two of ground,
which he obtains on lease, upon easy terms, from the heathy downs, for three
lives, at a few shillings' rent. There by degrees he has contrived to build
a small cottage, oflen a good part of it with his own hand, the stone
costing him nothing; or it may be he has only taken land for the growth
of potatoes, to cultivate which he pares and bums the ground, and rents a
cottage at fifty or sixty shillings a-year, with a right of turf fuel, which he
cuts and prepares himself. Many miners have tolerable gardens, and some
are able to do their own carpentry work, and near the coast others are expert
fishermen. The fishermen themselves, a very aturdy and bold set of men,
cultivate their own potato ground when on shore. In the mining districts of the
west, about Camborne and Bedruth, the ground is literally sown with cottages.
In Cornwall the miners link together the different labouring classes ; and
the farm-labourer oflen imbibes, from mingling with the miners and fisher-
men, a spirit and acuteness akin to a sense of independence not observed in the
rustic of other counties. The miner is generally possessed of personal courage
in a very eminent degree. At least one-third of the crew of Captain Pellew's
(Lord Exmouth's) ship, that fought the gallant action with the Cleopa;tra French
frigate, the first naval action last war, were Cornish miners who had never been
at sea in a ship before ; and almost all on board were fellow-countymen of Pel-
lew» Indeed, courage is required in many situations in which the miner is placed.
Thus at Botallack mine,* represented on the other side, at the extreme west of the
county, a few miles from the Land's End, and close to Cape Cornwall, a shore
lashed by the full fury of the Atlantic, the workings are upon the verge of the
clifi^ and, descending beneath the sea, are carried out 480 feet beyond low-water
mark ; and in some places not eighteen feet is lefl between the workings and
the sea* At every flux and reflux of the tide, the waves are heard breaking
in thunder over head ; wonderfully high as they run, and tremendously loud
as they roar, from over an ocean hundreds of leagues broad ; the large pieces
of stone rolled backward and forward on the beach during a storm can be dis-
tinctly heard above grating *^ harsh thunder." Several parts of the lode being
rich, were followed to within a few feet of the water, when in stormy wea-
ther the noise became so tremendous that the miners, intrepid as they are,
deserted their labour once or twice, lest the sea should break in upon them.
The nature of the work of the Cornish miner may be further estimated from
the fact of the shafts alone of one mine being together twenty miles in depth
beneath the surface, and some 1652 feet deep, or nearly five times the height
of St. Paul's from the cross to the ground.t The " Great Adit," cut from
side to side of the county, measures more than thirty miles, including ita
See also page 174—" Botallack mioe;' t Or 340 feet.
204 ' ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
branches ; and in some parts it ia 400 feet below the surface of the ground.
The largest branch of this adit is five and a half miles, and it opens into tbe
sea above high water mark at Beetronget Creek. This is tunnelling of some
character, and evinces abundantly the perseverance, ingenuity, and hazardous
nature of these undertakings, as well as the character of those who plan and
carry them into effect.*
Tiie Botallack mine at St. Juat, here represented, is not the only stupendous
• A Cornish miner csd -work in a level 600 feet from a ihafl without inconTebieucc, owing to the
good ventilBlioD ; but they have been koowD, notiiithstandiag, to lose 51b. or 6 lb. at a aingle "ipen**
of labour f^oni pergpiratioa, at Ihe bottom of a deep mioe, where tbe temperature it ofteo neareT 90°
than 80°. Tbere is a fand provided at everj mine for medical aacistance. Oot of 1,101 working
miners Mr. Lanjonfonnd the average age 31, and the STeragetimeemplojed 16 years and twomontha.
TherewereoDly )4from60 to70, Bndonewhowu70; no leu than 952 were under SO ;ean. Of 147
agricuKaral laboarera be found the average 47 yean, and thej had worked donble the average time
of the minen. Mr. Lanyoo states that in the retarnt of deaths, the longevity of miners is fbimd tike
greater from the diseases which they contract, causing many of (heir last jean to be spent in sofi^r-
in^. It would appear that the Poli/lechiiic Society, t, very useful institution, holding its meetings at
F^ilmiiulh, has had nnder consideration a method of introducing machinery for dcccending into mines,
and thus ohviating one great cause of disease among this class of men.
CORNWALIi. * 205
undertaking a part of tbe workings of wUch Cornwall exhibits^ or has exhi-
bited, above ground. We have mentioned the Carclaze tin mine,* worked for
400 years open to the day. Near Penzance there was an extraordinary under*
staking, called the Wherry mine, of which the mouth opened in the sea ; the
mine was conmienced 720 feet from the shore, and the miners worked 100 feet
beneath. A steam engine was erected on the shor^ which commimicated by
rods with the shaft, and so piunped up the water. The rods passed by the
side of a platform, or wherry, tilted upon piles. A vessel, in a storm, was
once driven against the platform, and carried away a portion of it. The
upper part of the shaft consisted of a caisson, which rose twelve feet above the
ocean level, and stood in the midst of the mound of rubbish excavated from
the mine ; the miners descending through the sea to their labour, the water
continually dropping from the roof of the mine, and the roar of the waves
being distinctly perceptible below. The undertaking was adventurous beyond
example, and was ultimately given up from the expense exceeding the profit.
The ore raised was tin, some of which was mingled with pyritous copper, and
a portion of it was of very good quality.
We attired ourselves in a woollen dress, and putting on a large felt hat, and
tying three or four candles to a button-hole, with another lighted in the hand,
set our feet on the staves of the first ladder of the engine shaft, not afraid,
and yet not without apprehension. On one side, over the dark unknown
vacuity beneath, in which a double row of. iron pumps were lost in the gloom,
every instant bowed the huge beam of the steam engine, and then it rose,
straining at the deluge of water it lifted. On the other side, through boards
which admitted just light enough, at the foot of one or two ladders, to see
them pass, uprose the loaded kibble, as its companion descended, so that wa
were between two shafts descending from stage to stage. Very quickly
losing sight of day, we had only the dimness of our candles wherewith to con-
template the gloomy abyss on our left, as we descended. The German who
committed suicide, sidd he was going ^^ to leap into darkness f he might have
found here a reality for his metaphor; here was palpable darkness, and an
abyss deep enough for relieving any anxiety about a return to the regions
of day. Two or three ladders descended, almost perpendicular as they were,
we craved a momentary halt on the platform, which a couple of sturdy miners
who were with us readily yielded. We then went down ladder after ladder,
until we fancied we were really getting to the antipodes, and, as the miners
say, should " soon hear the cocks crowing in China," when we were told we
were not more than half way. ** And what were we to see at the bottom ?"
We were answered, nothing more than what we saw there, except that we
should see the end of the pumps in a basin of water, drained from all parts
of the mine. What then did we come to see? was the question; and we
were persuaded to descend directly no further, but to traverse the levels
Page 105.
206 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
upon the lode^ wUch we did accordingly ; entering gallenes and descending
shafts, until we formed a pretty good idea of the lone and solitary labour that
man makes for himself in pursuit of riches, far from the light of the sun. In
the levels we found endless passages, through which two persons can just
squeeze by one another, with ugly trap-holes at the ends, leading to headlong
destruction ; the passages are six or seven feet high. The ore presents no
very peculiar appearance; no glittering lights were reflected from the hollows
whence the ore was extracting ; but all seemed the colour of the rock around.
The heat was intense, and the perspiration it produced violent. We toiled
heavily to the surface, ladder after ladder ; and at the foot of the last, thought
of the expression of the native of Hindostan, to Mr. Vigne, on breathing die
fresh cool air of Cabul, ^^ Sahib, sahib, a breath of this would be worth a lac
of. rupees in Hindostan !" The appearance of day, and the cool air, was an
enjoyment impossible to describe* After this, so short lived are hiunan recol-
lections of what is painful or disagreeable, we made a second descent, in a
kibble, to view a lead mine ; and here in one of the levels we got a perfect
idea of the way in which that species of ore lies in the earth; it was galena,
and glittered with great brilliancy in the storehouse of nature, from whidi it
was about to be disengaged, to face the blazing orb of day on the house-top, or
carry death to the fellow-creature of him who had despatched it to the upper
world for that mischief* The following is a section of a mine, exhibiting the
mode of working below the surface. The perpendicular lines are shafts, with
the engines above them ; one is a whim shaft,* principally used for drawing up
stuff; the single lines are veins of ore. The engraving is upon a very small
scale, representing a transverse section of the works ; as it would require a very
large map to exhibit in full the shafts, levels, and workings, upon the lodes of
* Whims, are dmms, generally moyed by hone or steam power, round which the Topa ran that
draw np the kibbles, which, when filled, weigh from 550 lbs. to l,200lb8. We add some other terms :
duty, is the amount of work done by the steam-engine ; dip of the lode, is the inclination of the angle
it makes with the horison ; et/es of the mine, are ores left untouched until the mine is about to be
abandoned ; bal, is spdien of that part of a mine which is on the sur&ce ; the jmrwer is the chief
officer of the mine, who pays and receives all monies ; grast-captains, are captains aboye ground, in
distinction fh>m those who regulate business below ; bucking and cobbing, are breaking up copper ore
for dressing ; goaxm, la the stone or stuff which may envelope the ore in the lode, constituting a good
part of the filling up ; fleukan, a flaw, a term for having cut out of the lode ; ** working for discovery,"
a great improvement, adopted in profitable mines, by laying out a portion of the proceeds in working
for lodes or branches of ore in new directions, being a continued system of exploration fhim existing
levels, generally rewarded with success, and sometimes richly so. This system is pursued most
scientifically at the Fowey Consols mine, which is perhaps the most admirably conducted and systema-
tized of any other in existence, and returns a steady profit of about 15,0002. per annum. The unpro-
ductive stuff or rubbish in a mine is called aide, or the deads, A mine set to work again after
abandonment Lb said to be tn fork ; the country, means the earth or ground on all sides of a mine ;
Mes, are shares in mining adventures ; setting, is the right of working ground for ores set or granted
by the lord of the soil, or the bounder ; the dish, was formerly the name of a gallon by which block
tin was measured ; it was subsequently applied to the share or dole which is the due of the owner of
the soil, caUed " the lord's dish/*
CORNWALL.
207
« lailge nilne ; and they would in such a case oiily be more multiplied than they
are here, and consequently appear more confused to those unaccustomed to
the subject. The first dark line across is an adit, which carries off the water
above that level; the miners reckon the depths from the adit, because the
jsurface of the ground is not level, and the shafts are distant from each other.
Into this adit the engine discharges all the water beneath it not required at
the surface.
As there are four great outbreaks or islands of granite in Cornwall, so
the mineral treasuries of the county may be arranged in four divisions, all
either upon these granite islands, or on their borders. Of these, the eastern-
most, to which the mines near Callington may be said to belong, are the least
important. The St. Austle district, to the eastward of Truro, is a very pro-
ductive portion of the county, but is far exceeded by the mines in the third
division, upon and around the granite west of Truro, which are found in the
parishes of Redruth, St. Agnes, Gwenap, and Camborne. The fourth divi-
sion, which includes the county from St. Hila»ry to the Land^s End, and the
mines near the shores of Mount's Bay, towards the Lizard, is perhaps the
oldest, and is also the most productive in the county after the last mentioned.
It adjoins St. Michael's Mount, the ancient Ictis, for no other place in Corn-
wall answers the description conveyed : in the words of Diodorus, " those who
live at the extreme end of Britain, called Belerium,* are remarkably hospi-
Or Bolerium — B€\tpioy.
208 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
table, and, on account of their intercourse with foreign merchants, courteous
in their manner. They prepare the tin by properly working the ground that
produces it, which, being rocky, contains earthy fissures, the produce whereof
they purify by working and melting. When they haye cut it into pieces, in
the form of dice, they carry it to a certain island lying ofi^ the coast called
Ictis. At the ebb of the sea, the intermediate space being dry, they cany
thither a great quantity of tin in carts;" he adds, ''here the merchants buy it
of the natives, and carry it into GauL" In corroboration of this account^
blocks of tin, of a cubical form, have been found near old stream workings.*
The tin mines of Cornwall were not very productive in the reign of King
John, who, being Earl of Cornwall, engrossed the trade, which he afterwards
farmed to Jews.t The profits became more considerable, until Edward L
banished the Jews from the county ; soon afterwards the tinners had a charter
granted by Ejing John confirmed to them. Stannary f meetings were held,
and towns appointed for coinage, and due authority was conferred upon the
Stannary Courts, which privileges were afterwards enlarged and confirmed
by Queen Elizabeth. § At the close of the maiden reign tin was searched for
successfully, both in stream works and in lodes ; and the practice of '' shoding^
was conducted much as Borlase describes it in his time. The commencement
of a working was attained by the association of several persons together,
answering to modem adventurers. || Captains were appointed over the work
and workmen, who superintended the timbering of the mine, and the pumps.
The labour is represented as very severe. They went to the depth of thirty
or forty fathoms, and drew the miners up in a rope stirrup. A good work-
man is described as then scarcely able to hew ** three feet in three weeks."
They drained the mine by pumps, wheels, and adits. The mode of preparing
and stamping the tin ore was very similar to that now in use. The raising of
copper and other metallic ores had little place in the coimty imtil the com-
mencement of the seventeenth century, although they were nused before that
period in quantities comparatively inconsiderable, being thought of little
moment compared to tin, and then only in mines opened for this last metal.
The mode formerly in use for finding a ^' lode," by which term in Cornwall
is understood the contents of a fissure in the strata, in other places called a
^* vein," whether the vein consist of clay or mineral substances between the
* Borlase gives an engraying of some of these blocks.
f In the reign of King John, the tin &nn of Gomwal] had fallen to the Talue of 66/1 13«. 4d,y while
tliat of Devon reached lOOL per annum. In 1213 the farm to the Earl of Cornwall was 300 marks
only for Cornwall, and 20021 for Devon. In 1820 the dues to the Duke of Cornwall for tin were, for
Cornwall, 11,080?., for Devonshire, 452. 17«. 9d ; or, for the entire duchy, 11,125/. 17<. 9dL
i From stean^ old Cornish for tin $ perhaps from the Latin, stannum.
§ An act was passed, 6 & 7 WilL IV. c. 106, by which the ancient Stannary Courts have been
remodelled. The Vice- Warden is to be a barrister of five years' standing, with an appeal from him
to the Lord Warden and to the House of Lords.
il The scrip system has been introduced of late years, but with little real advantage.
CORNWALL. 209
walls of such fissure or chink^ was clever and scientific. Of the walls or sides
thus bounding a lode^ one may be hard and the other soft, or both may be of
one substance, as if it had been cracked asunder, and filled up with the lode ;
but generally the sides are harder than the matter of which the lode itself
consists. Sometimes they are perpendicular, but more frequently they incline
with no uniform direction ; and sometimes, though rarely, they run horizon-
tally a certain distance, and are then called " floors." The fissures enclosing
the lodes are of various lengths and breadths, but the course of the larger —
the smaller, in many cases, seem to constitute branches which ramify into
those still smaller, and end in mere threads, all which are thus really
dependent on the larger, joining the main fissure at right angles — the course
of the larger is generally east and west, though there are some that have a
north and south direction, but in neither case directed exactly to those
quarters of the compass ; their depth is unknown, no lode of moment having
ever been cut out, being given up from expense in working. The fissures, and
consequently the lodes they contain, — ^we shall in future use the latter term
alone, — whatever may be their direction, run in an irregular wavy line,
curving here and there, and alternately deviating from and recovering a right
course, the curves generally greater when the lode crosses a valley.* The
summit of the lode — ^the reader will imagine the vegetable earth removed —
consists of loose stones, called ^^ shodes," which, on the side of a hill, have
been dispersed uniformly in a downward direction, the smallest being the
furthest removed from the lode, and carrying a rounded appearance.
"Lode" comes from '*lead," because it leads to the mineral substance
sought within it, and found in different parts of its substance, whether clay,
stone, or any other mineral matter; but generally the greater part of the
lode partakes of the nature of the adjoining strata, though this is far from
being a rule.
The top of the lode once within the fissure, consisting of broken stones, part
of the lode itself, distributed, as if driven down the side of the hill by some
deranging force, is called the " broil of the lode," and is generally covered by
the soil. It is found undisturbed, resting on and forming the termination of
the lode itself when stifi^ clay is present, which, rising above the sides of the
fissure, and preventing its dissipation, retains it over the parent lode ; but this
is not commonly the case. On level grounds the broil lies near the lode,
scarcely scattered any distance. On a declivity, the steeper it may be the
further down are the stones composing the broil found; the smallest the
furthest off, the largest retained nearest the lode, and deepest in the surface of
the ground, and multiplying as the lode is approached. They differ from
the stones of the soil where they rest, both in colour and form, having their
angles abraded, the more as they are further from the lode. The following
sketch will give a correct idea of a lode, its broil, and shodes. Here the head
* Borlasp.
E E
210 EMOLAKD IM THE NINETEENTU CENTUftV.
of the lode a ia ehowa
beneath the vegetative
Bur&ce of the soil b b ;
the broil c c c, growing
larger and deeper as it ap-
proaches the head of the ;,_^ _
lode A. Becoming at d d
ahallower ae it approaches the surface at &, as well as smaller, it there
becomes discoTerable just beneath or above the roots of the herbage.
Pita, a few feet deep, called " shoding shafts," are sunk over some breadth
of ground at b in the above diagram, and are repeated at varying distances up
the hill, as the shodes, or stones of the broil, or head of the lode, increase in
size, \mtil at length the lode itself is found. The shodes sometimes contun
DO ore at all, and are seldom so well impregnated as the lode they cover,
which is itself not equally impregnated, and sometimes is wholly barren. The
smaller the lode the better it is impr^nated ; some ore not more than a foot
wide, others are two, and some from six to twenty; their length often from
two to eix miles. Lodes consist of both hard and soft stone, and ore is found
equally in both ; but in the last more scattered than in the first Lodes, we have
before observed, generally dip or incline, but in no uniform maimer ; they are
also found fractured and shifted, so that the miner loses the vein by encounter-
ing what some call a " fault," the effect of a violent terrene convulsion, which
is speedily recovered by driving tn the direction experience dictates when a
lode is thus '* heaved," or " started," as they term it." The art of shoding is
now in a great measure neglected.!
The metal for which Cornwall is most celebrated is tin ; and the lode being
found, a mine is opened, which will be found to contain, perhaps, both tin and
copper, the latter lying deepest. Besides being discovered in perpendicular or
inclined lodes, tin is found in horizontal layers, sometimes extending from the
lode itself. These floors are considered very dangerous, the strongest wooden
supports conmionly used being apt to give way and bury the miners, as hap-
pened, according to Borlase, in Lennant, where all under groimd, and all
above, within the fatal circle, perished. Tin ore is discovered in bunches and
spots in the body of the stone, without the slightest fissure or intersection, or
else it may intersect the stone like veins in marble. The purest is found in
* b it nlmoft alwRTt recoTered bj Torkiag to tlie right; the frBctored end of one lode wulost tor
forty yean and then recovered, — a loliCary caie.
t There are few, it appears, who praetise Bhoding at prefent The mode adopted to find a lode is
b; exploring difb or rents in the toil ; by araenical impregnntioni diacoTered on banting the ami for
■gticoltaral porpoaes ; by linking a imall ahaft where the yoMoii, or tab«t*nce of a lode, ia acci-
dentally discovered ', and by certain ippearanees, often foUaciooa, which present themselves to the
miner, and afford, in his opinion, the chance of snccees. The larger and more important Coniiah mines
now open, except those near Fowey, are works of old dat«, which the want of powerful machinery and
an improved system of mining prevented Ctom being adeqoaiely woriied.
COKNWALL. 211
vrhat are called stream works, being among the alluyial deposits from the hiUs,
through which a stream generally takes its course, the soil being washed, and
the tin picked out. The principal stream works are at St. Stephens in
Brannel, St. Ewe, St. Blazey, and at Carnon, between Truro and Falmouth.
Here the tin is found in the shape of pebbles, or small stones, evidently the
washings down of tlie hills, at some time immemorial ; and these supply the
richest imd best tin, while from these stream works gold in grains is frequently
extracted.*
In the stream works human remains have been found in unbroken alluvial
soil among wood, leaves, nuts, and remains of animals, fifty-three feet beneath
the mud and sand ; and at Pentuan, forty feet beneath similar accumulations,
with the remains of deer, oxen, and whales.
The tin ore is separated by stamping and washing from all extraneous sub-^
stances, and is then carried to the smelting-house, where it is cast into blocks,
and delivered ready for the merchant. The stamping mill consists of upright
beams of wood, shod each with a square block of two hundred weight of iron,
which, lifted by cogs in the barrel of a water wheel, fall upon the tin stone alter-
nately, crushing it small. The '* stamps" are continually fed from a hatch,
or species of hopper, at the back, into which water is introduced ; while in
front, by means of a perforated plate of iron, the tin, stamped sufficiently fine,
passes out, and falls into a hollow, which when full is emptied, the upper part
being the richest in ore, and carried to be ^* huddled." This last operation
takes place in a pit, about seven feet long, three wide, and two deep, at the
head of which is a small inclined board, called the '* jigging board," upon
which the pulverized ore is placed in ridges, in the course of a small stream of
water, brought to run evenly over it, while the " buddler," as one portion
is washed down, supplies a fresh quantity, at the same time moving his feet,
on which he wears wooden clogs for the purpose, over the surface of what has
been carried down, that the lighter particles may be borne to the lower part of
the pit. The ore is afterwards placed in a large vat, or '*keeve," half filled
with water, which is kept continually stirred, the ore being introduced by
degrees, while the sides of the vat are struck by boys, until the heaviest part
has settled hard, when the impure water is taken away, and several other
manipulations employed to obtain a still greater degree of freedom from
extraneous matter. Arsenical substances, iron pyrites, and sulphuret of
copper in the ore, render the further process of "roasting" necessary, for
* The foUoiriiig is a section of the stream works of Far in St. Blasey : — Ft. la.
River deposit ,16
Mad, sand, claj .70
Mad, clay, and vegetable matter 8
Fine sand, shells, like cockles, ander pebbles 4
Mad, clay, sand, wood nuts, and mingled vegetable productions . 3
Tin ground resting upon slate, from 6 feet to 6 inches thick.
212 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
which purpose it is exposed to the necessary degree of heat in a furnace con-*
fitructed for the purpose, called the " roasting furnace.'' After this, the ore is
again huddled, and treated as before, and ^^ trunked and framed/' which is but a
more careful and exact method of huddling, frequently of late years performed
by machinery, until further working will not repay cost. The ore is now
ready for smelting, and is sampled for sale to the smelter, either by private
contract, or at stated meetings for that purpose, called ^' ticketings." In 1837
about 4105} tons of tin ore were sold in the latter way, being that formerly
adopted for copper alone, raised in seventy-two mines. The prices per ton
varied from 58/. down to 2SL28.4(L; to^ at ticketings, 190,721/. 4«. lleL ;
sold by private contract, and coined by private adventurers, 172,601/. 1U« 5A;
giving a total value for tin ore that year of 363,322/, 16*. 4d.* The average
of the return for the Duchy may be about 395,000/. per annum. The tin ore
being smelted, what is called grain tin, the produce of stream works, is most
valued, as being purest ; that from the ore is called block-tin, which last is
subdivided into block-tin and refined tin, the latter being subjected to a pro-
cess giving it greater purity than the former. The old mode of coinage on
payment of the duty, which consisted of cutting a piece out of the comer of
each block, t was abolished in 1838, together with the duties, which had been
paid for six centuries, and a compensation in lieu of them given to the
Duchy.
Copper, which was n^lected until the commencement of the seventeenth
century, and from which money was not coined until 1717, at present takes
the lead m Cornish mining.^ The value of the ores, upon the best authority,
that of the great grandfather of the present Sir Charles Lemon, whose career
* De la Beche, p. 584.
t The blocks weighed each from 3*34 to 3 85 cwts. The prodace of tin in Cornwall in 1780 was
19,022 blooks ; in 1838, 29,321. About a nineteenth of the total prodace was grain tin. The ioUow-
ing is the result of the tin coinage of 1838 for the Duchy of Cornwall z —
Grain Tin. Com . Tin.
In the coinage town of Truro . . . 1,345 . 8,952 .
„ „ Pensance . „ . 12,423 . ix,'»xo „ ^ Cornwall.
„ „ Hayle. . , 118 . 5,334 ,
„ „ Calstock . , „ . 393 .
„ „ Morwelham . 82 . 674 . 756 „ Deyonshlre.
Tin ore is smelted with coals in a rererberatory ftimace ; charcoal was used until no more wood could be
obtained. Blowing fbmaces were also once used, but only one now remains at work in the county.
Polberrou, a tin mine in the parish of St Agnes, seems to have returned the richest ore, some not re-
quiring to be dressed ; one piece of ore weighing 664 lbs, and giving 11| out of 20, without dressing ;
another piece from the same mine weighing 1,200 lbs. equally rich. The ores of tin found are tin
pyrites in very smaU quantity, and the peroxide, varying in its constituent parts ; one specimen, with
a specific gravity of 6*945, gave Dr. Thomson,
Peroxide of tin 96*265 Peroxide of iron. • • ) „^^.
> 3*395
Silica - ' 0*750 Sesquioxide of manganese.)
X The total of copper ore raised in 1771 was 27,896 tons, which produced 12 per cent of pure
copper ; in 1837, the number of tons was 142,785, producing 8^ per cent, arising from the improve-
meats in smelting continually bringing lower priced ores into the market
CORNWALL.
was an era in Cornish mining, did not yield, for fourteen years previous to
1758, more than 160,000/. per annum. And yet in 1757, Huel Virgin, now
at work, produced in the liret fortnight 5,700^., with an outlay of 100/. ; an
example of good fortune perhaps never surpassed.* The copper ores arc sold
on certain days, called ticketing days, at Truro, Bedruth, and Pool, upon
which attend the agents for the ores to be sold, and those of eight or nine
copper companies, who, having previously sampled the ores through their assay
masters, purchase tlie whole that is for sale, which they transport to Wales for
smelting; the vessels returning with coal for the mines. The prices of the
ores differ according to their richness ; some bringing 20/. per ton, and some
only ids. At one of these sales 3323 tons of ore may be sold, calculated to
produce 266 tons 15cwt. of fine copper; the amount of sale, 20,124/. 5*.;
the standard being 109/. 14a The whole of such a sale is so well and simply
regulated, that the business is completed in an hour or two, although there
may be fifty different qualities of ore- sold, and all at different prices, the pro-
duce of a dozen different mines.
The copper ore is broken small, picked, dressed, and placed in heaps, at the
mine, ready to remove, as seen in the above cut ; and from each heap, classed
* if Te tike the total tiIdc of Goppernutd ID Cornwall tt 910,0001, the tin tisao.ooof;, andodier
metali at 19,00011, -we (ball have a toul of 1,319,00011 ; bat Mi amount mnit Decenaiilj floetaste witb
the ttandaid of Talne. The niimber of mlnef in which copper alone ii fonud it is not eaij to deaig-
Date, aa both tin and copper are raised in the lame mines, and ditcbTeries are continually taking place
in thia reipect, which alter their character ) a little time ago the nnmlwr of eoppcr mines was reckoned
to he es. Nor is il t»*j to calculate the aggregate profit and loss upon these mines, for if in
IS profits are made, there are beaTj losses on others. Large sums have been gained
214 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
according to the miner's judgment, the samples are taken and assayed, a reason-
able time being given for the purpose. On the day appointed for the sale,
the samplers attending produce a sealed ticket of the price they will give for
ore ; and he whose ticket is highest takes the ore on the part of the copper
company for whom he acts.
The lead mines of Cornwall are of little comparative moment, being few in
number; and the ore raised^ though oftentimes the galena has been rich in
silver, amounts to not more than 100 tons annually ; although from the
middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth, some lead
mines near Helston were worked to great advantage. The lead mine of Gar-
ras, near Truro, produced 100 ounces of silver to the ton of lead ; there were
other mines that yielded forty or fifty ounces to the ton.
Silver has been raised in several mines opened for that metal alone ; as at
Huel Herland, in Gwinear, which produced about 8000t in native silver, arse-
niate, and sulphuret of silver. About -2000/. value was foimd in Dolcoath
mine, in one year; and at Huel Duchy and Huel Brothers, in the north of the
county, native, ruby, and grey silver ores, as well as the sulphuret, were ob-
tained ; as also in St. Mewan and Cubert. At Huel Mexico, horn silver and
some rare varieties of ore were discovered ; but the profits of the silver mines
of Cornwall have been too small to compete with the exhaustless stores of the
other metallic substances it contains ; and capital is naturally directed where
the largest gain is accessible.
Gold has only been found native in the tin stream works by the miners^
who collect the grains in quills, and sell them to the jewellers. The largest
piece found weighed 15 dwts. 3 grs. ; the total quantity is so small as to make
it no object of mining adventure.
Manganese is principally raised near Launceston, generally the pyrolusite or
grey and black ores ; the exact quantity it is not easy to ascertain. It has also
been raised on Tregoss moors.*
aDd lost bj mining. Huel Alfred, in Hayle, cleared 130,000^ ; Crinnis retomed 84,000iL in a twelve-
month clear gain -, and Huel Yor divided 10,000/. in three months. About 1760, Polgooth returned
a profit of 20,000iL a-year, for several years ; and Polberrou, in St Agnes, cleared 40,000/. in one year.
On the other hand, the loss on North Downs alone has been estimated at 90,000/. That the aggregate
of gain upon the whole of the mines together is very moderate, may naturally be presumed when the
number of such adventures that fail is taken into account.
* Not to occupy space in the text with little more than a bare enumeration of names, we may add
here to the other mineral substances above, — cobalt ; nickel ; bismuth ; antimony ; sulphuret of sine,
or calamine, literally Uirown away ; iron, magnetic, hematite, pyrites, specular, menaccanite, spathose,
near the Lizeu^, sub-carburet, brown, cuprous arseniate of, all the known crystallizatioiis of the
Xiommon sulphuret and arseniate, this metal occurring in more varied forms than any other found in
the county ; the various mineral forms of tin and copper are some of them rare, and discovered no-
where else ; those of copper in one collection amount to a thousand varieties. The prevalent forms
of copper are the bisulphuret ; sulphuret, called locally grey copper, with which tennantite is sometimes
found ; arseniate and carbonate ; red oxide in varieties ; native, the largest mass ever found weighing
1121b.; phosphate, yellow ore, cubed ruby, green carbonate, blue ditto, olive cof^rore, triple sul-
phuret — also wolfram, uranite, carbonate of lead, triple sulphuret of antimony and of lead, oxide of tin.
CORNWALL. 215
Iron ores in endless variety, both of kind and value, are generally left un-
touched, except what are wanted for foundries in the county ; they occur in
many different places ; some few have been exported.
No one may open a mine in Cornwall where he pleases : leave must be
obtained of the lord of the soil if the groimd be enclosed ; but if it be waste
land, and no bounds are marked out upon it, the first step is to boimd the
spot, which any one may do by digging small pits at certain distances, within
the limit of which he may work, or allow others to work, for ores. The lord
of the soil receives a portion of the ores raised, varying from a sixth to an
eighth of the value, in many cases amounting to a very large sum of money
from land utterly unfit for any agricultural purpose. On commencing to
work a mine, the water soon renders any secondary efforts to keep it dry of no
avail ; and it becomes necessary to have recourse to a steam engine for that
purpose, and to all the auxiliaries which form a perfect mining establishment.
These are of an extensive nature, involving a great expenditure, not less from
the number of persons employed, than from the machinery used, and the
different articles in constant consumption. It appears that the number of
individuals actually employed at present upon the mines of Cornwall is little
short of 28,000 or 30,000 ; and that the number of men, women, and children,
varies from a total of only half a dozen to 3000 and upwards on a single mine.
Thus the Consolidated Mines employ 1730 men, 869 women, and 597 children ;
total, 3196 ; and the Fowey Consols a total of 1706 ; Cook's Kitchen employs
but 247 ; Huel Prosper, 14 ; and West Cliff Down, 6. Nor is it easy to cal-
culate the number of mines ; but Sir Charles Lemon has given a list of 160,
employing about 27,000 persons.
In the earlier days of mining, water wheels were generally used for the
purpose of pumping ; but water was not always to be had, near or far, if the
cost that might be expended to bring it from a distance were of no moment.
Many mines were situated upon hills, and water could not be made service-
able above its own leveL Horse-power was frequently used, and gangs of
men, who relieved each other spell and spell ; but all were inadequate to the
muriate of tin, sulphuret of tin, known only in this county ; wood tin the same ; copper and lead in
cubes, arseniate of lead in prisms of six sides, sulphnret of tin and copper blended, tetraedal crystals of
sttlphoret of zinc ; tungsten only at Fengelly in Breage, though its ferriferous oxide, or wolfram, is more
common ; oxide of uranium in uran-glimmer, titanium ; crystallised carbonate and phosphate of lead in
combination with sulphuric acid in crystals ; a yery rare species of arseniate of lead ; braunite, psil-
monite, bisilicate of manganese ; purple copper ore, arborescent native copper, hydrous oxide of iron,
epidote, clorite, axinite, calcedony of many varieties, jasper, jaspery iron ore, arragonite, prehnite,
stilbite, zeolite, apatite, radiated mesotype, pinite, plumbago, antimony and lead ; sulphuret of tin —
floor spar and wolfram ; mica crystallized in tables ; topazes in greenish or whitish crystals ; carbo-
nate of copper and tin crystals ; rock crystals, the same grouped ; amethystine quartz, and common
ditto ; asbestus actynolite, stalactical calcedony, adularia, crystallized apatite, wavellite, cubic and
with bevilled edges, and octohaedral crystals of fluor, or fluat of lime, carbonate and ferriferous car-
bonate of lime, the last scarce. These and other mineralogical substances, ever varying in form and
colour, are arranged as they occur, indiscriminately.
216 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
purpose, even at a very limited depth from the surface. At what time New-
comen's steam engine was introduced is uncertain, but it constituted an era in
mining, until it gave place to Watt's engine, about 1780, which caused a vast
saving of fueL Watt's engine, and that of Homblower with double cylinders,
which appeared and were adopted in the Cornish mines about the same period^
are no longer used, having given place to greater improvements by Woolf,
Trevithick, and others. Watt's engines, singularly enough, while they effected
a vast saving in fuel, a great object of the miners, did not show a propor-
tional increase of power; for in 1798 not one of his engines reported to a
committee, who sat to examine the subject, did more duty than one of
Newcomen's erected by Smeaton in 1775, and did not permit the mine to
be deepened. Homblower's father came into the county as a builder of
Newcomen's engines, about 1744, and was residing at Polgooth in 1749,
and the son took out a patent in 1781, for working steam expansively in
a double cylinder. Watt did the same to apply it to his engines ; but both
were too much afraid of high pressure steam, to risk it with the boilers
of that day.* Engines are now manufactured far better than they could
be made in those days ; resistances are reduced, the powers are enlarged, the
air pump is less burdened from steam, the double beat valves of Hom-
blower being introduced, by which high pressure steam is easily managed ; a
pressure of 3000 lb. being reduced to 800, by the steam pressure acting
on the plating of the circumference, and not on the entire valve, f Woolf
introduced high pressure steam, worked expansively in an engine like Hom-
blower's, about 1816, and beat all competitors until 1827 ; when Trevithick's
boilers being introduced, high pressure steam was used in single cylinder
engines; and further improvements being effected, the present superior en-
gines were constructed.
We are thus minute because we shall presently state the enormous power
and duty of the existing steam engines of Cornwall, of which so little is known
out of the county, and which have no parallel elsewhere. Thus the reader
sees accounts of the wonderful works of the steam engine in Lancashire and
Birmingham, and imagines naturally enough that a beautiful engine adapted
by Watt to a manufacturing purpose is repeated in Cornwall, or that the
engines seen in the coal mines of Staffordshire and Lancashire are precisely
the same ; never was there a greater mistake. The power, magnitude, duty,
and, in many cases, the construction, are very different. The worst engines
now reported in Cornwall reach the average duty of Watt's four best working
there in 1798, and are of less bulk; and these engines are now manufactured
in the coimty.
At Wigan in Lancashire there are about 115 engines, with a power of 21 13
horses, a power not more than equal to two Cornish engines. In order, there-
fore, to give an idea of one of these enormous machines, we quote an account
* De la Beche, from Mr. £njs. f Bdr. Enys.
CORNWALL, 217
of one at the Consolidated Mines, constructed by a Cornish engineer,'Mr. Davey,
and pumping directly from a depth to the adit of 1600 feet; the weight of
the pumping apparatus being 507 tons 1 qr.; the cost, 5236/. It burned 2859
bushels only, or 120 tons, of coal in thirty days,* and made in that time 269,200
lifts of 8*75 feet in the shaft; pumping up the 1600 feet, thirty-three and a
half gallons each lift^ and discharging them at the adit, and delivering forty-
five gallons more to the surface at each stroke ; to effect which a weight of
more than 300 tons is set in motion and balanced, except the weight of the
column of water in the shaft;, which last weighs 38 tons 3 cwt. The main
pump rod is 290 fathoms, or 1740 feet long; formed for 390 feet of two
twelve-inch squares of Biga balk timber, each piece from fifty to seventy feet
long, and afterwards of fifteen-inch, decreasing to fourteen and twelve in
descending the mine ; the whole in its height, more than one-third of a mile
perpendicular, connected by iron straps, and kept in a proper place by forty
guides fixed to the sides of the shaft. Here is a Cyclopsean engine, almost
without parallel in the history of machinery. The steam pressure on the
piston is eighty tons, diminishing to eighteen at the end of the stroke ; and the
leverage of the main beam balancing the friction, or resistance of the engine,
the above steam pressure overcomes the resistance in the pit, and elevates the
load of thirty-eight tons every lift. In Cornwall, nearly thirty years ago,
there were engines of between 1000 and 1100 horse power. Even to an eye
practised in machinery of magnitude, the first sight of one of these engines,
and a due examination of the enormous power it wields, without noise, — as
was observed by a London engineer, ^' with none of the noise and clash of a
steam engine at the London water-works, and so easy to be managed, that a
child of ten years of age may stop or set it working," — is truly surprising.!
Elsewhere the ingenuity of the steam engine may be contemplated, but the
fidl development of its power is as yet only to be seen in Cornwall. Still
further to evince the truth of this remark, we may add that a counter is kept
locked, attached to each engine, which returns the work it performs, monthly ;
and the coals being measured from what have been consumed in that time, the
result is published in what are called " duty papers." In one case, at the
Consolidated Mines, there is an engine of Mr. Taylor's, with an eighty-five
inch cylinder, having a load of 11*46 on the piston, a length of stroke in the
* One of Newcomen's or Watt's engines, where the mine was deep, pumped the water half way np,
and a second engine lifted it to the surface. This arose firom the fear already mentioned, on the part
of Watt, as well as of Homblower, with the engine of the latter, that the boilers of their time could
not be trusted \ for both were well aware of the principle of the present improvement. Newcomen's
engine worked at ninety fathoms. In 1798, Watt's engine gave an average duty of seyenteen and a
half millions of pounds, at 200 fathoms, with a sixty-three inch double cylinder; the modem
engines give fifty millions, at a depth of 290 fathoms, with single cylinders, and a consumption
of coal in proportion less than Watt's, whose saving in that respect was so great compared to
Newcomen's.
t De la Beche.
F F
218 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
cylinder of 10-33, and of 7-75 in the pump, lifting 73,160,000 lb. a foot high,
with the consumption of a bushel of coals. Some of the cylinders are ninety
inch. Austen's Fowey Consols is a celebrated engine for duty, having an
eighty-inch cylinder; 10*97 load on the piston, and the length of stroke in the
pump 9*25 feet, lifting 87,065,000 lb. a foot high, by the consumption of one
bushel of coals.* The greatest quantity of. water discharged from any of the
Cornish mines, per minute, in 1837, was from the United Mines in the
month of March, 1634*49 imperial gallons; and from the Consolidated IVIines,
1657*18 per minute. Sir Charles Lemon ascertained by the duty paper
that the whole quantity of water pumped out of the earth by sixty Cornish
engines in 1837, reached the amazing aggregate of just thirty-seven millions
of tons If
The expenditure of money for mining materials is great. The amount for
gunpowder averages 13,200/. annually ; the consumption being about 300 tons.
The timber, Norwegian pine, averaging a growth of 120 years, would require
140 square miles of forest ;t a drawback is allowed on the duties. The con-
sumption of 1836 was 36,200 loads, or 144,800 trees. In 1836 the cost of
timber imported was 176,000/. ; the drawback on which was 82,000^
The expenses of the Consolidated and United Mines for one year were
137,968/. Ss, Id.; the receipt for ores of copper, tin, and arsenic, 164,925/. 7& 5rf.,
leaving a profit of 26,956/. 19*. 46?. There was a loss on the United Mines of
10,680/. I9s. 2d. ; both undertakings being carried on as one concern. The
coals consumed were 15,270 tons; candles, 162,144 lb. ; gunpowder, 82,0001b. ;
13,493 lb. of leather ; pick and shovel handles, 16,698 dozen ; and a vast quan-
tity and variety of other articles. The total number of hands employed was
3196.
The rate of wages among the work-people at the mines depends upon the
nature of the employment. Tributers, in the most extended mining district
about Gwennap and Redruth, may average through the year about 68*. per
month ; tut workers, 57*. 2d. ; and day labourers, 4U. Sometimes a tributer
will make 90*. a month, or more, at others only 62*. or €3*., as his profits vary
from the character or quantity of the ores he may raise.
* It consumed 84 lb. of coals an hoar. ** This is a most splendid engine, and does greater duty than
any other engine in Comvall. The construction of the valves and other parts of the engine is so
perfect, that, though its load was equal to about 51,000 lb., the hand gear might be worked by a boy
of ten years of age, as far as strength was required. I worked it myself with perfect ease ; whereas,
although a load upon one of our engines of thirty-six inches cylinder is only about 12,000 lb., it re-
quires not only a strong but also a weighty man to work it.
" I was very much struck with the ease with which the engine in question appeared to work ; there
was scarcely any noise ; the greatest was that of the steam in its passage through the expansion valve.
To one who had been used to the noise of the pumping engines in London, it appeared remarkable."
— Mr, Wick9iea(r8 Observations^ Trans, Civil Engineers,
t The enormous quantity of 43,500 hogsheads has been pumped up in twenty-four hours at one
mine, Huel Abraham, from 1440 feet of depth.
X Sir Charles Lemon.
CORNWALL. 219
Proceeding from St. Agnes into the bordering parish of Kenwyn, towards
Tregavethan, three large barrows are seen not far from the road ; and crossing
the road from the westward, four more are discovered on the southern side.
Tregavethan, or the grave-town, probably took its name from these tumuli; it
contains a chapel and burying ground, used before the church of Kenwyn was
erected. The tlwee parishes of St. Allen, St. Erme, and Ladock, lie on the
right hand of the road to Mitchcl, In the first is Trerice, now belonging
to Lord Falmouth, a seat of one of the younger branches of the Arundel
family ; here, too, were the lead mines of Garras. There is a village in this
parish called Zela, and an eminence named Tolcame, or *^ the lofty rocks."
St Erme contains the estates of Tregosa, Tnithan, Trehane, and Killigrew,
the last the original estate of the family of that name, afterwards resident at
Arwenik, mortgaged by Sir John Killigrew in the reign of James I. to
Mr. Mitchel of Truro, which town is about four miles distant. It is now the
property of the Stephens family of Tregenna Castle. Polglaze, another estate
of the same family here, was sold about the same time to Mr. J. Luxmore.
The advowsori of the living once belonged to the family of Wynne, and is now
the property of E. W. S. Pendarves, Esq., member of parliament for the county.
Ladock is principally remarkable for comprising one of the most beautiful
valleys in Cornwall; the church, situated on high ground, is a handsome
edifice. The Rev. St. John Eliot, once the rector, left several charitable
bequests for education, to different places in the county; he died in 1760.
Mitchel is a miserable hamlet in St. Enoder parish, which returned two mem-
bers to parliament before the Reform Act, elected by five persons. Summer-
court, Penhale, and Fraddon, are villages in this parish ; the former noted for
its annual fair. The parish of Newlyn adjoins St. Enoder, in which there is
an old manor called Cargol, and the more noted manor of Trerice, the property
of John Arundel,* nicknamed " Tilbury," and " John for the King," who so
bravely defended Pendennis Castle after he was eighty years of age ; he was
with Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury, whence his name of " Old Tilbury ;" it is
now, we believe, in the possession of a farmer. Here, too, was worked a rich
silver and lead mine, by the late Sir Christopher Hawkins.
* He seems to hare been a hard mao, with little of the milk of hmnan kindness, like some others of
the king's officers in the west, which did the royal cause much mischief. The Truro people would not
suffer one of old Arundel's daughters to land there in a boat, and she actually died on the river. The
Arundels were exceptions to the kindness and civility shown by the gentry of Cornwall to each other
during that contest (See page 18.) John Arundel was so bitter, that Hals says he suppressed all
natural affection. Colonel Hals, being immured in Lldford Castle, wrote to old Arundel, stating his
Bufferings, but he only got a verbal reply, that he, Arundel, would hasten his "deliverance, if possible,
by a gallows execution." Another proof of the ill conduct and unrestrained character of the king's
officers, new we believe to history, is shown by Hals in his Notes, — a friend to the royal cause as he
was. When Sir W. Balfour, with several Cornish gentlemen, and 2500 horse, cut their way through
the king's army under General Gk>ring, whose conduct in the west was so bad, — the infantry under
the Earl of Essex were soon afterwards forced to capitulate, on condition of being disarmed and return-
ing to their homes,— -when this had taken place, and they passed before the king on Bradock Downs,
220 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Cubert, Crantock, St. Colutnb Minor, and Cokn, lie northwards from
Newlyn, Cubert contains a noted well, called Holy Well, situated on the
sea-shore; rumour confers many virtues upon the water, which probably do
not belong to it, but have grown out of some ancient superstition. It is on
the left side of a hollow or cave in the rocks, appears to deposit a slight
incrustation, and is perfectly limpid ; it is only accessible at low tide. The
church of Crantock is dedicated to St Carantocus ; there were secular canons
there in the time of Edward the Confessor. An inlet of the sea, meeting a
fresh-water stream called the Ganal, separates this parish from St. Columb
Minor and Littie Colan, the former being bounded by the sea; it has
an inlet with a quay and a shelter for small vessels, called Newquay, where a
considerable fishery is carried on. The church of St. Columb Minor is one of
the best in the county, and was pewed, according to Hals, with black oak, in
1525. This. parish and the district went in Doomsday Book under the name
of Rialton, and it possessed certain royalty rights, by which it claimed, in the
person of the bailiff, a jurisdiction over the whole hundred of Pydar. This
name is supposed to have been derived from St. Peter, to whom or to
St. Pedyr, as then spelled, there was a chapel dedicated, and probably used
before the church was built ; there are also some remains of the priory once
existing here; they stand in a beautiful valley, and consist principally of the
old gateway, with three windows over it; the arms of Prior Vivian, the
founder, yet appear upon some of the stones. Sir John Munday, a Lord Mayor
of London in the reign of Henry VIII., was sent down to be steward of the
manor. In Colan, a small parish, which contains nothing remarkable, was an-
ciently the seat of Cosworth, or Cosaworth, said to have been renowned for its
woods, of which no vestiges remain. St. Denis, an adjoining parish, in the
same presentation as St. Michael Carhayes, already described, together with
St. Stephens in Brannel, present a rough surface everywhere turned inside
out in search for tin. The church stands in miserable solitude upon an emi-
nence. Mr. D. Gilbert observes that Robert Dunkin, who entered the list of
controversy with the illustrious Milton, was a native of this parish. The four
parishes of Mawgan, St. Columb Major, St. Wenn, and Withiel, run nearly
from west to east, north of St. Denis. The first is bounded by the sea on the
north, and by St. Columb Minor on the west. Here is the manor of Lan-
herne, originally the property of the family of Pincerna, and afterwards of the
they were "barbarooBly slaughtered and shot upon by the king's troops, so that many perished;
others were stripped aUnost naked and robbed ; others had their horses taken away ; upon which
Major-Genera] Skippen, with ondannted courage, rode up to the king^s troop, and told him personaUy
of the injury and violence offered, and the slaughter of his men, contrary to the articles, which in
such cases were kept inviolable by all nations and men, and therefore prayed the king to be just, and
to prohibit these barbarities of his soldiers for the future, which the king commanded to be done.*'
But his authority was little regarded ; and this conduct produced a dreadful retaliation on the king's
forces and adherents in other places.
COHNWALI~ 221
Amndets, who became bo celebrated in the county. Symon Pinceroa, who was
butler to Henry II., t(^ether with his male iaaue failing, one of the St Ervan
Arundels married his heiress in 1231, and obtained Lauheme. The Arun-
dela were said to be derived from John de Arundel in the time of Henry L ;
and the first public character of the family appears to have been John
Arundel, SheriflF of Comwidl in 1418. In this parish, too, was the seatof the
notorious Noy, or Noye, Attorney -General to Charles L, who set out as a
great patriot in the House of Commons, until he exchanged hie patriotism for
the office of Attomey-Genend, and, " holding a brief on the opposite side,"
filled hia pockets at the expense of his character ; when, finding his advice
gratefully received, he persuaded the king to levy ship money, send vessels to
sea without consent of parliament, and to take other measures by which Charles
effected his own ruin. The estate, once Noy's, is called Camanton, and is
now the property of the family of Willyams : a number of ancient coins have
been found here, princupally British.
Lanheme, the seat of the " Great Arundels," as they were once called, whose
race became extinct in 1701, is the property of Lord Arundel of Wardour.
The estates were left tfl his grandson by the last Cornish Arundel, whose
name was Billinge, upon condition of taking the name of Arundel; and
Mr. Billinge had an only daughter, by marriage with whom the property came
to Lord Arunde] of Wardour. The church stands by a little river, over
which there is a bridge. Hills interpose between the church and the ocean,
which last is at no great distance, but concealed from the valley, although
from one side of the hill it appears in great majesty. Close to the church is the
ancient dwelling of the extinct Arundels, now occupied as a religious house of
Carmelite nuns, that removed from Antwerp at the time of the French revo-
lution, and have been protected here by Lord Arundel, who sold all the
estates of the " Great Arundels" except Lanheme, above delineated, one of the
most beautiftil spots we ever saw. The nuns were almost all English women ;
and the antique character of the house, which possesses a pretty chapel, and
several fine paintings, the neighbouring scenery aided by the parish church of
Mawgan, which is hard by, together with the seclusion of the place, render
222 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURV.
LnnKerne a most inl
the stranger.*
The church ia of i
and contains many ille]
together with some
curious earring. In
the church-yard is
the annexed croBs,
which is in very good
preservation, and re-
presents royal per-
sonages, together
with the figure of an
angel and a serpent ;
hut it is not possible
to make out the sub-
ject, or U> what end
it was erected, unless
as a votive memorial.
St. Columb Major ;
is a considerable pa-
rish; the church of
which, of very old
* We met with poem bere, by the Rer. Mr. i^her, who was dergymui of the parish, deicriptiTe
of the acenery sod Dunner? in 180S ; we give an eitracC : —
" I MiOHT tell, i,D Domben soft, Whea the white rod graced her hand,
Por I thither ramble oft, . BlosaomiDg ai Abtod's wand;
Pleated and flattered to be free When each amaranthine flower
Of the sweet commnDity 1 Decked her cell as Era's bower;
And approved, repeat to fame When the gaj lymbolic round.
Every harmonizing name Locks of silver, twining, bound.
Of the well-known vestal train, — Oft the moser, passing by.
Tell how tendereit amongst these At the mansion casts his eye,
Sighs the penaive Heixuse, Grieved for the devoted host.
Fair as her of ParacUte, There to social tneiom lost :
Less, I trust, anfortanate ; Bat the long-caged lark no more
Anqel^'h soft mien commend, Imps its pinions spread to soar ;
AMaEi.A, my chatty ftiead ; And the linnet on the wire
Blooming Adstdi's cherub ftce ; Spends not long iu idle ire ;
The reverend mother's winning grace ) Each renews its wonted song,
Or Tebesa's ancient smiles. Not a silent captive long.
Who the weight of age beguiles. So the window, grated, barred.
Hers the tranquil vestal's lot. Seems no more confinement hard,
Long the scenes of life forgot ; Whea the heaven-directed mind
Half a oentary she, immnred. Feels its pinions nnconfined.
Self-restriction hath endured, Aud in nnimpasgioned tone
And her jubilee, elate. Knows not lolitnde alone."
Kept in climacteric slate i
CORNWALL. 223
date, was much injured by an explosion from the '^parish stores" of gun-
powder, placed in the rood-loft in 1676 ; and in 1690 the steeple was destroyed
by lightning. It contains a bust of Robert Hoblyn, Esq. of Nanswhyden,
whose fine mansion stands a burnt-out wreck not far from the road. St. Columb
had formerly a college of Augustine monks, and four firee chapels are said to
have stood here in early times. The town is on an eminence,' about four miles
from the sea, on the high road from Truro to Wadebridge, haying a good deal
of cultivated land around. In this parish is Castle an Dinas, an ancient work,
inclosing six acres of groimd, built of turf and unhewn stones, with ruing,
apparently of dweUings, within the rampart. It stands in a very commanding
situation ; and not far from it a barrow of stone, called the Coyt, or a cromlech,
is said to exist, or to have existed, with another stone, which bears the im-
pression of King Arthur's horses' shoe, but we did not go in search of them.
In this parish, also, we noticed a fine barrow, or tumulus, and the following
upright stones, _ _
called the "Nine
Maids," or in "
Cornish, " Naw ^
Vozy^ pronounced
** naw whoorz," the Nine Sisters. They occupy a straight line of about a
hundred and five yards, and stand at nearly equal distances. Trewan, or
Truan House, is a fine old granite building, erected in 1633, a seat of the
Vyvyan family. It contains a drawing-room, curiously sculptured with pas-
sages from the Mosaic history. The whole is battlemented, and of a form
almost unique in design, commanding a very fine prospect.
In St. Wenn parish, on the east, bordering upon St. Columb, was born
Michael de Tregury, Archbishop of Dublin, before which he was President of
•the University of Caen, in Normandy, in the reign of Henry V.* Here, too,
are the remains of another castle, called Damelsa, being a triple entrenchment
of stones and earth, one within another. Withiel, which adjoins St. Wenn, is
a parish containing nothing worthy of record ; and the same may be said of those
of St. Ewen, St. Eval, and St. Merryn, or Merrin, which lie north of St. Columb
towards the sea, except that St. Merryn had a church and well dedicated to
St. Constantine. The church is in ruins, but the well is still to be seen : it
had seats for the devotees to sit and wash themselves. There is a small pier
in this parish for boats, and a seat of the Peter family, called Harlyn. Little
Petherick, having a very pretty and secluded church-town, adjoins St Issey
on the shore of the Camel ; it had once a chapel, dedicated to St. Ide, or Ida,
* He died in 1471, and was baried in Dublin, with this epitaph :—
" PrsBSul Metropolis Michael hie Dublinensis
Marmore trnnbatos, pro me Christum, flagitetis/*
In his will he devised an oblation to St. Michaers Mount by the hands of William Wyse. A list of
his works may be found in Fits' '' De Illustribus Anglis Scriptoribos."
224 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY.
aod poBsesses a village called Tregonnen. St. Breock, on the weetem* ahore
of the Camel, derives its name from an Irish aaint, a Biebop of Armorica, and
contains a moietjr of the town of Wadebridge on the Camel ; following
which river a few milea near its mouth we arrived at Padstow, a nmAet-town,
standing on the western shore of the estuary, in a spot sheltered by hills, and
having a very plea^ng aspect. It is an ancient place, and was called Lodenick
by the Cornish, and then AdeUtow, from King Athektan. Here St Petroc,
a Welshman, educated in Ireland, built an oratory, took np his abode about
A-D. 560, and wrote a work "Of Solitary Life;" and here was bom, in 1648,
of an old family. Dean Prideauz, the well-known divine, author of the
" Scripture ConnecUon." The church is a handsome edifice, with a curious
font,t and conttuns me- ^ ' '>
morials to the Prideaux
fiunily, who have now as-
sumed the nfune of Brune.
A chapel to St. Sampson
once stood here, built on
the ruins of St. Petroc's
monastery, destroyed by
the Danes in 981. Upon
the remains of the monas-
tery stand at present the
embattled house of the Frideauxs, called Padstow Place. There were
anciently several other chapels near this town. The port is impeded by a
sand bar, so that laige ships cannot enter ; but a considerable trade is carried
on in vessels of moderate burthen. This was anciently a great resort of the Irish ;
and it is also a fishing town, by which it has realized considerable profits.
Numerous sand-banks lie off the entrance, and the country on the opposite
ade of the estuary is greatly encumbered with blown sands. Padstow
received one of the donations of the Bev. St. John Eliot for establishing a
charity-school, and possesses several public institutions for the relief of the
poor, tt^ether with Sunday and day-schools.
From Padstow we went a second time to Bodmin,} and, proceeding from
thence to Launceston, over a road miaerably dreary, entered the sister county
by Poulton Bridge, and thus bade farewell to one of the more ancient,
celebrated, and romantic portions of the British Isles.
By miiUke, in place of the western, St. Breock ii ilated at page 43 to be at the eaitem end. of
the bridge. f See page 103, font No. 3.
t We may be excued for referring to onr paragraph respecting Bodmin (page 47), having been
once the Me of a western Eighty grounded npon the authority of Whittaker. The preient wcvk can
afford no tpace fbr antiquarian coqjectnres, bnl we are bound to retnct our opinion thai exprened
npon what we thought competent authority, having sioce teen the copy of the MS., No. 9361, ia the
Brituh Huwam, containing the four Go«pe]s which once belonged to the church of St Petroc, and i»
■appoMd to be of the date of the niulh century, printed by Mr. Daviei Gilbert.
CORNWALL. 225
STATISTICAL RELATIONS OF CORNWALL.
DUCHY OFFICES, STANNARIES, PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION, BOROUGH
BOUNDARIES, GREAT LANDHOLDERS, ANCIENTLY AND AT PRESENT, PEERS,
BARONETS, PRINCIPAL FAAOLY RESIDENCES, ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS,
STATISTICS.
When speaking of the agricultare of Cornwall, at page 144, we noticed the proprietary of the
dachy, created for Edward the Black Prince, in 1337, together with the extent of its ancient and
present limits, the revenues from the manors and tin dues helonging to the king's eldest son, as Duke
of Cornwall, hy right of inheritance. The officers of the duchy consist of a vice-admiral, lord- warden
of the stannaries, and steward of the duchy ; his secretary ; two vice-wardens, one for Cornwall, the
other ibr Devon ; a receiver-general, and his deputy ; an auditor, and his deputy ; a surveyor-general,
and two deputies ; an attorney-general ; a constahle of Lannceston Castle ; an assay master of tin ; a
comptroller of coinages ; a deputy steward of the stannary courts for each county ; four supervisors
of hlowing and smelting-houses ; stewards of estates and revenues in Berks, Dorset, Surrey, and
Somerset ; seven deputy stewards of Cornwall and Devon, and three clerks in the office of the sur-
veyor and auditor-general ;* quite enough, it may be presumed, to take care of a revenue of 20,000/.
per annum. The original charter of the stannaries, granted by Edward I, and confirmed by Edward III.,
is said to have been lost or destroyed at Lostwithiel, in the wars of Charles I. The miners were by
this charter exempt from all jurisdiction except that of the stannary courts, save in such cases as
might affect land, life, or limb. The appeal from the lord-warden, or his courts, lay to the duke, or
king in council. The vice-warden's court is now commonly held once a month, and decides all
matters between tinners relative to mining, and no writ of error lies from it to the courts at West-
minster. No laws were to be enacted but by the consent of twenty-four persons, chosen out of four
districts, namely, Foy-more, Blackmore, Ty wamhaile, and Penwith and Kirrier. The corporators of
Lostwithiel choose the stannators for Foy-more ; those of Truro, the delegates for Ty wamhaile ; and
those for Penwith and Kirrier are chosen by the body corporate of Helston. The laws are published
in an octavo volume. We believe that the last stannary parliament was held at Truro, in 1752 : the
members selected are gentlemen of the county connected with mining ; they choose a speaker, and
proceed regularly with business ; but as the enactment of new laws, or the revision of old, is rarely
required, the lord-warden, whose duty it is, has seldom had occasion to convene them. The stannary
prison is at LostwithieL
Turning to the civil divisions of Cornwall — ^we find it divided into nine hundreds ; namely, those
of East, West, Powder, and Kirrier, in the southern, and Stratton, Lesnewth, Trigg, Pydar, and Pen-
with, on the northern side of the county ; the civil being different from the ecclesiastical divisions.
Doomsday book mentions only seven hundreds, — Conarton, Fawiton, Pawton, Rialton, Stratton, Ti-
besta or Tibestina, and Winneton. The change to the present denominations and number is supposed
to have occurred between the years 1088 and 1288. All the hundreds were anciently attached to the
Earls of Cornwall, except that of Penwith, of which two-thirds also were the property of the duchy
in the reign of James I. This last hundred was held by the Arundel family, until purchased of them
by the late Sir C. Hawkins.
The parliamentary representation consists, since the Reform Act, of four members for the county,
which is divided into the Eastern and Western divisions for that purpose ; and of two for the towns
of Truro, Bodmin, Falmouth and Penryn ; and one each for Launceston, Liskeard, St. Ives, and
Helston.
The Eastern division comprises the five hundreds of East, West, Lesnewth, Stratton, and Trigg ;
also the parishes of St Austle, St Blazey, St Denis, St Ewe, Fowey, Gorran, Ladock, Lanlivery,
Lostwithiel, Luxulian, Mevagissy, St Mewan, St Michael Carhayes, Roche, St Sampson, St Ste-
phen in Brannel, and Ty wardreth, in the hundred of Powder, together with such parts of the hundred
of Pyder as are not included in the Western division. The population in 1831 was 146,275. Polling
places, Bodmin, Launceston, Stratton, Liskeard, and St Austle : election at Bodmin.
* Many of theie placet, It Is presaroed, are iilnecuret; and more must have recently become to by the change whirh
bas been wisely effected In the abrogation or the old practice of coinage. The whole management of the duchy property
preasingly calls for revision.
G Cm
226 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
The Western division comprises the hundreds of Kirrier and Penwith, with what of Powder is not
included in the Eastern division ; and the parishes of St Agnes, Crantock, Cnhert, Newljn, St Enoder,
Perranzahulo, and the Scilljr Isles, in the hundred of Pydar. Population, 156,165. Polling places,
Truro, Penzance, Helston, and Redruth : election at Truro. St. Michael, St Mawes, Tregony, Gram-
pound, Tintagel, Boscastle, East and West Looe, Camelford, St Germans, Newport, Saltash, Fowey,
and Lostwithiel, making fourteen horoughs, returning twenty-eight members, with one member from
St Ives, Launceston, Liskeard, and Helston, deducted, renders the total reduction thirty-two^ out of
forty-four returned before the Reform Act With thirty-two reduced, and two added for the county,
the present state of the parliamentary representation is fourteen. The limits of the boroughs, and
the additions when any were made, are as follow ; together with the number of 10/. houses at the
time of the alteration.
Tntro, — 10/. houses, 237 : population, 8,252, on the census of 1891. Limits, from Bosrigo Bridge,
over the brook, along Bosvigo-lane to its junction with the Redruth-road, thence to Green-lane, where
it is joined by this road at Chapel Hill-gate, and thence until Green-lane joins the Falmouth road ;
thence along an Occupation road, leading through Newham Farm-lane; thence along the south-
western fence bounding the two fields '* Great Beef," and " Little Beef Close," until it meeU the north-
western fence of Bramble Close ; thence eastward to where this latter fence reaches Calenick Creek ;
thence along this creek to Lower Newham- wharf ; thence in a straight line across Truro river, to
the south-eastern extremity of Sunny-comer wharf; thence in a straight line to Sunny-comer; and
from thence in a line to where Trenack-lane would be cut by a straight line drawn from the eastern
extremity of Newham Farm-lane to Hill Head, where St Clement*fi-lane meeta the old St Austle-
road ; thence in a straight line to Mitchel-hill gate, on the old London road ; thence in a straight line
to where the boundary of the old borough would be cut by a straight line drawn from that gate to
Kenwyn church ; thence, northward, along this boundary to Bosvigo bridge. The mayor, retoming
officer.
Bodmin.— lOl. houses, 311 : population, 5,288: borough comprises Bodmin, Lanivet, Lanhydrock,
and Helland. The mayor returomg officer.
Launeeston. — 10/. houses, 327 : population, 5394 : comprises old borough, part of St Stephen, and
the parts of Lawhitton, St Thomas, and South Petherwin, without the old borough. The mayor, re-
turning officer.
Penryn and Falmouth,-~\Ol, houses, 796; united population, 11,805 ; limits north of Penryn, where
the old borough boundary leaves that of Mylor ; westerly along the old boundary to where it meets
the road from Penryn to Helston ; thence straight to Hill Head, where the road fi^m Budock joins
that to Penryn from Constantine ; thence in a line to the nearest point of the boundary of Falmouth
parish, and along it southward to where it meets the boundary of the detached parts of the pariah of
Budock ; thence in a straight line to the northern point, where this latter boundary leaves that of
Falmouth ; thence westward, along the sea coast, to the boundary of St Gluvias ; thence eastward
to the point first described. The mayor is returning officer.
Liskeard.— lOi, houses, 315 ; population, 4042 ; comprises the parish of Liskeard, and all the parta
of the old borough without that parish. Returning officer, the mayor.
St, Ives. — 10/. houses, 302 ; population, 4776 ; old limits. The mayor returning officer.
Helston. — 10/. houses, 225 ; population, 3293 ; borough comprises the old borough, the parish of
Sithney, and the space extending from Coverack Bride over the Loe, in a straight line along the
Wendron road to the western extremity of a lane leading by Huel Ann to Graham mine ; thence
along this lane until it meets a small stream ; thence southward along the stream to where it meets a
lane leading from Wendron to Trecoose and Constantine ; eastward along this line until it meets the
boundary of Wendron, and so southward along this boundary to Coverack Bride. The mayor ia
returning officer.
In the Exeter copy of the Doomsday Survey, East Anthony, Bodmin, Boyton, Calstock, Con-
stantine, Codiford in St Wenn, St Germans, Glynn, Mewan, Rame, Stratton, Trenant, are the only
names to be directly and certainly recognised by their present designation. The names of the early
landholders were, de Valletort, Fitzwilliam, de Lucie or Lacy, de Boterell or Bottreaux, Geoffry,
Baldwin, de Mandeville, de Pomeroy, Hoel, Jordan, de Bouhard, de Trewodoret, Fitzalured,
de Dun, Fitzoful, and Eiulph, De Cardinan, Walter Hay, de Lacel, Fitzwalter, de Briwere, Fleming,
de la Roche, de Dunstanville, a member of which fiimily married with a Basset, and brought a good
estate as her portion. In 1225 the names of de Granyille, de Tracy, Valletort, Pomeroy, Carminow,
Flamank, de Mesy, Wise, Beauchamps, de Draenes, and de Dones occur. In 1323, Champemoa
occurs as a great Cornish landholder ; the Blanchminsters, Bodragan, Edgcumbe, Trevauon, Powlet,
Dawney, Ferrers, Basset, Dinham, Mohun, Reskymer, Prideaux, Herle, Lambonm, Sore, Petit,
Tinton, Beaupr^, Tregagle, Bloghou, Archdekne, Arundel of Lanheme and Arundel of Trerioe.
llewis, Peverell, Cheynduit, Bcville, De Cant Lansladron, Govely, Kymells, Meules or Moyles of
Bake, Rame, Cobham, St Colan, Blewet, Trefusis, Bodrane, Helligan, Killigrew, Hamelyn,
CORNWALL. 227
Tbnrlebue» Bret, St Winnow, F) sac, Quoyhin, Trom, Trewithen, del Estre, Kellerion, le Brun,
Wannford, and Cole.
In the time of Elisabeth, the Tregians, cruelly robbed of their property for remaining fiiithful to the
religion of their ancestors, are mentioned as large landholders ; and in the reign of James L, the
fiunilies of Grodolphin, Robartes, and Treise, are to be noticed. Later we find the families of Basset,
Boscawen, Eliot, Mount Edgcumbe, Agar, Lemon^ Vyvyan, Carew, Granville, Hawkins, Call,
Gregor, Glanville, Rashleigh, Bailer, St Aubyn, Molesworth, Rodd, Coryton, Glynn, Tremayne, and
Rogers, possessed of the largest estates in the connty, to which list the duchy must be added.
The first earl of Cornwall was Robert Earl of Morton, or Morteigne; afler passing through
other hands, Cornwall was made a dukedom, and given by Edward IIL to the Black Prince ;** since
which, Henry V. and VL, Edward son of Henry VL, Edward V., Edward son of Richard III.,
Arthur son of Henry VII., and his younger brother Henry VIII., Henry son of James I., and his
brother Charles I., Charles IL, George II., Frederick prince of Wales, George IV., and the present
infiut prince, have enjoyed this distinguished title. The dukes of Cornwall never had a residence in
the duchy, but the earla before them resided at Launceston caStle, occupying occasionally those of
Tintagel, Liskeard, Restormel, and Moresk.
The Cornish fiunilies ennobled are those of Bobcawen of Boscawen-Rose, in St. Burian, traced back
to 1200 ; they subsequently removed to Tregothnan, near Truro, on tlie marriage of one of the family
with an heiress of Tregothnan in 1330. The Boscawens were ennobled as Barons Bosca wen-Rose and
Viscounts Falmouth, in 1 720.
Tbefubis, Lord Clinton and Say, the fourth on the list of English barons, acquired by inheritance
in 1794. This family is traced back four generations before 1292 ; its residence is af Trefusis
house, about eight miles from Truro, and two from Penryn.
Mount Edgcumbe, of Mount Edgcumbe and Cothele, both on the Cornish side of the Tamar, the
estates bordering that river. lUchard Edgcumbe, of Mount Edgcumbe, was created a baron in 1742.
The fimiily came from Devonshire to Cothele in the reign of Edward III., and possess large estates
in Cornwall. The title of Viscount Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort was conferred in 1781 ; that of
earl in 1789.
St. Gebmanb, Eari of, and Baron Eliot, of Port Eliot, whose family came into Cornwall from
Devonshire, in consequence of making the exchange of Cutland, in Devon, for the estate of the
priory of St Germans, about 1565. This family was ennobled in 1 784, in the person of Edward Craggs
Eliot, who died in 1804 ; his second son, succeeding to the title of Lord Eliot, was advanced to the
earldom of St Germans in 1815 f
Grates, William Thomas, Baron Gravesend, son of Thomas Graves, Esq. of Thankes ; ennobled
for his naval services in the battle of the 1st of June, 1794.
De Dunstanville, Francis Basset, baron of Tehidy-park, and Lord Basset of Stratton.
Although the honour of de Dnnstanville is recently extinct, Frances, daughter of the late baron,
succeeded to the second title, as Lady Basset of Stratton, with remainder to her male descendants.
This is a very old Cornish family. The late baron was created a baronet in 1779 ; Baron de
Dunstanville in 1796 ; and Baron Basset of Stratton in 1797.
Vivian, Richard Hussey, Baron Vivian of Truro, an eminent general officer, colonel of the 12th
dragoons, descended fh>m a family long settled at Truro, and son of the late John Vivian, Esq.
Vice-warden of the Stannaries, and one of the most respectable gentlemen in all the relations of life
that Cornwall ever boasted.
The extinct peerage of Cornwall is a list of names, many of which were famous in their day :
among them were the Lords Tregoyes, Bottreaux, Bonville, de Brooke, Mamey, Denham, Valletort
of Trematon, Pomeroy of Tregony castle, Cardinan, or Dinan, of Cardinham, Tyes of Alvarton,
Llansladron of Llansladron, Archdekne of Shepestall, d'Aunay of Sheviock, Courtenay of Boconnoc
(earl of Devon), Robartes baron Truro, Mohun of Bodinnick, Granville (earl of Bath), Arundel of
Trerice, Godolphin of Grodolphin, Camelford of Boconnoc Erskine was made baron of Restormel,
but he possessed no land in the county. But few of the residences of the extinct peers remain : the
mount of Bottreaux castle is all that is left of that seat ; Colquite, Lord Mamey's, is utterly demolished ;
of Lord Bonville's seat at Trelawney a few fragments remain ; Trerice is a farm-house, once the seat
of the Arundels ; so is Godolphin and others ; Stow, the most magnificent mansion of the west, is
utterly gone ; Effbrd, an old seat of the Arundels, still stands; Lanheme is a nunnery.
The baronets of Cornwall are —
Sir Bouchier Wrey, of Trebigh, in St Ive ; now resident at Tawstock House, Devon ; date of
baronetcy, June 30, 1628.
• There feemi a atiaining of the original wordi of the statute, which declared the/r«<-6«yo««» wn of the king of
England should be duke of Cornwall. In the time of Janies I., on the death of Henry Prince of Wales and Duke of
Cornwall, the king got his second son to be declared duke ; the lawyers citing a subsequent authority, by which they
made any son of the king the "first-begotten" who happened to be the eldest son living, and heir to the realm of
England. The gentry of the law had a wonderftil skill in making statute* suit convenlency in such things.
t In the text we have spelt this faintly Elliot; itshoald be Eliot.
228 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Sir Wmiam Lewis Salusbwy Trdawney, of Trelaiirney, in PeljBt, and Harewood House, Calstock ;
date of baronetcy, July 1, 1628.
Sir Richard Bawlinson Vyvyan, of Trelowarren ; date of baronetcy, Feb. 12, 1644-5.
Sir John Trevelyan, of Trevelyan, in St Veep, whose family removed into Somersetshire some
generations back, but still retain their ancient property ; date of baronetcy, Jan. 24, 1661-2.
Sir WiUiam Mokgwarth, of Pencarrow; the first baronetcy created by King William, June
12, 1688.
Sir Charles Lemon, of Carclew, near Truro; date of baronetcy, 1774.
Sir Joseph Copley, of Bake, the seat of the Moyles; the possessor of Bake taking the name of
Copley on being created a baronet, Aug. 15, 1778.
Sir Warwick Charles Morshead, of Trenant Park; date of baronetcy, Dec. 10, 1773.
Sir William Pratt Call, of Whiteford; date of baronetcy, June 21, 1791.
Sir Charles Price, of Trengwainton ; date of baronetcy. May 30, 1815.
Sir J, C. Rashleigh, of Prideaux ; date of baronetcy, Sept. 15, 1831.
Sir Joseph Sawle Graves Sawle, of Penrice ; date of baronetcy, March 22, 1836.
The extinct baronetcies are— Hawkins, of Trewithen; BuUer, of Trenant; Mohun, of Boconnoc;
Robartes, of Truro; Granville, of Stow ; Carew, of Anthony; Smith, of Crantock; Killigrew, of
Arwenik ; Cory ton, of Ferrers ; and, we believe, St Aubyn, of Clowance.
The names of the Cornish landholders are generally marked from local derivation, it having been
formerly the practice to call a man, after his own and his father's name, by that of his dwelling ; as
John Thomas Pendarves, whose younger brother would be addressed Richard Thomas Pendarves,
and so on, which practice was not discontinued until 1736. On changing a habitation the name was
also changed. The names of many of the principal Cornish gentry very recently were — Beauchamp,
of Pengreep ; BiUixge, of Treworder ; Bond, of Erth; Borlase, of Borlase ; Braddon, of Treworgy ;
Butter, of Morval and Shillingham ; BureU, of Burell ; Carew, of Antony ; Carlyon, of Tregrahan ;
C^nowct*, of Chynoweth; Coorft, of Morval ; Darell, of Trewoman; Z>ew««, of Gwinnear ; Enys,
of Enys; Flamank, of Bocame; Foote, of Trelogosick; Giddy, of Trelease and Tredrea; Glanuille,
of Catchfrench ; G^n, of Glynn; Grcsfor,of Trewarthenick; GryKs, of Lanreath ; /?a&, of Fenton-
goUen; ^am/cy, of Halwyn ; Harris, of Kenegie; Hawkey, of Trevegoe; Hearle, or /Terfe, of Pri-
deaux; ^c:r<, of Trenerran ; Hoblyn, of Bodrane and Nanswyden-, Pans, of Whitstone; Ja^, of
St Erme ; Keigwin, of Mousehole ; Kekewich, once of Catchfrench ; Kempe, of Levethan ; Kendall,
of Treworgy and Pelyn ; KesteU, of Kestell ; Kingdon, of Trehunsey in Qwithiock, and Trenowth
in St Cleer ; Kingdon also occurs at Stamford Hill, near Stratton, and at Morton in Launcells, which
last was said to be a seat of Robert, Earl of Moreton, half brother to William the Conqueror ;♦
Lanyon, of Lanyon ; Mauaton, of Manaton ; Mayow, of Bray, in Morval; NichoUs, of Trereife;
Paynter, of Boskenna ; Penrose, of Penrose, in Sithney ; Penwamt, once of Penwarne, in ^lawnan ;
Peter, of Harlyn; Pdwhele, of Polwhele; Piideaux, of Place; Pye, of Nansarth; P^ne, of Ham;
RashUigh, of Fowey, or Menabilly; Rawle, of Hennet; Rescorla, of Rescorla; Robinson, of Cadg-
with; Rodd, of Trebartha HaU; Rogers, of Penrose; Rosecreeg, of Rosecreeg; Rous, of Halton;
5ai«/y«, of Lanarth; Spiller, of Penventon; Spry, of Cutcrew; Stackhouse, of Trchane and Pen-
darves, now Pendarves; Stephens, of Tregenna; Stone, of Trevego ; ,7%oiimm, of Chiverton; Tre-
mayne, of Helligan; TremwiAc^re, of Rosecadghill ; rrcwmtbn, of Carhayes ; rretcmnoni, of Trewin-
nard; TVcwren, of Trevardeva^ f/jftcA, of Botallack ; lFc66cr, ofMiddle Amble, St Kew; Williams,
of Treveme ; Wills, of Landrake ; Williams, of Roseworthy ; Woodridge, of Gadenick ; and Austen
Treffry, of Yowey.
The extinct families form a very numerous list; and of these, none are more remarkable than the
Arundels, one of whom was sheriflF of Cornwall in 1260. The Arundels formed two branches of the
same name. One of these, settled originally at Trembleth, removed afterwards to Lanheme, which
he had acquired by marriage, and this branch became extinct in 1701. The other branch of the
Arundels, that of Trerice, became extinct at an earlier period. In the time of Norden, there were
twelve seats of the Arundel family in Cornwall. The Trevanions had five seats, and they are extinct
in the male line. The Carminows have been extinct more than a century. The Granvilles, Mohun^
Champernons,Bodmgan8, Killigrews, Bevills, Godolphins, Tregians, Tonkins, Scawens, Roscarrocks,
Reskymers, Praeds, Robartes, Polkinhornes, Peverills, Lowers, Levelis, Haweis, Glynn of Wendron,
Ferrers, Eriseys, Courtenays, Chamonds, Bonithons, Blanchminsters, and Arweniks, have all passed
away, with others, of whom only the names and arms are now known.
The continual changes of family residence, and the numerous deaths, render any list of names
attached to modem residences very imperfect Besides the country seats already mentioned in
the course of this work, we give the following in addition, with the names of the late or of existing
The estate, thus historically remarkable, is the property of George Boughton Kingdon, Esq., G.P.C., aTJeputy Lieu-
tenant and Magistrate both for Cornwall and Devon, who resides at Launcell's House; well known for his literary and
scientific accfalrements, as well m for his urbanity and kindness as a country gentleman.
CORNWALL
229
occupiers ; it cannot be expected tbat we should give the occupants of mere villas, or leasehold
residences, who are unconnected with estates, as it would swell the list beyond all reasonable compass.
Behan Park, the Rev. Mr. Trist ; Bodmin Priory, W. R. Gilbert, Esq. ; Bonithon, Cury, T. Hartley^
Esq. ; Bosahan, Meneagp, T. Grylls, Esq. ; Bray, Morval, P. W. Mayow, Esq. -, St. Cadoc, in
St Veep, R. Wymond, Esq ; Camanton, Mawgan, in Pydar, J. Willyams, Esq. ; Carrines, Cubert,
R. Hosken, Esq. ; Chiverton, Perran, late J. Thomas, Esq. ; Colquite, D. Peter, Fsq.; Crigmurrion,
J. P. Peters, Esq. ; Groan, Eglosheyle, Rev. R H. Tremayne ; Crugsillack, Veryan, J. Eempe, Esq. ;
Duporth, St. Austle, late G. Rashleigh, Esq. ; Ellenglaze, Gubert, J. Hosken, Esq. ; Ennis, St. Errae,
S. Jago, Esq. ; Garlinnick, Greed, Rev. G Moore ; Harlyn, — Peter, Esq. ; Hatt, Botusfleming,
Rev. C. Tucker 4 Hellanclose, Cubert, J. Hosken, Esq. ; Hengus, St Tudy, M. Mitchel, Esq. ; Hex-
worthy, Lawhitton, E. Prideaux, Esq. ; Kilmarth, (unoccupied ;) Kirland, Bodmin, J. Kempthome,
Esq. ; Lanarth, St Keveme, Lieut -GoL Sandys ; Lancarffe, Bodmin, Gapt Hext, r.n. ; Longford
Hill, Marham Ghurch, Mrs. J. G. Woolcombe ; Lavethan, Blisland, late General Morshead ; Meer,
Ponghill. R Braddon, Esq. ; Nansalvan, Madem, J. Scobell, Esq. } Nansloe, Wendron, Rev. W.
Robinson ; Newcot, Bridgrule, J. Braddon, Esq. ; Newton Park, St Mellion, W. Hellyar, Esq. -, Pen-
quite, T. Graham, Esq. ; Penrice, J. S. Graves, Esq. ; Percothen, St. Merryn, S. Peter, Esq. ;" Place,
Anthony in Meneage, late Admiral Spry ; Place, Padstow, Rev. G P. Brune ; Poltair, Madem,
Rev. Dr. Scobell ; Rosemundy, St Agnes, late J. James, Esq. ; Rosewame, Gambome, W. Harris,
Esq. ; Skisdon, St Kew, H. Braddon, Esq. ; Stoketon, St Stephen's, Saltash, late Admiral De Courcy ;
Trebartha Hall, — Rodd, Esq. ; Trebarsy, South Petherwin, D. Howell, Esq. ; Tredethy, St Mabyn,
F. J. Hext, Esq. ; Tredudwell, E. Eveleigh, Esq. ; Tregarrick, St. Kew, A. Hambly, Esq. ; Treglith,
Treneglos, W. Braddon, Esq. ; Trekenning, St Golomb, F. Paynter, Esq. ; Tremeer, St Tudy, Mrs.
Read ; Trengoffe, Warleggon, E. Angove, Esq. ; Trevonan, — Gully, Esq. ; Trewardale, Blislan d
Mrs. Gollins ; Trewardreva, G. Scott, Esq. ; Trewithian, Gerrons, M. G. Gregoe, Esq. ; Treworgy,
St Clare, or Gleer, Mrs Inch ; Truan, or Trewen, St Golomb, R. Vyvyan, Esq. ; Vacye, North
Tamerton, G. Call, Esq. ; Westcot, St Dominick, W. Pode, Esq.
Upon the subject of the decay of many of the Cornish families, Dr. Borlase pertinently and beauti>
fully says, and we cannot close this part of the subject with a better quotation, " The most lasting
families have only their seasons, more or less, of a certain constitutional strength. They have their
spring and summer sunshine glare, their wane, decline, and death ; they flourish and shine perhaps
for ages ; at last they sicken ; their light grows pale, and, at a crisis, when the offsets are withered,
and the whole stock is blasted, the whole tribe disappears, and leaves the world as they have done
GomwalL There are limits ordained to everything under the sun ; man will not abide in honour, Gf
all human vanities, family pride is one of the weakest Reader, go thy way ; secure thy name in the
book of life, where the page fades not, nor the title alters nor expires ; leave the rest to heralds and
the parish register.*'
Lo&D WAfUDEN OF THE Stannabies. — His Royal Highness Prince Albert.
LoBD-LiEUTENANT OF THE GouNTY. — Sir William Lewis Salusbury Trelawney, BarL, of Harewood
House, Galstock.
COMMISSION OF THE PEACE.
Earl of St Grermans.
Earl of Falmouth.
Earl of Mount Edgcumbe.
Lord Eliot
Lord Robert Grosvenor.
Lord Graves.
Lord Vivian.
The Hon. G. M Fortescue.
The Hon. George Edgcumbe.
SirW.L.SalusburyTrelawney,Bt
Sir R. Rawlinson Vyvyan, Bart
Sir Wm. Molesworth, Bart
Sir Charles Lemon, Bart
Sir Joseph Copley, Bart.
Sir. Wm. Pratt Call, Bart
Sir Thos. Dyke Acland, Bart
Sir J. Colman Rashleigh, Bart
Sir J. S.-Graves Sawle, Bart
Sir Antony Buller, Kt
Sir J. Nugent Smith, Kt.
Sir Samuel Thomas Spry, Kt.
Edward Pole, D.D.
Edward Rodd, D.D. rUM^^
John Kendal Fletcher, D.D.
Henry Prynn Andrew, Esq.
Josh. Thomas Austen, Esq.
Wm. A. Harris Arundel, Esq.
Edward Archer, of Trelask, Esq.
John Basset, Esq.
Thomas Bewes, Esq.
Thomas Bond, Esq.
John Boger, Esq.
John Borlase, Esq.
Samuel Borlase, Esq.
John Braddon, Esq
Charles Prideaux Brunc, Esq.
G. F. Collins Browne, Esq.
John Buller, Esq.
Charles Buller, Esq.
Fred. William Buller, Esq.
John Burrell, Esq.
William Lemon Blewett, Esq.
C.N.Bray,of Longford Hill, Esq.
Nicholas Marty n Buckett, Esq.
George Cotsford Call, Esq.
William Carlyon, Esq.
John Carpenter, Esq.
John Carthew, Esq.
Matthew Garland Cregoe, Esq.
Edward Collins, Esq.
John Tillie Coryton, Esq.
William Cornish, Esq.
Edward Collins, Esq.
Wm. Henry Pole Carew, Esq.
Josh. Carre, Esq. ^_^
W. f. Call, of Whiteford, l^c^,
Ed w. Carlyon, of Tregrahan, Esq.
Clement Carlyon, of Truro, Esq.
A .Cory ton,of PentillieCastle,Esq.
Thomas Daniell, Esq.
Richard Doige, Esq.
Zachary Hammett Drake, Esq.
Stephen Davey, of Redruth. Esq.
230
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Kichard Dayey, of Kednith, Esq
Jonathan Elford, Esq.
John Samuel Enys, Esq.
Carteret John Wm Ellis, Esq.
John Inglett Fortescue, Esq.
J. Dicker Inglett Fortescue, Esq.
6. Croker Fox, of Falmouth, Esq.
Francis Glanville, Esq.
Francis Glanville, Esq. the yr.
John Grould, Esq.
G. W. Francis Gregor, Esq.
William Slade GuUy, Esq.
Kobert Lovell Gwatkin, Esq.
John Davies Gilbert, Esq.
Francis Glanyilie Gregor, Ksq.
John Horn brook Gill, Esq.
John Harris, Esq.
Isaac Donnithoroe Harris, Esq.
John Havkins, Esq.
John Hawker, Esq.
John Hext, Esq.
William Hext, Esq.
Thomas Hoblyn, Esq.
Wm. Ehivid Horndon, Esq.
John Hoskin, Esq.
James Haryey Hosken, Esq.
David Howell, Esq.
Charles Henry Hotchkys, Esq.
John Hall, Esq.
Thomas Hext, Esq.
C. Follexfen Hamlyn, Esq.
James Halse, Esq.
WiUiam Hext, Esq.
D. P. Hoblyn, of Colquite, Esq.
F. B. Hambly, of Treharrock, Esq.
Richard Johns, Esq.
George John, Esq.
William Jope, Esq.
Wm. T. Johns, Esq.
Nicholas Kendall, Esq.
Arthur Kelly, of Kelly, Esq.
George Boughton Kingdon, Esq.
WilUnm Peter Kempe, Esq.
John Lyne, Esq.
John King Lethbridge, Esq.
Day Perry Le Grice, Esq.
R. G. Lakes, of Trevarrick, Esq.
J. Littleton, Esq.
James Bryant Messenger, Esq-
William Marshall, Esq.
John Penberthy Magor, Esq.
E. Morshead, of Rose Bank, Esq.
W. Morshead, of Lavethan, Esq.
John Toupe Nicholas, Esq.
W. Nattle, of Cudsonbury, Esq.
John Paynter, Esq.
Samuel Humphry Pellew, Esq.
Samuel PcUew, Esq.
E. W. Wynne Pendarves, Esq.
John Penhallow Peters, Esq.
William Peter, Esq.
Robert Rons Peter, Esq.
Thomas John Phillipps, Esq.
Christopher Wallis Popham, Esq.
Wm. Tyringham Praed, Esq.
Samuel Pym, Esq.
T. Pearse, of Launceston, Esq.
J. T. Rous Peter, of Harlyn, Esq.
J. T. H Peter, of Harlyn, Esq.
R G. Polwhele, of Polwhele, Esq.
John Quicke, Esq.
William Rashleigh, Esq.
Barrington Reynolds, Esq.
T. J. Agar Robarts, Esq.
William Pender Roberts, Esq.
John Coryton Roberts, Esq.
Philip Vy vyan Robinson, Esq.
Frederick Rogers, Esq.
Francis Rodd, Esq.
Wm. Rashleigh, Esq. the yr., of
Menabilly.
H. P. Rawlings, Esq. of Padstow.
John Rundle, Esq.
C. Rashleigh, Esq. of Prideaux.
William Sandys Sandys, Esq.
John Scobell, Esq.
John Nugent Smith, Esq.
Richard Spry, Esq.
George Strode, Esq.
Augustus Smith, Esq.
C Bmne Graves Sawle, Esq.
R. S. SuUon, of Falmouth, Esq.
John Ustick Scobell, Esq.
Henry Thomson, Esq.
Loyell Todd, Esq.
John Hearle Tremayne, Esq.
J. T. P. B. Trevanion, Esq.
J. C. Bettesworth Trevanion, Esq.
Charles Trelawney, Esq.
H. Pendarves Tremenheere, Esq.
Edmund Turner, Esq.
J. S. Trelawny, of Harewood, Esq.
Jedediah Stephens Tucker, Esq.
John Jervis Tucker, Esq.
John Ennis Vivian, Esq.
John Vivian, Esq.
John Vowler, Esq.
Richard Vyvyan, Esq.
James Veitch, Esq.
Migor C. Crespigny Vivian.
John Vigurs, of Rose Hill, Esq.
Humphry Willyams, Esq.
William Williams, Esq.
Michael Williams, Esq.
Thomas Wetherall, Esq.
Captain Geo. Wightman.
J. M. Williams, Esq.
Wm. Arundel Yeo, Esq.
Rev. James Blencowe.
Rev. Richard Budd.
Rev. Richard Buller.
Rev. John Buller.
Rev. Robert Stapylton Bree.
Rev. Philip Carlyon.
Rev. Samuel Cole.
Rev. Grcorge Cornish.
Rev. a Chiloote, of Otterfaam.
Rev. John Davis.
Rev. Henry Thomas Dyke.
Rev. Edward Dix.
Rev. Thomas Fisher.
Rev. George Fortescue.
Rev. Tobias Foumeaox.
Rev. Walter Gee.
Rev. John Pomeroy Gilbert
Rev. John Glaaville.
Rev. Richard Gerveys Grylls.
Rev. R Gerveys Grylls, the yr.
Rev. Thomas Grylls.
Rev. Granville Leveson Gower.
Rev. Elliot Graham.
Rev. Samuel Hart
Rev. Francis John Hext
Rev. Henry Charles Hobart
Rev. William Hocken.
Rev. Charles Hodgson.
Rev. Peter Fry Hony.
Rev. John Jope.
Rev. Charles Trevanion Kempe.
Rev. John Kempe.
Rev. Nicholas KendalL
Rev. John Kbgdon.
Rev. Thomas Hockin Kingdon.
Rev. Charles Lethbridge.
Rev. Thomas Hunt Ley.
Rev. Charles Lyne.
Rev. Charles Valentine Le Grice.
Rev. Charles Marshall
Rev. William Moleswortb.
Rev. Edward Morshead.
Rev. Hender Molesworth.
Rev. Richard Martin.
Rev. John Molesworth.
Rev. John Peter.
Rev. John Phillipps.
Rev. Thomas Psscoe.
Rev. T. Philpotts, of Gwenap.
Rev. Thomas Robjrns.
Rev. John Rogers.
Rev. Edward Rogers.
Rev. John Sheepshanks.
Rev. Thomas Scott Smyth.
Rev. William Stackhouse.
Rev. Darell Stephens.
Rev. Samuel Symonds.
Rev. Uriah Tonkin.
Rev. George Treweeke.
Rev. Arthur Tatham.
Rev. Robert Michael Nowell
Ustick.
Rev. William Veale.
Rev. Vyell Francis Vyvyan.
Rev. John Wallis.
Rev. Henry WooUcombe.
4
CORNWALL. 231
Militia. — Comirall furnishes two regiments of milida in time of war. The first, or Doke of Corn-
wall's Rangers, is commanded by the Earl of Moant Edgcumbe, and its rendezvous is at Bodmin.
The second is called the Boyal Cornwall Miners, and its head-quarters are at Truro ; the Colonel
b the Lord Warden of the Stannaries. The only garrison in the county is at Pendennis Castle.
RsMTAii— Taxes. — The average rental of land in 1815 was 13«. 4d. ; the annual value assessed to
property-tax under Schedule A. was 922,259/. ; under D. 230,112/. ; rental, 566,472/. The return of
land and assessed taxes in 1809, was 48,647/. ; the assessments, 1830, 121,203/. ; with 47 select vestries.
PUices ofRdigious Worship, — A few years ago, when an accurate return was made of the places of
religious worship in this county, there were 197 churches and chapels of the establishment, 2 Roman-
catholic, 31 independent, 12 Baptist, 10 Quaker, 219 Wesleyan, and 42 other methodist, 4 missionary
and other stations,— total 320, with 197 of the establishment, making a total of 517 places of worship.
There is no doubt a considerable increase upon these numbers since the return was made.
Endowed Grammar Schools, — Bodmin. — ^Endowed by Queen Elizabeth with 5/. 6s. Sd, per annum,
and to this the corporation adds 95/. more for a master's salary.
St. Ivss. — ^A grammar-school was founded here by Charles L, in 1639.
Launceston. — Here a royal grammar-school was founded by Queen Elizabeth, and endowed with
17/. \Ss. 3|</. An additional sum annually of 10/. was given by George Baron, in 1685, with a power
to nominate ten boys free of expense. The Duke of Northumberland gives 15/. annually.
LiSKKARD. — The date and founder of the Liskeard grammar-school are alike unknown. The site
is where an old castle of the Duchy of Cornwall once stood. There is no endowment, but 100/. per
annum from the corporation. The celebrated Dean Prideaux was educated here.
Penetn. — The grammar-school in St Gluvias here was founded by Queen Elizabeth, and endowed
with 6/. ISs, annually, out of the land revenue, for teaching three boys.
Saltash. — Queen Elizabeth founded a grammar-school here, and endowed it with 7/.
TBURa — The founder of this, the most celebrated school in the county, is unknown ; the salary
paid to a master by the corporation it is supposed was the product of lands vested in their hands
at a very early period. The school-room is an old structure, 42 feet long and 28 broad, with Corin-
thian columns and pilasters ; and attached to it is a library, containing some excellent books, placed
under the control of the master, to be lent to the scholars as he may see fitting. One of the Lords
Falmouth added 25/1 per annum to the school revenues. There is attached an exhibition at St Mary's
College, Oxford, arising from the bequest of the Rev. St John EUiot, once rector of St Mary's here.
Three medals were annually given in this school to the reciters in public of speeches in English and
La^ ; first by Grovemor Macarmick, and secondly by Lord Falmouth. Many eminent men were
educated here ; among them Foote, the comedian ; Henry Martyn, the orientalist, who died in
Persia ; Polwhele, the historian ; Davy, the great chemist ; Pellew, afterwards Lord Exmouth, of
Algiers ; Hitchens, who began the history of his native county — carried out and published by Drew ;
and several living characters of eminence. The masters were several of them rectors of St Mary,
in Truro; the appointment of 1600 bears the name of John Hodge, and is followed by T. Syms,
1609 ; M Sharrock, 1612 ; N. Upcot, 1618 ; G. Phippen, 1620 ; W. White, 1635 ; R. Jago, 1666 ;
this hist, for what reason is not stated, was dismissed in 1685, and was succeeded by G. H. Greenfield ;
S. Paget, 1693 ; J. Hilhnan, 1698 ; T. Hankyn, and J Jane, 1706 ; G. Conon, 1728. Mr. Conon
recovered the school from a state of much depression. He resigned July 3, 1771, and was succeeded
by Dr. Cornelius Cardew, who extended the fapie of the school yet further, and augmented consider-
ably the number of the scholars. Dr. Cardew resigned in 1805, and retired to the rectory of
St Erme, where he died at a very advanced age. The school now ceased to be exclusively a gram-
mar-school, but the classics still made an essential part of the system, under the superintendence of
Thomas Hogg, who was the next master elected.
Schools.— The numbers educated in schools* were, in the National, in union, 3,672 ; British and
Foreign, 540 ; Sabbath, in union, 13,211 ; total, 17,423.
Charities. — The annual rental of the endowed public charities was 746/. ISs 6d.; but no return
was made of those entered with the clerk of the peace in the paper laid before the House of Commons
with the other counties.
Newspapers. — There a^;e three newspapers in Cornwall ; the Cornwall Gazette^ the West Briton^
and the Falmouth Packet, all of considerable standing in the county, and respectably conducted.
232
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES.
Episcopal JcRisiMOnoN. — Anciently, it is believed, under its own Bishops, resident at St Germans, but this is
disputed ; at present in the Diocese of Exeter.
Abchdeaconbt. — ^Limit, the county, including the Scilly Isles, with 32 parishes of exempt jurisdiction. The Vi&hi^
tions are held at Launceston, Liskeard, Bodmin, Truro, Helston, and Fenxance, a little after Easter.
Deaneries. — ^These are in number eight ; namely. East, Kirrier, Penwith, Powder, Pydar, Trigg liigor, Triij
Minor, and West — The office of Rural Dean has always been aa efficient office in ComwalL
Spiritdal Court. — The Archdeacon's Spiritual Court has been held at Bodmin since 1750, every other Friday, exe<p(
at Easter and Christmas.
Parishes. — In the sense of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the parishes of St Giles-in-the-Heath, North Petherwio, ud
Werrington, the two last separated from the territory of Cornwall, as it is supposed by the Abbots of TaYistock, m
whom these lands belonged, make 206 parishes : in civil jurisdiction, 203. Of these, 85 are Rectories; 100 Vicaragt^;
and 18 Donatives or Curacies. The great Tithes of most of the two last descriptions are lay impropriations. Ai tke
early part of the last century, the richest living was that of St. Columb, estimated at 4002. per annum, now 1,500/. ; fi'.«
were of the estimated value of 300/. ; two of 220/. ; fifteen of 200/. ; one of 170/. ; nine of 150/. ; twelve from 100/. to 1 jJ.' ;
twenty-seven of 100/. ; and the remainder under that sum. The Scilly Islands are within the Archdeaconry, having
one chapel.
DEANERT
DIOCESE OF EXETER.
PARISHES.
Descrip-
tion.
GrosH
Ann.
Val.
1831.
Curatet'
Stipciid.
:::}
Anthony, East
Botus Fleming
Callington . . .
See Southill
Calstock . . .
Dominick, St
Emey^St., see Landrake
Germans, St
John, or St John's . .
Ive, St
Landrake, w. StEmey
Landulph
Lawhitton
Lewannick
V.
285
R. ! 236
Lezant
Linkinhorne
Maker
Mellion, St ... .
Menhcniot ....
Northill
Pillaton
Quithiock ....
liame
Sheviock
Southill
10. Callington .
St Stephen^s Saltash
Stoke-Climsland . . .
}
R.
R.
R.
C.
C.
R.
R.
V.
V.
R
V.
R.
V.
V.
R
V.
R.
R
V.
R.
R.
R.
V.
R.
520
400
• •
143
211
403
282
340
4S0
242
522
315
223
220
1020
487
235
346
206
412
868
100
621
£
1%
Pi
INCUMBENTS.
125
78
120
75
43
120
74
156
60
23 G. P. Carew
46 W. Spry . .
10 E. Morshead .
82 F. L. Bazeley
32
120
100
f 84
\ 80
100
104
}
T. Fumeaux . .
W. Row . . . .
41 J. Jope
. . E. V. J. Arundel
. . F. du Boulay . .
. . A. H. Gore . . .
116W.S. Carey . .
3 E. M. Kempe. .
. . D. Stephens . .
4 G. Coryton . . .
216 R. Martin . . . .
76 C. Rodd
32 H. Woolcombe .
20 J. R. Fletcher .
. . jT. H. Ley . . .
. . ,G. P. Carew . .
120 H. M. Rice . . .
I
20 O Manley . . .
. . iTV. Carwithen .
£o CURATES' NAMES
PATRONS.
Tithe C'Jtr-
niutai:uD>
1841
1826
1795 J. GUI
1835
W. H.P. Carewi . .
W. Spry ... .1 . .
(Ld.Ashburton \
G Stroud . . / • •
The Crovtn . .j 425
F. L. Bazeley . . .
«. -i
O '
1828
1808 John Adams
1806 W. Nattle . .
1820 W. Grylls . .
1805
1839
1840
116
430
1830
1796 E. Trelawney. . .
1841 T. Pigott
1831 M. Anstis
1832*
1816 T.L iliu/.'. . .
1816'
1824'
1841 J Roberts
1841
{G. Martin . . \
J.K.Fletcher/
18411
1840 IL A. Gilbert .
Id. &C.Windsor|
'R. P Carew . .
'The Crown . .
Visct Valletort,!
Dy. of Cornwall
Bp. of Exeter . .
Ld. Chancellor .
Bp. of Exeter | !
Rev. Mr. Kempe
Ld.ChaDcellor •!
J. T. Coryton .
Exeter ColUOxf. 1100
F. H. Rodd. . . 538
E. Collins ....
Bp. of Exeter .
ElMEdgcumbe 214
W. H. P. Carew . .
fLdAshburtou ^
t G. Stroud . . / ' •
T, Edwards
lyy. of Cornwall 730
•>
360 O *>
12
461
130
224
225
9 ••
8 «•
•
O •
U i>
O i>
M
9 .1
•»
«
DEANERY
!
V.
Anthony in Meneage .
Breage, w. Cury &
Gunwallo
Budock, see Gluvias
Constantine V.
Cury, see Breage .... V.
V.
V.
101
71
«^o m
521
. . jW. Polwhele. . 1828
110 R G. Grylls . . 1809
. . I I . ,
71 E. Rogers. . . .1817
E. Budge ....
{J. Perry . . .\
J. Stevenson . /
Ld.Chancellor <
The Crown . .
210 u I
140 I
« • « •
D.&C. of Exeter
CORNWALL
233
^CTJMBENTS, CURATES, PATRONS, &c.
The IJevonshire parishes of St. Giles, North Petherwio, and Werrington, are in the Cornish Deanery of Trigg Major,
thin the Archdeaconry $ and so are the Scilly Isles. Thirty-tvo parishes have exempt jurisdiction, of which twenty*
e are in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Bishop of Exeter ; viz. Anthony in Boseland, Breock, Budock, Evall, Eglo-
?y'le, !Emey, Ervan, Falmouth, St Grermans, Gerrans, Gluvias, Issey, Landrake, Lawhitton, Lezant, Mabe, Merrin,
irlor, Padstow-town, (the rest of the parish being within the archdeacon's jurisdiction,) Little Fttherick, South
therwin, and Trewen.
The parishes of St Agnes, Boconnoc, Broadoak, Perranzabulo, and St Winnow, are in the peculiar jurisdiction of the
lan and Chapter of Exeter. Bnrian, St Levan, and Sennen in that of the Dean of Burian. Lanhydrock and Temple
i in lay jurisdiction. The registry for wills of these two last parishes is in the archdeacon's registry at Bodmin, or in
Motors' Commons. In the Dean of Burian's registry at Penzance, or Doctors' Commons, for his three parishes. At
:eter, or Doctors' Commons, for the parishes in the Bishop's jurisdiction ; and in the same places for those of the
^n and Chapter of Exeter. The Archdeacon's registers, at Bodmin, commence in 1569 ; and here the three parishes
St. Giles, North Petherwin, and Werrington register, or otherwise in Doctors' Commons.
The parishes in italics are daughter-churches. V. signifies Vicarage ; R. Bectory ; C. Curacy ; D. Donatiye.
F EAST.
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNERS.
Glebe.
A. B. P.
ector
ector
ector
ector
•xf. Univ. College .
.ector .......
npropriator . .
'icar
ector
Icar
ector
}
}
63
ector
ector
64
Tax. et Valor.
1291 or 1294.
£ 8, <L
6
2 13 4
5
4 6 8
10
2 6 8
4 3 4
4 13 4
4
...
4
5
4 6 8
5
4
8
6
3 6 8
6 8
6 8
5 13 4
9 6 8
5 6 8
Tax. et Valor.
Henry VIII.
£ «. <f.
12 17 6
16 15
26 4 4
23 11
* •
not named.
12 4 4
26
18 12 4
20 3 6
19 6 8
7 18 2
32
13
23 11
11 12 6
21 15 4
36 6 8
16 15 6
15 11
12 7 4
26 14 6
38
26
40
Statute
Acres.
Popula-
tion,
18JI1.
2800
290
2600
5450
2680
881
10,050
640
7800
2759
1880
2570
3920
4660
8270
1260
2970
6280
7540
3140
4220
1200
2290
3580
4880
«880
3099
279
1388
2328
726
2586
150
656
872
570
485
643
841
1159
2637
330
1253
1155
413
692
896
453
530
3092
1608
POST TOWNS.
PARISHES.
Devonport
Saltash. . ,
Callington . . . . ,
Callington . . . . .
Callington
Saltash
St. Germans . . .
Devonport
Callington
Saltash
Saltash
lAunceston . . . .
Launceston . . . .
Launceston . . . .
Callington
Devonport,
Callington
Liskeard. ,
Launceston . . .
Callington ....
Callington ....
Devonport. . . .
St Germans . .
Callington ....
Saltash
Callington ....
Anthony, East
Botus Fleming.
/ Callington^
\ See Southill.
iCalstock.
Dominick, St
Emey, St^see Landrake
Germans, St
John, or St John's.
Ive, St
Landrake, tr. StEmey.
Landulph.
Lawhitton.
Lewannick.
Lezant
Linkinhome.
Maker.
Mellion,St
Menheniot
NorthUl.
PUlaton.
Quithiock.
Rame.
Sheviock.
(Southill,
\ tr. Callington,
St Stephen's, Saltash.
Stoke-Climsland.
F KIRRIER.
:^«««' I 62 2
icar , • )
' Mrs. Richards &
1^ others . . .
22
:}
K & C. of Exeter . .
4 13 4
16
10 b
4 15 11
1410
300
33
7390
5149
See Gluvias
19 8 10}
See Breage.
3507
8470
3420
1797
2004
523
Helston .
Helston .
Penryn .
Falmouth
Helston .
Anthony in Meneage.
Breage.
Budock, see Gluvias.
Constantine.
Ctiry, see Breage.
11 II
234
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DIOCESE OF EXETER.
DEANERY 01
PARISHES.
Falmoath
Germoe, see Breage . .
Gluyias 1
IT. Badock . . . . /
ff Penwerris . . . .
Grade
Descrip-
tion.
R.
V.
V
:}
GunwaUoy see Breage .
Gwennap
St. Day, or Dye . .
Helston, see Wendron .
Keverae, St
Landewednack . . . .
Mabe, see Mylor . . .
Manaccan
Mawgan in Menea^^
w. St. Martin in V
Meneage. . .J
Mawnan
Mylor, w. Mabe . . . .
MuUion
Perran Anpothalf see \
Stithians f
Ruan Major
Ruan Minor
Sithney
Silthians, w. Perran 1
Arwothal /
Wendron, 10. HeUton .
C
R.
V.
V.
C.
V.
V.
R
V.
V.
R.
R
V.
V.
V.
R
R
V.
V.
T.
Gross
Ann.
Val.
1881
854
Cuntea*
Stipend.
£
r2i8>
1150/
276
527
150
448
270
235
630
398
401
200
195
97
440
474
1090
100
}
SI
INCUMBENTS.
£
166
33
150
50
W. J. Coope
J. Sheepshanks
J.Peter. ...
45 T. Phillpots
66
• •
100
80
65
17
26
10
70
53
22
4
6
72
97
212
D. Evans .
Ed. Griffith
^ 5
E. Badge ....
H. Mann ....
R B. Kinsman .
E. Hoblyn . . .
F. Gregory . . .
CURATES' NAMES.
J. W. Johns. . . .
E. Griffith . . .
R T. St. Aubyn
W.Thomas. . .
H. W. Hockins.
rG.B.Boras-|
\ ton, Jan. ./
1824
1817
•
1825
1839
1840
• •
1839
1816
1838
1823
1834
1840
1814
1839
1837
{
{
H.B.Illingworth
R F. Wise . . .
G. Kemp . • . .
J. Flamank . . .
A. A. Vawdrey.
PATRONS.
Ld. Wodehonae.
}
Bp.<tf Exeter.
Bep6.o£J.Rogers
Tithe Crm
]natai:03s
£ s- 6
{I
D.&CofExeter
Vic of Gwennap
J. Rate
J. Symonds
Mr. Hill ....
P. y.Robmson.
{
Bp. of Exeter. .
G. Trevelyan. .
J. Rogers . . . .
Bp. of Exeter. |
Bp. of Exeter. <
«i. xeter ......
J. P. Keigwin'. . .
W.M.Straceyl
G. Barlow . . j
{
P. V. Robinson .
P. V. Robinson .
Bp. of Exeter
Ld. Falmouth
{
Qun.*s ColL Oxf
165
105
225
420
133
141 14
170
240
160
350
215
310
225
170
255
322
DEANER
Burian, St. tr.
St Leven & Sennen
}
Camborne
Crowan
Earth, St, or Erth . ,
Gulval
Gwinear
Gwithian, see Phillack
Hilary, St. and
Marazion Chapel
}
Illogan, tr. Treyenson .
Jast, St, in Penwith .
Ives, Sl
Lelant-Euny, or
Enny-Lelant,
Towed nack
Levnn^ St., see Burian .
Ludgvan .
or -^
.... /
Madern, or Madron,
w. Monrah
Iadron,\
. . . . I
Morvahf see 'MBdem . .
Paul
Penzance
{
R
R
V.
V.
V.
V.
V.
V.
P.C.
R
V.
V.
V.
R
R
V.
V.
V.
P.C.
1012
833
559
300
400
362
389
96
624
450
150
441
{IS}
100
740
882
156
115
}••
100
{S}
8
43
108
51
1
54
78
37
1
F.H.RStanh<^
H. Rogers . . .
J. M. St Anbyn
J. Punnet. . . .
W. Wingfield . .
J. G. Wulff . . .
}
fT. Pascoe
-{ J.H.Town'
( send, 1822
G. Treweeke .
J. Boiler . . .
W. J. Havart.
U. Tonkin . .
....
H. E. Graham
M. K. Peters .
C. G. R Festing
E. Shattleworth
1819
1816
1833
1839
1833
1814
1819
1822
1825
1836
1832
1835
1838
1827
1840
rW.M.Straoey1
\C. Jenkyns . J
C. Hickson . . . .
Wm. Borlase . . ,
1%.^^^^^^'^^''
The Crown . .
Ld Dunstanyille
Sir J. St Aubyn
D.&C. of Exeter
The Crown . .
Bishop of Exeter
....
/"Dn.ofLeeds'l
< and others. >
t V.StHilary )
570
/ 8
\900
{
W. Griffith
J. N. Campbell • .
H. Penniek . . .
Morns . . . .
Shuttleworth
(I. r*.
fH.
^G.
(e.
W. O. Gumey . .
See Madron.
The Crown . .
Vicof Towed- >
nack&Lelantj
Bp. of Exeter I
Duke of Bolton .
M. N. Peters . .
The Crown . .
Cor. of Penzance
234 19
105
140
670
(21210
\175
250
205
250
800
r68
\69 19
COBMWALL.
235
IRRIER— coniiniied
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNERS.
[ Vicar
>. & C. of Exeter.
ricar
tector
Various Proprietors .
}
mpropriator • • • 1
/icSLT J
impropriator ....
Olebe.
▲. R. P.
69
Hear
liord Clinton . . . .'
iTicar
iev. R. Ustick . . .
if'^icar
• • • • •
>. T. Spry
[x>rd Falmouth . .
V'^icar
Vicrge. endowed)
with great Tithes J
{
}
38
95
36
Tax. et Valor.
1291 or 1294.
£ 8, (L
{
19
2
3
4 3 4
7
22 13 4
• •
• • t
4
r 4 6 8j
\10 0/
4 3 8
6 13 4
8
• • •
4 3 4
• • •
6 6 8
• •
17 6 8
Tax. et Valor,
Henry VIII.
£ i. d.
• • •
See Breage.
21 16 9
w. Budock.
Breage.
16 18 9
...
18 11 4
11 16 6
• •
4 16 Oi
35 10 0|
14 6 1
16 15
9 4 4
16 10
4 4 5
19 11 4
14 8
26 19 3
Statute
Acres.
}
621
1360
2420
1440
7940
130
9650
1300
2410
1371
/2550\
\5510j
2250
3463
4550
4030
2520
890
5670
4490
12,317
Popula-
tion,
1891.
7284
1175
4490
306
284
8529
3293
2437
406
512
654
1094
578
2647
733
1504
162
269
•
1874
8073
POST TOWNS.
Fahnouth
Helston
Fenryn
Helston
Helston
Truro .
Helston .
Falmouth
Helston .
Falmouth
Falmouth
Helston .
Falmouth
Penryn .
Helston
Penryn
Helston
Helston
Helston
Penryn
Helston
PARISHES.
Falmouth.
Germoe, see Breage.
( Gluyias ,
< 10. Badock,
( ff Penwerris.
Grade.
Gvnioalh, see Breage.
Gwennap,
St Day, or Dye.
Helston, see Wendron.
Keveme, St
Landewednack.
Mabe, see Mylor.
Manaccan.
( Mawgan in Meueage,
< w. St Martin in
( Meneage.
Mawnan.
Mylor, w. Mabe,
Mullion.
{Perran AncothaJj see ;
Stithians.
Ruan Major.
Ruan Minor.
Sithney.
{Stithians, w. Perran
AirwothaL
Wendron, tr. Helston.
)F PENWITH.
Dean of Borian . . . .
}
fmpropriator . . .
Rector
Sir J. St. Auhyn . . .
0. & C. of Exeter .
^Vm. Blanco
Sxeter ColL Oxford
[lector
[mpropriator . . .
Hear of St Hilary
}
». Borlase . ,
■lector ....
[mpropriator
kV. Praed . .
^icar
I>ean of Burian . . . .
[lector
:::}
55
5
77
9
38 2 6
fC. V.LeGrice,&\
t D. P. Le Grice /
]rtTithestr.Madem, \
Small with Vicar /
>orporat. of Penzance
r20 0\
\ 5 11 8/
8
8
not named.
3 8 8
5 13 4
5 13 4
8 13 4
8
8
w, liclant.
15 13 4
IT. Burian.
7
5 6 8
not named.
9 6 8
• . . •
48 12
39 16 9
11 9 0^
14 1
6 11 0}
12
PhUhick.
11 6
22 7 5
11 11 OJ
22 11 lOi
. • • .
30 11 6
21 5 10
not named.
13 11 6
• • . •
6670
6900
7340
3050
3280
4400
2070
3380
8010
7820
1850'
4215
2400
4560
6810
2060
3530
Madem.
1707
7699
4332
1922
1467
2728
539
3121
6072
4667
4776
1602
515
• •
2322
377
4191
6563
Penzance
Camhome
Helston .
Marazion
Penzance
Redruth .
Redruth .
Marazion
Redruth .
Penzance
St Ives .
Heyle
Penzance
Penzance
Penzance
Penzance
Penzance
Penzance
{Burian, St , tr.
St Leven, &. Sennen.
Camborne.
Crowan.
Earth, St, or Erth.
GuWal. I
Gwinear. |
Gwithian, see Phillack.
{Hilary, St, and
Marazion Chapel.
lUogan, IT. Treyenson.
Just, St, in Penwith.
IveSj St.
( Lelant-Euny,orEany
< Lelant, w. Towed -
( nack.
XevaH, 5t, see Burian.
Ludgvan.
r Madem, or Madron,
\ w, Morvah.
Morvahf see Madem.
Paul.
Penzance.
236
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DIOCESE OF EXETER.
DEAKERT 01
PARISHES.
Perran Uthno, op
Udnou
}
Phillack, w. Gwithian
Redruth, (St Uny) . .
Sancreed
Sennetij see St l^arian
Towednack, aee Lelant
Zennar
Descrip-
tion.
R.
R.
R
V.
R.
V.
V.
6nM»
Ann.
Val.
£
Curates'
Stipend.
£
£
316
128
44
570
• •
30
501
• •
69
265
125
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
190
• •
11
•
INCUMBENTS.
Date of
Induction.
W. M. Johnson
1815
W. Hockin . . .
1809
J.W.Hawkesley
1835
BL Comyn ....
....
1829
• •
. • • .
U. Stoneman . .
• •
1837
CURATES' NAMES.
H. Stambury . .
K Crow
PATRONS.
LadyCanington
W. Hockin . . .
Lady Baatet . .
D.&C.of£xeter
Bp. of Exeter |
Tithe Cun-
mutaUuDS
/165 OS
\34412C
230 0(
• • • •
166 18 ]
201 13 I
DEANER1
Allen, St
Anthony, St, in
Roseland
Anstle, St, w.
St. Blazey ....
BUueyy and Pentuan,
tee St Austle . . .
Clements, St (Tnuro) .
Comelly
Creed, w, Orampound
Cuby, w, St James, |
(Tregony) . . . , t
Denis, St, see St \
Michael Carhayes J
Erme, St Rectory . . .
Ewe, St
Eeock
Filley, or PhiUeigh,)
(Eglosros) . . . . j
Fowey . .
Gerrans
Grorran
Just, St, Roseland, )
w. St. Mawes • . • /
Kenwyn, (Truro,)
w, Kea
St John's Chapel . .
Chacewater Chapel .
Ladock
LAmorran •
Lanlivery .......
Lostwithiel
Luxulian
Mary, St (Truro) . . .
Merther
Mevagissy
Mewan, St
MichaeICarhayes,St ^
St Stephens, and >
St Denis j
Michael Penkivel, St .
Probus
V.
D.
V.
V.
V.
C.
R
V.
R&V.
R.
R.
V.
R.
V.
R.
V.
R
V.
V.
:}
R
R
V.
V.
V.
R
C.
V.
R
R&V.
R
V.
175
640
280
47
351
348
492
680
204
386
203
281
305
546
780
190
60
841
200
240
106
195
137
57
259
314
985
170
673
75
130
93
120
102
115
120
• •
73
103
64
• •
37
87
• •
19
188
29
87
24
23
47
121
77
• •
74
7
12
96
10
30
326
14
64
G. Kemp ....
1840
W. Baker ....
F.Todd
1839
a • . •
C. M. Gibson . .
• •
1839
J. Collins ....
J. Danbus . . .
1839
1829
J. L. Lugger . .
1831
• •
J. Pomery . . .
1831
TvJ. Trevenen.
1836
F. Cole
1833
S. Symonds . . .
1819
J. Eempe ....
1818
W.Baker. . . .
D. Jenkins . . .
1807
1824
C. W. Carlyon .
1804
G. Cornish . . .
1828
0. J. Tancock .
D. Jackson . . .
U. Ware ....
W. CurgeuTen .
N. KendaU . . .
1840
1832
1803
1815
J. Bower ....
1816
R G. Grylls . .
1813
W. W. Harvey .
F.Webber . . .
J. Arscott ....
1838
1833
1824
W. Hocker . • .
1802
C. T. Kempe . .
1806
G. L. Gower . .
R Lompen . . .
1818
1828
{
C.S.Woolcock\
J. G. ChHds /
«•...•
J. Mickleburgh .
H.Todd.
E. Tippet
H. T. Rodd . • . .
{
W.D.Looglands
W. Oliver. . . .
E. Luscombe . . .
H. B. Bullocke .
E. C!arlyon . . .
C. Hocker . . .
C. Bawlings . .
W. Curgenven
{I
The Cbown
Bp. of Exeter
S. T. Spry, Esq.
The Csowti I
V • • •
Principal Inhab.
C.H.T. Hawkins
J. A. GJordon.
f E. W. W. 1
\ Pendarves j
T. Carlyon . .(
Bishop of Exeter
C. Bedford . .
}
J. T. Treffry {
Bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
J. Hawkins . . .
Bp. of Exet I
Vic of Kenwyn
Vic. of Kenwyn
H. Ware ....
Lord Falmouth .
N. Kendall . . .
/Lord Mount \
\ Edgcumbe /
/ SirJ.C.
\ Rashleigh
L.MtEdgcumbe
Parishioners . .
LMtEdgcumbe
Representatives
ofSirC.Hawkins,
J.H.Tremaine,&
Rev. H. Hoblyn.
( Lord and ^
< Lady Gren- >
(^ viUe . . . ;
Lord Falmouth .
Bishop of Exeter
265
147
118
502
537
120
437
330
0(
1 '
0(
0(
10 (
0<
3^
(
450 0(
• • • •
I
260 1
500 0<
10 1
640 i
• « •
350 0(
163 19
168 (
535 0(
524 11 :
700 0(
153 <
* « • •
40 <
225 <
230 0*
30 14 •
275 (
150 4
118 10 (
CORNWALL.
237
PENWITH— «wimii«/.
AKCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNERS.
I). & a of Exeter \
Vicar /
Dean of Barian . . . .
G. John
Vicar .
}
Glebe.
A. B. P.
Tax. et Valor.
1291 or 1294.
{
£ s. <L
1 10
6 13 4
2 10
6
Bot named.
5 13 4
4
Tax. et Valor.
Henry VIII.
£ s. d.
17 11 3
tr.Gwithian
45 10 8
19 11
8
5 5
I
Statute P^Pf
Acres.
1831.
}
1600
2880
3770
4240
2350
2880
4640
1033
3053
8191
1069
689
737
811
POST TOWNS.
Marazion
Redmth ,
Redmth ,
Penzance
Penzance
Heyle .
St Ives
3F POWDER,
Earl of Falmoutli .
Vicar *
}
Vicar & Impropriator
n. P.Andrew, & others
Vicar
Principal Inhabitants .
Rector
J. A. Gordon
Rector
Rector
rsir J. Sawle . . \
\ E. Carlyon . . . j
Rector
Earl of Fahnooth . . .
Rector
fmpropriator
Vicar . . . .
:::}
Earl of Falmouth .
Vicar
}
Rector
Rector
Ld. Moant Edgcnmbe
/ Vicendowed with \
\ Rectorial Tithes j
Sir J. C. Rashleigh \
Vicar • . j
Rector
I).&C.ofCh.Ch.Oxf.
Duke of Buckingham
Rector
Rector
{I
Rector
Bp.of Exeter, & others.
■•{
}■
80
81
1 4
6 1 34
42
2
{
10 3
35
33 30
6
• • •
10 13 4^
not named. J
6
not named.
4 13 6
5 6 8
not named.
6
8
3 6 8
5
4
not named.
6 13 4
4 6 8
2 19 0(1447)
8 6 8
* • • •
6
10
9 11 8
not named.
not named.
2 13 4
not named.
2
2
not named.
2
12
• • • •
3610
• • •
710
21 O-l
11,540^
2,000/
9
3520
• • •
13 6 8
1480
2710
10 4
2410
f«eeCarO
\ hayes. /
22 13 4
3370
3780
21
6100
11
2350
... *
2310
10
1900
15 6 0}
20
2470
4660
37
2550
|l6
/7600
\7370
. • . .
18
6
13 6 8
5730
1320
6670
2 13 4
120
10
5400
16
. • •
6
190
2170
1250
10
2380
27 10 6)
14
\ 820
9 14 Oi
13 6 8
1240
7400
637
144
8758
2155
2885
170
258
155
721
586
1699
1210
432
1767
766
1205
1558
8492
3896
761
96
1687
1548
1288
2925
411
2169
1306
197
179
13.50
Truro . .
St Mawes
St Austle
Truro . .
Tregony .
Grampound
Tregony.
Tregony.
Truro . .
St Austle
Truro .
Tregony
Fowey .
Tregony
Tregony
St Mawes
I Truro
Truro .
Truro .
Truro .
Tregony
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
Truro . . .
Truro . . .
Mevagissy .
St Austle
Tregony
Tregony
Truro .
PARISHES.
rPerran Uthno, or
\ Udnou.
Phillack, w. Gwithian.
Redruth, (St Uny.)
Sancreed.
Sennen, see St Burian.
Towednackj see Lelant
Zennar.
Allen, St
iAnthony,St, in Rose-
land.
Austle, St, w,
St Blazey.
(Blazey, and Pentuan,
\ see St Austle.
Clements, St (Truro>
Cornelly.
Creed, w, Grampound.
rCuby, w. St James,
\ Tregony.
r Denis, St, see St Mi-
\ chael Carhayes.
Erme, St Rectory.
Ewe, St
I
Feock^
rFilley,orPhilleigh,
\ (Egiosros.)
Fowey.
Gerrans.
Gorran.
f Just, St, Roseland,
\ 10. St Mawes.
i Eenwyn, (Truro,) w.
\ Kea.
St John's ChapeL
Chacewater Chapel.
Ladock.
Lamorran.
Lanlivery.
LostwithieL
Luznlian.
Mary, St (Truro.)
Merther.
Mevagissy.
Mewan, St
( Michael Carhayes, St
< St Stephens, and
i St Denis.
Michael Penkivel, St
Probus,
238
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DIOCESE OF EXETER
DEANERY OF
PARISHEa
Roche.
Roan Lanyhome . . .
Samson, or GolaDt. . .
Stephens f SL in Bran- ^
»e/, see St Michael >
Carhayes J
Tywardreth ......
Veryan
Descrip-
tion.
B.
R.
C.
R.&V.
V.
V.
Gross
Ann.
Val.
1831.
480
465
53
135
420
Curates'
Stipends.
£
• «
67
• •
51
53
• •
• •
• •
• •
135
• •
81
INCUMBENTS.
T. Pearce.
R. Badd. . .
H. Hinxman
C. Lyne
S. P. J. Trist . .
^1
&
1841
1810
1829
1841
1829
CURATES' NAMES.
J. S. Avery
PATRONS.
{Trustees of \
J. Thornton J
C.C.CoU.Oxfoni
W.Rashleigh. .
TItbe Cotn-
mutatioLi.
W Bashleigh.
D.&C. Exeter
{
440
• • • •
205 (^
I
780
400
760 13 6
361 11 6
DEANERY
}
Affnes, SL see Perran-
zabulo
Breock, St
Golan
Columb, St., Mijor .
Columb, St, Minor .
Crantock
Cabert, or Cuthbert . .
Enoder, St
Ervan, St
Evall
Issey, St
Lanivet
Mavgan in Pydar . . .
Merrin, St
Newlyn
Padstow
Perranzabuk), w.
St Agnes ....
Petherick, Little, or'
Petroc Minor . .
Wenn, St
Withiel
V.
• m
•
• •
R
1005
• •
146
V.
163
•
• •
R
1507
145
211
D.
120
• •
3
C.
81
• •
3
V.
185
45
5
V.
298
• •
20
R
466
106
61
V.
179
50
17
V.
273
. .
27
R
722
84
55
R
685
. .
100
V.
277
76
20
V.
380
150
• .
V.
259
60
67
V.
422
150
3
R
238
76
35
V.
• •
•
• •
R
341
•
17
W. Molesworth
J. Creser . . . .
S. E. Walker . .
C. A. N. Thomas
N. F. Chadleigh
T. Stabback . .
S. M. Walker . .
W. Molesworth
W. Kitson
W. Gillbee
W. Phillipps
P. Carlyon
J. Baily . .
E. Dix . .
R Tyacke
J. Boiler .
D. Stephens . .
R P. Gilbert . .
V. F. Vyryan .
1816
1841
1839
1839
1810
1828
1817
1803
1830
1817
1806
1792
1839
1790
1818
1834
1810
1825
{
R H. Whiteway
H. Wybrow. . .
C. A. Hocken .
• • .
W. Polwhele .
W. K Bennet .
J. H. Hext . .
J. Cariyon. . .
{
— Barton . .\
£.M.Hamiltonj
J. Sonthcomb . .
r SirW. 1
1 Molesworth/
Bishop of Exeter
E. Walker .
1
ir J. B. Buller
J. W. Boiler . .
Rey.T. Stabback
Bishop of Exeter
r Sir W. \
\ Molesworth j
Bishop of Exeter
D.&C. Exeter
{
The Incombem
U. Williams
Bishop of Exeter
Bp. of Exeter |
Ber.CP.Bnine
D.&C. of Exeter
( Sir W. ^
( Molesworth /
W. Rashl^gh .
SirRRVyTyan
. • • •
1500 (»
725 0(^
380 ('
j 322
(178 OCi
463 4^
459 ^
223 1 i\
663 2 :'
605 <fl
• • • •
470 (''
755 0«»'
440 >>
245 i|
. • • •
!
DEAXERV
Advent, see IjuitegloB .
Altamon
Boyton
Cleather, St, or Clether
Davidstow
Egloskerry, v. )
Tremayne . . . . j
Gennis, St, or Genys .
Jaeobstow
R
V.
C.
363
136
io5
V.
168
80
V.
205
77
C.
118
90
V.
147
120
R
276
. .
43|R H. Tripp. . .
13 E. Bodall . . . .
3 H. J. Morshead
13 J. GlanviUe. . .
7 J. Seijeant . . .
IJ. A. H. Laffer.
33 J. GlanyiUe . . .
1841
1826
1837
1797
1826
1834
1832
H. Trimmer
J. Seijeant.
J. Gillaid
H. A. Simcoe .
a*
{
D.&C.ofExeter
Rev.J. Prideaox
J. Carpenter,
and
T. J. Phillips
TheCeowk {
— Owen «...
f Earl of )
\ StG«rmans )
f Earl of \
(StGennansj
80 0<
90 f^
240 0'
166 Oi\
155 16 I'
/220 0^
\ 160
310
CORNWALL.
239
POWDER- amtinued.
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNERS.
Rector
Impropriator
Rector and Vicar . . .
Impropriator ....
Hector )
D. & C. of Exeter /
GlelM.
A. B. p.
34 3 41
Tax. et Valor.
1291 or 1294.
£ S. d,
6 6 8
5 6 8
not named.
8 6 8
5 6 8
10
Tax. et Valor.
Henry VIII.
£ 8. d.
20
12
no return.
{•ecCar-1
hayes. /
9 6 8
19
Statute
Acres.
Popula-
tion,
1891.
4940
2120
1180
9230
2990
5430
1630
424
314
2477
2228
1525
POST TOWNS.
St Austle . . . .
Tregony
Lostwithiel . • .
Tregony
Fowey ......
Tregony
PARISHES.
Roche.
Roan Lanyhome.
Sanuon, or Golant
f StephenSf St in Bran-
< net, see St Michael
(^ Carhayes.
T^wardreth.
Very an.
3F PYDAR.
Vicar & SirR. Vyyyan
Rector
Sir J. R Boiler .
Impropriator • .
Trnpropriator . .
Vicar
Impropriator . .
}
[). and C. of Exeter .
I) and C. of Exeter 1
Vicar /
Rector
Vicar . . .
['han.ofStPeter'8,£xt.
fmpropriator
Vicar ....
: : : }
D. and C. of Exeter
30
50
}
9
{
not named.
4
17 13 4
not named.
19 6 8
Vic.ac9Preb8.
4 16 8
6 6 8
5
6 13 4
4 6 8
8
6 13
6
not named.
/ 6 13 4\
116 8/
9
5 6 8
not named.
1 10
6 13 4
4
IT. Ferran
41 10 6
6 14 8
53 6 8
no retam.
in 1294,
19 3
^4
4
4
8 6 8
26 13 4
19 6 8
7 13
9
24
26 13
15 16 8
16 13 4
11 3
24 9
6 6 8
16 6 8
10
8660
7860
1790
11,680
5520
2440
2320
4050
3110
2970
4440
5540
5130
3740
8340
3270
10,660
1720
5600
2740
6442
1450
261
2796
1409
458
487
1125
453
354
720
922
745
576
1218
1822
2793
224
649
406
Truro
Wadebridge ....
St Colomb ....
St Colomb, Migor
St Colomb, Minor
St Michael ....
St Michael . . . .
St Colomb . . . .
Padstow
St Colomb ....
Padstow
Bodmin
St Colomb . • . .
Padstow
Troro
Padstow
St Michael . . . .
Padstow
St Colomb ....
Bodmin
Camelford
Laonceston . . . .
Laonceston . . . .
Laonceston . . . .
Camelford
Laonceston . . . .
Laonceston . . . .
Stratton
{Agnes, 51, «etf Perran-
zabolo.
Breock, St
Colan.
Colomb, St, Migor.
Colomb, St, Minor.
Crantock.
Cobert, or Cothbert
Enoder, St
Ervan, St
EvalL
Issey, St
LaniTet
Mawgan in Pydar.
Merrin, St
Newlyn.
Padstow.
{Perranzabolo, w,
St A^es.
fPcthenck, Little, or
\ Petroc Minor.
Wenn, St
WithieL
)F TRIGG MAJOR.
r>. and C. of Exeter .
[{. Thompson
rur. of St Thomas, ^
near Laonceston, >
Vicar j
Vicar >
[mpropriators . . . )
Impropriators
Tmpropriator . . .
Vicar
!
Rector
18
20
8
1 10
6
7 5
2
10
6
see Lantegl.
18 14 10
no retom.
6 11 0}
8
no retorn.
8
19
4020
13,840
4460
244
1069
452
3540
2885
6260
389
3060
537
5580
761
4890
638
Advent, see Lanteglos.
Altamon.
Boyton.
Cleather, St
Davidstow.
{Egloskerry, w,
Tremayne.
Gennis, St, or Genys.
Jacobstow.
240
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DIOCESE OF EXETEtL
DEANERY
PARISHES.
Juliot, or St Jilt . . .
Kilkhampton .
Laneast. . . .
LanncellB. .
Mary, St (Laonceston)
Marham Charch . . . .
Moorwinstow
Descrip-
tion.
Petherwin, South, w.
Trewen , . . .
:)
PoughiU
Poondstock
Stephen, St (Lann-
cestoo)
Stratton, w,
Bude Chapel . . .
Tamerton, North . . .
Thomas, St
Trema3me,or Tremean,
see Egloskerrj , . . .
Trenegloss, w. 1
Warbstow . . . . /
Tresmere
Treven, see Soathi
Petherwin . . . . /
T^ar^toto, «ee Trene
gloss
Week, St Mary , . .
Whitstone
}
C.
R.
C.V
V.
c:
R.
V.
V.
V.
V.
c.
V.
c.
c.
}<=■
V.
c.
V.
V.
R.
R
Gross
Ann.
Val.
1831.
£
60
609
70
201
117
412
323
625
116
185
100
162
250
103
•
212
125
Curates'
l\
Stipends.
£
32
• •
•
122
70
15
120
20
• •
1
• •
62
« •
47
• •
276
75
• •
• •
11
100
20
75
33
on
INCUMBENTS.
A. Laffer
J. Davis ,
W. Cowland . .
R. H. K. Back .
G. R Gibbons .
J. Ejngdon . . .
R. S. Hawker . .
R. a Stevens . . 1824
60
1810
1826
1839
1837
1818
1834
465
247
83
77
76
20
25
77
John Davis . . .
P. D. Dayman .
CRLethbridge
J. S. Hawker . .
C. P. Coffin . . .
J. H. Kendall. .
• • • •
J. H. Mason . .
W. A. Morgan .
Walter Gee . . .
16 John Kingdon .
1810
1841
1818
1833
1811
1841
• •
1804
1821
1821
1793
CURATES' NAMES.
{
PATRONS.
Tithe Ccmi
mutatiai.fe.
J. Seijeant. . . |
R.W. Kley. . .
J. Heathcote
£
165
50
607
a, (
u
}
113
SirW. Moles-^
worth, and >
W. Rawle . )
Lord Carteret I
J.K. Lethbridge,
and another . .
L.W. Buck. I
/Corporatofl
(Launceston /
J. Kingdon . . .
Bp. of Exeter |
{j
J. Dajrman . <
( Feoffees & 1
\ Inhabitants /
The Crown •!
TR P. Coffin, 'I 1
\ and others /
The Inhabitants.
280
220
390
390
365
The Cbown
65 5
124
5
370
200
356
240
200
J. French
The Crown
The Crown
{
84 14
63 lo
90 «i
130 ('
W. Kingdon . .
' /169 4
• • • n 135 II
John Kingdon . 255 o
DEANERY 01
Blisland
Bodmin
Breward, St
Eglosheyle
Endellion
Prebd.ofEndeUion:
Bodmin-on-Kings . . .
Trelaverock
Mamays
Forrahary
Helland
Kew, St or Lanow .
Lanhydrock
Lanteglos by Camel- )
ford, w. Advent . /
Lesnewth
R
V.
V.
V.
R
R
R.
V.
C.
R
R
625
283
389
223
63
115
70
215
467
528
190
63
103
120
88
80
64
62
27
113
19
F. W. Pye . . .|1834
J. WaUis,jun. .1817
T.J. Landon. . 1815
T. S. Carlyon. .1833
W. Hocken . . .
J. Boyse . .
J. Kempe . .
N. Kendall .
R. Winslow
F. J. Hext .
1833
1797
1818
.1800
1817
66 J. S. Scobell . . 1837
54
N.Kendall . . .
C. Luxmore . .
1794
I
C. Worsley. . .'l814
G. T. Bull . .
543 I
311 15 \
50 I
392 i: 1
C. Woolcombe
J. Giencross .
W. Borlase . .
W. P. Bray . .
D.&C.of£xeter ...
f 399 \j
Bp-ofFxeter-^Ig^^
The Crown . .|225
Mr. Basset . . .il2S !
Mr. Gray . . . .130
: Hon. A. M. Agar 130 i
. !T. J. Philipps .60 1
W. Morshead. .212 10 i
(738 (I I
I
520 3
Hon. Mrs. Agar 150
The Crown . .| ...
E. J. Glynn . .{
• . •
CORNWALL.
241
TRIGG MAJOR— continued
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNERS.
( Sir W. Moles-
! ( worth, and
I W. Rawle
Impropriator
Rector ....
Impropriators
L. W. Buck .
Vicar
Dnke of \
Northamberland /
{
1
/
Glebe.
A. R. P.
)
I Impropriator . . .
IVicar
}
University of Oxford .
Propriet of Estates^
in the Parish . . >
Vicar J
Impropriators . . .
Vicar
Impropriators . . .
Impropriators . . .
Vicar
}
}
Impropriators . . . .
Impropriator . . .
Vicar
Impropriators . . .
}
Impropriator . . .
Vicar
}
Rector
Rector
100
Tax. et Valor.
1291 or 1294.
38
70
25
2
20
84
37
£ s. d.
13
13 14 4
2
7 15
• •
6 13 4
13 6 8
6
2 13 4
8
10 o|
7 13 4/
Tax. et Valor.
I.eiiry VIU.
2 6 8
1 10
not named.
7
16 8
not named.
not named.
5 6 8
4 6 8
{
£ 8. d.
no return.
26 13 10|
10 10 8
not valued.
15 11
10 8 6
20Ed.L
6
6 12 6
Statute
Acres.
{
13 6 8
20Ed.L
10
20 Ed. L
10 11 6^
2 6 8
in 1294
1 10
/9 19 6\
\ Ed. L /
1 6 8
see Pe-
therwin
see Tre-
negloss
17
14 11 01
]
2600
8120
2600
6340
2180
2630
7780
1940
2070
4420
3910
2380
5400
2120
. •
3130
1490
9YO
4180
5830
4080
Popula-
tion.
1831,
271
1126
279
843
2231
659
1102
988
POST TOWNS.
Camelford .
Stratton . .
Launceston
Stratton . .
Launceston
Stratton . .
Stratton . .
Launceston
360 Stratton . .
I
I
727 j Stratton . .
1084 Launceston
1613 Stratton . .
Launceston
617
626
118
183
171
213
481
769
481
Launceston
Launceston
Camelford .
Launceston
Launceston
Camelford .
Stratton . .
Stratton . .
PARISHES.
Juliot, or St Jilt
Kilkhampton.
Laneast
Launcells.
Mary, St (Launceston)
Marham Church.
Moorwinstow.
{Petherwin, South, w.
Trewen.
PoughiU.
Poundstock.
r Stephen, St (Laun-
1 ceston.)
/Stratton, w.
\ Bude ChapeL
Tamerton, North.
Thomas, St
{Tremayne, or Tre-
mean,«eeEg1o6kerry.
{Trenegloss, w.
Warfetow.
Tresmere.
( Trewen, see South
\ Petherwin.
{Warbstow, see Trene •
gloss.
Week St. Mary.
Whitstone.
PRIGG MINOR.
Rector
f— Wallis, and^
\ Landowners. .
Mayor&Corporatrs.
Vicar
V icar, partly end wd. ^
/To Sub-Dean ofV
\ Exeter J
Rector
Prebendary
Prebendary ......
I*rebendary
Rector
Rector
{Vicar endow, with 'V
part of Gt Tithes I
/ Rest to Sir Wm. (
( Molesworth . . )
Impropriator
29 2 3
18 3
11
15
14
9 15
6
6 3 4
7
13 10
\withPrb.\
r24 4 0/
1
2
8 13 4
4 6 8
■{
No retm
8
16
10
4 12 8
9 13 4
19 10
34 11 2
8
6800
T.2840\
P. 3470/
9180
6170
3530
430
2770
7530
1680
3750
1940
644
3732
627
1335
1218
358
285
1316
Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin . .
Wadebridge
Wadebridge. . . .
Boscastle
Bodmin .
Wadebridge . . . .
239 Bodmin .
1359 Camelford
127 Camelford
Blisland.
Bodmin.
Breward, St
Eglosheyle.
Endellion.
Prebs. of Endellion :
Bodmin-on- Kings.
Trelaverock.
Mamays.
Forrabury.
HeUand.
{
Kew, St, or Lanow.
Lanhydrock.
{Lanteglos by Camel-
ford, w. Advent
Lesnewth.
I I
242
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DIOCESE OF EXETER.
DKANERT OF
PARISHES.
I^Iabyn, St .
Michaelstow
Minster ,
Minver, St
w, Portliilly,
^ St Enoder
Otterham
^
illy, 0. .V
Oder . . .)
Teath, St
Temple*
Tintagel, alias Bossiny
Trevalga
Tudy, St
Oross
Deaerip-
Ann.
Vftl
Cuxatas*
tiofi.
1831
£
Stipend.
£
R.
730
100
R.
276
r See \
Forra-
R.
230
\ bury.
V.
344
150
R
172
• •
V.
260
• •
C.
23
• •
V.
255
75
R
146
• •
R
703
• •
e|
T
18
6
11
34
2
37
INCUMBENTS.
G. L. Gowep
E. Spettigue
R Winslow
G.Treweeke . .
a ChilcoC. . .
T. Amory . .
D. Clements .
R S Bree . .
J. T. Symons
C. Hodgson . .
^ e
1818
1818
1800
1817
1810
1838
1835
1831
1817
CURATES' NAMES.
N. Kendall, jon. .
C. Woolcombe . .
J. Ellis
PATRONS.
Titbe Com-
mutationt.
I
Lord Falmouth .
The Crown . .
T. J. Fhilipps .
W. Sandys . |
{Represts. of\
W.Chilcot./
Bishop of Exeter
Sir B. P. Wrey .
D. & C. Windsor
D.&C.of Exeter
/D.&C.Ch.\
\Ch.Ox£. ./
£ s. </.|
780 o;
255
lOOO
356
5 0,
693
• There is no church or eerrice in thii parish, and only thiity-scTen inhabitanU.
DEANERY
Broadoak,«M Boconnoc
Boconnoc
Cardinham
Cleer,St,orStClare.
Duloe I
Eeyne, St
Lanreath
Lansallos
Lanteglos, by Fowey .
Liskeard
Martin, St, by Looe .
Moryal
Neot, St
Pelynt
Pinnock, St
Talland
Veep, St
Warleggon
Winnow, St ... . \
w. Knighton . . /
1}
R
416
561
V.
281
58
V.
S.R
R
R
R
479
50
211
584
465
• •
• •
50
• •
• •
V.
232
80
V.
317
150
V.
524
• .
V.
250
85
V.
416
. .
V.
303
• •
R
164
• •
V.
245
. .
V.
243
•
R
146
75
V.
207
. •
38 A. Tatham
37 T. Grylls .
36 J. Jope . .
R Scott. .
W. Greswell
13 T.Leah .
80 R. Bailer .
70 W. Rawlings
36
14
43
12
49
63
38
28
21
10
W. Hooker
J. F. Todd
W. Farwell
S. Paddicombe .
H. Grylls ....
J. B. Kitson . .
J. Rawlings . .
N. KendaL . . .
J. B. Kitson . .
D. Clements . .
P. Frye
1832
1814
1776
1840
1830
1833
1829
1822
1806
1821
1830
1803
1820
1841
1835
1806
1323
1833
1835
E. Polwhele . . .
}
J. Kendall
J. G. Harrison
J. Dunn
LrdGrenville <
£. J. Glynn . .
The Crown -j
BaUiol ColLOxf.
Lieut Cory, r.n.
J. Buller . . . .
H. P. Rawlings.
Lrd-Grenville
{
J. F. Todd
(Ladj S^nd-^
< wich, & Ld. >
VBarlington. J
The Crown . .
(R G. Grylls,
< — Glencross,
^ and others • .
{
{
J. W. Buller
J. Coryton,
J.T.Treffy, &
J. Rawlings .
N.Kendal . |
D.Howell . I
G.WJF.Gregory
D.&C. Exeter I
195
185
500
330
330
O
O
140 O
50O
315
225
O
O
415 O
400
235
}•
O
314
14
136
320
231
l>
170
u
416
O
297
PARISHES WITHIN THE DEVONSHIRE LIMIT, BUT UNDER THE
Giles, St, in the Heath
Petherwin, North . . .
Werrington
c.
108
5
12
V.
135
70
« •
D.
257
83
28
Edward Rndall .
J. Kingdon, jon.
J. Bradden . . .
Lords LoAian^
&Valletort,& >
Lady Suffield j
Duke of Bedford
Earl of Buck-
inghamshire
I
123 14
14 oi
290 O i>
COBNWALL.
243
TRIGG MINOR->cofi/iMiiedL
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL.
TITHE OWNER8.
Rector
Rector
[mpropriator
Vicar . . . .
E. P. Lyon . . . .
Lord Whamdiffe
Rector
A. R. ^.
40
21 Imp.
41 Vicar.
...
• . •
...
Tax. et Value
139lorl21K
}
£ 8, cL
8
3
5
7
2
not named.
10
8
2
5
)F WEST.
I
Rector. . .
Rector . . . .
Vicar . . . .
[mpropriator
Vicar
Rector . . . .
:::
Rector . . . .
[mpropriator
Vicar . . . .
J. Mams . .
■.::}
I. Buller
[mpropriator
^icar . . . .
:::}
r. Graves . .
Vicar - - . •
[mpropriator
Vicar ....
Rector ....
\X & a of Exeter
Vicar
:::}
::;}
)
83 1 36
197
13 4
6 13 4
2 not named.
25
8
108
50
18
9
7 3 4
1
6 6 8
5 6 8
10 13 4
8
9 6 8
1 10
10
8
not named.
8
5
1
2
Tax. «t Valor
Henry VIII.
statute
Acres.
Popula-
tion,
18Si.
£ 9,
36
10 13
d,
8
3570
1780
795
215
22 17
10
3140
497
13 10
1
6890
1110
6 14
3300
227
12
no return.
8 11 2|
7 6
5900
780
3960
1130
1280
29
1006
192
31
3590
658
POST TOWNS.
PARISHES.
Wadebridge ....
Camelford
Mabyn, St
Michaelstov.
Boscastle
Minster.
f Minver, St
Padatow
{ w, Porthilly, C.
t $• St Enoder.
Camelford
Otterham.
Camelford
Teath, St
Bodmin
Bofifliny
Bossiny
Temple.
Tintagel, aUtu Bossiny.
Treyalga.
Bodmin
Tudy, St
/8 13
\9 17
24 17
4
3
6
3240
2230
8550
19 16
8
9700
8
111
5900
5 18
...
18
6
•
850
1750
2930
14 7
6
3280
18 13
10
7740
36
3060
6 14
9
3730
9 11
14,540
17 18
6
4460
17 13
6
3240
/Bp.'8
\8
In.
|2690
5
6
2940
5 17
6
1930
5
6840
301 \
259/
728
982
928
201
651
884
1208
4042
1320
644
1424
804
425
1434
697
274
1048
Lostwithiel . . <
Bodmin
Liakeard
West Looe
Liskeard
West Looe
West Looe
Fowey
Liskeard
East Looe
East Looe
Liskeard
West Looe- .. . . .
Liskeard .......
West Looe . . . .
West Looe . . . .
Bodmin
Lostwithiel . . . .
Broadoak,M« Boconnoc.
BOCOQDOC.
Cardinham.
Cleer,St,or St Clare.
Duloe.
Keyne, St
Lanreath.
Lansallos.
Lanteglos, by Fowey.
Liskeard.
Martin, St , by Looe.
Morval.
Neot, St
Pelynt
Pinnock, St
Talland.
Veep, St
Warleggon.
f Winnow, St
\ 10. Knighton.
ARCHDEACONRY OF CORNWALL, AND IN THE DEANERY OF TRIGG MAJOR.
The Patrons. • • • 1
Rector of Sydenham \
— Ilawke, and others
[mpropriators
6 10
1
3280
357
7920
1044
5070
661
Launceston
Launceston
lAunoeston
Giles, St., in the Heatli
Petherwin, North.
Werrington.
244
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
PARISHES PARTLY IN CORNWALL AND PARTLY IN DEVONSHIRE.
DEANERY OF HOLSWORTHY, DEVON.
PARISHES.
Descrip-
tion.
Gross
Aun.
Val.
1831.
150
Curates'
Stipend.
Fixed
Payments.
INCUMBENTS.
00 Date of
O Induction.
PATRONS.
1
TITHE OWNERS.
1
Bridgerule* (Stratton)
V.
• •
T. H. Kingdon .
R. R Wright . . .
T. H. Kingdon.
DEANERY OF PLYMPTON, DEVON.
Budeaax, Stf
(Plymouth)
I
V.
113
B.W.S.VaUack
1832
4 Vicar of St An-
( drew, Plymouth
\ Impropriator.
* The church is on the Devonshire side of the Tamar ; and the number of Acres in Cornwall, out of the entire number in this parish, is K\ .
being not quite one-fourth of the total, or 4010, although the population on the Cornish side of the river amounts to 276, oat of 497; tl;«
tax. et val. 1294, was 5;. is. Sd. In temp. Henry VIII. 14/.
t This church is in Devonshire ; the number of acres in Cornwall is not ascertained ; report makes it about 500, with forty inhabitants
lying opposite Saltash, on the eastern shore of the Tamar.
N.B. The population returns of IMl are given with the benefices above, that being the year of the return of their groas annual value. The
Increase or decrease of the population of each parish to 1841, inclusive, may be ascertained at page 248, and sequel.
TURNPIKE ROADS OF CORNWALL.
Turnpike Returns.
No. OF Miles, 335.
TRUSTS.
Bodmin
Bodmin and Roche .
Callington
Camel ford, Wade-'J
bridge, and St >
Coiumb .... J
Creed and St. Just. .
Hayle Bridge Comp.
Helston
Laanceston
Liskeard
Penryn and Redruth
St. Austle & Lost- )
withiel. ...../
Saltash
Trebarwith Sands . .
Truro
Totid Income.
£ 9. d.
1,850 2 10
304 12 3
710 10
2,596
227 5 8
955 17 II
2,197 19 11
2,383 4 7
2,340 16 10
1,034 10 1
1,048 7 1
468 8
206 15 7
3,694 7 2
20,015 10 7
Total
Expenditure.
£ «. d,
1,873 13 11
446 16 5
673 3 1
2,839 12 3
227 16 8
1,329 3 10
2,249 16 1
2,358 5 6
2,497 3 1
993 17 6
903 18 9
521 4 6
311 7 10
3,346 3 5
20,572 2 10
Total Debts.
£ s. d.
8,927 16 6
3,221 7
4,325
6,428 15
1,509
12,080
13,966
12,528
23,069
6,651
17
9
10
4
10
9
1
5,081 10
19,963 14 8
3,171 2
12,714 9 1
133,638 1 3
Interest on
Debts.
£ s. d.
433 10
12 10
60
210
40
480
668
542
1,303
385
14 2
9 9
6 8
263 8 3
257 8 9
164 19 4
620 14 6
5,442 1 5
i
t
9
00
o
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
16
Surveyors'
Salaries.
£
80
25
70
55
10
56 13 4
21
150
52
42
50
35
15
160
821 13 4
Clerks'
Salaries.
£
30
10
20
«. d.
15
13
44
21
14
15
17 6
10 10
15
12
5
40
265 7 5
Law
Expenses.
£ «. d.
40 3 10
255 19 7
48 11 2
13 15 6
28 15 10
27 13 9
5 5
« «
31
• •
3
•
I
451
7
9
X
20
10
IS
15
21
16
So
15
139
The unpaid interest is £7,113 16^. W. Very great and costly improvements have been recently effected. Of tbe
parochial roads we have no retnm. There are no railroads for passengers in this county.
CORNWALL. 245
POPULATION, LONGEVITY. DISEASES, POOR-LAW UNIONS,
EXPENDITURE, &c.
We give the popalation of eyery parish to 1841, in the Table of Poor-law Unions, for the last
fifty years, decennially ; we shall here give only results. The parochial returns for 1841 are not yet
made public ; but by gpreat exertions, and at considerable expense, we hare procured the returns from
the localities, and their general accuracy may be relied upon. The population of Cornwall, in 1831
and 1841, including the Scilly Islands,* was as follows :t —
Males, 1841 . . . 164,451 Females . . . 176,818 Total . . . 341,269
Males, 1831 . . . 146,213 Females . . . 154,725 Total . . . 300,938
Increase, 18,238 22,093 Total increase, 40,331
Majority of females over males in the county, on the census of 1841, 12,367, or 1,075 females
for every 1,000 males.
The total population of Cornwall in 1801 was 188,269. This number had increased 15 percent in
1811, and the population then amounted to 216,667. In 1821 it was found in the preceding ten years
to have augmented 19 per cent. Between 1821 and 1831, 17 per cent ; and between this last date and
1841, 13*4 percent
In the year 1377 the inhabitants of Cornwall — assessed by a poll-tax, exempting mendicants and
children under fourteen years of age, and including the religious, both male and female, who were
686 in number — were 34,960. This was after a fearful plague had raged ;^ and, according to a rough
calculation, allowing 1,500 or 2,000 mendicants, would make the total population about 48,000. In
1700 the number was estimated at 105,800, and in 1750 at 135,000. It is singular that in the muster
for able-bodied military in 1574— the return for Devonshire being 10,000, Kent, 8,960, Yorkshire,
40,187, Bucks, 7,253 (now one of the least populous counties), Norfolk, 8,460, Somerset, 6,800 — Corn-
wall should be next, mustering 6,600.§
The inhabited houses in 1831 were 53,521 ; uninhabited, 2,538 ; building, 758. In 1841, inhabited,
65,641, uninhabited, 4,956, building, 928. Increase in ten years — inhabited, 12,120, or 22*6 per cent,
uninhabited, 2,418, building, 170 ; the average number of inhabitants to each house in 1841 being 5*2.
The total increase of houses between 1831 and 1841 is 14,708, being an average of 1,470 built in each
year since 1831. If we may judge by a comparison of the increase of inhabited houses in the same
period, the social and domestic comforts of the people in this county must have greatly increased,
being only 13*4 per cent, while the inhabited houses are 22*6 per cent
The Registrar-General's return || for June 30, 1840, it may be presumed approximates as closely to
accuracy as such returns will ever do; but applying it to the census of 1841, would be obviously
erroneous, as the census was taken on the 6th of June, 1841, and there is a tenth part of the decennial
increase too much, wanting twenty-four days. The population to which the return of June 30,
1840, applies, should be 337,503, in place of 341,269 ; and thus calculating, for the sake of accuracy, we
have the following results for Cornwall: — Marriages, 2,399 ; births, 1 1,240 — males, 5,785, females, 5,455 ;
deaths, 5,760 — ^males, 2,985, females, 2,775 ; marriages to population, 1 to 140*6 ; births to population, 1
to 30*02 ; deaths to population, 1 to 58*59;^ marriages to deaths, 1 to 2*40 ; marriages to births, 1 to
4*68 ; deaths to births, 1 to 1*9 annually. Of men, 3*92 per cent, and of women, 14' 17, marry under
twenty-one years of age ; and 33 men and 54 women per cent sign with marks on their marriage, the
men being the same, the women 5 more than the average for all England.
The majority of deaths takes place in the March quarter, the minority in that of September ;
the same rule holds good regarding births. We know not if we are the first to remark, that in all
the southern counties of England this is the case ; while in Cheshire, Lancashire, the Ridings of
Yorkshire, in Durham, Cumberland, Northumberland, and Westmoreland, the births are uniformly
most in the June quarter. In the five north-midland counties, they are nearly on an equality in both
quarters. Can this bear any relation to the atmospherical temperature ?
Cornwall, unlike the sister county of Devon, has a large population of miners, and yet it stands
first in the returns, giving 1 death in 58*59, and Devon 1 death in 57*79. Sir Charles Lemon
calculates the mining population at about 28,000. We notice, as accounting for an increase of
* An account of these IsIandB we propoee to gtre with the smaller Islands appendant to England.
t ParliamentaTy Returns. % Magna Britannia, vol. iii. § Public Document.
3 The Registrar-General's districts in Cornwall are flftern in number, viz. St. Austle, Bodmin, Camelford, 8t.Columb,
Falmouth, St. Germans, (this last including Anthony, Rame, St. John, Shevioek, St. Stephens, Saltash, Botus Fleming,
Landulph, PiUaton, St. Mellion, Quethlock, Landrake, part of the parish of Maker, the borough of Saltash, the borough
and pariah of St. Germans, (part of St. Budeaux is unaccountably omitted,) Helston, Holsworthy, (comprising North
Tamerton and part of Bridgrule,) Launceston, (comprising Alternon, Trewen, Laneast, Lewannick, Lawhitton, Stoke-
Cllmsland, Lexant, South Pethenrin, Northill, Egloskerry, Tremayne, Tresmere, Treneglos, Warbstow, St. Stephen with
Newport and St. Thomas, part of the parish of Boy ton, and the borough and parish of Launceston,) Uskeard, Penxance,
Redmlh, ScUly Isles, Stratton, and Truro.
^ The return of deaths for all England, without Wales, we have made, with great care, 1 to 44*45 annually.
246
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
mortality in the male sex between 40 and 60, a disease called the " miner's consomption/* to dis-
tinguish it from the common species of disorder so called. Dr. Barham states that in St Agnes,
Perranzabulo, Kenwyn, and Kea, out of 146 deaths of miners, 77 die from consumption, which attacks
only 33 out of 134 in other classes. We have examined the returns of all the English counties, and
find Cornwall standing alone in this peculiarity of the disease, giving 662 males to 569 females ;
whereas in Essex, a county of the same population, these numbers reversed would appear about correct,
there being in that county nearly a hundred female deaths annually from this cause more than male.
London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, present the same singularity, it is true, as regards
the male sex, but these are towns. In a county so remarkably temperate and healthy, this
singular complaint, which it does not appear has been yet much noticed, demands close investiga-
tion into its nature and causes. The appendix to the Registrar-Creneral's return, which, as before
observed, may now be depended upon as a document for one year, will not give the inferences most
desirable, which should be drawn from a series of such returns for successive years. Out of the 5,7GO
deaths recorded, the causes of 5,651 have been obtained, and stand as follow:- 1. Epidemic,
endemic, and contagious diseases. — Of this class, 345 cases were typhus, 227 measles, 17dhooping-
eottgh, and 72 small-pox. 2. Diseases of the nervous system, 617 — 304 females, and 313 males;
convulsions number 200; paralysis 127, and apoplexy 105; total, 1,032— males, 500, females, 532.
3. Diseases of the respiratory organs. — Of this class were 1,653—884 males, and 769 females;
among them the pneumonia cases were 311, and consumption 1,231 — 662 males, and 569 females.
4. Organs of circulation. — There were of these 34 cases. 5. Diseases of the intestinal canal, gastritis
enteritis giving 62 females to 51 male cases ; of the pancreas, liver, and spleen, 270 — males, 132, and
females, 138. 6. Urinary organs, 21,17 being males. 7. Childbed, 44, disease, 4 ; total, 48. 8. Organs
of locomotion, 31 ; of these 17 were rheumatism — 17 men. 9. Of the integumentary system, 10 cases
— 7 males. 10. Of uncertain seat, 943 ; among these last were 242 cases of dropsy, 139 being females;
392 of debility, 209 being males ; and 77 of sudden death — 46 males. 11. Of old age, 716, 400 being
females. 12. Of intemperance, 1 ; and of violent deaths, 275 ; of which number only 72 were females.
Deaths from accident are frequent in the mines, but many suffer injuries that only prove fatal in the
lapse of time, sometimes much protracted. Only one death is recorded from intemperance. The deaths
by accident are not so numerous as might be expected in a population of 341,269. In Liverpool,
nnmberiug only 218,233, the violent deaths are 240, intemperance 4, starvation 34 ! In London the
violent deaths are more in proportion. In Manchester and Salford, out of only 236,935, the violent
deaths are 282 ; 15 died from intemperance, and 5 from starvation. To the honour of Cornwall, the
East and North Ridings of York, and Durham, the tables for those counties show no returns of deaths
from starvation within their boundaries I In Durham and the North Division of Lancashire, in a
population of 311,356, the violent deaths are 256, about the same as in Cornwall.
As the present subject is interesting to many persons, and comparative tables will best exhibit the
state of health in any district, as compared with all England, we shall conclude with presenting one
of this kind to the reader. Out of 1,000 persons who die in all England and Wales, and 1,000 who
die in Cornwall, the deaths take place at the following ages : —
CORNWALL.
ENGLAND AND WALES.
Mslea.
Females.
Mean.
Males.
Females.
Mean.
Under
1
211-3
1686
189*9
241
195
218
1
and under
3
105-7
1040
104-9
131-9
130*2
131-1
3
M
5
36 3
39-0
37-6
55-2
57 2
66-2
5
n
10
410
49-8
45*4
52-7
52*9
52-8
10
w
15
22-9
32-5
27-7
25-7
28-6
27-1
15
»f
20
40-7
36-5
38*6
32-2
38-6
35-4
20
n
25
41-7
386
40-2
37-5
42-4
400
25
n
30
34-3
35-4
34'8
33-4
39-8
86-6
30
»»
35
30 3
30-7
305
31-2
35-4
333
35
n
40
24-6
350
29-8
31-1
34-0
325
40
n
45
27-6
22*4
25-0
29-9
30-9
30*4
45
M
50
38-3
29-3
33 8
30-2
28-6
29-4
50
w
55
37-7
32-1
34-9
30-4
28-9
29-7
55
n
60
38-7
34-3
36-5
30-2
29-7
29-9
60
M
65
42-4
412
41-8
37-4
37-7
87-6
65
»t
70
504
50-6
50-5
38-8
39-6
39-2
70
w
75
52-1
57-8
55
41-2
43-4
42-3
75
»»
80
54-8
58-2
56 5
38-5
42-9
40-7
80
rt
85
41-0
524
46-7
291
34-0
31-5
85
♦»
90
205
35-0
27-7
15-8
20-0
17-9
90 and upwards
7-7
166
12-2
6-5
10-2
8-4
10 to 20.
20 to 40.
40 to 60.
60 to 80.
80 to 100.
2,249
2,569
1,506-10
66610
58-42
2,088
2,661
1,512-6
686*11
74-11
2,143
2,548
1,575-4
748-18
65*6
CORNWALL. 247
If the nature of the miner's laboar before were supposed not to be prejudicial, the appendix to the re-
turns of the Begistrar-General prove it very plainly ; for example, in Redruth, the centre of the largest
and most populous mines, on a high and healthy site, we find, in a population of 48,063, no less than
236 cases of No. 1, while at Penzance, with a population of 50,100, we find but 154 cases ; and at
Truro, but 93 out of a population of 43,137. Then under the head of disorders of the respiratory
organs. No. 3, we find, Redruth, 309, Penzance, 253, and Truro, 199 ; and no less than 261 out of this
309 are from consumption, being 90 more than in any other districts, numerous mines existing as well
both in those of Penzance and Truro, but still in hr inferior proportion to Redruth.
The miners are reported to fall off before 60, and not commonly to attain that age ; and those who
live beyond that term find their health infirm, compared to the other part of the population. In
comparing Cornwall with Cumberland, so celebrated for instances of extreme longevity, and with
the sister county, the diminution of male numbers fh>m 40 upwards will be apparent : —
Under 10.
Cornwall . . . 2,949
Cumberland . 2,876
Devon 2,925
Here Cornwall shows the falling ofE; as we conjectured it must do, since —
Cornwall has 7,747 alive at 40 years of age, out of 10,000 living.
Cumberland 7,715 " "
Devon " 7,616 ** **
Up to 40 Cornwall has 32 more alive than Cumberland, and 131 more than Devon. At 60 Com*
wall is but 6-4 behind Cumberland, but 68*4 behind Devon. Above 60 the numbers change more
seriously : —
Cornwall . . . 724*52 out of 10,000 between 60 and 100.
Cumberland . 760-22
Devon .... 80819
As the climate of Devonshire and Cornwall is similar, this difference must be ascribed to the
shorter lives of the mining part of the population. Extraordinary instances of longevity occur every-
where ; but this occurrence is no proof of the healthiness of a district, for some Englishmen live to
an advanced age in the midst of West Indian pestilence. The estimate of advantage in prolonged
life is good, generally, to a certain point alone, beyond which years become a burthen, except in a
few fiivonred instances, and are not to be desired, as the old man of 105 at the Lizard point told Dr.
Borlase. (See p. 19.) That climate, then, must be really the best, in which the greatest number, un-
affected by artificial causes, live to experience the lesser portion of the ills of senility, and not ** mere
oblivion," its living death ; and for this reason, that country is most desirable where the deaths are
fewest in proportion to the population.
POOR-LAW UNIONS AND PAROCHIAL STATISTICS.
The Parishes of the county are here given arranged in Poor Law Unions, exhibiting the annual
value of property as assessed to the property tax ; the amount expended for the maintenance of the
poor in the year 1838 ; the state of the parochial population for four decennial periods ; the sums
expended for the relief of the poor before the passing of the New Poor Law ; and the number of
statute acres in each parish.
The total expenditure for the relief of the poor in this county in 1833-4, calculating the population
firom the census of 1831 at 300,938, amounted to 6s. 2d. per head. The number of pauper lunatics
was 57 males, and 49 females ; total, 106, or one in 2,839 ; the number of idiots was 57 males, and
38 females : total, 95, or one in 3,168.
The market towns are printed in small capitals ; the letters which follow them indicating on what
day the market u held. The letter A. denotes an assize town ; the sign ^ a polling place for Mem-
bers of Parliament ; towns where excise duties are collected are indicated by a * ; sea-ports, with a
custom-house, by § ; and q. «. that the Quarter Sessions for the county are held there.*
There are markets held in several parts of the mining districts for the convenience of the work-
men, and sometimes from ancient prescriptive right Of the last kind there is one at Wadebridge.
A market is held at Port Isaac on Fridays for the use of the quarry-men at De la Bole, and at Heyle
on Saturdays. St Burian, Cargol, Crofthole, St Germans, Inceworth, Millbrook, Kilkhampton,
Lawhitton, Mitchel, Mousehole, Polruan, Probus, West Looe, and a place called Shepestall, supposed
to have been in Ruan Lanyhome, had once charters for markets according to Lysons. We have
given the fairs by themselves, some of which are dwindled to slight observance ; the days, too, are
frequently changed.
* The post-towDi will be foand under the head of Beneficef , &c. in the last column.
248
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
St. GERMANS VmOl!^.— -Commenced January 14, 1837.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
1. St Grermans
2. Anthony, St Jacob . . .
3. Botusfleming
4. St John
5. Landrake, w, St Erney .
6. Landulph
7. St MeUion
8. Pillaton
9. Quethiock
10. Rame
11. §Salta8h, Sat.^ . . . .
12. Sheviock
13. St Stephen's by Saltash
Parish in ComwaU ff Devon :
Maker^
TOTAJL . . . .
"3 *»
-<6
£
15,283
6361
1887
1016
5818
3596
1928
2236
5756
2372
2473
2787
9253
3465
64,231
•si
2
■s
POP
ULATIO
1801.
1811.
£ «.
No.
No.
1320 13
3
2030
2139
763 10
3
1795
2144
175 13
210
237
106 8
110
143
404 7
613
768
329 10
529
590
149 14
284
326
193 14
336
477
242 8
587
585
324 10
2
904
978
248 12
2
1150
1478
241 19
1
409
428
595 3
2
1004
1121
741 14
3
23
3305
5247
5837 15
13,266
16,661
1821
1831.
No.
2404
2642
297
178
841
579
321
452
684
807
1548
491
1325
3018
No.
2586
3099
279
150
872
570
330
413
692
896
1637
453
1455
2637
15,587
16,069
1841.
No.
2843
2894
250
149
893
550
395
434
657
800
1541
567
1422
1725
^11
S
£
1483
919
158
97
404
305
133
166
265
304
330
188
743
679
Area.
16,120 6174
Acrea.
10,050
2800
1290
640
3640
1880
2970
3140
4220
1200
StStn.
2290
4880
2260
41,260
LISKEARD UNION.— Cofwjwenccd January 16, 1837.
1. 5fLi8KBABDTown,*5af.
2. Lifikeard Parish
3. Boconnoc
4. Broadoak
5. ^Callington, Wed. Sat*
6. Calstock
7. St Clare, or Cleer . . . .
8. St Dominick
9. Doloe
10. St. Ive
11. St. Keyne
12. Linkinhorne
13. Lansailos, tr. part of)
POLPERRO, Fri, . . )
14. Lanreath
1 5. Lanteglos by Fowey, FrL
16. § East Looe,* Sat. . . .
17. I West Looe, Sat. . . .
18. St. Martin
19. Morval
20. Menheniot
21. St Neot
22. Pelynt
23. StPinnock
24. South Hill
25. Talland, with part of)
PoLPERRO, Fri. . . S
26. St. Veep
Total ....
7077
6153
1252
1025
4142
5801
5448
4149
5094
3767
1071
5643
3218
3110
4146
921
563
3469
3910
10,599
4635
4732
1816
2622
3128
4087
101578
727 14
678 6
113 7
66 4
604 13
755 17
494 15
337 1
462 4
396 5
105 1
672 7
391 9
370 11
405 9
145 2
98 14
248 10
323 13
862 19
656 10
383 7
147 18
293 5
414 19
322 19
4
2
1
1
3
4
2
2
2
1
1
2
10,488 17146
1860
848
212
173
819
1105
774
538
704
486
139
924
847
478
678
467
376
344
533
918
906
630
302
447
760
506
1975
909
236
188
938
2064
780
534
821
535
157
1002
804
548
859
608
433
343
574
1024
1041
708
316
466
801
511
2423
1096
253
235
1321
2388
985
690
779
602
153
1080
880
629
973
770
539
411
615
1170
1255
750
431
534
839
585
16,774
2853
1189
259
301
1388
2328
982
726
928
656
201
1159
884
651
1208
865
593
455
644
1253
1424
804
425
530
841
6971
3001
1286
312
303
1685
2553
1412
825
937
768
194
1525
828
651
1269
926
616
476
733
1221
1515
834
421
640
834
710
19,175
22,388 24,244 23,475
969
648
140
72
664
996
593
335
624
364
66
701
419
304
512
249
43
254
314
1068
535
493
163
316
450
332
11,524
2140
5600
2230
3210
2600
5450
9700
2680
5900
7890
850
8270
2930
1750
3280
StMn.
Tallad.
3060
3730
6280
14,540
4400
3240
3089
2690
2940
108,340
( 1 ) In Maker parish, St. G«nnaiii Union ; the manor of Vaulsterholme, in which part of Millbrooke and Mount Edgeumbe
landi are situated, is in the county of Devon, although more than half the parish, the harbours of Hamoaze, and the Tkmar,
a Cornish river, f^om high-water mark on both shores, are suliject to Cornish jurisdiction. It is supposed, that when
Athelstan drove the Cornish from the Ex to the Tamar, and made the counties separate jurisdictions, which were but one
before, the owners of lands on both sides were allowed to retain them in the county to which each respectively belonged.
The absurdity has, in some measure, been qualified, by the legislature extending the authority of the magistrates of the
county, in which such insulated portions are found, over them, and regulating the right of voting ; but how much better to
settle the bounds by a general act, defining them agreeably to the ancient limit. In some counties, portions of other counties
are msny miles from that in which they are «aid to be situated; in one case, we belie re, the entire breadth of a lerge county
must be traversed to arrive in that to which the resident is said to belong. The natural boundary of Cornwall and Devon is
the best defined of any In Engla*id. Of the above, 1,156 inhabitants are in D«von.
CORNWALL.
249
REDRUTH VmO^.— Commenced May 13, 1837.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
1. J Rfdruth,* Tu. Fru .
2. Camborne, Sat
3. 6wenDap,t&. St. Dat,/S.
4. Gwinear
5. Gwithian
6. lUogan
7. Stythians
8. FhiUack
Total . . . .
\t
Dded
Poor,
(8.
3 82
H2
3««
W M
< o
€
£
£ «.
7631
1572 17
11,783
1879 3
18,273
2353 16
5185
561 8
1110
186 12
11,334
915 15
4110
594 12
16,393
307 9
75,819
8371 12
s
O
6
5
6
2
1
4
2
3
29
POPULATION IN THE YEARS
1801.
1811.
1821.
No.
No.
No.
4924
5903
6607
4811
4714
6219
4594
5303
6294
1651
1952
2383
329
372
412
2895
4078
5170
1269
1394
1688
1475
2119
2529
21,948
25,835
31,302
1831.
1841.
No.
8191
7699
8539
2728
539
6072
1874
3053
38,695
No.
9305
10,061
10,794
2862
625
7815
2530
4055
48,047
00
H
i: c §
£
1440
1709
2698
533
98
1093
563
351
8485
Area.
Acres.
3770
6900
7940
4400
2070
8010
4490
2880
40,460
LAUNCESTON UmOY^.— Commenced February 2, 1837-
1
1. St Mary, % LAUNCsa-
TON,» Sat
2. StStephen's, ar.NewporL
3. St. Tbomas )
4. Sl Thomas Street . . )
5. Altemon .
6. Boyton^
7. Egloskerry
8. Lawhitton
9. Lewannick
10. Lezant
11. Laneast
12. North Hill
13. Stoke Climsland . . . .
14. South Petherwin . . . .
15. Treneglos
16. Tresmeer, or Tremere .
17. Tremaine
18. Trewen
19. Warbstow
20. North Petherwin (Der.)
21. Werrington {Devon) . .
Total . . .
3900
56,686
85,400
(1) Thi« parish ia partly In Devon, being the hamlet of Northcote, having 100 inhabitants; the whole parish is 500.
TRURO UNION.— Commeiiced May 12, 1837-
1. t § Trubo,* St. Mary, \
Wed, Sat,q. *. . . >
2. St. Agnes, T»
3. St Allen
4. St Anthony (Roseland)
5. Comelly
6. Caby
7. St Clement's, Truro .
8. St £nne
9. Feock
10. Gerrans
11. St Ju8t,UT.§StMAWB8, >
(Roseland) Fri. . . f
12. Kea
13. Kenwyn, Truro . . . . ,
14. Lamorran
15. Ladock
16. Merther
Carried forward . .
70,006
1074 5
1302 8
224 10
68 8
90 6
118 1
692 8
145. 14
330 2
327 1
500 3
776 17
1546 17
24 7
283 18
144 4
3
2358
2482
2712
5
4161
5024
5762
360
418
471
163
157
179
137
151
168
139
152
140
3
1342
1692
2306
358
431
561
696
968
1093
771
698
732
2
1416
1639
1648
4
2440
2766
3142
6
4017
5000
6221
1
78
94
93
1
542
651
806
1
305
350
370
33
19,283
22,673
26,404
2925
6642
637
144
170
155
2885
586
1210
766
1558
3837
8492
96
761
411
31,275
3043
1011
7757
1475
652
235
144
67
119
79
161
109
3436
686
552
169
1476
321
816
392
1488
533
4261
841
9555
1761
99
32
857
268
408
176
34,824
8155
190
8660
3610
710
1480
2410
3520
3780
2530
2470
2550
6860
7370
1320
5730
2170
55,360
K K
260
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
TRURO UNION— coiKmuerf.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
Sgoo
or*
Brought forward . . .
17. St. Michael, PenkivU . .
18 Perranzabuloe
19. Philleigh
20. Probus
21. Roan Lanyhorne . . .
22. Tregavethan Manor . . .
28. Tbfoont,* Sat . . .
24. Veryan
70,006
847
3385
2375
9392
2635
KeaP.
841
6625
Total
96,106
£ «.
7649 9
88 4
558
125 15
683 9
170 7
25 14
151 4
757 12
It
O
33
1
3
1
2
1
1
1
2
POPULATION IN THE YEARS
1801.
1811.
1821
1831.
No. I No.
19,283 22,673'
154 178
1389' 1527
315 342
1013 1163
329 328
937' 923
10071 1082
No.
26,404
1671
17021
395I
1853
376
66
1035
1421
1841.
No.
31,275
179
2743
432
1350]
424
591
1127
1525
10,209 14 45 24,427 28,216' 32,919 39,114
No.
34,824
175
3161
456
1472
444
52
995
1569
Is-:
43,148
£
8155
93
692
185
742
137
41
214
1110
11,369
Acret.
55,360
1240
10,660
2310
7400
2120
740
Cuby.
5430
85,2601
CAMELFORD VmOliJ.— Commenced February 1, 1837.
}
1. CAMELFORD,ir.Lante
gloa,* Fri
2. Advent
8. St. Breward
4. St. Cleather
5. Davidstow
6. B08CA8TLE, part, and)
Forrabury /
7. St Juliot
8. Lesnewth
9. Michaelstow
10. Minster, and part of
Castle
11. Otterham
12 St. Teath
13. Tintagel and Bossiney .
14. Treyalga
Total .
}
4141
1396
2561
1998
3393
859
1784
1400
1564
2089
1186
5041
3674
1024
475 3
I
102 4> 1
221 9, 2
145 5 1
148 7 I
58 1 I
92 16! 1
80 4' 1
82 14 1
187 1 2
69 14 1
496 12 3
322 3
54 3, 1
32,110
2535 10 22
912
170
513
134
217
140
199
104
158
311
141
911
649
100
1100
219
506
165
262
212
208
105
181
396
176
857
730
112
1256
229
554
175
363
223
263
123
216
425
212
990
877
133
1359
244
627
171
389
358
271
127
215
497
227
1260
1006
192
4659, 5229
6039
6943
1541
291
724
221]
4081
1
354
267
137
225
573
234
1719
1165
184
8063
531
145
223
llOl
149
67
108
105
110
179
46
648
359
85
2865
3750
4020
9180
9540
6260
430
2600
1940
1780
3140
3300
5900
3960
1130
50,930
St. AUSTLE union.— CoTumenc^rf April 80, 1837.
1. §TfST. Austle, Fri. .
2. St. Blazey
3. Creed
4. St Denis
5. St. Ewe
6. § FowEY, Sat
7. Gorran
8. Grahpoukd, Sat . . .
9. § Mevagisset, Sat . .
10. St Mewan
11. St Michael Carhayes.
12. Roche
13. St Stephen's in Brannel.
14. St Sampson
15. Tywardreth
Total
40,628
1878
2442
1524
4685
4856
3487
854
4589
1633
1114
3989
6696
1874
4539
64,788
2168
372
166
255
652
346
618
175
919
238
112
493
846
158
539
19
15
1
2
14
1
18
13
3
13
13
3
19
5
8063 19
6
3
I
1
2
2
2
1
3
2
1
2
3
1
3
33
3788
467
217
318
1176
1155
1009
525
2052
780
86
954
1738
164
727
15,156
3686
6175
8758
10,320
2070
442
938
2155
3234
444
226
279
258
265
135
478
592
721
828
278
1125
1663
1699
1468
781
1319
1455
1767
1643
379
1116
1203
1205
1232
639
601
688
715
607
216
2225
2450
2169
2310
962
626
1174
1306
1146
247
104
174
197
208
93
1161
1425
1630
2041
471
1904
2479
2477
2643
976
186
248
314
311
109
741
1238
2288
3152
624
15,940
22,181
27,659
31,406
8424
11,.540
2000
2710
3370
6100
1900
4660
Creed.
1250
2380
820
4930
13,420
1180
2990
59,250
St. COLUMB union.— Comwcucerf May 9, 1837.
1. STC0LUMB,MAJ0»,*rA
2. St Breock
8 Colan
Carried forward . , .
10,.581
6910
1685
19,176
923 18
460 16
61 18
1446 12
4
3
1
8
1816
962
191
2969
2070
998
221
3289
2493
1225
259
3977
2790
1450
261
4501
3146
1733
217
R096
1185
510
40
11,680
7860
1790
1735
21,330
CORNWALL.
251
St. COLUAfB UNION ^coMtmued.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
Brought forvard .
4. St Colamb^ Minor
5. Crantoek
6. Cubert
7. St EDoder
8. St Ervan
9. St Eval
10. St Issey
11. Little Petherick . .
12. Mavgan in Pjrdar
13. St Merryn . . . .
14. Newlyn
15. SPadstow, Sat . .
16. St Wenn
Total .
go.-
£
19,176
6238
3244
2552
5303
2812
2399
2050
1357
4016
4084
6663
6934
2963
69,791
M ••
.s
CO
Zoo
1446
595
204
108
342
222
112
392
51
297
345
419
878
203
».
12
10
16
14
10
7
1
8
3'
3'
I
4
15'
O'
11
8
3
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
POPULATION IN THE YEARS
1801
5619 14 31
No.
2969
999
299
269
869
358
288
522
126
543
425
735
1332
358
1811.
1821.
No
3289
1126'
3581
289 i
881
331
309;
632
134
622
458
798
1498
452
No.
3977
1297
389
322
833
422
323
660
217
580
537
1045
1700
589
1831.
No.
4501
1406
458
487
1124
453
354
720
224
74 ->
576
1218
1822
649
1841.
10,092 11,177,48,891 14,737
No.
5096
1681
450
368
1127
477
349
748
208
749
576
1451
2145
725
16,150
> r o
< V o
^ aOt
Area.
£
1735
652
211
121
336
164
106
374
49
318
289
372
792
199
5718
BODMIN VmO}!^.— Commenced May 10, 1837.
1. Bodmin (parish) . . .
2. ^Bodmin, Sat.* A. q, s.
3. Blisland
4. Cardinham
5. Endellion
6. Eglosheyle
7. Helland
8. St Kew
9. Lanhydrock
10. Lanivet
11. Lanliyery
12. LosTwiTHiEL, *FrL . .
13. St Minver, Highlands )
14. St. Minver, Lowlands )
15. St Mabjn ,
16. Temple
17. St. Tudy
18. Warieggan ,
19 Withiel
20. St Winnow
21. Luxulian
Total . . . .
3077
7784
3643
3029
5215
6757
1588
8598
1213
4086
5232
1498
8354
6051
156
4286
1127
2109
4304
3768
81,875
201
1008
236
256
564
539
58
602
93
435
504
303
376
137
393
5
329
120
138
422
409
13
6
15
16
8
15
8
2
18
2
16
3
11
19
10
19
17
1
15
2
7138 16
1
4
1
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
3
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
36
!
348
1951
437
552
727
781
221
1095
187
513
778
743
788
475
15
502
166
283
671
875
12,108
383
2050
487
662
950
954
223
1113
235
687
965
825
851
560
18
512
228
299
782
1047
376
2902
637
775
1149
1174
264
1218
251
803
1318
933
1028
715
27
658
296
339
906
1276
13,831
407
3375
644
728
1218
1335
285
1316
239
922
1687
1548
1110
793
29
658
274
406
1048
1288
17,045 19,310
!
892
3751
688
802
1154
1357
300
1429
263
1149
1336.
1659
683
456
870
37
661
277
468
1056
1512
20,800
210
878
198
303
621
495
30
651
82
322
423
304
410
76
324
4
269
149
9i
424
385
6,660
STRATTON UNION.— Commenced /anuflr^ 28, 1837.
J. ^Stbatton, To.
2. St Gknnis . . . .
3» JaoobBtow ....
4. Kilkhampton . .
5. Launcells
6. Marhamchnrch .
7. Moorwinstow . .
8. Poaghill
9. Poundstoek . . .
10. Week St Mary .
11. Whitstone . . . .
Total
3563
2562
2098
3959
3<I20
2485
4201
1979
2984
3012
1832
385 15
224 9
135 12
557
395 3
221 12
4
2
2
3
2
2
513 18 3
32,595
145 6
268 1
209 15
162 2
3218 13 24
960
597
432
808
647
414
874
297
617
566
345
1094
658
489
852
672
448
940
355
635
612
397
6557
7152
1580
680
571
1024
891
647
1091
378
744
782
466
1613
761
638
11^26
848
659
1102
360
727
769
481
8854 9,084
1959
689
585
1237
855
659
1050
472
672
788
466
9432
426
233
197
640
374
220
605
142
339
264
188
Acres,
21,330
5520
2480
2320
4050
3110
2970
4440
1720
5130
3740
8340
3270
5600
74,020
3470
2840
6800
8550
3530
6170
2770
7530
1680
5540
6670
120
6890
3570
780
3590
1930
2740
6840
5400
87,410
3,628
2380
5580
489C
8i2C
634(
2630
7780
2070
4420
5830
4080
54,120
252
ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
HELSTON UmOJii,— Commenced June 12, 1837.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
Annual Val.
of Property,
1815.
Ezpeiided
for the Poor,
1838.
•
a
oe
o
37
POPULATION IN THE YEARS
Average Ez-
?mded for the
oor, 1834-5-6.
Ares.
1801.
1811.
1821.
1831.
1841.
1. ^Uelston, *Sat . . .
2. St. Anthony (Meneage)
3. Breage ; . . . .
4. Crowan
£
(wen-l
Idron. )
2095
8673
13,175
2529
1373
1357
1405
10,433
1187
2306
3859
2711
2478
845
538
5839
8870
826
102
1143
890
102
121
166
106
822
93
155
231
172
222
80
34
650
1462
f.
4
16
2
17
2
1
3
3
6
11
4
14
19
6
9
10
2
16
No.
2248
261
2534
2587
304
629
320
216
2104
244
363
785
498
529
142
317
1420
3006
No.
2297
224
2888
3021
347
735
306
206
2242
303
391
800
506
571
167
274
1552
3555
No.
2671
330
3668
3973
505
830
355
252
2505
387
504
1050
591
692
187
293
2238
4193
No.
3293
300
5149
4332
523
1175
306
284
2437
406
508
1094
654
733
162
269
2772
4780
No.
3584
313
6166
4638
541
1336
333
284
2469
431
565
1084
569
808
163
302
3362
5576
£
852
159
973
1007
119
169
175
101
955
89
139
263
157
199
81
51
595
1431
Acres.
180
1410
7390
7340
3420
1360
2420
1440
9650
1300
2250
5510
14301
4550j
2520
890
5670
13,370
5. Curv
6. Gennoe
7. Grade
8. Gunwallo
9. St. Keverne
10. Landewednack
11. St. Martin (Meneage) .
12. Mavgan (Meneage) . .
13. Manaccan
14. Mullion
15. Ruan Major
16. Roan Minor
17. Sithnev
18. Wendron
Totals ....
69,673
7384
5
18,507
20,385
25,224
29,177
32,024
7,515
72,050
FALMOUTH VmO^.— Commenced June 13, 1837.
1. ^AiMOVTH*Tu.Th.Sa
2. Falmouth Parish
3. Budock. . .
4. Constantine
5. St. Gluvias
6. Mabe . . .
7. Mawnan . .
8. Mylor . . .
9. Perran-Arworthal
10. Penryn* ....
Totals
11,534
10,029
8618
6503
3951
2383
2591
6724
2165
5117
59,615
1226
291
434
439
448
264
237
831
354
851
6
17
11
2
7
16
13
2
17
5379 11
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
3
2
4
23
3684
3933
4392
4761
4844
959
1165
1374
1982
2523
2851
582
779
1514
1634
1797
1979
418
1229
1327
1671
2004
2042
526
624
714
745
969
1147
364
387
396
457
512
594
257
427
397
536
578
578
167
1665
1897
2193
2647
2569
714
884
1104
1362
1504
1755
309
2324
2713
2933
3521
3837
754
13,168
15,369
17,905
20,816
21,696
5,050
40
1170
3320
8470
2480
2410
2250
1390
40301
2901
25,85o{
PENZANCE VmO^, —Commenced June 10, 1837.
1. 5§Penzance,* Th, Sat
2. St Burian
8. St Erth
4. Gulval
5. St. Hilary
6. § St. Ive8,» Wed. Sat .
7. St, Just, Penwith . . . .
8. St Levan
9. Ludgvan
10. Madem
11. Marazion, Th
MichaeljStMt ex.-par.
12. Morvah
13. Perran-Uthnoe
14. Paul
15. Sancreed
16. Sennen
17. Towednack
18. UnyLelant,orLelantnny
19. Zennar
Total ....
10,101
7288
4708
5170
3322
5530
7776
2063
5755
8454
3454
1093 10
352 9
495 3
397 10
440 19
900 19
505 11
87 1
408 11
436 17
210 2
• •
775
• • •
43
12
5530
157
4
7464
520
12
3593
208
12
2148
145
11
1483
100
4
3165
305
19
2137
73
15
89,916
6884
1
6
2
2
2
2
4
4
1
3
2
2
2
1
4
2
1
1
2
1
44
3382
1161
1122
1076
990
2714
2779
400
1324
1564
1009
• •
282
506
2937
782
431
465
1083
544
24,551
4022
5224
1188
1495
1317
1604
1224
1353
1248
1568
3281
3526
3057
3666
434
490
1491
1839
1817
2011
1022
1253
125
223
273
325
626
786
3371
3790
790
1001
495
637
532
582
1180
1271
671
715
28,16.4
33,349
6563
1707
1922
1467
1728
4776
4667
515
2322
2058
1393
161
377
1033
4191
1069
689
737
1602
811
39,788
8578
1911
2452
1941
1966
5666
7047
531
3190
2566
1683
163
407
1438
4664
1248
659
967
1025
48,102
782
275
522
275
470
895
581
69
410
280
Madn.
6670|
3050|
3280;
3380
1850.
7820
2400
4560'
6810'
185,StHiI.,
70,
58
164
483
184
154
86
852
87
6312
2060,
1600
8530'
4240'
2850
28801
4210'
4640
65,400
CORNWALL.
253
COUNTY OF CORNWALL, RETURNED IN THE UNION OF HOLSWORTHY,
DEVONSHIRE.
NAMES OF UNITED
PARISHES.
North Tamerton
Bndgrule(PrefO
_2 "^
5^
£
2125
719
Total
£
«.
222
7
95
4
317 11
•
m
s
POPULATION IN THE YEARS
^ B 5
1
1
180L
1811.
1821.
1831.
1841.
No.
403
191
No.
420
176
No.
479
238
No.
517
250
No.
£
170
77
Areft.
Acres.
5400
851
COUNTY OF CORNWALL, RETURNED IN THE UNION OF PLYMPTON ST. MARY,
DEVONSHIRE.
St Budeaaxi
1
40
(1) So carelessly have the boundaries of counties been looked after, that few persons are aware of the portion or land on the
DeronshiTe side of the Tamar, opposite the town of Saltash, belonging to the county and duchy of Cornwall, carrying a popu-
lation; it may be that the parish of St. Stephens has a claim to the land in question, as having been originally part of the
honour of Trematon Castle ; but if not, then the parish of St. Budeauz must be in both counties ; the total population is 790.
Ve do not know the number of acres, but the Cornish population is stated to number about forty persons.
TOTAL EXPENDITURE FOR THE RELIEF OF THE POOR AND OTHER CHARGES
IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, viz.
1831. 1835. 1836. 1837. 1838. 1839. 1840.
£109,138. £99,934. £89,733. £82,705. £77,583. £80,202. £84,985.
The popnlation in 1834 vas 300,938, and in 1840, 341,269, being an increase of one-seycnth ; and the
expenditure being £24,148 less than in 1834, or 22 per cent on the population of 1831, it follows, that,
with the access of popcQation in 1840 taken into account, the decrease is of a much larger amount than
appears in the parliamentary returns.
PETTY SESSIONS.
For the hundred or district of Held at
Powder, East Diy. . . . St. Austell.
Powder,TywardrethDiT. Tywardreth and Bodmin.
Powder, South Div. . . . Ruan-Lanyhorne.
Powder, West Div. . . . Truro.
Pyder, East Div St Columb Major.
Pyder, West Div. .... Newlyn.
Penwyth, East Div. . . . Camborne and Penzance.
Penwyth, West Div. . . Penzance.
East, Middle DiV. .... Callington.
For the hundred or district of Held at
East, North Div Launceston.
East, South Div. .... St Germans*
Kirrier, East Div Falmouth.
Kirrier, West Div. . . . Helston.
Lesnewth DavidstowandCamelford.
Stratton Stratton.
Trigg Egloshayle.
West ...... r ... . Lanreath & Wadebridge.
Crime -Prisons. — ^The prison for criminal offenders, as well as for the incareeratiou of debtors, is at
Bodmin, where only the assizes are held, and it has the reputation ot being very well conducted. The
committals for criminal offences appear to be somewhat diminished ; in 1805 they amounted to 105 on
a population of 188,369 } in 1829, they were 378 on a population of 302,440 ; and in 1839, they were
293 on a population of 341,269. In 1839, out of 293 prisoners^ of which 27 were left for trial at the end
of the year, 1 admitted evidence, and 1 not prosecuted, the convictions were 180 to 60 acquitted, and
agmnst 24 no bills were found, or 84 discharged. Out of 267 committed only 10 could write well.
The cost of the prison for the year was 2,414/. 8«., including repairs and every expense. The average
cost per week each prisoner, dividing all expenses, was 9«. ^d. Diet per head per annum 6/. 18«., or per
week 2s. 7|</.
254 ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
FAIRS HELD IN THE YEAR.
St. Austle— Thurs. before Easter, Thurs. in Whitsun-week, Fri. after July 23, Oct 10, Nov. 30.
SL Blazey—Feh. 2. Blisland — Mod. nearest Not. 22. Bodbon — Jan. 25, Sat after Mid-Lent
Sunday, Sat before Falm Sunday, Tues. Wed. before Whitsuntide, Dec 6. Boscastle in Minster —
Aug. 5, Nor. 22. Boyton — Mon. fortnight after Aug. L Callikgton — First Tues. in March,
May 4, Sept 19, Nov. 12 Camborne— March 7, Whit Tues. June 29, Nov. 11. Camdfoid—^rL
after March 10, May 26, July 17, Sept 6. St. Columb— Thurs. after M. Lent Sunday, Nov. 12.
Sl Columb Minor— July 9. Crofihole — ^Lady Day, Easter Tuesday. St. Dte— Easter Monday.
St J?tt7e— Thurs. after April 7, and after Nov. 4. Falmouth— Aug. 7, Oct 1 1. Five Lanes, Alternon
— Mon. week after June 24, first Thurs. in Nov. Fowey — Shrove Tuesday, May 1, Sept 10. St,
Germaina — May 28, Aug. I. GddMthnei/y Perran-uthno— Aug. 5. Gkampoumd — Jan. 18, March 25,
June 11. Helston — Sat before Mid-Lent and Palm Sundays, Whit-Monday, July 29, Sept 9, Nov. 8,
Dec. 16. Hessenfordy St Germains — Whit-Tuesday. St Issey — ^First Mon. in Oct St Ive — Thurs.
after April 7, and after Nov. 4. St. Ives — Last Sat in Nov. St Keverne — Tues. after Epiphany.
KUkhamplon — Holy Thursday, that day three weeks, and Sept 26. Landrake^JxAy 19, Aug. 24.
Lanreath — Three weeks after Shrove Tues., Whit-Tues., Nov. 18. Laumceston — First Thurs. in
March, and third Thurs. in April, Whit'Mon., July 6, Nov. 17, Dec. 6. St Zaun-ance, Bodmin —
Aug. 21, Oct 29 and 30. Leiant—A\ig. 15. LinkmhorTu—lAsi Thurs. in April, and last in Oct
LisKEARD — Shrove-Mon , the Mon. before Palm Sund., Holy Thurs., Aug. 15, Oct 2, Mon. after
Dec. 6. Lostwithiel — July 10, Sept 4, Nov. 13. St Mabyn — Feb. 13. Marazion — Mid-Lent
Mon. and Sept 29. Marham Church — Wednesday after March 25, and Aug. 12. St Martin,
Meneage — ^Feb. 13. AfmAen/o^— April 23, June 11, July 28. Michd-^Oct 5. Mitibrook — May 1,
Sept 29. Millingy, or PenhaUoWy in Perranzabulo— Easter Tues. St Neot — ^May 5, Easter Mon. and
Nov. 5. Newlyn — ^First Tues. in Oct and Nov. 8. NorAitt — Sept. 8, but if on Fri. or Sat the Mon.
following; first Thurs. in Nov. Pabstow — April 18, Sept 21. Pelynt—Zxme 24. Penrose^ St
Ewan— Tues. before Ascension. Penryn— May 12, July 7, Oct 8, Dec 21. Penzance— Mar. 25,
Thurs. after Trin. Sunday, June 1, Thurs. before Advent Thurs. South PeMerMTcn— Second Tues. in
May, and the same in Oct PiUaton — ^Whit-Tues. Pciperro, in Lansalloes — June 29. Port Isaac, En-
del iyon — Holy Thurs. Pottn</«cro8«, Blisland — Last Mon. in Nov. Poundstock — Mon. before Ascension.
iVo6tt«— April 5 and 23, July 5, Sept 17. Quethiock—lOiSl Monday in Jan. Riaiton — June 9.
Redruth — ^May 2, Aug. 3, Oct 2. Saltash — Tues. before every quarter-day, Feb. 2, July 25.
St SiephenSj by Launceston— May 12, July 31, Sept 25. Stoke CUnuland—'MAy 29. Stratton —
May 19, Nov. 8, Dec. 11. Summer Court, St Enoder— Holy Thurs., July 28, Sept 25. St Teath
— ^Last Tues. in Feb. and first in July. Treganatha, St Wenn — ^May 6, Aug. 12. Trboont —
Shrove Tues., May 3, July 25, Sept 1, Nov. 6. Tresilian Bridge — Second Mon. in Feb. and
Mon. before Whit-Sunday. Tintagel, or Trevena — Oct. 19, if Mon., if not, the first Mon. after.
Trerule-foot St Germains — Shrove Tues. Trew, Breage — Holy Thurs., July 25. Trewenn, May 1,
Oct 1 1. Trewithian, in Gerrans — Tues. before Holy Thurs. Truro— Wednes. after Mid-Lent Sunday,
Wednes. in Whitsun-week, Nov. 19, Dec. 8, Tues. May 20, and Sept 14, for cattle. St Tudy-^
May 24, Sept. 14. Tywardreth — July 19. St Veep — Wednes. after June 16. Wadebridge — May 12,
June 22, Oct 10. Wainhouse Comer, St. Gennis — June 24, Sept. 29. Week St Mary — July 29,
Sept 15, Dec. 10. WestLooe—MAj 6. Wendron — ^May 18, July 27. WiMian—Tues. before Holy
Thursday.
Authors who have written, and Works, upon ComwalL — Norden's ^ Speculi Britannia Pars, jpr." 1584.
— Carew's Survey, 1602 Natural History of Cornwall, by Borlase, 1758.— Antiquities, by Borlase,
1754. — ^Rev. R. Polwhele's History of Cornwall, 1803—1806. — History of Cornwall, by Hichens and
Drew, 1817.— Gilbert's History of Cornwall, 1820.— The Ancient Cathedrals of Cornwall, by J. Whit-
taker, 1804. — Lysons' Magna Britannia, 1814. — Hals*s Parochial History, vol. n. folio. — Mr. Davies
Gilbert published Hals, and the extant notes of Tonkin, with remarks of his own, in 6 vols., 1838. —
Account of East and West Looe, by Bond, 1823. — Some Account of St Neot*s Church and Windows,
by the Rev. B. Foster, 1786. — Observations on the Fossils of Cornwall, by M. H. Klaproth, 1787. —
Observations on the Scilly Isles, by Dr. Borlase, 1756.— History of Falmouth, by K. Thomas. —
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, by Robt Heath, 1750. — Agriculture of Cornwall, by G. B. Worgan,
1811, and also by Frazer. — Excursions in Cornwall, by F. W. L. Stockdale, 1824. — Mineralogia Cor-
nubiensis, by W. Pryce; and Archsologia Comubritannica, by the same, 1778 and 1790. -Dainet
Harrington, voL IIL and Y. of the Archseologia.— Laws of the Stannaries, by T. Pearce, 1725.— Spe-
cimens of Minerals, by Philip Rashleigh, Esq. 1801. — ^Dr. Maton*s Western Tour, 1797. — Gilpin's
Picturesque Tour, 1798.— Shaw's Tour, 1789, and Lipscomb's Journey through, 1799. — Several
Antiquities, and the Beauties of England and Wales, with the Philosophical Transactions, and several
periodical works, contain articles on Cornwall. On Mining and Geology may be named De la Beche,
1839; also mmierous papers in the Philosophical Transactions and Magazine, in the Gedogical
Transactions, Annals of Philosophy, and Transactions of the Geological Society of Cornwall.
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
p. ttandsfor ParUb; K for Fillages and Hd.for Hundred.
Adit, The Great, 211.
Advent, or St. Ann, or St Tane, 41.
Agnes, St., p., 185, 196.
Head, 186.
's Beacon, 193, 196.
Aire, ▼. in St. Ives.
Alan, river, 40.
Albeston, v. in Calstock.
Aldwinnick House, 90.
Allen, river, 1 1 6.
, St. p., 236.
Alsa, V. in St. Buryan.
Altemon, p., 52.
Alvacot, v., 20, 70.
Alverton, now Madern, p., 171.
Amalibria ^
Amalvear > y. in Towednack.
Amalwidden j
Amble, v. in St Kew.
Amble Bridge, St. Kew, 89.
Ammell, v., 42.
Angarrack, v. in Phillack.
Ann, St, 41.
Anne, St, chap, of, 114.
Anthony, p., 83, 113.
St, East, chapelry, 72, 8S.
— House and Woods, 72, 80, 82.
St, Point, 122.
— — — St, in Roseland, 1 14.
, p. in Meneage, or in Kirrier.
Ararat, Mount, and its tower, 76.
Arbuthnot's, Capt, horse precipitated from the
Land's End, 177.
Armed Knight Rock, 178.
Arrowan, v. in St. Keverne.
Arwinik, near Falmouth, 131, 133.
Attery, river, 14, 71.
Auaiell, St, Hill, 56.
Austle, St p., ch., &c., of, 105.
Badghall, v. in Laneast
Badharlick, v. in Egloskerry.
Bake House, 90.
Bakesdown, v. in Week St Mary.
Balsdon, East, y. in Whitstone.
, West, v. in Whitstone.
Batavellan, v. in St. Ives.
Batten Cliffs, 88.
Bealbury, v., 78.
Bearer's Chant, The, 194.
Bedock, or ) • r j i.
Besock, f "■ •" ^^"'^
Beeney, ham., 40.
Bejouans, v. in Sancreed.
Belowly, y. in Roche.
Benefices, List of
Bennacot, v., 20.
Bennet's, St, Monastery, 49.
Berippar, v. in Camborne.
y. in Gunwalloe.
Berry Court, barton of, 30.
Betallack, y. of St Just in Penwith.
Bezoan, v. in Colan.
Biscovey, y. in St Blazey.
Black Pit Gulf, 32, 34.
Blaise, St, festival of, 105.
Blasting, operation of, 200.
Blazey, St, or Blase, p. ch., 57, 104.
Highway, St, v. in St Blazey.
Blisland, p., rectory and manor, 50.
Boconnoc, ch. and p., 101.
House, 101.
Park, 101.
Bodiniel, ham., 48.
Bodinneck, v. in Lanteglos by Fowey.
Ferry, at Fowey, 98.
Bodive, or Bodeeve, v. in Eglosheyle.
Bodwanick, v. in Lanivet
Bodwen, v. in Helland.
Bogullas, y. in St Just in Roseland.
BohuUa, y. in St. Just in Roseland.
Bokiddich, v. in Lanivet
Bolingey, v. in Perranzabuloe.
Bodmin, bor. and m. t, 44.
Bofarnell, v. in St Winnow.
Bofindle, v. in Warleggan.
Bolleit V. in St Buryan.
Bodrean House, 116.
Bodwannick, v. in Lanivet.
Bodrigan Manor, in Gorran, 1 1 2.
, Sir Hejiry, Castle of, 113.
JBolerium promontoritmif 176.
Bolleit, Druidical circle of, 182.
Borlase, Rev. Dr., 165.
Bosavern, v. in St. Just in Penwith.
Boscastle, t and Castle ruins, 30, 33, 39.
Boscawen, Druidical circle at, 183.
family, the, 138.
Boscawen Oon, v. in St. Buiyan.
Rose, v. in St Buryan.
Boskenna House, 171.
Bossiney.
Bossinny, ch. town, 35.
Bossow, V. in Towed nack.
Bosvennon, y. in Sancreed.
Bosustow, V. in St Levan.
Boswednack, v. in Zen nor.
Boswringham, v. in Gorran.
Botallack Mine, 174, 211, 212«
Botreah, v. in Sancreed.
Bottreaux Castle, and ch., 31, 34.
Botus Fleming, ch., 79.
Boussenning, custom so named, 52.
Bovallan, v. in St Ives.
Bowgyheene, v. in Ludgvan.
Boyton, p., in Trigg hd.
v., Wilsworlhy Barrows, Agnes Prest
burnt 20.
Braddock, ch., and Down, 101.
Brea, v. in St Just in Penwith.
Breage, p., 152.
Breja, v. in Towednack.
Breock, St, p., in Pyder hd.
Breward, St, or Simon's Ward.
Bridgend, v. in St Winnow.
Bridgrule, p., in Stratton hd.
*- Bridge, v. in Bridgrule.
Britons of Cornwall, the, 191.
256
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
Broadoak, or Braddock, ch., 101.
Brown- Willy, 52.
Bnimain, ▼. in Lelant.
Bude, V. in Stratton.
Canal, haven, and town, 21 — 23.
Budock, St., p. ch., 135.
Budshed Creek, 74.
Buraton, t. in St. Stephen's, near Saltash.
Burian, 234.
Burlawn, ▼ in Egloshayle.
Burlorne Eglos, v. in St. Breock.
BiirnguUow, ▼. in St. Mewan.
Bumthouse, v. in St. Gluvias.
Burrow, v. in Bridgrule.
Burraton, ▼. in Stoke Climsland.
Burrows,' the Four; tumuli, 128.
Buryan, St., ch. t, 182.
Buscreege, or Boscreeg, v. in St Germoe.
Cadgwith Cove, 145.
V. in Grade, or Ruan Minor.
Cadston, v. in St Ive.
Caerleon Cove, 145.
Caew3men Cromlech, 178, 194.
Calenick, v. in Kenwyn and Kea.
smelting house for tin, 1 28.
Callestock, v. in Perranzabuloe.
Callington, p , in East hd.
Callinoton m. t, its ch. and octagonal cross,
62, 78.
Calmanjak, v. in Constantine.
Calstock, t. and p., 68
Cambeak Headland, 80.
Camborne, ch. and font, 57, 103.
p. of, 186, 194.
epitaph at, 194.
Camel, river, 38, 40, 42.
Camelfoxd, m. t., 41.
Canorchard, ham., 22.
Caradon Mnt, its height, 53, 60.
— — Priory and Manor, 55.
Carclaze Tin-mine, 105.
Carclew House, 128.
Cardinham, p., in West hd.
-, Old, V. in Cardinham.
Carew, Sir William, Sir Alexander, and Richard,
83, 159.
Cargerwen, v. in Crowan.
Cargreen, v. in Landulph.
Cargurrel, old fortification at, 1 14.
Carbayes, St Michael, ch. of, 113.
-^— ^^ House, 113.
Carkeel, v. in St Stephen's, near Saltash.
Carloggas, v. in Mawgan, in Pydar.
Cam Br6 Hill, and Druidical vestiges, 191. Cas-
tle and monument on, 192.
Carn Galva, granite hill, 173.
Carn-Kye Hill, 193.
Came, West, v. in Alteraon.
Carnon Stream Works, 128.
Cammarth, 195.
Carnmarth Hill, 195.
Camy Voel, headland, 178.
Carrack Dues, v. in St Ives.
Carrick lload, 113, 114, 120.
Carsantec, v. in Lawhitton.
Carvath, v. in St Austle.
Carvossen Downs, v. in Ludgvan.
Carwin-Sawsin, v. in Gwinear.
Carwithenick House, 136.
Castle Hill, 112.
" Castles," ancient works, 179.
Catchlrench House, 90.
Cather Mather Woods, 72.
Cattebridew, v. in Gwinear.
Cawsand and | Kiugsand, vils , '87 ; the Bay,
88.
Cayse, v, in Treneglos.
Chacewater, v., 128.
Charlestown, v. ; St Austle p., 105.
Chatham, Wm. Earl of, 101, 102.
Cheesewring, the, 55.
Chilsworthy, v. in Calstock.
Chiverloe, v. in Gunwalloe.
Chun Cromlech, 173.
Castle, ib.
Churchyards and cemeteries, 46, 166, &c
Chyandower, v., 165.
Clare, St , or St Cleer, ch. and well, 50, 57 — 61.
C leather, St, p., in Lesnewth hd.
Clement's, St, 57.
, p., Truro, 117.
Clifton, mans, ho., 73.
Clouted cream, described, 58.
Clowance, 152.
Clymesland, 144.
Coanse; v. in Luxullion.
Colan, St, p., in Powder hd.
Coldrinick House, 90.
Columb Major, St, p., in Pyder hd.
— — Minor, St, p., in Pyder hd.
Congdon's Shop, v. in North-hilL
Connon, t. in St Pinnock.
Constantine Tower, p. and ch., 135.
Copper, value of ores raised, 221.
Copperthorn, v. in Poundstock.
Corbeau, v. in St Austle.
Cornelly, p. and ch. t, 115.
Cornwall, preh'minaiy description of, 1 — 12 ;
duchy of, residence of former Dukes, 15, 16,
102, 116, 144; palaces of the Earls of, 102;
language, proverbs, music, &c. of, 51, 52, 120,
147, 182; ancient authors of, enumerated,
122— 126, 165; local customs o^ 49, 52, 149,
150; character of the inhabitants of, 188;
purity of English speech in, 169 ; traditions of,
51, 52, 6% 70, 79, 81, 91, 106, 113, 121, 127.
154, 158, 175, 182,183; history of celebrated
families oC 68, 165 ; the Duchy, lands of, 144 ;
ancient episcopal church of, 89 ; land revenue
of the Duchy, and tin dues, 144 ; geology, and
minerals of, 100, 105, 139, 141, 154, 155, 164,
167. 174, 185; agriculture oC 141, 167;
fisheries of, 106^112, 184; birds of, 179;
botany of, 139, 143, 182, 183 ; trees and fiuiu
of, 145; climate of, 156, 185; antiquittca,
coins, &c. of, 155, 164, 183 ; ancient commerce
with, 155 ; the Cornish wreckers, 186 — 190.
— — , Cape, 174.
Corva, V. in St Ives.
Cothele House, 66, 76.
—— , chapel rock of, 77.
Couches, V. in Phiileigh.
Coumbe, v. in Moorwiustow.
Courtney, man of, 144.
Coverack Cove, 145.
, V. in St Keveme.
Cow and Calf Rocks. 196.
Cracketton, or Crackington, v. in St Gennis.
Crantock, p., in Pyder hd.
Creed, p. and ch. of, 115.
Crocadon House, 78.
Crofthole, v., 88.
— Manor, 144.
Cromlechs; the Trevethy Stone, 61, 172, 173.
Crosses, stone, 180, 182.
Cross Lanes, v. in Cury.
Cross-town, v. in Moorwinstow.
Crowan, 151.
Crowliss, v. in Ludgvan.
Crowsnest, v. in St Clare.
Crowswin, v. in St. Ewe.
Crowzas Down. 154.
Crugmeer, v. in Padstow.
Cubert, p., in Pyder hd.
Cuby, p and ch of, 1 15.
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
257
Cudden Point, 154.
Cury, p. 147.
Dabwallsy v. in Liskeard.
Dane's Comb, 76.
Davidttow, p., 40. .
Davy, Sir H., 171.
Dazard Point, 26.
Deadman Cape, 112.
De la Bole Quarries, 42.
Delamere, v., 42.
Denis, St, p., 220.
Dergon, y. m Constantine.
Devil's Point, 72.
Dinas, Great, encampment, 137.
, Castle an, 165.
Dinas, Little, 137.
Dingle Combe, 196.
Dingerein, entrenchment at, 114.
Dinnerdake, v. in St Ive.
Dolsdon, V. in N. Tamerton.
Dominick, St , ch. t, 78.
Dosmary Pool, 51.
Downance Cove, 145.
Downhill, v. in St Ewall.
Downninney, v. in Warbstow.
Draines Hill, 53.
Drannock, v., 157.
Drawcombe, v. in Stokeclimsland.
Druids, circles, temples, &c. of the, 54, 182, 191,
Drym, v. in Crowan.
Duloe, p., 97, 100.
Dunmere, v. in Bodmin.
Bridffe, 44.
HanHet, 48.
Dunstanville Monument, 193.
Dupath Well, 63.
Dutson, v., in St Stephen's by Launeeaton.
Duchy Offices, 225.
Dye, St, 195.
East, Hundred of, 55.
Eastcott, V. in Moonnnstow.
Eastwyvelshire, Beadlery of, 144.
Eddystone Rocks and Lighthouse, 84.
Edgcumbe, Mount, 72, 82.
House, 87.
family, 113.
Eglosheyle, p., 43.
Egloskerry, p. in Trigg hd.
Efflos Eos, Heath Church, and Roaeland, 1 14.
Eliot, Port, House, 90.
Endellion, St, p., 38.
Endsleigh, 78.
Enoder, St, p., 219.
Engines used in mining, 223, 224.
Enys Dodnan Rock, 178.
Port, 183.
— House, 128.
Erme, St, p., 219.
&ney, St, p., 185.
Erth, St, ch., 185.
Ervan, St, p. in Pydar hd.
Euny*Le]ant, p. ch., 184.
Eva], St, p., 223.
Ewe, St, p., 106.
Fad6, or Fadgy, provincial term, 149.
Fal,orVal, river, 115, 120.
Falmouth, bor. and m. t, 129.
Fairs, feur or furry-day, explained, 109; the
Furry-song, 150.
Fentenwanson, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
Feock, ch., 120.
Fisheries of Cornwall, 106—112, 184.
f fresh water, 112.
Fishermen and Cornish sailors, anecdotes of, 168.
Five Lanes, v. in Altemon.
Flushing, v., 131.
Forda, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
Forrabury, or Bottreaux, ch., 31.
Four-Hole Cross, 50, 51.
Fowey, m. t, 98.
, p. in Pydar hd.
Harbour, 53, 98, 100.
, or Fawy, river, 52; branch of, 100.
Well, 52.
Fraddom, v., partly in Gwinear, partly in Crowan.
Fraddon, v. in St Enoder.
Frogwell, v. in CaUington.
Gennis, St, p.. 30.
George's, St, chap. 96.
Germans, St, ch. and v., 88.
, m. t 282.
Germoe, p., 152.
Gerrans, p., 113.
Glanville, Mrs., epitaph on, 89.
Glivian, v. in St. Columb Major.
Gluvias, St, vie. and ch., 129.
Glynns, mansion of the, 53.
Godolphin House, 152.
Godrevy Island, 183.
Golant, or Giant, v. in St Sampson.
Goldfound in Cornwall, 222.
Golden, mans, ho, 116.
Goldsithney, or Golzinney, v. in Perran-uthnoe.
Goloures, manor oU 112.
Goonhilly Downs, 147.
Gooseham, v. in Moorwinstow.
Gorran Haven, 106.
, ch., 112.
Gospenheale, v. in Trewen.
Grade, p., 145.
Grammar Schools, 231.
Grampound, m. t, 115.
Green Bank, suburb and quay, Falmouth, 130.
Greyston Bridge, 72.
Grirascot, ham., 22.
Grugwith, v. in St Keveme.
GuUdford, V. in PhiUack.
Gulfwell, the, 165.
Gunwalloe, p. in Kirrier hd. *
Gulval, p. ch., 57, 165.
Gunnon, v. in Alternon.
Gwavas, v. in Sithney.
Gweek. v. in Constantine.
Gwennap, p., 186.
Gwinear, p., 157.
, copper mines of, 185.
Gwinter, v. in St Keveme.
Gwithian, p. and mines, 185.
Haleaver Moor, local custom, 49.
Halloon, ot Halewoon, v. in St Columb Major.
Hall Walk. Fowey. 102.
Halton, Callington, p., 78.
Ham Mill, on the Tamar, 2a
Hamoaze Harbour, 72, 80, 88.
Harewood House, 77.
Harrobear, v. in Calstock.
Hawke's Tor, 54.
Hay, V. in St Breock.
Hay Farm, Clifilon, 74.
Hayle Copper House, v. in PhiUack.
Hayle Port, v. in PhiUack.
Headon, v., 20.
Helford, river, 137.
, v., 137.
Heligan House, 106.
Helland, p., 240.
Hellesvean, v. in St. Tves.
Hellesveor, v in St Ives.
Helsbury, 42, 144.
L L
258
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
H ALSTON, bor t., 1Z5, 147.
, in Trigshire, manori 144.
Helston, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford
Hendra, t. in St Denis.
Hendravenna, v. in Perranzabula
Hennacliff, headland, 24.
Hensbarrow Hill, 105.
Herring fishery, 112.
Hesham, ham., 22.
Hessiugford, v. in St* Germans.
Hewas Tin Mine, 106.
Heyle Copper-smelting and Iron Works, 183, 185.
, river, 184.
Hicks's Mill, v. in Lewannick.
High Cliff, Sf\
Highway, v. in Tywardreth.
Highway, v., 100.
Hill Head Turnpike, St. Austle, 106.
Hingston Down, 65.
Silver Mine, 77.
Hollabeer, v. in Moorwinstow.
Holm Bush Mines, 62.
Honiton, v. in South Petherwin.
Homeck Castle, 171.
Huel Yor Mine, 152.
Hurlers, the, Druidical circle, 54.
Illogan, p., 185.
Copper Mines, 190.
Ince Castle, 72, 82.
Inceworth, v. in Maker.
Inganger, St., v. in Lanivet
Inny, river, 62, 72, 78.
Iron ores raised, 223.
Issey, St., p., 223.
Ive, SL, ch., 62.
Ives, St., bor. and m. t, 184.
, pilchard fishery at, 108.
, herring fishery at, 112.
Jacobstow, p., 80.
Jamaica Inn, 50.
Jews, visited Cornwall, 106, 165.
John's, St., Creek, 72, 83.
Rectory, 88.
•, V. in Sithney.
Juliot, St., p., 40.
Just, St, p., in Roseland, 113, 1*4, 15.3.
, in Penwith, amphitheatre of, 121, 175 ;
p. o^ 173; ch. t of, 174; mines and minerals
of, 174 ; stone cross o^ ib.
, 8., St Pool, anchorage, 134.
Kannegy, or Kenegy, v. in Breage.
Kamidjack Castle, 174.
Kea, ch., 128.
Keason, v., 78.
Kelinack, v. in St Just in Penwith.
Kellestock, man. and fishery of, 144.
Kellygreen, v. in St Tudy.
Kenegie House, 165, 171.
Kennack Cove, 145.
Kenwyn, ch , Truro, 118, 128.
Kerrybolock Park, 144.
Kestle, v. in St Thomas by Launceston.
Keveme, St, ch., 138.
~: 1 traditions, 139, 154.
Kew, St., p., 42.
Keyna, St., 93.
Keyne, St, ch., 92.
— , the well, 93.
K-UIbury Castle, 44.
Kilkhampton, 21, 28.
^Ijigrew, family of. 133.
Kilhow House, 128.
Kilmarth Hill, 54.
Kinance Cove, 146.
Kingswood, v. in Cardinham.
Kit Hill, 63.
Kitsham, v. in Week St Mary.
Xnowle, v. in Bridgrule.
Kynock, or Canyke Castle, 49.
Kyvere Ankou, 196.
Ladle's Cross, 70.
Ladock, p., 219.
La Feock, v. in Feoch.
Laine, rivulet, 44.
Lamboum, v. in Pcrran Zabuloe.
Lamellin, v. in Liskeard.
Lamorick, bor. m Lanivet.
Lamorran, or Lan Moran, ch., 115.
Landewednack, ch. and font, 103, 145.
Landrake, ch., 79.
Land's End, The, 175—178.
Landulph, ch. and manor, 73, 144.
Lane, v. in St Allen.
Laneast, in East hd.
Lanhinzey, v. in St Columb Major.
Lanhydrock House, 104.
Lanihome, Ruan, ch., 114, 115.
Lanivet, St Bennet's Monastery at, 49.
, p. of, ib,
Lsnivery, p. and ch., 102.
Lankidden Cove. 145.
Lank Major,
Minor
;:f
vils. in St Breward.
Lanner-vean, v. in Sithney.
Lanre»th, a parish in West hd.
Lansalloes, a parish in West hd.
Lanteglo8-by-Came1ford, p., 41.
Lanteglos-by-Fowey, ch., 98.
Lanyon, v. in Madem.
Cromlech, 172.
Lariggan House, 171.
Larrick, v. in Lezant.
Latchley, v. in Calstock.
Laudren Manor, 144.
Launcels, friar's cell and snakes of, 21.
Launcehtun, bor. and m. t, 12 — 19, 144.
Lawhitton, p., 15.
Lawrence, St., 48.
Lead mines of Cornwall, 222.
Leighdura Manor, 144.
Leitch, or leach stone, 80.
Lelant, p. ch., 173.
-, gardens of, 183.
Lenin, river, 101.
partly
in St Veepi and partly in
St Winnow.
Lesnewth, p. and hundr., 40, 52,
Levan, St, ch. t, 179.
Lewannick, a parish in East hd.
Lewame, v. in Northill.
Lezant, a parish in East hd.
Lidwell, V. in Stoke Climsland.
Linkinhome, p., 65.
" free-school, foundation, 56.
Lionesse, 154; Sir Tristram and the Ladye of
Liones, 159.
Liskeard, bor., no. t , and manor, 90, 144.
Little- Bridge, v. in Bridgrule.
Lizard Point, 145.
Town, V. in Landewednack.
Lodes, description of, 217, 218.
Loe Fool, and dangerous bar betwixt the lake
and the sea, 52, 150.
Logan stones, 172, 181.
, in Phillack.
Long Lane, v. in Merther.
Ship's Lighthouse, 175.
Looe, East,) ^
, West, f ^*' ^^'
Island, 84, 96,
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
259
Looe, riyer, 95.
LoATWiTHiEL, Di. t and p., (formerly a bor. U)
102, lU.
Lower Ex, v. in Week St Mary.
Low, Port, Manor, 144.
Luccombe, ▼. in Lawhitton.
Lttckett, ▼. in Stoke Climaland.
Ludgvan, p., 165.
in Ludgvan.
Lundy Island, 26.
Luxullian, p. ch. of, 105.
Lyd, river, 72.
Lynher, river, 72, 82.
Mabe, p., 185.
Mabyn, St, cb., 42.
Madern Well, 171, 180.
Madron, or Madern, p. and ch., 57.
Maker, ch., 72.
HeighU, 80.
, p. of, 87.
Malow, or Mola, v. in St Agnes.
Manaccan House, 137.
Manacle Point, 132.
Manacles, the, 145.
Manganese, ores raised, 222.
Makazion, m. t, 155 — 158.
Marham, ch. t, 21.
Maristow House and Woods, 74.
Markwell, v. in St. Emey.
Martin, St, in Meneage, 138.
in West hd.
, ch., 96.
Mary's, St, p., Truro, 117.
Mawes, St, town and castle of, 1 13, 134.
Mawgan, p., in Meneage, 188, 147.
in Pyder, a parish.
Mawnan, ch., 137.
Smith, V. in Mawnan.
Mayod, v., 176.
Medrose, v., 42.
Melancoose, v. in Colan.
Mellion, St, p., 78.
— ^— ch., and monument of Wm. Coryton, 79.
MSn Scryfa Stone, 172.
Menabilly House, 100.
Meneage, p., 138.
Menheniot, p. and ch., 90.
Mennadue, Higher, > m • t n*
, Lower, f ^»^«- '" ^uxullion.
Mermaid's Hole, 114.
Merry n, St, p. 223.
Merrifield, v. in Brldgrule.
Merrymeet, v. in Menheniot
Merther, p. and ch., 116.
Metherell, v., 66,
Mevagissy, ch., and fishery, 106.
Me wan, St, p. ch., 106.
Beacon, 106.
Michael's, St, Mount, &c. 155 ; its history, 159.
Michael Carhayes, St, ch., 113.
— — , St, chap., 89.
, Penkivel, ch., 120.
Michaelstow, p., 42.
Michel, 57.
partly in St Enoder.
Millbrook, t and creek, 72, 83.
Millingoos, v. in Stthney.
Millingey, ▼. in Perran Zabuloe.
Millpool, V. in Cardinham.
Milor, p., 181.
Bridge, v. in Milor.
Mines, principal situation of, see p. 268.
Mine, opening new, 223.
, persons employed at, ib,
, machinery employed at, ib.
Mines, tin, account of, 216.
, magnitude of, 201.
Mines, descent of one, 218.
, temperature in, 201.
, levels working in, ib.
, transverse section oi^ 215.
Miners' tools, 197.
, Cornish, character ot, 210, 211.
Mining operations described, 197.
districts described, 215.
Minster, p., 34.
Minver, St, ch., 88.
Miracle-plays of Cornwall, 122.
Mithian, v. in St Agnes.
Moditenham House, 79.
Molfra Cromlech, 172.
Monument on Cam Br6, 193.
Moors, the, near Bodmin, 50.
Moorwinstow, ch., 21, 30.
Mopas, near Truro, 120.
Moresk, manor of, 116.
Morva, p., 178.
Morval House, 96.
Mount Edgcumbe, 80.
Mountjoy, v. in Colan.
Mount's Bay, 154, 164.
Mousehole, v., 183.
MuUion, p. ch., 147«
Nancealvern House, 171.
Nancledry, v. in Towednack.
Nanjisal, or Mill Bay, 178.
Nansavallan Wood, 128.
Nantallan, ham., 48.
Nare Head, 114, 145.
Neot's, St, ch., and ch. t, 91.
Nethercombe Tenemeut, 100.
Newbridge, 70, 77.
New- Hay, 70.
Newlyn, v., 183.
. p^ 219.
Newport, 15.
New Quay, v. in St Cohimb Minor.
Nighton's, St, Keive, Cascade, 35.
Nonnet, St, ch., 52.
Northcott, 20.
North- Hill, a parish in East hd.
Manor, 144.
Nun's (St) Well, 52.
Oil, train, 169.
Other-Half Stone, 57.
Ore, dressing of, 219, 221.
, sale of, and produce, 220.
, value of, 220, 221.
Otterham, p., 40.
Padstow, ch. and font, 103, 121.
Palmer's Bridge, 52.
Par, v., 100, partly in St Blazey, and partly in
'Tywardreth.
Par Creek, 104.
Pardenick Point, 178.
Park, manor of, 43.
Paul, p. ch., 183.
Pelyn, or Pelynt, ch., 97.
Penare, or Pennair, v. in Gorran.
Penair House, 116.
Penbeagle, v. in St Ives.
PenberUi Cove, v. in St Buryan.
Pencalenick, 116.
Pencarrow, v. in Advent
House, 44.
Pendavy, manor of, ib,
Pendcen, v. in St Just in Penwith.
Cove, and cave, 174.
Pendogget, v. in St Eew.
Pendennis Castle, 113, 131, 13 f.
Pendrief, or Pendrifl, v. in Blisland.
Penearth, v. in Morval.
260
nn>£X AND GAZETTEER.
Pengelly, v., 42.
Pengerswick Tower, 152.
Pengreep, 195.
Penhale, ?. in St Euoder.
^— , V. in St Breock.
, V. in St. Tudy.
Penhalt, v. in Poundstock.
Penhel, v. in Gwinnear.
Penkivel, St Michael, ch., Truro, 120.
Penkneth Manor, 144.
Penkuke, v. in St Gennis.
Penlyn Manor and Park, 144.
Penmean, v. in St Minver.
Penpons, v. in Camborne.
Penrtn, bor. and m. t 12&
Penrose, v. in Sithney.
— ^— , V. in St Ervan.
— — , V. in Sennen.
Penters Cross, v. in Pillaton.
Pentewan, or ) • o* * .i
Pentuan, [ ▼• ™ S*- AusUe.
Pentilly Castle, 75, 79.
Pentire Point, 38.
Penton's Cross, v., 79.
Pentreath, Dolly, 125.
Pentuan Stream- work, 105.
, manor of, 107.
Pcnvear, Grace, 169.
Penwartha, v. in Perranzabulo.
Penwame, or Pen-gwarne, Manor, 107, 137.
Penwith, hundr., 183.
, StJustin,p., 121 ; amphitheatre, 122, 173.
, Tol Pedu, 178.
Penzance, corp. and m. t, 166.
Perran, or Piran, p., 120.
Perran-Arworthal, 128.
Perran- Uthnor, p., 236.
Perranwell, 121, 128.
Perranwharf, v. partly in Perran- Arwothal.
Perranzabulo, p. in Pydar hd.
Petherwin, South, p., 15.
Petherick, Little, p. in Pydar hd.
Petroc, St, Monastery, 47.
Phillack, p. ch. of, 185.
Philleigh, or Filleigh, p., 113.
Pigham, Port, 144.
Pilchard fishery, 106, 184.
Pillaton, p. in East hd.
Pinnock, St, p., 242.
Pipers, the, Druidical stones, 182.
Piper's Pool, v. in Trewan.
Piran's Well, St, 121, 128.
, the ancient church, 127.
Piranzabulo, par., 120, 185 ; traditions. 127.
" Piran Round," amphitheatre, 121.
Piran, Little, ch., or Penanuthno, 154.
Pitt, Mr. Thomas, 101.
Diamond, the, 102.
Pit, (The) an excavation, 196.
Place House, 99.
of death, 196.
Plengwarry, v. in Redruth, 195.
Poetry and Songs, 150—153, 169, 180, 194.
Polgooth, V. in St Mewan.
Tin Mine, 105.
Polhilsa, V. in Stoke Climsland.
Polkerrts, v., 100.
Pollyfont, V. in Lewannick.
Polmanter, v. in St Ives.
Polmarth, v. in St Merryn.
Polmasick, v. in St Ewe.
Polmcnnow, v. in St Winnow.
Polpcrro, harb., t, and St Peter's Chap., 97.
Polruan, viL, 98.
Polscoath, v. in St Winnow.
Polskatho, V. in Gerrans.
Polshea, v. in St Tudy.
Polwhele House, 116.
Polwheverill Creek, 126.
Poosanootfa, v. partly in St. Gluvias, and partly in
Perran -Arwothal.
Pool, V. in Illogan.
Poor Law Unions, 245.
Population, 245.
Porbeagle shark, 107.
Porkellis, v. in Wendron.
Port Camow Cove, 180.
Logan Stone, 181.
Port East, or Gorran Haven, v. in Gorran.
Isaac, V. in Endellion.
Portleven, v. in Breage.
Portloe, V. in Veryan.
Portreath, or Basset's Cove, sm. harb., 186.
Portalla, v. in St Keveme.
Porth, T. in St Columb Minor.
Porth, Stream-works of, 100.
" Porths," 185.
Porthasnac Cove, 149.
Porthg^arrah Cove, 179.
Porthilly, ch., 39.
Porthoustock, v. in St Keveme.
Porthpean, v. in St Austle.
Portleven, v. in Siihney.
Portraellin Cove, and entrenchment, 112,
Portquin Cove, 38.
Portyssick, or Port Isaac, ib.
Posnooth, V. in St Gluvias.
Poughill, p. in Stratton hd.
Poulston Bridge, 71.
Poundscross, v. in Blissland.
Poundstock, ch. t, 30.
Powdershire, bailiwick of, 144.
Pradanack Down, 147.
Wartha, v. in Mullion.
Praze-an-Peeble, v. in Crowaa.
Probus, ch., 115, 116.
, festival, 116,
Prcpidniek, Higher, J^jj^ .^ ^.^^^^
Quarry, v. in Menheniot
Quethiock, p. in East hd.
Radmore mine, 62.
Rame, p. in East hd.
Rame Head, 84, 88.
Raughton, v. in St. Levan.
Redruth, m. t and p., and ch., 186, 192, 194, 195.
Redruth Highway, v. in Redruth.
Relaton, or Rillaton, 144.
Relubbaa, v. in St Hilary.
Rescassa, v. in Gorran.
Rescorla, v. in St. Austle,
Rescorwell, v. in St Keveme.
Respryn, v. partly in Lannydrock.
Restormel Castle, ruins, 103, 144.
— — Park, and chap., 104.
Restronget Creek, 128.
Resudgian, v. in St Hilary.
Retive, v. in Withiell.
Rilla Mill, V. in Linkinhome.
Rinsey, v. in Breage.
Roche, p. ch. of, 105.
Roche-Rocks, 56, 105.
Rosane, v. in Lezant
Rose, V. in Perran Zabuloe.
Rosedinick, v. in St Columb Msjor.
Rose Hill House, 171.
Roscland, p., 114.
Rosemannon, v. in St Wenn.
Roemaddris, v. in St. Buryan.
Rosemullion Head, 187.
Rosenithon, v. in St Keveme.
Rosevanion, v. in St. Columb Msjor.
Rosewick, v. in St Keveme.
Roskear, v. in St Gennis.
Rough Tor, 42.
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
261
Ruan Lanihomei ch., 114.
Major, p. in Powder hd.
Minor, p., H5.
Rumford, v. in St Eryan.
Runnel Stone, 179.
Ruthvos, or Ruthoes, v. in St Columb Major.
Saltash, Corp. t and ferry, 72, 80, 144.
Sampson, St, p. in Powder hd.
Sancreed, p., 183.
Sand- Place, ▼. in Morval.
Scilly Isles, 176.
Scorrier, seat, 196.
Selena, v. in St Buryan.
Sellan, ▼. in Sancreed.
Senar, or Zennar, p., 172.
Sennen, St., ch. t, 46, 175.
Sepulchral stones, 57.
Shaft, engine, view of, 210.
Sharks, species of, 108, 111, 112.
Sharp-Point Tor, 54.
Sharrow Grot, 84.
Sherston Moor, 70.
Sheviock, p. and ch., 88.
Shillingham Manor House, 82.
Shoding, practice of, 198, 217.
Shouta, y. in East Looe.
Sidney Cove, 152.
Silver mine^ Kingston Down, 65.
, mines of, 222.
Sithney, p. ch., 152.
Skilly- Waddon, ▼. in Towednack.
Slade's Bridge, 44.
Slaughter Bridge, 40.
Southcott, or Sowacott, v. m Jacobstow.
Southhill, p., 63.
Spargo, Lower, v. in Mabe.
Stairfoot, v. in St. Erme.
Stamford Hill, 23.
Stannary Courts, origin of, 216.
Steam engines, 224 *, Newcomen*s, ib, ; Watt's,
ib,; Homblower's, ib, ; Woolf's, ib,
Stenclose, v. in St Agnes.
Stephen's, St, near Launceston, ch., 14, 17.
, p. ch., near Saltash, 80.
— , in Branwell.
Down, 20.
Stibb, V. in Kilkhampton.
Stithians, p. in Kirrier hd.
Stoaping, explanation of, 198.
Stoke-Climsland, p. in East hd.
Stoke, V. in Stoke-Climsland.
Stone-dancers, 182.
Stratton, m. t, 19.
Stream works, account of, 219.
Summer- Court, v. in 8t JBnoder.
Swallock, v. in St Breward.
Talland, p., 96.
Talbnd, p. in West hd.
Talskydo Manor, 144.
Tamar, river, ferry, vale, and scenery, 12, 21, 72,
74, 75, 76.
Tamerton, North, 20, 70.
, Great and Little, 70.
Foliott v., 74.
Tamsquite, v. in St Tudy.
Tane, St, 41.
Tavy, river, 74.
Teath, (St) p., 88 ; ch., 42.
Tehidy House and Park, 191.
Temple Moor, 50.
,p., ib.
— — , ch. and manor of, ib.
Tewynton Manor, 144.
Thanks House, 72.
Thomas, St, near Launceston, 15.
Thordon, v. in Kilkhampton.
Tibesta Manor, 144.
Ticketing, account of a, 221.
Tidiford, v. in Landrake, and St. Germans.
Tintagel, ch., 32.
Tin ores raised, 220.
Tinton Manor, 144.
Tolgus, or Tolgoose, v. in Redruth.
Tolmgn Stone, the, 1 35.
Tol-peda-Penwith, 178.
Tolskedy, v. in St Columb Mig'or.
Tolvern, 114.
Tomewidden, v. in Ludgvan.
Treator, v. in Padstow.
Trebartha, v. in Northill.
Pool, ditto.
Trebarwith, v. in Tintagel.
Trebean, v, in St Levan.
Trebeath, v. in Egloskerry.
Trebell, v. in Lanivet
Trebethenick, v. in St Minver.
TreboUet, v. in Lezant
Trebryan, v. in Lanhydroch.
Treburley, v. in Lezant
Treburthick, v. in St Evall.
Treburtle, v. in Tresmere.
Trecragan Entrenchment, 173.
Trecroben, v. in Lelant
Trecroogo, v. in South Petherwin.
Tredawl, v. in Alternon.
Trediuneck, v. in St Clare.
, v. in St Issey.
Tredinney, v. in Advent
Trednea House, 185.
Tredneath, v. in Lelant
Tredrissic, v. in St. Minver.
Tredrussan, v. in St.Breock.
Treen, y., 182.
Treeve, v. in St. Buryan.
Trefrew, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
Trefusis House, 131.
Point, ib.
Tregadgwith, v. in St. Buryan.
Tregadilleth, v. in St Thomas by Launceston.
Tregagle, Dosmary Pool, 51.
Tregaller, v. in South Petherwin.
Tregameer, v. in St Columb Major.
Tregaminian, v. in Morva.
Tregantle, v. in Anthony.
, Higher, v., 84.
Tregame, v. in St Keveme.
Tregaswith, v. in St Columb Major.
Tregatilian, v. in St Columb Migor.
Tregatta, v. in Tintagel.
Tregavaras, v. in Gorran.
Tregavarack, v. in Gorran.
Tregavi thick, v. in Lansalloes.
Tregawen, v. in Withiel.
Tregeane, v. partly in Egloskeny.
Tregeda, v. in Lawhitton.
Tregelles, v., 42.
Tregenhawke, v. in St John's.
Tregcnna, or Treginnow, v. in Blisland.
Castle, 88, 184.
Tregennah, v. in Lamorran.
Tregew, v. in Lansalloes.
Treglitha, v. in Treneglos.
Tregoll, v , 30.
Tregoln, ham., 116.
Tregondale, v. in Menheniot
Tregonetha, v. in St. Wenn.
Tregoning Hill, 152.
Tregonissy, v. in St Austle.
Tregonoe Manor, 144.
Tregonnebris, v. in Sancreed.
Tregonnon, v. in Little Petherick.
TR£aoNY, m. t Castle, &c. 115.
262
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
Tregoodwell, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
Tregoose, v. in Sithnejr.
Tregortha, ?. in Gwinnear.
Tregos8, v. in Roche.
Tregothnan House, 120.
TregowriSy v. in St Keverne.
Tregrill, t. in Menheniot
Tregnllon, v. in LaniveL
Tregunno, y. in Breage.
Tregumo, v. in St. Buryan.
Tregurrian, y. in Mawgan in Pyder.
Tregurtha, v. in St Hilary.
Trehnnest, y. in Quethiock.
Trekenningf y. in St Columb Major.
Trelagon Manor, 144.
Trelash, y. in Warbstow.
Treleggoe, y. in Adyent
Trelevan Manor, 107.
Trelew, y. in St. Buryan.
Trelieyer, y. in St Keyeme.
Treligoe, y., 42.
Trelil, y., 42.
Trelinnow, v. in South Petherwin.
Trelissick, 120.
Trelonk House, 114.
Trelowarren House, 138.
Treloy, y. in St Martin's in West
Treloyhan, y. in St Ives.
Treluswell, y. in Gluvias.
Tremagenna, y. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
1 remaine, or Tremean, p. in East hd.
Tremarr, y. in St Clare.
Trematon, y. in St Stephen's, near Saltash.
Trematon Castle, 81, 144.
Trembetha, y. in Lelant
Tremeal, y. in Dayidstow.
Tremeere House, 42, 50.
Tremellick, y. in St Clare.
Tremen-heverne Stones, 154, 174.
Tremoore, y. in Lanivet
Tremoutha Hay en, 30.
Trenalt, y. in Trewen.
Treuance, v. in St Issey.
, y. in St Keverne.
Trenarren, y. in St Aastle.
Trenear House, 171.
Treneglos, 40.
Trenewan, v. in Lansalloes.
Trengothal, y. in St Levan.
Trengune, v. in Warbstow.
Trengwainton House, 171*
Trenhorne, y. in Lewannick.
Trenow, v. in Tintagel.
Trenuggo, y. in Sancreed.
TrenwiSi, y. in St Ives.
Trepadannon, v. in St Columb Major.
Treneife House, 171.
Treryn Dinas, headland, 173.
Castle, 173, 181.
Trescaw, y. in Cubert.
Trescow, v. in Breage.
Tresillian, p. and v., 116, 182.
Creek, 116.
Bridge, v. in Merther.
, Chief-Justice, 182.
Tresinny, y. in Advent
Treskilling, y. in LuxuUion.
Tresmere, p. in Bast hd.
Tresowes, v. in St Gennoe.
Tresparrot Down, 30.
— , ham., 40.
Trespeam, y. in Laneast
Trethannas, v. in Crowan.
Trethergy, y. in St Austle.
Trethery, v. in South Petherwin.
Trethyn, y. in Altemon.
Trevadlock, v. in Lewannick.
Trevalga, p. in Lesnewth hd.
Trevallack, v. in St. Keverne.
Trevalsoe, y. in St Keverne.
Trevance, v. in St Issey.
Trevanger, v. in St Minver.
Trevanion, 113.
Trevauson, v. in St Breock.
Trevarnoe, v. in Sithney.
Trevarrack, v. in GulvaL
Trevarrian, v. in Mawgan in Pydar.
Trevarick, v. in Gorran.
Trevarrick, y. in St Austle.
Trevarron, y. in St Columb Migor.
Treveage, v. in AJtemon.
Treveal, v. in Cubert
Trevear, v. in Sennen.
— — , y. in St Merryn.
Treveighan, v. in Michaelstow.
Trevella, v. in Feock.
Trevelmond, v. in Liskeard.
Trevelveth, v. in Crantock.
Treveniel, v. in Northill.
Trevenna, v. in Tintagel.
Trevenning, v. in Michaelstow.
Trevennor, v. in St Hilary.
Trevernon, v. in Gwithian.
Trevethaw House, 185.
Trevethy Stone, 58—61.
Trevia, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
^^^' Lowe"' } ^^^ ^° Lanteglos by Fowey.
Trevidgia, y. in Towednack.
Trevilder, y. in Egloshayle.
Trevillis, v. in St Pinnock.
Trevince, seat, 195.
Trevjmber, y. in Crantock.
Treviscar, y. in Padstow.
Trevispan, v. in St Erme.
Trevisquite, y. in St Mabyn.
Trevithem Manor, 144.
Trevivian, v. in Davidstow.
Trevolvas, y. in St Columb Mtgor.
Trevone, v. in Padstow.
Trevonnack, y. in Wendron.
Trevoole, v. in Crowan.
Trevoothen, v. in St Keverne.
Trevorgans, v. in St Buryan.
Trevorian, v. in Breage.
Trevorrian, v. in St Buryan.
Trevorras, v. in Breage.
Trew, v. in Breage.
Trewalder, v. in Lanteglos by Camelford.
Trewarlet, v. in Lezant
Trewarmet, v. in Tintagel.
Trewartha Tor, 54.
Trewarthenick House, 115.
Treweedland, v. in Liskeard.
Treween, v. in Alternon.
Trewellard, v. in St Just in Penwith.
Trewen, p. in East hd.
Trewethern, v. 42.
Trewillis, v. in St Keverne.
Trewint, v. in Altemon.
Trewithan, v. in Camborne.
Trewithen House, 115.
Trewithey, v. in Northill.
Trewithian, v. in Gerrans.
Trewoolas, v. in Philleigh.
Trewoon, v. in St Mawan.
Treworder, in St Breock, 52.
, v, in Egloshayle.
Treworga, v. in Ruan Lanihorne.
Treworrel, y. in Lesnewth.
Treworthall, v. in Philleigh.
Trewret and Treured Manors, Truro, 1 18.
Trewy, v. in Zennor.
Tre Yeo, 22.
Trezela, v. in Gulval.
Triloweia Manor, 144.
INDEX AND GAZETTEER.
263
Trink, v. in Lelant
Torpoint, chap, and v., 72, 83.
— — — ^— V. in Anthony.
Torridge, river, 70.
Tors and rocky hills of Cornwall, 53, 63.
Towan, v. in St Merryn.
, or New Quay, v. in St Columh Minor.
Towans, or sandhills, 128, 185.
Towednack, p., 173.
Trabock, t. in St Keveme.
Treator, y. in Padstow.
Tribute, account of, 199.
Troove, t. and cove of, 183.
Trowan, v. in St Ives.
Trugo, V. in St Columb Major.
Truro, bor. and m. t, 116---119.
Truscott, Higher, v. in St Stephen's by Launceston.
Trusel, v. in 'I'remaine.
Truthall, v. in Sithney.
Tucking-mill, v. in Camborne.
Tudy, St, 42.
Tutwell, ▼. in Stoke Climsland.
Ttttwork, account of, 199.
Tywardreth, ch. t, 100.
— ^— ancient manors, 144.
Bay, 100, 104.
Underbill, v. in Stoke Climsland.
Upton, V. in Linkinhome.
— — , barton of, 185.
Veep, St, p., ch., and priory, 100.
Venterdon, v. in Stoke Climsland.
Venton, v., 20.
Loggan, ▼. in Phillack.
Veryan, p , 113.
Wadebridge, 38, 42, 116.
, v. in St Breock.
Wainhouse Comer, v. in St. Oennis.
Wall, V. in Owinnear.
Warbstow, 40.
Warleggan, p. in West hd.
Warleigh, woods of, 74.
Warm Wood, 78.
Week St. Mary, ch. t, 20.
^—^ Orchard, v. in Week St. Mary.
Weir Head, river Tamar, 77.
Wendron, or Gwendron, p., 135, 148, 151.
Wenmouth Cross, v. in St. Neots.
Wenn, St, p. in Pydar hd.
Wherry Mine, account of, 213.
Werrington, p.. Park, 24.
, river, 70.
Westanton Manor, 144.
Weston Mill, 72.
Whiteford House, 62.
White-Lane, v. in Philleigh.
Whitesand Bay and Mine, 174.
Whitstone, p., 20.
Whitsun Bay, 84.
Widemouth Bay, 26.
Wilcove, V. in East Anthony.
Willapark Point, 32.
Winnow's, St, ch., 100.
Winzes, explanation of, 198.
Withiel, p. in Pyder hd.
Goose, V. in Withiel.
Woodford, v. in Moorwinstow.
Woodland Terrace, Falmouth, 131.
WooUey, v. in Woorwinstow.
Worthy Vale, 57.
Wotton Cross, v. in Landrake.
Wreckers, 186.
Wringworthy, 96.
Wrinkle Port, 88.
Yeilland, or Illand, v. in Northill.
Yeowellston, 70.
Zelah, T. in St Allen.
Zennar, p., 172.
Zoze Point, 137.
MINES.
Balou, or Baldew, in ... . Kea.
Beam St Austle.
BoUllack Mine St Just in Penwith.
Briggan Kenwyn.
Camborne Vean Camborne.
Camwhat Kea.
Chacewater Mine Chacewater.
Clinicombe Linkinhome.
Consolidated Mine Gwennap, &c.
Creegbraws Kenwyn.
Daniel Kenwyn.
Dolcoath Camborne.
East Pell St Agnes.
G arras, or Gwarnich Kenwyn.
Oodolphin Mine St Germoe.
Ooonlaze St Agnes.
Grambler Ditto.
Great Pell Ditto.
Herland Mines Gwennap.
Herod's Foot Duloe.
Huel Alfred South Petherwin.
— Beauchamp Gwennap.
Bassett Illogan.
Huel Boys Kenwyn.
Budnich Perranzabulo.
Busy Chacewater.
Buraick St Agnes.
Butson Ditto.
Clinton Gwennap.
Coates St Agnes.
Cupid Redruth.
— Damsel Gwennap.
Derrick St Agnes.
Falmoutb Kea.
Fat , , Kenwyn.
Fortune Gwennap.
Friendship Ditto.
Gorland Ditto,
Hope Ditto.
Kea.
— Jewel Gwennap.
Kind St Agnes.
Lemon Mylor.
Lilly Redruth.
Lushington Illogan.
Mithien St Agnes.
Music Ditto.
Park Ditto.
Peevor Kenwyn.
Prosper St Agnes.
Ramoih Perranzabulo.
264
INDEX ANI> GAZETTEER.
Huel St Aubyn Redruth.
St. George Perranzabulo.
Seymour Kenwyn.
Spinster Gwennap.
Squires Ditto.
Towan St Agnes.
Tregothnan Kea.
Trevance St Agnes.
Unity Gwenuap.
• — 7- Virgin Ditto.
Vor Ditto.
Indian Queens St Denis.
Killicor Kenwyn.
Legossic Mine Wadebridge.
Maudlin Lanhydrock.
Na^jiles Kea.
New Consols Owen nap.
North Downs Mines Kenwyn.
Pink C Redruth.
Ditto \ Gwennap.
Poldice Ditto.
Polberro St Agnes.
Polbreen Ditto.
Poulgeer Ditto.
PoJgooth St Austle.
Scorrier Gwennap.
Shillstones Linkinhorne.
Staws End Ditto.
Ting Tang Gwennap.
Tolcam Ditto.
Treftisis Wood Kenwyn.
Tresavean Gwennap.
Trenithick St Agnes.
Treskerby Gwennap.
United Miaes Ditto.
Withybrook Liokinbeme.
END OF CORNWALL
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