.
.
<TJUDWSO^ "SiMflAINIHftV*
y0Aavaan^ y0Aava8ii-#-
jO^ ^tfOJIlVD-JO^
AtfEUNIVFR%
^Til]DNYS0#
^lOSANCElfjV
^HIBRARY^
^lllBRARYOr
^MHAINMtf^ ^OJITOJO^
^KMIIVJ-JO^
AttUNIVERS/A
o
^lOSANCElfj>
"%3AINIl3ftv
M!^ ^OF-CALIFOft^
i
^Aavaaii-#
.\WI)NIVER#a
^lOSANGElfj-^ ^OF CAIIFO/?^ ,^0F-CALIFC%
<rjl3DNVS0l^
^ajAiNfl]^
^AavaaiH"^ y0Aavaau#-
.^EUNIVERS/a
%13DNVS0#
^lOSANGElfj-^ ^/XUAINIHtf^
^lOSANCEIfj>
^ S3 £3
<$HIBRARY&.
^l-UBRARYQc,
.^EUNIVERS/a
^SWITCHO^" ^WHITO-JO5** %il39NVSOl^
^lOSANCElfjv
%aiAiNn-3V^
^IIIBRARYQ^
j^lllBRARYQ^
^OJITOJO^ %0i\m-i^
^clOS-ANGElfjg
^0FCAIIFC%
yOAavaan#-
^Aavaani^
.5ME-UNIVERS/A.
^IDS-ANGEl&u
^OF-CAllFOSlto
^OF-CAllFOJBto
%1BNV-S0V^ ^SfflAINMtf^ ^AHYaaiH^
^Aavaani^
Yfl^ oM-UBRARY-Or. 1 If—' ^
v\tfEUNIVERS/A,
^vtllBRARYQc
^■lIBRARYQc
jo^ ^ojiivjjo^ <rii]0Nvsoi^ "Ssmhainihv^ %03nv3-jo^ %onmi^1'
.^EUNIVERS/a
%13DNVS0#
^aOS-ANGEU-ju
"^/HQAINIHVft?
3% ^OKAllFORto
<ME-l)NIVER% (is
>&Aavaan-#
^OllSNV-SOV^
^•lOSANCFlfj-^.
S .3
^HflAINMtf**
^OF-CALIFOR^
^OFCAllF0fy>
£2
>&Aavaani^ ^Aavaam^
AWEUNIVERS/a
<Til3DNVS0^
vvlOSANCElfj> o
"%3AINfl 31^
^lOSANCE
^UIBRARYOc
^•LIBRARYQa
31^ "^HAINIHft?* \oi\m-i^ ^03IW330^
5»E-UNIV[R%.
%HDNV-S0V^
^lOSANCElfj^.
%a3AINfl-3WV>>
^HIBRARYfr. «$tf-UBRARY<fc
^aojircHo^
^aOdllYD-JO^
vNCHCCft.
RJ/A,
^OFCA1IFO%
^OF-CAllFORto
^Aavaani^7
^Aavaani^-
.KS\E-IINIVERS/a
"^- J&
^lOSANCElfJV.
^a3AiNn3W^
.^OFCAl!F0%
y<?Aavaaii^
^OF-CALIFQRto
yOAavaaiiy^
<K;lOSANCFLfj>
BRARYflf ^tllBRARYQ^
SO^ ^a3AIN(l-3WVS ^KHIIVJ-JO^ ^03HVJJO^ ^iUDW-SOl^ ^Aa3AINH3^
^WEUNIVEM/, ^lOSANCELfj^.
-J IjJUi Jul
MUlAlrUI JP'
tRY^ N\\UIBRARYQ^
IIH^
^EUNIVER% ^;lOSANGElfj>
.\«UNIVER% ^vlOSANCElfT,
^ttlBRARYQ^ ^•OFCALIFOfy^
^wdnvsoi^ ^/saaAiNn]^ ^Aavaaii-^
tfHIBRARYQ
^clOSANCELfj;
^/■maina^
,\tf!IRRA
M?,^ ^UIBRARYQc,
■iC uj
WllTOJO^
^WE-UNIVER^ «1 o^
'ER% ^lOSANCElfj-^.
fi
Jjyg?
2
0^
^ItlBRARYQ^
OF-CAllFORfe,
>-
?tfE-l)NIVERS//>
%
<
^EUNIV£R%
v/NHAINIH^ ^lOSANCEtfj-.
§
%a3AIN(13ftV
§
ER%
irtr lifrCI
A^'LIBR- ^ §1 I
""J03AlilUJt\>
■,'iaii\\m-iw>
'aUJllVJdu
'ERJ/yJt. ^lDS-ANGfl&» ^OFCAIIFO
fie i\
JiljJMr'iUn
^EUNI\
MOf ^UIBRARY*?/-
'# rf
v
\WE UNIVERS//,
AWEUN
MAGNA BRITANNIA.
VOL. III.
CORNWALL.
Strelian and Piefton, Piinters-Sueet, London.
MAGNA BRITANNIA;
BEING
A CONCISE TOPOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT
OF
THE SEVERAL COUNTIES
OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
By the Rev. DANIEL LYSONS, A.M. F.R.S. F.A. and L.S.
RECTOR OF RODMARTON IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE;
And SAMUEL LYSONS, Esq. F.R.S. and F.A.S.
KEEPER OF HIS MAJESTY'S RECORDS IN THE TOWER OF LONDON.
VOLUME THE THIRD,
CONTAINING
CORNWALL.
LONDO
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND.
1 8 14.
4
it CONTENTS
or THE THIRD VOLUME.
General histort of Cornwall,
Etymology, -
Ancient Inhabitants, Language, and Government
Hifiorical Events, -
Ancient and modern Divifwn of the County,
Ecclefiajlical Jurifdiclion and Divijion of the County,
Table of Parijhes, - -
Monqjleries, Colleges and Hofpitals,
Market and Borough Towns,
Fairs, ....
Population, - -
Longevity, - -
Divijion of Property at the Time of the Domefday Survey,
Principal Landholders at various Periods,
Nobility of the County,
Earldom of Cornwall, ...
Cornijh Families which have been ennobled,
Extincl Peers, and Baronial Families,
Noblemen's Seats, ...
Man/ions of extincl Peers,
Baronets of Cornwall, - -
Extincl Baronets, -
Baronets' Seats, -
CorniJ}} Gentry, . . .
Extincl Families, ...
Gentlemen's Seats, ...
Deer-Parks, - -
Page iii
ibid-
ibid.
x
xxiv
XXV
xxviii
XXXV
xxxvi
xxxix
xlii
xlviii
1
lxiv
Ixxii
ibid.
lxxiii
lxxviii
Ixxxviii
ibid.
lxxxix
xcv
xcvii
xcviii
cxviii
clxxv
clxxix
VI
CONTENTS.
Page
Geographical and Geological Defcription of the County, clxxxi. — Boundaries,
Extent, &c, clxxxi. — Soils and Strata, clxxxii. — Surface and Scenery,
clxxxiii. — Rivers, clxxxv. — Lakes, clxxxix. — Navigable Canals, cxc. —
Roads, cxci.
Natural Hi/lory, cxciv. — FoJJils and Minerals, cxciv. — Indigenous Plants, cxcviii
— Birds, SsjV. cc. — Mineral Waters, and remarkable Wells, cci.
Produce, - - cciii
Manufactures, .... . - ccxiii
Trade and Ports, ... - ibid.
Antiquities, - ... ccxvl
BritiJJ) and Britijh-Roman Antiquities, ccxvi. — Circles of Stones, ccxvii. — Rounds, ccxviii. — Barrows, ibid. — Cromlechs, ccxix. — Celts, ibid. — Caves, ccxx.
— Corns, &c, ccxxi. — Infcribed Stones, ibid.
Roman Antiquities, ccxxiii. — Roman Roads and Stations, ccxxv.
Ancient Church Architecture, - - ccxxviii
Ancient painted Glafs, - - - - - ccxxxi
Roodlefts Screens, &c. .... ccxxxii
Fonts, ..... . - ccxxxiii
Ancient Sepulchral Monuments, .... ccxxxiv
Remains of Monajlic Buildings, .... - - ccxxxvii
Cajlles and Sites of Cajlles, ... ccxxxvii
Ancient Manfwn-houfes, ... . ccxiii
Ancient Croffes, ... - - ccxlv
Well-Chapels, .... . ccxlv
Camps and Earth-works, .... ccxlvi
Mifcellaneous Antiquities, ... . . ccl
Cujloms and S uperjlitions , &c, ... ibid.
PAROCHIAL HISTORIC - - 1—329
Scilly IJJand, - - - ^ - - - 330 Appendix, 338. — Lift of Cornijh Manors ; the Situation of which
has not been afcertained, - - - - 339
Additions and Correclions, General Hiflory, 342. — Parochial Hi/lory, 349
Index of Names and Titles - .... 345
General Index, - - .... 365
Errata, - .... 389
LIST OF PLATES.
CORNWALL.
Page
I. Map of Cornwall, - i
II. Curclaze Tin-mine, - - - - clxxxiii
III. View of the Land's-end, .... clxxxiv
IV. View of Cape Cornwall and the Land's-end, * - ibid. V. Kynans Cove, ..... ibid.
VI. Caftle-Treryn, ibid.
VII. Rocks at Calfte-Treryn, with the Logan-Stone, - - ibid.
VIII. Rock called the Cheefe- Wring, - - . ibid.
IX. North View of Roche Rock and Chapel, - - clxxxv
X. South-Eaft View of Roche Rock and Hermitage, - ibid.
XI. Tintagel Rock and Caftle, .... ibid.
XII. Chun-Cromlech, ..... ccxix
XIII. Infciibed Stones, ..... ccxxi
XIV. Ornament of Gold, found near Penzance, - - ibid. XV. Specimens of Saxon Architectural Ornaments, - - ccxxviii
XVI. Part of Launcefton Church, .... ccxxxi
XVII. Stone Pulpit in Eglofhayle Church, &c. - . ccxxxii
XVIII. Font in Bodmin Church, .... ccxxxiii
XIX. Ancient Fonts in the Cornifh Churches, pi. i. ibid.
XX. , pi. 2. - ccxxxiv
XXI. View of St.Benet's Monastery, near Lanivet, - - ccxxxvii
XXII. Plan, &c. of Launcefton Caftle, ... ccxxxviii
XXIII. Trematon Caftle, - ccxl
XXIV. Tintagel Caftle, ibid.
XXV. Carnbre Caftle, with a diftant View of Redruth, - ibid.
XXVI. Part of Place-Houfe, at Fowey, - - - ccxlii
XXVII. The Court of Cothele-Houfe, from the Gateway, - ccxliv
XXVIII. Ancient Crofies, ..... ccxlv
XXIX. Plan of Earfn-works, called Caftle- Andir. s and Warbftow-
Burrows, ..... ccxlix
via
LIST OF PLATES.
Page
XXX. North View of Falmouth, .... gg
XXXI. South View of Falmouth, ..... ibid.
XXXII. Falmouth Haven, &c. from a Chart drawn in the reign of
King Henry VIII., preferved in the Britifli Mufeum, - ibid.
XXXIII. Fowey Haven, &c. from the fame Chart, - - - 108
XXXIV. South-Eaft. View of St. Michael's Mount, - - 137 XXXV. Eaft View of St. Michael's Mount, - - - 138
XXXVI. View of Launcefton Caftle, - - - - 187
XXXVII. North-Eaft View of Roche Rock and Hermitage, with
a Plan of the Chapel and Hermitage, - - 278
XXXVIII. Trematon Caftle, from the River Lynher, - - 288
CORNWALL.
Vol. in.
■
CORNWALL.
GENERAL HISTORY.
ETYMOLOGY.
RICHARD of Cirencefter fays that this county took its name from the Carnabii; it is more probable on the contrary, that thofe people took their name from that of the country they inhabited : the truth feems to be that the country was called by its antient inhabitants, Kernou, or as the Welch write it, Kerniw, or the Horn, from its projecting promontories ; that it was latinized to Carnabia or Cornabia; that when the Saxons gave the name of Wealas to the Britons, they diftingurfhed thofe who had retired into Kernou or Cornubia, by the name of Corn-wealas ; and their country was thus called Cornuwall or Cornwall: that is, Cornifh- Wales. '
Antient Inhabitants, Language, and Government. From the map of Roman Britain, it appears that the northern part of this county, as far as the river Camel and Padftow haven, was antiently inhabited by a Britifh tribe called the Cimbri ; the eaftern part, as far as Falmouth haven, by the Danmonii, and the remainder by the Carnabii. Before the coming of the Romans, the Danmonii had fubdued the two other tribes and ufurped their do- minions b. When the Romans divided Britain into fix provinces, Cornwall formed part of Britannia Prima; after their departure it became one of the laft retreats of the Britons, who feem to have been fometimes under the dominion of the kings of Wales, and fometimes to have been governed by independent fovereigns
a See Dr. Borlafe's Antiquities, p. 325, and Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall, I. 14, 15. b See Whitaker's Hiftory of Manchefter, 1. 94.
a 2 of
IV
CORNWALL.
of their own, either by the names of dukes or kings % till their country was con- quered by King Athelftan, and annexed to the crown of England.
By its royal privileges, and the retention of its antient language, Cornwall ftill continued neverthelefs to retain fome femblance of a diftinct fovereignty. The language, which was a dialect of the antient Britifli, was generally fpoken till the reign of Henry VIII., when the introduction of the Englifli liturgy paved the way towards its gradual difufe.
It is faid to have been at the defire of the Cornifli, that the Englifli fervice was enjoined in preference to that of their native tongue ; whilft in Wales, a contrary fyftem, which has proved the prefervation of their language, was adopted d. Dr. Moreman, the learned vicar of Menheniot, is faid to have been the firft in thofe days (fpeaking of the kingdom at large), who " taught his parifhioners and peo- ple to fay the Lord's prayer, the belief, and the commandments, in the Englifli tongue, and did teach and catechize them therein V Mr. Carew, in his furvey of Cornwall, publifhed in the year 1602, fpeaks of the language as then growing fall into difufe. " The principal love and knowledge of this language," fays he, " lived in Dr. Kennall the civilian, and with him lyeth buried, for the Englifh fpeech doth ftill encroach upon it, and hath driven the fame into the uttermoft lkirts of the (hire. Moft of the inhabitants can fpeak no word of Cornifli, but very few are ignorant of the Englifli, and yet fome fo affect their own, as to a ftranger they will not fpeak it ; for if meeting them by chance you enquire the way, or any fuch matter, your anfwer (hall be, ' Mee a navidra cowza Sawzneck,' I can fpeak no Saxonage."
Hals tells us that in the reign of Charles the Firft, fome of the aged people in the neighbourhood of Penryn were quite ignorant of the Englifli language, and that the Rev. Mr.Jackman, vicar of St.Feock, was obliged to adminifter the facra- ment to them in the Cornifli. Ray found only one perfon who could write the language in 1663, but we are told by Mr. Scawen, that not long before the year 1678, a fermon was preached in it by the Rev. Mr. Robinfon, rector of Lande- wednack. In the early part of the laft century, as Dr. Borlafe informs us, it was ftill generally fpoken by the fifliermen and market-women in the extreme fouthern part of the peninfula ; in his Natural Hiftory, publifhed in 17-8, he fpeaks of the language as having altogether ceafed, fo as not to be fpoken anywhere in conver- fation. Some aged people however retained it rather later ; Mr. Daines Barrington gives an account of an old fifli-woman of Moufehole, the only perfon he could find or hear of, who fpoke the Cornifli language, when he made the tour of
c Polwhele's Cornwall, Vol. II. p. u. in the notes. •* Treatife on the Cornifh
language, by W. Scawen Efq. ' See Hooker's Synopfis of Devon.
Cornwall
CORNWALL! y
Cornwall in 1768, as related in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries. In 1776, in a further communication on the fame fubject to thefociety, it is ftated on the authority of a fifherman of Moufehole, that there were then four or five perfons befides himfelf who could converfe in Cornifh.
Dr. Pryce of Redruth, in his preface to his Archseologia Cornu-Britannica, publifhed in 1790, fpeaks of a very old man then living at Moufehole, as the only perfon, to the belt of his knowledge, who was capable of holding half an hour's converfation on common fubje&s in the Cornifh tongue. He afterwards fays, that there were a few other ancient perfons who pretended to jabber it, but that they were very illiterate, and their fpeech very much corrupted, although their pronun- ciation was generally correct. Mr. Whitaker, in his tour to the Lands-End, in 1799, heard of two perfons who even then fpoke it, but he had not an opportu- nity of afcertaining the facL We find, upon inquiry, that there is no perfon now who can converfe in the language, though fome old people are acquaint- ed with many words of it, which they have learned from thofe of the laft generation.
A few MSS. are extant in the Cornifh language, the moft remarkable of which are fome interludes f, partly written in the fifteenth century, and a poem called Mount Calvary, all of which were tranflated by Mr. J. Keigwin. Mr. Edward Lloyd, who made a journey into Cornwall to collecT: materials for that purpofe, in 1 700, publifhed a Cornifh grammar, in 1 707. Dr. Borlafe gives fome Cornifh proverbs in his Natural Hiftory ; and at the end of his Antiquities of Cornwall has printed a Cornifh Vocabulary. Dr. Pryce of Redruth, in 1790, publifhed Archeeologia Cornu-Britannica, or an attempt to preferve the ancient Cornifh language, comprifing a Cornifh grammar, a copious vocabulary, lifts of Cornifh names of places with their etymology, the Lord's prayer, creed, and command- ments in Cornifh, colloquies, a Cornifh fong, &c. &c.
It feems moft probable, that the Dukes and Earls of Cornwall continued to poffefs that fhadow of fovereignty which they were allowed to retain immediately after the conqueft of the county by Athelftan. Carew fpeaks of it as an entire ftate by the name of a kingdom, principality, duchy or earldom. We are told that the Earls of Cornwall were always privileged with " royal jurifdiftion and crown rights, giving of liberty to fend burgefTes to parliament, and appointing a fheriff, admiral, and other officers s" before the creation of the duchy, which took place in the year 1337,
when
' There are two MSS. of thefe interludes in the Bodleian library ; one on parchment, written in the fifteenth century, the other on paper, written by W. Jordan, in 1611.
3 Carew, fo. 79. — With refpeft to the appointment of fheriff, it appears that when the men of Cornwall gave King John the large fun* of 2,000 marks, befides 200 marks in lieu of ten palfreys,
t<»
VI
CORNWALL.
when Edward the Black Prince was created Duke of Cornwall, and the duchy fettled by aft of parliament on the eldeft fon of the King of England. Large revenues were annexed to the duchy \ and the immediate government of the county
veiled
to have their county disforefted, to be exempt from the foreft laws, and other privileges ; one of thefe privileges was, that they mould have a iheriff from among their own countrymen ; that they fhould prefent certain of the beft men of the county to the King, who mould nominate one of them.; that if he mould mifbehave, he would be removed by the King, and another appointed in his room, but that it mould be one of their own countrymen, if one mould be found fit for the office, other- wife the King mould appoint a fheriff from another county, but one who was not ill-affe&ed to- wards the men of Cornwall, and would be likely to ufe them well. Madox's Hiftory of the Ex- chequer, p. 279. The fheriff was to be refident. It appears that the 200 marks was a peace- offering to appeafe the King's difpleafure conceived againft the men of Cornwall. See p. 283.
11 The original revenues of the duchy of Cornwall, as granted by the charter of Edward III., confifted of the caftle, borough, manor and honor of Launcefton, with the park, &c. the caftle, manor, and park of Trematon, with the town of Saltafh ; the caftle, borough, and manor of Tintagel ; the caftle, manor, and park of Reftormel ; the manor of Climefland, with the park ef Keribullock ; Tybefta, with the bailiwick of Powderfhire ; Tewington, with its appurtenances ; Helfton in Kerrier, with its appurtenances ; Morefk, with its appurtenances ; Tywarnail, with its appurtenances ; Penkneth, with its appurtenances; Penlyn, with the park, &c. ; Rillaton, with the beadlefhip of Eaft Wyvelfhire ; Helfton in Trigfhire, with the park of Hellefbury, &c. ; Lif- keard, with the park, &c. ; Calftock, with the fifhery, &c. ; Talfkedy, with the appurtenances ; the town of Loftwithiel, with the mills, &c. ; the profit of ports, with wrecks, &c. ; profits of the hundreds and courts ; the coinage of tin, and all the Stannary profits, befides certain manors and boroughs in Devonfhire. The whole revenue of the duchy, as computed on an average of three vears, after the death of the Black Prince, the latter end of his father's reign, amounted to 2,493b 7s. 3|d. per annum. Of this, 2,2191. 7s. 9|d. arofe from the Cornifh eftates, including i,oi61. is. 4d. per annum, which was then the profit of the Stannaries. ( See the particulars printed from the original at the Tower, at the end of Lord De Dunftanville's edition of Carew's Survey.) Of the above-mentioned antient manors, Tybefta, Helfton in Kerrier, Morefk, Tewington, Ty- warnail and Calftock, have been fold within the laft fourteen years under the powers of the land- tax redemption aft. In the reign of Henry VIII. the honour of Wallingford was annexed to the duchy, but the King wifhing to refume it, fettled on the duchy in lieu thereof, the manors of Welt Anthony, Crofthole, Landreyne, Portloo, and Port-Pigham ; Northill, Trelowia, Tregameere, Trelugan, Treverbyn-ourtney, Landulph, Leigh-Durant and Tinten, which had been forfeited by the Marquis of Exeter ; the manors of Auflell, Fentrigan, Trevenen, Gridiow, Porthea-Prior, and the manor and borough of Fowey with the fifhery there, all which had belonged to the priory of Ty- wardreth ; and the manors of Carnedon-Prior, Climfland-Prior, Treworgye, Stratton Sanftuary, Eaftway, Boyton, Bucklawren and Bonyalva, and the barton of Bradridge, with the advowfons of Treneglos, Warbftow, Stratton and Davidftow, all of which had belonged to the priory of Laun- cefton. The manors of Weft-Anthony, Crofthole, Landreyne, Auftell and Fowey, have been fold under the poweis of the a£t of the redemption of the land-tax.
The clear revenues of the duchy, in the fifteenth year of King Henry VIII., amounted to
10,095! lis. g\d., of which the iflues of manors and boroughs amounted to 624I. 17s. 2?d., the
profits of the coinage of tin in Cornwall and Devon, to 2,7711. 3s. 9$d. ; other profits connefted
with Cornwall, 204I. OS. 5d. It appears, that in the 44th year of Queen Elizabeth (1602.), the
12 revenues
CORNWALL.
Vll
veiled in the Duke, who has his Chancellor, Attorney, and Solicitor-general, and other officers, his court of Exchequer, with the appointment of fheriffs, &c. &c.
The important concerns of the mining trade (which will be fpoken of more at large hereafter) are under a feparate jurifdi&ion, at the head of which is the Lord Warden of the Stannaries ' and under him the Vice- Warden, the final appeal being
to
revenues of the duchy were much diminifhed, the fum total of the clear revenues being then returned at 4,5691. 12s. 2jd. ; of this, 3,7131. 18s. arofe from the county of Cornwall; and of this laft mentioned fum the profits of the tin were 2,6231. 9s. 8d. ; the profits of manors, 846I. 15s. 7|d. ; of boroughs, 93I. 159. 4^d. ; of hundreds, 55I. 3s. 8d. ; profits of affioes, 74I. 13s. i-Jd. (Sir John Dodridge's ancient and modern Account of the Duchy of Cornwall, Sec.) The prefent grofs amount of the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall, is 22,oool. ; of which, 8,jool. arifes from the tin-duty in the county of Cornwall, and 3,5001. from rents of manors, fines, &c. in the fame county. The tin-duty, before the war, had been nearly 14,000!. per annum.
The tenants of the duchy manors are either free tenants, or conventionary or cuftomary tenants (liberi convencionarii ) ; the former hold their lands as freehold of inheritance, fubjeft only to a chief, or as it is called in Cornwall, a high rent to the lord. The conventionary tenants hold from feven years to feven years, under a fmall referved rent, and fuit and fervice to the courts, and payment of a heriot . The cuftom of the manor as to defcent is, that the widow has an eftate for life, and in cafe of no male heir, the eldeft daughter inherits. In former times there were alfo bond conventionary tenants (nativi con-vencionaril), the other being called free conventionary tenants ; thefe bond tenants' eftates were fubjeft, on the death of the holders, to the payment of all their chattels to the lord : there were tenants alfo termed bond in blood (natiiii dejlip'ite), who held upon like terms, but could not put their fons to fchool, or marry their daughters, without the lord's confent, and the youngeft fon inherited the eftate. (Extent of the duchy of Cornwall, 1 1 Ed. III., in the King's remembrancer's] office, Exchequer.)
1 The following is nearly a complete lift; of the Lord Wardens with their Vice- Wardens, from the reign of Edward VI., chiefly made out by Dr. Borlafe :
Lord Wardera. Vice-Wardens.
Temp. Edw. VI. — Edward Duke of Somerfet Sir Thomas Smith.
1553. — John Earl of Bedford Sir William Godolphin. 1554. — Edward Lord Haftings of Loughborough About 1560 — Francis Earl of Bedford
r Wm. Carnfew, Efq.
1584 — 1603.— Sir Walter Ralegh -j Sir Francis Godolphin.
\- Sir Richard Grenville.
1603 — 1629. — William Earl of Pembroke Wm. Coryton, Efq.
1630. — Philip Earl of Pembroke C Wm. Coryton, Efq. and Montgomery C John Trefufis, Efq.
Sir Richard Prideaux.
.66o.-Sir John Grenville (after- Wm" Scawen' Ef<l-
wards Earl of Bath) » Slr John T^wney, Bart.
Sir Jofeph Tredenham. [_ J. Waddon, Efq. 1701. — Charles Earl of Radnor Hugh Tonkin, Efq.
1702.
viii CORNWALL.
to the Duke and his council. The ancient privilege of the miners to be exempt from all other jurifdi&ion than that of the Stannary courts, (except in fuch cafes as mould affect land, life, or limb,) was confirmed by King Edward III. " The Vice- Warden's court, held generally once a month, is a court of Equity for all matters re- lating to the tin mines and trade, from which no writ of error lies to the courts at Weftminfter, but there is an appeal to the Lord Warden, and from him to the Duke and his council, or, during a vacancy of the duchy, to the King and his council.
Lord Wardens. 1702. — Jo. Granville, Efq. (after
wards Lord Granvdle) 1705. - Francis Lord Rialton (after- Earl of Godolphin)
1708. —Hugh Bofcawen, Efq. (a terwardsVifc. Falmouth
1734. — Col. John Schutz
{
{
Vice-Wardem. Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart.
Walter Moyle, Efq. John Gregor, Efq. Tho. Hearle, Efq. Tho. Hearle, Efq. John Hearle. John Hearle, Efq. Chriftopher Hawkins, Efq. Francis Gregor, Efq. John Hearle, Efq. . Rev. Walter Borlafe, LL.D. Rev. Walter Borlafe, LL.D. Henry Rofewarne, Eiq. John Thomas, Efq.
John Thomas, Efq.
1742.— Thomas Pitt, Efq. of Bo- connoc
175 1.— James Earl of Waldegrave 1761. — ....
1 763. — Humphrey Morice, Efq. 1776. .---.- 1783. - - - - - 1783.— George Vifc. Lewifham 1798. — Sir John Morihead, Bart. 1800. — Rear-Admiral John Willet
Payne, Efq. 1803. — Tho.Tyrwhitt, Efq. (now
Sir Tho.Tyrwhitt, Knt.) 1812 Francis Cha. Seymour, Earl
of Yarmouth
^*
'"■ Carew fays, that the firft charter of privileges was obtained by the lords of the tithings in Black- more, of Edmund Earl of Cornwall ; that the Stannary courts, and the power of holding parlia- ments (though it does not appear to have been exercifed), were granted by this charter, which was to be kept in one of the church fteeples.but was not extant in his time. This he ftates on the authority of Mr. Wm. Carnfew (vice -warden), who had feen the charter ; by which it is faid, that the tax of a halfpenny to the Earl for every pound of tin was firil fixed, and the coinage of it appointed. Mr. Tonkin, on the authority of a book which he quotes, called " The Bailiff of Blackmore,'' fays that ihis charter was obtained of King Edward I. iu 1305 ; that it was kept in the tower of Luxulian church, whence, for greater fecurity during the civil war, it was removed to Loftwithiel, and there deftroyed with other Stannary records, by the Earl of EfTex's army, in 1644. (See Lord de Dun- ftauville a edition of Carew's Surrey.)
1 Iffues
CORNWALL. ix
Iffues are frequently directed by the Vice-Warden to be tried in the Stannary courts which are held at the end of every three weeks (except in the Stannary of Foy More in which there is fcarcely any bufinefs for the court), before the fteward of each Stannary, and a jury for trying all civil actions arifing within the Stannaries in which either the plaintiff or defendant is a privileged tinner. Appeals may be made from this court to the Vice- Warden, and from him as in the other cafes. '
King Henry VII., when he confirmed their ancient privileges, granted, that Ho new laws affecting the miners mould be enacted by the Duke and his council with- out the confent of twenty-four perfons called Stannators, chofen fix out of each of the four Stannaries or mining diftri&s ra. The meeting of thefe Stannators, who are fome of the principal gentlemen of property in the mining diftri&s, is called a Stannary parliament, and, on their aflembling, they choofe a fpeaker. Thefe par- liaments have been convened occafionally by the Lord Warden, as the circum- ftances of the times have called for new laws, or a revifion of the old. The laft Stannary parliament was held at Truro in 1752, and continued, by adjournments, to the nth September 1753.
The Stannary laws of Cornwall were publifhed in an octavo volume in the reign of Queen Anne, and again in folio with the laws and cuftoms of the Stannaries of Devon, by Thomas Pearce, in 1725 and 1750. The Stannary prifon is at Loft- withiel : at the fame town were kept the ancient records of the Stannaries which were burnt in the civil war.
The aflizes for the county were invariably held at Launcefton from an early period, till the time of Richard, King of the Romans, who, having built a palace at Loflwithiel, transferred the aflizes thither ; but on a petition from the men of Launcefton, he confented, on the payment of a fine, that they mould be held as had been accuftomed ; and it fo continued (except during the ravages of the plague, when the aflizes were held at Saltafti), till the reign of George I. In the year 1715, an aft of parliament was pafled, by which it was enacted, that after the 20th of May 1716, the aflizes fhould not be confined to the town of Launcefton. In confequence of this aft, they were held alternately at Launcefton and Bodmin, till the year 1727, after which they were held folely at Launcefton as before, till the fummer aflizes in the year 1738, when the alternate arrangement, which has ever fince continued, was again adopted " ; the fpring aflizes being held at Launcefton, the fummer at Bodmin.
1 From the information of John Thomas, Efq. vice-warden of the Stannaries.
m Namely, Foy More, Blackmore, Tywarnhaile, andPenwith and Kevrier. The Stannators for Foy More are chofen by the mayor and corporation of Loflwithiel ; thofe for Tywarnhaile by the mayor and corporation of Truro ; and thofe for Penwith and Kerrier by the mavorand corporation of Helfton.
■ Judgment Roll in the King's Bench.
Vol. III. b The
-x CORNWALL.
The quarter feffions were formerly held at Bodmin and Truro, the feffions beginning always at Bodmin on the Tuefday, and being adjourned to Truro on the Friday. About the year 1580, as we find from Carew's furvey, this arrange- ment was altered, and the whole feffions held at each place alternately ; but this having been found liable to inconveniences, before the publication of his work (1602), it had been arranged, that the feffions fliould, " interchangeably, one quar- t&r begin at Bodmin and end at Truro, and the next begin at Truro and end at Bodmin." The Michaelmas feffions are now held wholly at Bodmin, the Eafter feffions at Truro, and the Epiphany and Mid-fummer feffions at Loftwithiel. This arrangement has fubfifted many years.
The county-gaol was formerly at Launcefton, being the old prifon within the precinds of the caftle. It is defcribed by Dr. Borlafe " as a narrow wretched place for human creatures to be confined in, all fuppofed innocent till convicted ; but here, he fays, the " innocent and the guilty muft be contented to remain till their fate is determined, or a better one is built." This has fince been happily accomplifh- ed, a commodious and well-arranged county gaol, upon Mr. Howard's fyftem, from a plan of the late Sir John Call, having been erected at Bodmin, under the powers of an aft paffed in 1778. It was completed in 1780.
Hi/iorical Events.
The early part of the hiftory of this county is enveloped in obfcurity, and mingled with monkifh fable ; few local events have been handed down to us, and even thofe are to be received with caution. Till the time of the renowned Arthur, indeed, we have little more than a catalogue of the real or imaginary names of a long fucceffion of princes. Even the ftory of Arthur is fo interfperfed with fiction, that fome writers have gone fo far as to doubt his exiftence ; and Giraldus Cam- brenfis, though himfelf of the monkifh fchool, and fufficiently credulous, has taxed the hiftorian of Arthur with falfifying the page of hiftory0. However his ftory may have been difguifed by fable, and whatever doubts [there may be re- flecting the place of his birth, the circumftances attending it, as related by Geffery, being fo palpably fictitious p, yet the exiftence of fuch a monarch is confirmed by
" In his MS. addition to Carew's Survey, in the poffeffion of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart.
0 See Leland's Colleftanea, II. p. 78.
P The fabulous circumftances relating to Arthur's birth, taken principally from Geffery of Mon- mouth by Hals, may be feen at large in Polwhele's Hiftory of Cornwall, II. p. 4. An ancient French chronicle, tranflated by Leland, fimply fays, that Tintagel and Divilioc caftles, in this county, were kept by Gorlois Earl of Cornwall againft Uter Pendragon ; that Tintagel was delivered up to him, and that he married Igcrne, the Earl of Cornwall's wife. Arthur was the fon of Uter and lgerne ; but all his hiftorians agree that he was begotten in adultery.
1 2 other
CORNWALL. xi
other ancient writers ; and the learned Leland, who was fo deeply verfed in Britifh chronicles, has given us as the refult of what he had gathered from them on this fubject, a life of this celebrated hero, in which he has taken much pains to fepa- rate truth from fiction. ,
The only part of Arthur's hiftory connected with this county, excepting what relates to his birth, is the battle in which he received his death's wound. This battle is generally fuppofed to have happened near Camelford, on the banks of the river Cambula or Camblan, as hiftorians relate r. Sylvefter Giraldus calls it " bellum de Kemelen\" Leland, in confirmation of the general tradition of the county, that this bloody conteft, which proved fatal both to Arthur and his rebel- lious nephew Modred, happened in the neighbourhood of Camelford, tells us, that on what was fuppofed to have been the field of battle, various antiquities, fuch as rings, fragments of armour, ornaments of bridles, and of other trappings, had been found. This fpot is about a mile and a half from Camelford, near Worthyvale, in the parifh of Minfter. Although there was frequent warfare between the Cornifh Britons and the Saxons, there are few local incidents during thefe conflicts of which we have any notice in hiftory.
In the reign of Ivor, King of Wales, which commenced in 680, the Cornifh Britons, with the afliftance of that monarch, defeated the Saxons in three engage- ments ; one of which happened at Heyle, in Cornwall '. Ina, King of the Weft Saxons, is faid to have got much renown by his wars with the Cornifh, and, par- ticularly, to have defeated their King, Gerentius or Gerein, in 710." Ethelard, his fucceffor, is faid to have defeated the Britons at Heilyn, in Cornwall, in the year 728.™ Another victory was obtained over the Cornilh Britons by Cuthred king of the Weft Saxons, and Ethelbald king of Mercia, in 743/ The Britons, at length finding themfelves unable to cope with the Saxons, called in the Danes to their afliftance. The Danifh fleet arrived on the coaft of Cornwall in 806 y, but even with this fuccour they were not able to withftand the power of the victo- rious Egbert, who, in 813, over-ran their country from eaft to weft2. In 823, a great battle was fought at Camelford % between the Cornifh Britons and the
q Colleftanea, Appendix, Parti. ■ See Lei. Colleft. II. p. 38 ; and Galf. Monmouth,
inter Rer. Brit. Scrip. Vetufliores, p. 82, 83, « Leland's Colled. II. p. 12.
c See Leland's Itin. VIII. p. 86. Mr. Whitaker fuppofes it to have been Heyle, at the mouth of Helford Haven, near which is a creek called Porth Sauflen, or the Saxon Haven. There is fome degree of uncertainty about this ; fome writers making Ivor the fon of Alga, King of Brittanny, others the fon of Cadwallader, the laft King of Wales. See Leland, Carew's Survey of Cornwall, f. 77, b. and Borlafe's Antiquities. u Powell's Hiftory of Wales, and Sax. Chron.
w See Turner, I. p. 162. * Sax. Chron. and Dec. Scrip. I. p. 767. (J. Bromton)
1 Polwhele; R. Hoveden. z Sax. Chron. » Called in the Saxon Chronicle, Gafulford.
b 2 Saxons
Xll
CORNWALL.
Saxons of Devonfhire h. Twelve years afterwards, another fevere battle was fought at Hengfton Hill, in the parifh of Stoke-Climfland, in which the Britons and their allies, the Danes, were put to flight by Egbert. c
The next remarkable event, and one of the mod important in the hiftory of Cornwall, is the conqueft of that province by Athelftan. Till this time, the Britons occupied great part of the weft of Devonfhire, and inhabited Exeter, which was not then fortified, in common with the Saxons. Athelftan, having defeated Howell, King of Cornwall, near Exeter, not only drove the Britons out of that city, but obliged them to retire to the weft of the Tamer. This happened, according to Florence of Worcefter, in 926; nine years afterwards, the Cornifh having fhown fymptoms of revolt, Athelftan entered th«ir country, traverfed its whole extent without oppofition to the Lands-End, where he embarked his army, and, having fucceeded in his intention of reducing the Scilly Ifles, is fuppofed to have completed the conqueft of Cornwall. d
In 981, fome Danifh pirates plundered the monaftery of St. Petroc, in Cornwall. "
In 997, the Danes ravaged the territories of their old allies the Cornifh with fire and fwordf. In 1068, the county was plundered by Goodwin and Edmund, fons of Harold, on their return to Ireland, after they had gained a vidtory over King William's general in Somerfetfhire. e
From its remote fituation, the county of Cornwall appears to have had very little fhare in the military tranfaclions of the three following centuries. In the reign of Stephen, we are told that the Cornifh people declared openly for the Emprefs Maud, and, although the war did not extend into their country, they fought bravely for her under their Earl, who was her brother \ Mr. Polwhele obferves, that " the ftory of Henry de la Pomeray, in rebellion againft Richard I., ftands alone (during a certain period) as a detailed account of warlike enterprize in Corn- wall '." During the captivity of that monarch in Germany, Henry de la Pomeray or Pomeroy, who had large pofieffions in Cornwall, feized on St. Michael's Mount
b The battle is mentioned by Henry Huntingdon, (Scrip, port Bedam, 197, b. ), and in the Saxon Chronicle. c Sax. Chron. and Henry Huntingdon. (Scrip, pod Bedam, 198.)
d Whitaker, I. 20, 21.
c The Chronicles (fee J. Bromton inter Dec. Scrip. I. 877., and Hoveden inter Scrip, poft Bedam, 245.) only fay the monaftery of St. Peter or Petroc, in Cornwall ; it has generally been fuppofed to have been the monaftery at Bodmin ; but Mr. Whitaker has very ably fhown, that it was another monaftery of the fame faint at Padftow, on the fea-fhore, which was a cell to Bodmin. See his cathedral of Cornwall, I. 60.
f Sax. Chron. and Leland's Colle&anea, II. p. 1S9.
* Sim. Dunelm inter decern Scrip. I. 189. * Polwhele's Cornwall, II. 23.
' Ibid. II. 24.
on
CORNWALL. xiii
on behalf of" John Earl of Cornwall, who was then in rebellion againft the King his brother : on hearing of the King's releafe, we are told that he furrendered it in the year 1 194, without making any defence, to Hubert Walker, Archbifhop of Canterbury ; and it is faid he died with fear on hearing of the King's return. k
In the year 1322, we are told that a great multitude of the Cornilh men, wo- men, and children, being fmitten with a rtrange enthufiafm, and convinced that they fhould conquer theHoly Land, left their native country, and, wandering about in foreign parts, fome were executed for various tranlgreffions, and others imprifoned ; thofe who efcaped, returned home not a little afhamed of their folly. '
In the year 1471, Queen Margaret having landed at Weymouth, the whole powers of Cornwall and Devonlhire, having been raifed in her behalf, as it appears, through the influence of Sir Hugh Courtenay of Boconnoc, and Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, joined her at Exeter, and accompanied her to the fatal field of Tewkefbury '". The fame year, in the month of September, John Vere Earl of Oxford, having by fubtlety got poffeffion of St. Michael's Mount, eftablifhed him- felf in that fortrefs with a garrifon of nearly 400 men, and held it till the 3d of February, when he furrendered to Sir Thomas Fortefcue, on condition of his life being fpared, which the King granted, but fent him prifoner to the caftle of Hannes or Hammes, where he remained feveral years."
In the year 1497, being the 12th of Henry VII., in confequence of difcontents occafioned by the levy of a tax for the Scottifh war, the commons of Cornwall, mitigated by Thomas Flammock or Flamank, the head of a refpe&able family in the county, and, as Holinlhed calls him, learned in the laws of the realm, and Michael Jofeph, a fmith of Bodmin, rofe in rebellion. Having prevailed on Lord Audley to be their general, they marched without interruption through Somer- fetfliire, Wiltlhire, Hampfhire, and Surrey, till they came to Blackheath in Kent, where they were defeated by Lord Daubeny, and their ringleaders taken prifoners and executed ". The Cornilh men were for the mod part armed with bows and arrows, and bills ; their arrows were reported to be of the length of a tailor's yard ; " fo ftrong and mighty a bow," obferves Lord Bacon, " were they faid to draw p."
In the month of September following, the celebrated Perkin Warbeck, who has been thought by fome late writers (on plaufible grounds) to have been really, as he reprefented himfelf, the fon of King Edward IV., in the profecution of his claims to the crown, landed at Whitfand bay, near the Lands-End ; advancing to Bodmin, he found the Cornilh ripe for a new rebellion, and foon gathered together a force
k Hoveden inter Scrip, poft Bedam, f. 418, b.
1 Leland's Colle&anea, 1. 274 ; from an ancient chronicle, the author unknown.
" Holinlhed. " Ibid, and Leland's Colleftanea, I. 508, 509. ° Holinlhed.
♦ Life of King Henry VII.
of
xiv CORNWALL.
of 3000 men, with which he marched to befiege Exeter '. His wife, the Lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of