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Title: Excursions in the County of Cornwall
Author: Stockdale, F. W. L.
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Excursions in the County of Cornwall" ***
EXCURSIONS
IN
CORNWALL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J Greig_
FONT,
_in Lostwithiel Church_
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d. May 1 1624 by Simpkin & Marshall Stationers Court London_]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSIONS
IN THE
COUNTY OF CORNWALL,
COMPRISING A CONCISE
HISTORICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL DELINEATION
OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND VILLAGES,
TOGETHER WITH
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE RESIDENCES OF THE
NOBILITY AND GENTRY,
Remains of Antiquity,
AND EVERY OTHER INTERESTING OBJECT OF CURIOSITY;
FORMING A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE
TRAVELLER AND TOURIST;
BY
F. W. L. STOCKDALE,
AUTHOR OF “ANTIQUITIES OF KENT,” &c. &c.
----------
LONDON:
PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS,
BY SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS’ COURT;
AND KNIGHT AND LACEY, PATERNOSTER-ROW.
-----
1824.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
WITHAM AND MALDON:
PRINTED BY P. YOUNGMAN.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J. Greig from a Drawing by the Rev^d G. A.
Moore for the Excursions through Cornwall_
TRURO,
_from the Square_
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court, London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by H. Bond from a Drawing by F. W. L. Stockdale
for the Excursions through Cornwall_
ST. GERMAINS CHURCH,
_CORNWALL_.
_Pub^d Feb 1, 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court London_]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by H. Bond from a Drawing by F. W. L. Stockdale
for the Excursions through Cornwall._
S^T. COLUMB,
_CORNWALL_.
_Pub^d June [** illegible] 1823 by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court
London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J. Jeavons from a Drawing by B. B. Harraden,
for the Excursions through Cornwall._
_S. View of_
NEOT’S CHURCH,
_CORNWALL_.
_Pub^d July 1, 1823 by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
COTELE HOUSE,
_CORNWALL_.
_Pub^d June 1, 1823, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by T. Jeavons, from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale, for the Excursion through Cornwall._
TREWAN HOUSE,
S^t. Columb.
_The Seat of Richard Vyvyan Esq^r._
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d Nov 1, 1822 by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J. Greig from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale for the Excursions through Cornwall_
POOLE MENHENIOT,
_an ancient Seat of the Trelawney’s_
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d June 1, 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court, London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J. Creig from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale for the Excursions through Cornwall_
TREMATON CASTLE,
_& the Seat of Benj^n Tucker Esq^e_
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d June 1, 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court, London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by J. Barber , from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale, for the Excursions through Cornwall_
TINTAGELL CASTLE.
_CORNWALL._
_Pub^d June 1, 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by H & J from a Drawing by F. W. L. Stockdale
for the Excursions through Cornwall_
SALTASH,
_From the Ferry_
_CORNWALL._
[** illegible]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by W. Wallis, from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale, for the Excursions through Cornwall._
_Town & Harbour of_
S^T. IVES,
_CORNWALL_.
_Pub^d April 1, 1824, by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court, London._]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: _Engraved by [** illegible] from a Drawing by F. W. L.
Stockdale for the Excursions through Cornwall_
S^T. MARY’S CHURCH, TRURO,
_CORNWALL_.
[** illegible]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO THE MOST NOBLE
WILLIAM SPENCER CAVENDISH,
DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE,
MARQUIS OF HARTINGTON, LORD LIEUTENANT
AND CUSTOS ROTULORUM OF DERBYSHIRE, HIGH
STEWARD OF DERBY, AND D.C.L.
MY LORD,
The kind attention which I have received from your Lordship on several
occasions, will never be forgotten; and as a small token of gratitude, I
beg leave to dedicate this further proof of my humble endeavours, to
your Lordship.
Considering the great improvements which have been made in the Fine
Arts, within the last fifty years, it is greatly to be regretted that
many deserving artists have gone unrewarded, at least their endeavours
have not been properly and liberally encouraged. It is true, my Lord,
there are many public exhibitions for the sale of works of art; but the
privileges of them have been so much abused, that many artists of
considerable eminence, decline sending their performances to them. If
the Nobility of this kingdom were to employ artists to make drawings of
the antiquities and picturesque scenery of the several counties, from
which their titles are derived, it would not only be a considerable
benefit to them, but their works would become more generally known and
admired.[1]
Although his Majesty’s Government has lately voted the expenditure of a
considerable sum, for the erection of a _National Gallery_, and the
purchase of Mr. Angerstein’s Pictures, which is highly to be commended;
yet still there is much want of an institution, whereby the artists of
this country could find a certain sale for their performances, at such
prices as would enable them to live in some degree of respectability: at
present many of them are obliged to have recourse to the picture
dealers, who, in most instances, take every advantage of their
necessities: but in expressing this opinion, I hope, my Lord, I may not
be deemed invidious, and trust those persons who are acquainted with the
Arts, will coincide with me.
The liberal encouragement which your Lordship has shewn, in promoting
not only the Fine Arts, but every other science, merits the highest
commendation; and I sincerely hope your Lordship’s example will be
followed by many other Noblemen, who possess the means of promoting
them.
Wishing your Lordship every success in your endeavours to collect the
most choice and rare works of art,
I have the honor to remain,
With the greatest respect,
Your Lordship’s most obliged Servant,
F. W. L. STOCKDALE.
LONDON, MAY 1, 1824.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION.
-------
On the completion of the present volume, the Author begs to observe,
that owing to the great distance of the County of Cornwall from the
Metropolis, its hilly surface, and other unforeseen circumstances, his
endeavours have been greatly retarded; the great interest, however,
which is attached to the county in a commercial point of view, much more
its importance to the antiquarian and geologist, will, it is presumed,
render the work highly interesting. Although much has already been
written upon this county, most of the works extant are either calculated
as books of reference, or deficient in graphical embellishments. The
trouble and expense which has attended the collection of the several
views contained in the work, has been very great; for as the Author was
desirous of selecting the most picturesque subjects, he has been
compelled to visit almost every place in the county.
When the work was first announced, the Author regrets to state that many
gentlemen declined to promote his endeavours, from the circumstance of
his being a stranger to them; and many unforeseen difficulties have also
presented themselves; but perseverance will, it is presumed, overcome
most impediments. It is to be regretted that Cornwall contains so few
Noblemen and Gentlemens’ Seats, compared with other Counties; but the
kind assistance the Author has received from several eminent characters,
will always be remembered. To Sir William Lemon, Sir Christopher
Hawkins, the late Sir A. Molesworth, Joseph Carne, Esq., J. T. Austin,
Esq., Colonel Trevanion, the Rev. George Moore, Jun., and the Rev. John
Wallis, of Bodmin, he feels particularly indebted.
Owing to ill health a few years ago, the Author was unfortunately
compelled to relinquish the situation of Assistant to the Military
Secretary, East India Company; but from the feeling which he has always
possessed for the picturesque, and as travelling agrees much better with
his health, it is the Author’s intention to endeavour to bring to light
many of the hidden Relics of Antiquity, which the several Counties of
England contain. Much has already been done; and considering the
improved state of the Arts, there is now sufficient talent in this
country for the publication of works in any branch. It is also the
Author’s intention, with some exceptions, to retrace the steps of the
late Francis Grose, the celebrated antiquarian; for since his time, many
antient buildings have been considerably altered; and such as were
published in his work upon antiquities, were made when the art of
engraving was not so generally known. The completion, however, of any
work upon a similar plan to the present volume, is certainly most
preferable; and will, it is presumed, be found not only useful to the
tourist, but valuable to the lovers of the picturesque.
As an Antiquary, few Gentlemen possessed a higher claim to notice than
the late Samuel Lysons, Esq., F. A. S.; and the Author cannot but
participate in the feelings which exist with every one who knew him;
especially in deploring the great loss the country has sustained by his
lamented death.
In concluding, the Author begs to return his grateful acknowledgments to
those Noblemen and Gentlemen who have been pleased to subscribe to the
work; and takes the liberty of stating, that he is now engaged in
completing a similar one, relative to the County of Devonshire, which he
hopes will also meet their approbation.
LONDON, MAY 1, 1824.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSIONS THROUGH CORNWALL.
-------
Cornwall is the most western county in England, and is almost wholly
surrounded by the sea, excepting the eastern side, which is partly
separated from Devonshire by the Tamar river. The greatest length of the
county from Moorwinstow to the Land’s End, is nearly 90 miles; but its
greatest breadth from Moorwinstow on the north, to Ram Head on the
south, does not exceed 43 miles, and diminishes gradually till it is
only, from Mount’s Bay to St. Ives, little more than seven miles. Its
form, therefore, nearly resembles a horn, or as some historians term it,
a cornucopia.—The surface of the county being extremely difficult to
compute, owing to the many promontories and juttings on the coast, is
stated at about 210 miles, containing 758,484 acres, but is supposed to
have been much larger in former times.
According to the works of the most respectable historians, the original
name of Cornwall was CERWYN, and so called from its peculiar shape. The
antient inhabitants were also called _Carnibii_, or _Cerwyn and Gwyr_,
or Men of the Promontory; but after the Roman invasion, that name is
supposed by _Borlase_, to have been latinized into _Cornubia_, which it
retained till the Saxons imposed the name of _Weales_ on the Britons
driven by them west of the rivers Severn and Dee, calling their county
in the Latin tongue, _Wallia_; after which, finding the Britons had
retreated not only into Wales, but into the more western extremities of
the island, the Latinists changed Cornubia into Cornwallia; a name not
only expressive of the many natural promontories of the county, but also
that the inhabitants were Britons of the same nation and descent as
those of Wales; and from this Cornwallia, the name of Cornwall is
derived.
The population of the county, according to the returns of 1811, was
216,667, and 28,398 greater than it was 10 years previous; but by the
late census, amounts to 261,000, the extraordinary increase of about
45,000 in the last 10 years.—It is divided into nine hundreds, 203
parishes, (of which 85 are Rectories, 100 Vicarages, and 18 Curacies,)
30 market towns, and now returns _forty-two_ members to Parliament.
The climate of this county has long been noted for its mildness and
salubrity. Its inhabitants in respect to longevity, are said to surpass
every other county in England, and Carew says, “that 80 and 90 years is
common in every place, and in most persons accompanied with an able use
of the body and senses.” In the parish where he resided, an instance is
mentioned of the decease of four persons, within 14 weeks space, whose
united ages amounted to 340 years. Various instances of the longevity of
the inhabitants of Cornwall, are also recorded by _Borlase_ and other
subsequent writers. As a proof of the mildness of the climate, even the
most tender shrubs and plants, such as _myrtles_, _hydrangea_,
_geraniums_, _Balm of Gilead_, _&c._ live and thrive the whole year in
the open ground, and in many parts, grow to the greatest state of
perfection. Notwithstanding so much rain falls in Cornwall, heavy
showers are not, however, so frequent as in other counties.—The storms
which occur, are very severe, but are considered extremely conducive to
the healthiness of the inhabitants, by clearing the air of the
pernicious vapours which exhale from the mines, leaving in their room,
the vivifying qualities wafted by the genial breezes of the ocean.—The
winters, in general, are very mild; frosts are of short duration; and
snow seldom lies upon the ground more than three or four days. Mr.
Worgan, the author of a work upon the Agriculture of Cornwall, says, “a
kind of languid spring prevails through the winter, which brings forth
early buds and blossoms, raising the expectations of agriculturists, to
be too often disappointed by blighting north-east winds, in March,
April, and even so late as May.”
The cause of such frequent rains in Cornwall is, that for three-fourths
of the year, the wind blows from the intermediate points of the south
and west, and sweeping over a vast tract of the Atlantic Ocean, collects
large bodies of clouds, which being intersected in their passage by the
hills, descend in frequent showers. Notwithstanding the salubrity of the
climate of Cornwall, the harvests in general, are much later than in
midland counties; but owing to the great improvements which have been
made of late years in agriculture, the corn which it produces, is equal,
if not superior, to any other.
The sterile and rugged aspect of many parts of the county, (especially
the road from Launceston to Truro, which presents, excepting the town of
Bodmin, almost nothing but extensive and waste moors,) impresses the
minds of travellers with a very unfavourable opinion of the county; but
the admirers of the picturesque will always be delighted with the beauty
of its numerous valleys and more cultivated parts. On the other hand,
Cornwall, from its maritime situation, and the numerous mines with which
it abounds, possesses many advantages. To an antiquarian it will always
be highly interesting, as _few_ other counties contain so many
_Druidical and Roman remains_. The mineralogist will always have an
endless source for amusement in the great variety of mineral specimens
which it presents to his notice.
The north and south parts of the county are divided by a ridge of barren
and rugged hills, running from east to west, like a distorted back bone.
The most remarkable hills are _Brown-Willy_, _Roughton_, and
_Henborough_; the first being no less than 1,368 feet above the level of
the sea.
The most considerable _rivers_ in the county, are the _Tamar_, the
_Lynher_, the _Looe_, the _Fowey_, the _Fal_, and the _Camel_ or _Alan_.
The _Tamar_ rises in the northern side of the county, in the parish of
Moorwinstow, and with little variation, pursues a southerly direction,
for nearly 40 miles, when it unites with the _Lynher Creek_, and
ultimately forms the spacious harbour of Harmoaze, between Plymouth Dock
and Saltash. The banks of this river, which is the most considerable in
the West of England, are richly diversified with rocks and woods, and
the scenery in many parts of its course is extremely beautiful.[2]
The _Lynher_ rises in the parish of Alternon, eight miles north-west of
Launceston, and after running a circuitous course of 24 miles, spreads
itself into the form of a lake, near St. Germains, (called Lynher Creek)
and ultimately unites with the Tamar, about a mile below Saltash.
The _Looe_ rises in the parish of St. Cleer, and taking a course of
seven or eight miles, meets the tide at Sand Place, becomes navigable,
and at the distance of three miles empties itself into the sea, between
the towns of East and West Looe.
The _Fowey_ rises from a well near Brown-Willy, one of the highest hills
in Cornwall, between Lanson and Bodmin. It flows for some miles in a
southerly direction, turns suddenly to the west, and pursues a course of
some miles, till it meets the tide at Lostwithiel, and ultimately falls
into the sea at Fowey. The scenery on the banks of the river from
Lostwithiel to Fowey, is remarkably beautiful and picturesque.
The _Fal_, which is the most considerable river in the centre of the
county, rises about two miles west of Roche Rocks, and after a course of
12 miles, meets the tide below Tregony, and passing Tregothnan Park,
joins Truro and St. Clement’s Creeks, which are navigable to Truro Quay
and Tresilian Bridge; from its junction with those creeks, after flowing
four or five miles, it forms the principal branches of Falmouth Harbour,
named Carrick and King’s Road.
The river _Alan_ or _Camel_, rises on the north-east side of the county,
near Camelford, and after a circuitous course of 12 miles, becomes
navigable for barges at Egleshale, near Wadebridge, from whence it flows
into the harbour of Padstow. On all these rivers, as well as others of
less note, great quantities of sea sand are carried in barges for
manure, and sold to the farmers at a very reasonable rate.
The most considerable _lake_ in Cornwall, is the _Loo Pool_, near
Helston, and which is about two miles long and a furlong wide, formed of
a bar of pebbles, sand, and shingles, forced up against the mouth of the
creek, by the south-west winds; but in the winter time, the whole valley
between the sea and Helston, is frequently covered with water.
_Dosmery Pool_, is a piece of water about a mile in circumference, lying
in the parish of Alternon, on the borders of St. Cleer parish, and said
by _Leland_, to be 15 fathoms deep, but which, upon trial, a few years
back, was found to be only nine feet. It is formed and supplied by water
which drains from the neighbouring hills.
Between Budock and Falmouth is a piece of water, near half a mile in
length, and secured from the sea, by a bar of sand and shingles, called
_Swan Pool_, from the circumstance of its having had many swans kept on
it some years ago.
The _Soils_ of Cornwall chiefly consist of three species: first, the
_black growan_ or _gravelly_; second, the _shelfy_ or _slaty_; third,
loams differing in texture, colours, and degrees of fertility.
The first abounds in the high lands, and consists of a light, moory,
black earth, intermixed with small particles of granite or gravel. The
earthy parts of this are so exceedingly light, that in a dry summer, as
Dr. Borlase observes, the sun quickly exhales its moisture, and in a wet
summer or winter, much of the vegetable soil is washed from the tilled
grounds. This soil is in general very productive, and fit for any kind
of grain. The shelfy or slaty soil is far the most prevalent, and is
distinguished by this name from having a large proportion of the
schistus, or rotten slaty matter mixed with the light loam, of which its
soil is composed. With sand and more viscuous earths, it makes an
excellent compost, and produces great crops of wheat and barley. In
congenial situations, barley has frequently been sown, reaped, and
threshed, in less than nine weeks. This soil is not unfrequently mixed
with _quartz_, provincially called _spar_, and according as this
prevails, its value is lessened. When a dun or ironstone is found, it is
considered a fortunate circumstance, being a certain indication of the
incumbent soil.
Of the _Loamy Soils_, there are many very rich and fertile patches,
interpersed in different parts of the county; and the low grounds,
declivities, banks of the rivers and town-lands are composed of them.
Some of these are incumbent on a subsoil of clay, and partake more or
less of it in their composition. With respect to _Clays_, Cornwall
presents endless varieties; good bricks are made from some of them, and
in the parish of Lelant, there is an excellent species for making
furnaces and ovens. A clay of a slaty nature, but soapy to the touch, is
found near Liskeard, and has fertilizing powers; but the Serpentine,
with veins of _steatite_, near the Lizard, is the most curious of all
the earthy substances found in Cornwall, although very little of it has
been used for some years in the porcelain manufactures. Large quantities
of a fine white clay, found in the parish of St. Stephen near St.
Austell, is exported annually, and is now become an important article of
commerce.
The mineralogical substances of Cornwall are more abundant than any
other county in England, and the variety and beauty of them affords an
abundant source for the scientific enquirer. Of the stones most entitled
to precedence, is the _granite_, or _moor stone_, which abounds in great
quantities in almost every part of the county. Granite is an aggregate
of _felspar_, _quartz_, and _mica_, and is found of different colours
and texture. Most of the churches and gentlemen’s seats in the county
are built with this stone, also the Waterloo Bridge in London, and which
was exported at a very great expense. It is frequently cut into pillars,
as supporters to buildings, and is very serviceable as gate posts,
bridges over rivers, rollers, troughs, and many other purposes.
Another species of stone very prevalent in Cornwall, is distinguished by
the name of _Killas_. It is a schistus, and forms the most considerable
substratum in the county. It varies in texture and colour, some being
hard, others more pliable and laniated, and of a blueish yellow, and
ferrugineous brown; but either forms an excellent material for building.
The worst sort of stone found in Cornwall, is an opaque whitish debased
crystal, generally called spar, and lies loose on the surface of the
ground, in almost every parish. It is, however, useful for making fences
and for repairing the roads.
On the north and south coasts of the county, there are several _Slate
Quarries_, the slate from which is generally adopted for the roofing of
houses; but the best species is found in the celebrated quarry of
_Delabole_ near Camelford, which is said to produce the finest and
largest slates in England.—“The quarry is about 300 yards long, 100
broad, and upwards of 40 fathoms deep. The slate is first met with about
three feet below the surface of the ground, in a loose shattery state,
with short and frequent fissures, the _laminæ_ of unequal thickness, but
not horizontal.—Thus it continues to the depth of 10 or 12 fathoms, when
a more firm and useful stone is procured, the largest pieces of which
are used for flat pavements. This is called the _top-stone_, and
continues for 10 fathoms, after which the quality improves with
increasing depth, till at the 24th from the surface, the workmen arrive
at the most superior kind, called the _bottom-stone_.—The colour is
grey-blue, and the texture is so close, that it will sound like a piece
of metal. The masses are separated from the rock by wedges driven by
sledges of iron, and contain from five to 14 superficial square feet of
stone. As soon as this mass is freed by one man, another stone cutter,
with a strong wide chisel and mallet, is ready to cleave it to its
proper thinness, which is usually about one eighth of an inch; the
pieces are generally from a foot square, to two feet long, by one wide,
but the flakes are sometimes large enough for tables and tomb
stones.”[3]
The art of husbandry, three centuries ago, appears to have been little
practised in this county; the grounds, says _Carew_, “lay all in common,
or only divided by stiche meale, and their bread corn very little; their
labour horses were only shod before, and the people devoting themselves
entirely to tin, their neighbours in Devonshire and Somersetshire hired
their pastures at a rent, and stored them with the cattle they brought
from their own homes, and made their profit of the Cornish by cattle fed
at their own doors. The same persons also supplied them at their
markets, with many hundred quarters of corn and horse loads of bread.”
But he also observes, “that the people increasing, and the mines
sometimes failing, the Cornish felt the necessity of applying themselves
to husbandry, and their improvements answered their expectations; for in
the latter end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, they found themselves
not only in a capacity to support themselves, but also to export a great
quantity of corn to Spain and other foreign parts.”
Within the last 50 years, a considerable quantity of the waste lands has
been enclosed and cultivated; but after the growth of two or three crops
of corn, much of these lands have again been neglected on account of the
great expense of manuring them. A very considerable quantity of waste
land has, within these few years, been enclosed by Charles Rashleigh,
Esq., of Deeporth, near St. Blazey, and which is likely to prove a
considerable benefit; E. I. Glynn, Esq., of Glynn, near Bodmin, has also
had a large quantity of waste land enclosed, for permanent cultivation.
In making enclosures, the fences generally consist of a _stone hedge_,
or layers of turf, planted with thorns, nut hazles, and furze. In many
parts of the county on the coast, where there is an opportunity of
procuring _sea sand_ for manuring the land, great quantities of corn
have been grown, particularly in the western and eastern districts. It
is usual after a crop of wheat, to sow the ground with barley, after
which, turnips or potatoes; but the general course of crops in Cornwall,
is considered extremely reprehensible by the author of the Agricultural
Survey of the county, owing to the wretched, exhausted, and foul
appearance of the grounds laid down with grass seeds. This may, however,
be partly accounted for, by Cornwall not being a _dairy county_, and
milch cows being generally kept for rearing the young stock.
The soil and climate of Cornwall are peculiarly adapted to the growth of
_potatoes_, and these are at all times a standing dish at the humble
repast of the labourer. Of the sorts most cultivated, which have been
long established, the _painted lord_ and _painted lady_ are much
approved; but a kind of apple potatoe, _entirely red_, called
_Carolines_, are grown in great abundance, as the standing winter crop.
The most early potatoe produced, is the _kidney sort_, and as a proof of
the goodness of the soil and climate, in the neighbourhood of Penzance,
_two crops_ are frequently produced in a year, and one acre of ground
has been known to yield 300 bushels, Winchester measure, for the first,
and 600 for the second crop! Many thousand bushels of potatoes are
exported annually from Cornwall to London, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and
other places. A Cornish bushel of potatoes, generally weighs 220lbs.,
and are sold from 4 to 5s. a bushel.—Most of the labourers in the county
keep a pig or two, and as potatoes are so easily cultivated with
advantage, they frequently use them to fatten their pigs.
The _Cattle_ in Cornwall are chiefly of the Devonshire breed, and large
quantities of the best oxen are annually sold to graziers and
contractors, and sent out of the county to be slaughtered. Many of them
are used by the farmers for agricultural purposes. They are shod, or
_cued_, as it is provincially termed, and are extremely docile and
active, while they are often driven by boys, who cheer and excite them
by the song and the goad.
The _Sheep_ of Cornwall are also, generally speaking, of the Devonshire
species; and some of the Leicestershire breed have been introduced of
late years, with great advantage. Mr. Worgan says, “a pure _Cornish
sheep_ is now a rare animal; nor from its properties, need their total
extinction be lamented.”
With respect to _Horses_, few are kept in Cornwall for ostentation, or
to live in idleness or luxury. The gentleman’s horse is often put to the
cart or plough. The farm horses are well adapted to the hilly surface of
this county, being a hardy and active sort. Most of the farmers keep up
their stock by breeding a colt or two annually; but one-eighth of the
horses for saddle and draught are supposed to be brought into the county
by eastern dealers.[4]
_Mules_ are bred in Cornwall, but are mostly employed in carrying
supplies to and from the mines. Troops of 50 at a time are frequently to
be met on the roads in the mining country, loaded with copper or tin
ore.
The trade of Cornwall is mostly confined to the exportation of
_Pilchards_, _Tin_, _and Copper_, the three great staple commodities of
the county. The imports chiefly consist in groceries and bale goods,
from London, Bristol, and Manchester, and coals from Wales. Large
quantities of flour are also imported at Falmouth and Penryn, chiefly
for the miners.—The manufactures in Cornwall are but trifling, compared
with other counties. Some coarse woollen, a paper mill or two, and a
carpet manufactory, is all that can be enumerated.
The most important objects connected with the History of Cornwall, are
its numerous _Mines_ and _Fisheries_, and which for centuries past, have
given employment to nearly one half of its inhabitants, and yielded a
considerable revenue to government.
The _Pilchard Fisheries_, which are mostly confined to _East and West
Looe_, _Polparrow_, _Fowey_, _Charles Town_, near St. Austell,
_Mevagissey_, the _Creeks_ of _Falmouth Harbour_, _Mount’s Bay_, on the
southern coast, and _St. Ives_, on the northern coast, generally
commence in July and end in November.
The Pilchard, in form and size, very much resembles the Herring, except
that it is smaller, and not so flat sided. “The dorsal fin of the
Pilchard,” says Dr. Maton, “is placed exactly in the centre of gravity,
so that the ordinary mode of distinguishing it from the Herring, is to
try whether, when taken up by the fin, it preserves an equilibrium, or
not. The body of the Herring dips towards the head, and the scales are
also observed to drop off, whereas those of the Pilchard adhere very
closely.” They mostly arrive from the North Seas at the Islands of
Scilly and Land’s End, about July, and shift their situation as the
season prompts and the food allures them; but unfortunately the fish
have for the last two seasons been exceedingly scarce, which has been a
great loss to the fishermen. They are generally caught in large nets of
a peculiar make, called _seans_, and the fishermen are directed to the
shoals of fish by persons stationed on the high lands near the shore,
who discover them by the colour of the water. The nets in general, are
managed by _three boats_, containing 18 persons. The seans are about 220
fathoms long, 16 fathoms deep in the middle, and 14 at each end, with
lead weights at the bottom and corks at the top. The cost of these seans
is very great, sometimes as high as £300 each; and a _track sean_ of
about 108 fathoms long and 10 deep, costs £120. The _boats_ for carrying
the seans, cost about £60, and the expenses incident to the first
out-fit, (including every thing that is necessary,) may be estimated
from £1000 to £1200, exclusive of salt.
The fish, immediately upon being brought on shore, are carried to the
store-houses or cellars, where the small and damaged fish are picked out
by women, and carried away and sold to the poor, or used for manuring
land. The remainder are laid up in broad piles and salted. In this state
they lie soaking 20 or 30 days, during which time a great quantity of
dirty pickle and bittern drains from the fish: when the piles are taken
up, the chief part of salt remaining at the bottom, is added to some
fresh salt, and serves for another pile. The next process is to wash the
fish in sea water, and place them in hogsheads, where, with great
weight, they are pressed together as compact as possible, by which
operation a great quantity of oil issues through the holes at the bottom
of the casks.
The number of fish packed in each hogshead generally amounts to about
3000; and the quantity of salt used annually exceeds 50,000 bushels,
each bushel weighing 84lbs. and one hogshead requires 420lbs. of salt;
but nearly one half of this quantity is spoiled and sold to the farmers
for manure at the rate of 10d. per bushel. Forty-eight hogsheads of
Pilchards generally yield a ton or 252 gallons of oil, the price of
which varies according to the times, but generally fetches about £25 a
ton.
In some instances one sean has been known to take and cure near 1,500
hogsheads in a season; but the fishermen are more fortunate at some
places than they are at others. The quantity taken in a season may be
estimated at from 40,000 to 60,000 hogsheads of 40 gallons each.
The number of persons employed on the fisheries, cannot be estimated at
less than 14,000; and the capital engaged is said to amount to upwards
of £350,000. The tythe of each sean is £1 13s. 4d. yearly, exclusive of
the duty paid to government for salt.
“The sea,” says Borlase, “is the great store house of Cornwall, which
offers not its treasures by piece meals, nor all at once, but in
succession, all in plenty in their several seasons, and in such variety,
as if nature was solicitous to prevent any excess or superfluity of the
same kind.”—Among those which visit the coasts of Cornwall, the
following may be enumerated.
The _Blower_ or _Fin Fish_, (the Physeta of the ancients,) and so called
from the quantity of water which it blows into the air through a hole in
its head.
The _Grampus_, the next in size, is usually about 18 feet long, and
sometimes large enough to weigh 1000lbs.—The voracity of this fish is so
remarkable, that it has been observed to prey upon the Sea Hog.
The _Blue Shark_ is frequently seen during the Pilchard season.—It has
no gills, but breathes through holes or pipes, situated betwixt the
mouth and the pectoral fins.
The _Monk or Angel Fish_, is a flat species which seems to partake both
of the nature of the Dog Fish and the Ray. The back is coloured like the
Seal, without streaks, and has a white belly.
The _Sea Adder_ is a kind of nettle-fish, about 16 inches long, and has
a back and tail fin, with scales shaped like those of a land adder.
The _Sun Fish_, so called from being round and emitting a kind of lucid
splendour in a dark apartment, is very rarely seen.
_Turbot_ are caught in great plenty during the summer season. In Mount’s
Bay particularly, there have been instances of 30 being taken in an
evening, with the hook and line. When plentiful, they are generally sold
from 4d. to 6d. per pound.
_Mackarel_ are also caught in great abundance.
_Red Mulletts_ and _John Dory’s_, which are very delicious fish, are
very plentiful, but seldom caught eastward of Plymouth.
_Conger Eels_, of an extremely large size, weighing from 60 to 120lbs.
each, and which with their adder-shaped heads, have a very disgusting
appearance.
All sorts of shell fish are very plentiful, particularly _Oysters_; but
in general they are not so good as those found on the Kentish and other
coasts. The best sort are found in the creeks in Constantine parish, on
the river Heyl.
Respecting the _Mines_, the author of the General View of Cornwall,
says, “in a narrow slip of barren country, where the purposes of
agriculture would not employ above a few thousand people, they alone
support a population, estimated at nearly 60,000, exclusive of the
artizans, tradesmen, and merchants, in the towns of St. Austell, Truro,
Penryn, Falmouth, Redruth, Penzance, and others.”
The tin of Cornwall constituted a branch of commerce at a very early
period; the Phenicians and Grecians are said to be the first persons who
came to Britain to traffic for that article, but how long they enjoyed
the advantage cannot be exactly ascertained. On the discovery of the
secret that the Phenicians and Grecians had the means of procuring this
valuable metal in Britain, the Romans under Cæsar were induced to
undertake an invasion. Though they had possession of the mines for a
long period, it does not appear they made much progress in working them.
During the Saxon government, the tin mines are said to have been
altogether neglected, and the subsequent wars with the Danes and antient
Britons prevented the possibility of much progress being made in mining
concerns. After the Conquest, the mines were of little value to the
proprietors, and even in the reign of King John, the product of them was
so trivial, that the _Tin Farm_ amounted only to 100 marks, and the
King, with whom the right of working the mines solely rested, was so
sensible of their low state, that he bestowed some valuable privileges
on the county, by relieving it from the arbitrary forest laws, and
granting a charter to the tinners, &c.
During the time of Richard, King of the Romans and Earl of Cornwall, the
revenue of the tin mines yielded an immense return; at which time many
Jews appear to have been employed in working them. Notwithstanding this
success, the latter were banished from the kingdom in the 18th year of
the reign of Edward I., when the mines again became much neglected.
Shortly after a charter was granted (through Edmund, Earl of Cornwall)
to the gentlemen of Blackmoor, proprietors of the Seven Tithings,
affording the greatest quantities of tin; by which charter, more
explicit grants of the privileges of keeping a court of judicature,
holding pleas of action, managing and deciding all stannary causes, of
holding parliaments at their discretion, and of receiving as their own
due and proportion, the toll tin, or one-fifteenth of all tin raised,
were defined. At the same time, the right of bounding or dividing tin
grounds into separate portions, for the encouragement of searching,
appears to have been regulated; by which the labouring tinner, who might
discover tin in waste or uncultivated lands, became entitled to a
certain interest in the land, upon giving proper notice in the Stannary
Court to the proprietor thereof. The bounds limited the particular
portions of ground to which the claim was made, and were formed by
digging a small pit at each angle, so that a line drawn from each,
determined the extent of the claim. This practise still exists, and the
bounder is obliged to renew the pits every year, by removing any dust or
rubbish that might otherwise hide his land marks.
Carew says, that “this charter had a seal affixed to it, with a pick axe
and shovel in saltier.”
In consideration of the privileges granted by this charter, the
gentlemen tinners undertook to pay to Edmund and his successors, Earls
of Cornwall, the sum of 4s. for every hundred weight of white tin. To
secure the payment of that tax, they agreed that all tin should be
brought to places appointed by the Prince, and there weighed, coined,
and kept till the duties were paid.
In the 33rd of Edward I., this charter was confirmed, and the tinners of
Cornwall were made a distinct body from those of Devonshire, having
before been accustomed to assemble on Hengston Hill, every seventh or
eighth year, to arrange their concerns and property in the mines. The
laws and privileges of the Cornish miners were further enlarged in the
15th year of the reign of Edward III., and subsequent acts passed in the
reigns of Richard II., and Edward IV., which confirmed the previous
privileges, and the tinners divided into four bodies, and placed under
the superintendance of one Warden, reserving them an appeal from his
decisions, in suits of law and equity to the Duke of Cornwall in
council, or should the title be held in abeyance, then to the Crown.
A Vice Warden is appointed by the Lord Warden, to determine all stannary
disputes; he also constitutes four Stewards, (one for each precinct) who
hold a Stannary Court every three weeks, and decide by juries of six
persons, with a right of progressive appeal to the Vice Warden, Lord
Warden, and the Lords of the Prince’s Council. The original Stannary
Towns were Launceston, Lostwithiel, Truro, and Helston; to these places
the miners were obliged to bring their tin every quarter of a year. But
in the time of Charles II., Penzance was added for the convenience of
the western tinners.
All tin ores are wrought into metal in the county, and are afterwards
cast into blocks, weighing from 2½ cwt. to upwards of 3 cwt. each. They
cannot be disposed of till assayed by the proper officers, and stamped
with the Duchy seal, which bears the arms of Richard, Earl of Cornwall,
viz. a lion rampant, gules, crowned or, with a border sable garnished
with bezants.
Since the reign of Henry VIII. the coinages have been held quarterly.
The average annual produce of the tin mines is about 25,000 blocks,
which, exclusive of duties, may be valued at £260,000, and yielding a
revenue to the Duchy of Cornwall of about £10,000 annually. The most
considerable tin mines now working, are in the neighbourhood of St.
Austell, St. Agnes, and Piranzabuloe. The celebrated _Polgooth Mine_,
near the former place, however, has not been worked for upwards of 20
years past.
There are also many other valuable tin mines in the western districts,
north-west of Truro.
Besides the mines, there are several stream works in the county, which
have yielded immense quantities of tin.
“In digging a mine,” says _Dr. Maton_, “the three material points to be
considered, are the removal of the barren rocks or rubbish, the
discharge of water, (which abounds more or less in every mine,) and the
rising of the ore. Difficulties of course increase with depth, and the
utmost aid of all the mechanical powers is sometimes ineffectual, when
the workings are deep and numerous. Mountains and hills are the most
convenient for working, because drains and adits are then easily cut to
convey the water away into the neighbouring valleys. These adits are
sometimes driven (as the miners term it) to the distance of one, or even
two miles; and though the expense is enormous, these are found a cheaper
mode of getting rid of the water than by raising it to the top,
especially when there is a great influx, and the mine very deep. It
seldom happens, however, that a level can be found near enough for an
adit to be made to it from the bottom of a mine; recourse must be had
then to a _steam engine_, by which the water is brought up to the adit,
be the weight of it what it may. As soon as a shaft is sunk to some
depth, a machine, called a _whim_, is erected, to bring up either
rubbish or ore, which is previously broken into convenient fragments, by
pickaxes and other instruments. The whim is composed of a perpendicular
axis, on which turns a large hollow cylinder of timber, (called the
_cage_) and round this a rope winds horizontally, being directed down
the shaft by a pulley fixed perpendicularly over the mouth of it. In the
axis a transverse beam is fixed, at the end of which two horses or oxen
are fastened; and go their rounds, hauling up a bucket or _kibbul_, full
of ore or rubbish, while an empty one is descending. The ore is blown
out of the rock by means of gunpowder, and when raised from the mine, is
divided into as many shares or _doles_ as there are lords and
adventurers, and these are measured out by barrows, an account of which
is kept by a person who notches a stick for that purpose. Every mine
enjoys the privilege of having the ore distributed on the adjacent
fields. It is generally pounded or stamped on the spot, in the stamping
mill. If full of slime, it is thrown into a pit called the _buddle_, to
render the stamping more free, without choaking the grates, (thin plates
of iron full of small holes.) If free from slime, the ore is shovelled
into a kind of sloping canal of timber, called the _pass_, whence it
slides, by its own weight, and the assistance of a small stream of
water, into the box, where the _lifters_ work. The lifters are raised by
a water wheel, and are armed at the bottom with large masses of iron,
about one hundred and a half in weight, which pound or stamp the ore
small enough for its passage through the holes of an iron grate, fixed
in one end of the box. To assist its attrition, a rill of water keeps it
constantly wet, and it is carried by a small gutter into the _fore pit_,
where it makes its first settlement, the lighter particles running
forwards with the water into the _middle pit_, and thence into the
third, where what is called the slime, settles. From these pits the ore
is carried into a large vat, called the _keeve_, where it is washed and
rendered clean enough for the smelting house. Most of the tin mines now
working have steam engines, the advantages of which have proved a great
benefit to the proprietors of them.”
The famous _Wood Tin_, as it is called, has frequently been found in the
stream works. It nearly resembles the colour of _Hæmatites_, with fine
streaks, or _Striæ_, converging to the different centres like the
radiated zeolite. From the experiments of the celebrated Klaproth, wood
tin was found to yield 63 parts in a hundred of tin. The most general
state in which the tin of Cornwall is found, is the _calciform_, the
greater quantity of ore being indurated, or glass-like; and its most
prevalent matrix is either an argillaceous or a silicious substance, or
a stone composed of both, and called by the miners _caple_: none of the
calcareous _genus_ ever appear contiguous to the ore, except the
fluors.”
The discovery of the _Copper Mines_ in Cornwall is of a much later date
than those of tin, being about the year 1690. Although the propriety of
searching was strongly recommended by _Norden_ to King James, many years
expired before the real value of the copper mines was discovered.
Subsequent improvements and perseverance have rendered the copper mines
one of the most important branches of commerce in this county; and the
quantity of that valuable ore, now annually raised, is said to be worth,
upon a moderate calculation, the sum of £350,000, or £90,000 greater
than the value of tin. Copper ores are found in Cornwall, in great
abundance and variety. Native copper is sometimes found on the sides of
fissures in thin films, deposited by the impregnated water that runs
from the lodes. Veins of copper are also frequently discovered in cliffs
that are left bare by the sea, but the most certain sign of a rich ore
is an earthy ocherous stone, called _Gossan_, of a ruddy colour, and
crumbles like the rust of iron. Another sign of the presence of copper
is, when the ground is inclinable to an easy free working blue _Killas_,
intermixed with white clay. A white crystaline stone is also found to
contain a great quantity of yellow copper. The lodes of copper ore
generally lie deeper than those of tin, and its ores are mostly of the
pyritous and sulphurated kinds, with more or less arsenic. “The lodes,
both of tin and copper, appear most frequently to have granite for their
country, and to make an angle from 60° to 76° with the horizon.” The
_matrices_ of copper ore are very numerous. Among the blue ores, there
is one of an extremely fine blue earth. The grey ore is frequently
spotted with yellow and purple, but is deemed richest when of an uniform
colour throughout.
The copper ore is cleansed and dressed by the same process as that
adopted for tin, but as it generally rises in large masses, requires
less washing. Owing to the expense of importing coal, the ore is
disposed of after it is prepared for the smelting houses, and owing to
the expense of importing coal, the _Smelting Houses_ at _Hayle_ have
ceased working for a considerable time past. “Nothing,” says Dr. Maton,
“were so deleterious as the fumes of arsenic constantly impregnating the
air of these places, and so profuse is the perspiration occasioned by
the heat of the furnaces, that those who have been employed at them a
few months, became most emaciated figures, and in the course of a few
years are generally laid in their graves.”
The principal copper mines now working, are mostly in the neighbourhood
of Redruth, of which the Gwennass, United, Poldice, Huel Unity, Cook’s
Kitchen, and Dolcooth Mines, have yielded an abundant source of gain to
their numerous adventurers.
A very accurate and well executed geological map of the mining
districts, by Mr. Richard Thomas, was published in the year 1819.
_Lead_ is found in several parts of Cornwall, but not in any great
abundance. The ores are very dissimilar, but the sort most frequently
discovered is _galena_, or pure sulphuret of lead, which is found both
crystallized and in masses. Its colour is most of a bluish grey, and the
form of its crystals is generally the cube. The most common varieties
are the cube, truncated at the angles and corners, and the octahedron of
two four-sided pyramids, applied base to base. The principal mines are
Huel Pool and Huel Rooe, near Helston. There are also a few others on
the north coast, in the neighbourhood of Endellion and St. Minver, but
of little consequence. The oxides of lead are valuable for painting and
dying, and also for medicinal uses.
Among the numerous mineral productions of Cornwall, _Gold and Silver_
ought not to be omitted; the former has been frequently found in
extremely small granules, generally intermixed with the tin ore, in the
stream works. The largest piece ever found, is mentioned by _Borlase_ to
have weighed 15 pennyweights and 16 grains. The latter has been found at
different periods in considerable quantities, particularly in a mine
called _Huel Mexico_, some years ago, near St. Agnes; also in the
Herland Copper Mine, in the parish of Gwinear.—A particular account of
the discovery of silver in the Herland Mine, was furnished by the Rev.
Malachy Hitchins, and printed in the transactions of the Royal Society
for 1801. But it appears that after the mine was sunk to a considerable
depth, the works were abandoned, the expenses of the mine having
considerably exceeded the receipts.
Within the last three years, a considerable quantity of silver has been
discovered in a mine belonging to Sir Christopher Hawkins.
_Iron_, in rich lodes of red and brown ore, has been found in great
abundance, in many parts of the county, but there are not any iron mines
which have been much worked.—_Iron Pyrites_, or sulphuret of iron, occur
in most of the veins of copper, as well as some magnetical iron ore at
Penzance, and specular iron ore at Tin Croft Mine, in Illogan, Botallack
Mine, near the Land’s End, and other places.
A variety of other semi-metals are found in Cornwall; the most
remarkable of these are _Bismuth_, _Zinc_, _Antimony_, _Cobalt_,
_Arsenic_, _Wolfram_, _Menachanite_, and _Molybdena_, or _Sulphuret of
Molybdenum_; but a description of the places where they are found, or of
their several properties, has already been published in most of the
works relating to this county.
Notwithstanding the early part of the _History of Cornwall_ is enveloped
in obscurity, there is little reason to doubt that (particularly from
the writings of Leland) a _battle_ was fought between the renowned _King
Arthur_ and his nephew Mordred, in the neighbourhood of Camelford, in
which the former was slain; and that on the spot where the battle is
said to have taken place, several warlike antiquities have been found.
That during the incursions of the Saxons, several engagements took place
between them and the Cornish Britons, particularly in the time of
Athelstan, who in the year 926, is said to have completely defeated this
county and subdued the Scilly Isles, when considerable havoc and
depredations were committed. At subsequent periods, the Danish pirates
frequently landed, and committed great mischief in many parts of the
county, particularly in plundering the monasteries.
During the captivity of Richard I., several commotions took place in
Cornwall, and St. Michael’s Mount was seized upon, but afterwards given
up, and Henry de lu Pomeroy died through fear of the King’s anger.
In the year 1322, many of the Cornish people were smitten with an
enthusiasm of conquering the Holy Land, and left the county; but some
were executed, and others returned and repented of their folly.
When Queen Margaret landed at Weymouth in the year 1471, the people of
Cornwall and Devonshire, under the persuasions of Sir Hugh Courtenay, of
Boconnoe, and Sir John Arundell, of Langhorne, marched to Exeter and
accompanied her to Tewkesbury, when her troops were completely defeated,
and the Queen, after being ransomed, died a few years after in France.
At the latter end of the same year, John Vere, Earl of Oxford, took
possession of St. Michael’s Mount, and retained possession of it till
the February following, when (on his life being spared by the King) it
was surrendered to Sir John Fortescue.
In 1497, the people in Cornwall rose in rebellion, and marched to
Blackheath, in Kent, where they were defeated by Lord Dauberry, and
their ringleaders executed. Lord Bacon, says, “on this occasion, they
were armed with a strong and mighty bow, and had arrows the length of a
tailor’s yard.” Shortly after another rebellion broke out in Cornwall,
and no less than 3000 men joined the notorious Perkin Warbeck, and
marched to Exeter; but his wife, Lady Catherine Gordon, was taken a
prisoner from St. Michael’s Mount. A subsequent rebellion broke out in
the year 1548, under Humphry Arundell, who was defeated and executed,
together with many of his supporters.
During the civil wars in the 17th century, the inhabitants of Cornwall
greatly distinguished themselves by their bravery and loyalty; but
during the severe contests which took place, many valuable lives were
lost on both sides; especially as the insurgents had taken possession of
some of the antient fortifications in the county. Cornwall now furnishes
a regiment of militia, a corps of miners, and several troops of
yeomanry. During the late war with France, many volunteer corps were
raised, but fortunately their services were not required.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSION I.
_From Plymouth to the Land’s End; through Looe, Fowey, Lostwithiel,
St. Austell, Mevagissey, Tregony, Grampound, Truro, Penryn,
Falmouth, Helston, Marazion, and Penzance._
The great importance attached of late years to the towns of Plymouth,
Stonehouse, and Dock, in a commercial and nautical respect, has not only
tended to render those places of great consequence in the West of
England, but as travellers proceeding into Cornwall, generally take this
direction in preference to the one which enters the county near
Launceston, the following Excursion has been considered the most likely
to interest, and display the beauties of the southern part of the
county. The scenery of Plymouth and its vicinity are highly pleasing and
picturesque, particularly the views of Mount Edgecumbe and those on the
banks of the Tamar, which contrasted with the majestic appearance of the
numerous fine ships of war riding at anchor, form a picture truly
sublime. Previous to quitting this neighbourhood, however, the admirers
of the fine arts will derive much pleasure from visiting _Saltram_, the
magnificent seat of the Earl of Morley, which abounds with a great
variety of valuable paintings, the most eminent of which are the
following:
_St. Faith_, by Guido—In her right hand she holds her emblem of a white
flag, which forms the back ground of the head.
_Peasants playing at cards_, by John Lingleback; with a view of the
neighbourhood of the Forum at Rome, in the back ground.
_Galatea surrounded by Nymphs_—Domenichino; copied from the exquisite
Fresco, by Raphael, in the Farnesine Palace at Rome.
_Virgin and Child_, by Sassoferrato—This picture recalls the idea of the
celebrated Madonna Della sedia of Raphael, of whom the painter was a
close imitator.
_Landscape and Figures_—Karel du Sardin.
_Storm at Sea_, by Vandervelde.
_View near Tivoli_—Gasper Poussin.
_Group of Soldiers, or Banditti_—Salvator Rosa.
_Interior of a Cottage, with group of Peasants_—D. Teniers.
_A Conversation Piece_—A. Palamedes.
_Landscape, with ruins and antient sculpture_—Francesco Milo.
_Landscape and Figures_—Disk Dalens.
_Ditto_—Both.
_Daphne pursued by Apollo_—Francesco Albano.
_Landscape with Travellers, halting at a blacksmith’s shop_—P.
Wouverman.
_The incredulity of St. Thomas_—Gerard Hoel.
_St. Anthony and Christ_—Antonio Caracci.
_View of the Doge’s Palace at Venice_—Canaletti.
_A Negro’s Head_—Rubens.
_St. John and Christ_—Antonio Raffaelle Mengs.
_A Holy Family_-Frederic Baroccio.
_Two Views in Venice_—Canaletti.
_Three Female Figures, as Huntresses_, by Rubens; supposed to be his
three wives.
_Bolingbroke Family_—Vandyck.
_Seige of Maestricht_—Anthony Francis Vander-Meulen.
_A group of six Figures_, size of life—P. Veronesse.
_Adoration of the Shepherds_—Carlo Dolce.
_Figures with Goats and Sheep_—Berghem.
_Group of Sheep_—Albert Cuyp.
_Ulysses discovering Achilles_—Angelica Kauffman.
_Hector taking leave of Andromache_—ditto.
_Assumption of the Virgin, with glory of Angels_—Lorenzo Sabbatini.
_Portrait of Oliver Cromwell_—David Beck.
_Mercury_—Weenix. There are also near 20 fine productions by Sir Joshua
Reynolds.
A catalogue of the pictures has been printed at the expense of their
noble owner, for the use of strangers, who are at all times allowed to
have access to them. The situation of the house is one of the most
enchanting spots in England, and commands a number of diversified
prospects.
_Mount Edgecumbe_, the seat of the Right Hon. the Earl of Mount
Edgecumbe, is another beautiful spot embellished with fine promenades,
gardens, and shrubberies, perhaps equal to any in England. The house is
a very low building, erected about the year 1550, with battlements and
an octagonal tower at each angle. It contains a few fine family
portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The beauty of this spot has often
awakened the ideas of the poet; and who can quit it without enjoying the
same feelings which inspired the following lines?
“Farewell Mount Edgecumbe, all thy calm retreats,
Thy lovely prospects, and thy mossy seats;
Farewell the coolness of thy dark deep woods,
Farewell the grandeur of thy circling floods.
Where’er futurity may lead the way,
Where in this vale of life, I chance to stray—
Imagination to thy scenes shall turn,
Dwell on thy charms, and for thy beauties burn.”
After crossing the harbour to Tor Point, on the right, is _Thankes_, a
seat of the noble family of Graves, which commands a pleasing view of
the Harmoaze and surrounding country.
_Antoney House_, the seat of the Right Hon. Reginald Pole Carew, is an
elegant mansion beautifully situated on a branch of the Lynher Creek. It
contains a great variety of family portraits, and a few other fine
paintings, by Holbein, Vandyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other artists.
The village of ANTONEY is about three miles from Plymouth, and has a
very picturesque appearance from the road.—The _Church_ is a small
fabric situated on an eminence, and contains several handsome memorials
of the Carew family; one of which to the memory of Richard Carew, the
author of the Survey of Cornwall, has a long Latin inscription and the
following curious verses:
Full thirteen fives of yeares I toiling have o’erpast,
And in the fourteenth, weary, enter’d am at last.
While rocks, sands, storms, and leakes to take my bark away,
By grief, troubles, sorrows, sikness did essay;
And yet arriv’d I am not at the port of death,
The port to everlasting life that openeth.
My time uncertain, Lord, long certain cannot be,
What’s best to me’s unknown and only known to thee,
O by repentance and amendment grant that I
May still live in thy fear and in thy favor dye.
The prospects from the church-yard are extremely pleasing, and justly
merit the eulogium of one of our modern poets:
“The raptur’d eye now wanders round
The circling stretch of distant ground,
Where fading mountains crown the scene,
With many a fertile vale between—
Where sporting with the solar beams,
Famed Tamar winds her wanton streams,
And deck’d with villas, forts, and towns,
With woods and pastures, hills and downs,
With docks and navies—England’s pride—
And lighter barks that swiftly glide.”
About four miles from Antoney, to the right of the road after passing
Craft Hole, is _Sheriock Church_, an antient building containing some
curious tombs of the Dawnay’s, and a superb monument to the memory of
Sir Edward Courtenay and his Lady. The following beautiful lines are
also engraved on a memorial for one of the Duckworth Family, who died at
an early age:
Dear lost Penelope, and must this tomb,
Quench the sweet promise of thy opening bloom,
Crush the sweet harvest of a mind so fair,
Its early piety, its filial care.
No there are seeds that angry tempests brave,
These cannot perish in a timeless grave,
Sprung from the Tree of Life, to them ’tis given,
Though sown on earth, to germinate in heaven.
Passing from hence through the hamlet of Hessingford, at a short
distance is _Bake_, the seat of Sir J. S. Copley, Bart., His Majesty’s
Solicitor General, which is a handsome modern edifice, built on the site
of an antient mansion noted in former times as the residence of the
Moyle’s, and which was destroyed by fire a few years ago.
On approaching the towns of EAST AND WEST LOOE, the scenery becomes
highly romantic. These towns derive their appellation from the river, on
the banks of which they are built, and over which is a low narrow stone
bridge of 12 arches. Both places return members to Parliament, but in
themselves contain little to interest the traveller. Several delightful
modern residences have been built on the banks of the Looe river; among
the most prominent, is Col. Lemon’s, near Polvellan. The population of
both towns amounts to about 1300, and the inhabitants are mostly engaged
in maritime employments.
About three miles west of Looe, is _Trelawny House_, the seat of the
Rev. Sir Harry Trelawny, Bart., a venerable mansion, but built at
different periods. It contains a few good family portraits, particularly
one by Sir Godfrey Kneller, of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bishop of
Winchester.
In _Pelynt Church_, which is not far distant from the house, there is a
very curious monument to the memory of Francis Buller, Esq., who died in
l6l5.
About five miles from hence, is FOWEY,[5] an antient Borough and market
town, situated in one of the most delightful and romantic parts of the
county, on the western bank of the river, from which its name is
derived. It is distant 24 miles from Plymouth, and 244 from London. The
houses are very irregularly built, with foundations composed of a hard
bluish slate, (termed by Mineralogists, _Fat-quatz_, from its greasiness
to the touch,) and the principal street extends nearly a mile in length.
Fowey has returned members to Parliament since the 13th year of the
reign of Elizabeth, and the right of election is now chiefly vested in
the inhabitants paying scot and lot. The Corporation consists of a
Mayor, eight Aldermen, a Recorder, and Town Clerk. The number of
inhabitants, by the late census, amounts to 1455.
The _Church_, a handsome fabric, is composed of three aisles, with a
lofty pinnacled tower at the west end. In the north aisle is a noble
altar-tomb of marble, with a full-length figure of the deceased, in
alabaster, richly carved, and inscribed to the memory of John Rashleigh,
Esq., who died Aug. 11, 1582, with the following curious inscription:
┌──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┐
│JOHN RASHLEIGH LIVED YEARS │THE DEVONSHIRE HOUSE YET │
│ THREESCORE THREE │ RASHLEIGH’S HEIGHT │
│ AND THEN DID YIELD TO DIE, │ WELL SHOWETH FROM WHENCE │
│ HE DID BEQUEATH HIS SOUL TO │ HE CAME, │
│ GOD │ HIS VIRTUOUS LIFE IN FOWEY │
│ HIS CORPSE HEREIN TO LIE. │ TOWN │
│ │ DESERVETH ENDLESS FAME. │
└──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘
LANYON HE DID TAKE TO WIFE, BY HER HAD CHILDREN STORE, YET AT HIS DEATH
BUT DAUGHTERS SIX, ONE SON, HE HAD NO MORE: ALL THEM TO PARTAKE UNDER
HERE, BECAUSE FIT SPACE WAS NONE, THE SON WHOSE ONLY CHARGE THIS WAS, IS
THEREFORE SET ALONE.
There are also several other memorials of the Rashleigh and the Trespy
families in this church.
On an eminence near the church, is _Place_ or _Trespy House_, a very
antient building, and which is said to have been partly rebuilt in the
reign of Henry VI., by one of the Trespy family. It is an interesting
building and displays some rich Gothic work on the southern front; yet
has been greatly altered by modern improvements. The owner, J. T.
Austen, Esq., is a gentleman of considerable ability, and has furnished
Mr. Lysons with much information respecting this county.
The _Harbour_ of Fowey is spacious and well secured from the destructive
effects of storms, by the hills encircling it; and on rising ground near
the sea, are the remains of two _Towers_, said to have been erected in
the reign of Edward IV. There are also two other embattled square
_Towers_ on each side the harbour, now fast mouldering to decay, and
which in former times supported a chain across its entrance.
Fowey, like many other sea-port towns in early times, has suffered much
during the wars: at present its chief dependance is on the pilchard
fisheries. Other kinds of fish are also to be purchased in season, at
very reasonable rates, and the river abounds with fine salmon.
On the opposite side of the river, is POLRUAN, said by Leland, to have
been in former times, a place of considerable note; but now it consists
only of a few picturesque cottages. The ruins of an antient _Chapel_ and
an _old well_, surmounted by a stone cross.
_Menabilly_, about three miles west of Fowey, the seat of William
Rashleigh, Esq. late M.P. and Sheriff for the county, in the year 1820,
is a neat edifice of moor stone. The southern or principal front,
commands a view of the sea, but it is chiefly remarkable as containing a
very valuable cabinet of minerals,[6] and said to be the finest in
England. There are also many other curiosities in the house, and a few
fine drawings and portraits.
About a mile from this place, in a very sequestered spot, called
_Polredmouth_, stands an octagonal _Grotto_ of curious workmanship,
close to the sea, composed of an immense number of minerals, fossils,
&c. In the centre of it stands a very handsome table of 32 species of
polished granite.
As the parish church of Tyarwardeth is more than two miles distant from
Menabilly, a neat _Chapel_ has been built at the expense of Mr.
Rashleigh, adjoining his grounds.
The road from hence to Lostwithiel, is extremely dreary; the _Church
Tower_ of Lanlivery, a small village to the left, forms a pleasing
object.
LOSTWITHIEL is a very ancient Borough and market town, situated on the
high road to Falmouth from Plymouth, and 28 miles west of Tor Point. The
Corporation, consisting of a Mayor, six Aldermen, and 17 Burgesses, have
the right of electing the members to serve in Parliament.
The _Church_ is rather a handsome edifice, with one very lofty aisle and
two small ones; the tower at the western end is surmounted by a
singularly beautiful Gothic spire. The chief attraction of the interior
is a very curious and antient octagonal _Font_. It is supported by five
clustered columns, and charged with a representation of a huntsman
riding an ass, accoutred in a short jacket with a sword by his side, a
horn in his mouth, a hawk on his finger; a dog seizing a rabbit; an
ape’s head entwined with a snake; a representation of the crucifixion,
with a female figure on each side; and the arms of the Earl of Cornwall:
but the whole has been much obliterated and disfigured by a thick coat
of whitewash. The accompanying engraving, it is presumed, will be found
an accurate representation of this interesting relic of antiquity.
Lostwithiel is at present a town of little trade, although barges are
navigable to the quay, every tide, from Fowey. The houses are chiefly
built of stone with slated roofs, and amount to about 150 in number, and
the parish contains, according to the late census, 933 inhabitants.
At a short distance south of the church, are some considerable remains
of an antient _Exchequer_ or _Shire Hall_. It was no doubt formerly a
magnificent building; the walls are of great thickness, supported by
massy buttresses, and the interior contains a number of gloomy
apartments, ill calculated for the purpose for which it is now converted
into a Stannary Prison. On the exterior are the arms of the Duchy of
Cornwall with supporters, surmounted with the Prince’s plume well
carved. There is also here a neat _Town Hall_, erected in 1740, at the
expense of Richard Edgecumbe, Esq., in which the Summer Quarter Sessions
for the county are held.
The weekly market is well supplied with all kinds of provision, and
there are three fairs annually in this place.
About a mile and a half of Lostwithiel, on the summit of an artificial
mound, stand the venerable remains of _Restormel Castle_,[7] which in
former times was a place of considerable importance. History, however,
is silent as to the origin of this highly interesting fortification; and
as it is not even mentioned in the Doomsday Survey, it is generally
supposed to have been erected by Robert, Earl of Mortaign, and was the
principal residence of himself, and the subsequent Earls of Cornwall.
Prior to the reign of Henry the VIII., this place is said to have been
in a dilapidated state. The present remains chiefly consist of a
circular area of 110 feet diameter; the walls of which are nine feet
thick, secured by a deep moat, now choaked up with brambles and wild
plants. The entrance, on the south side, (which had formerly a
draw-bridge,) has an outer and inner arch supporting a square tower in
ruins. Round the area, the foundations of three regular suites of
apartments are easily traced, connected by two dark narrow stone
staircases leading to the top of the ramparts. The ruins are richly
overgrown with ivy, and being almost embosomed in wood, are very
pleasing objects to the lovers of the picturesque. It is now the abode
of owls, bats, and jackdaws; and unless disturbed by the occasional
visits of the curious traveller, they have seldom reason to complain of
Such as wandering near their sacred bower,
Molest their ancient solitary reign.—
_Restormel House_, the residence of John Hext, Esq. is a low embattled
structure, said to have been erected on the site of an antient chapel.
The demesne attached thereto, is now the property of the Earl of Mount
Edgecumbe. The valley in which Restormel House is built, with the castle
on the eminence, form for the artist a very pleasing picture, and have
often been admired.
_Boconnoc House_, formerly the seat of the late Lord Camelford, is now
the property of the Right Hon. Lord Grenville. It is a large plain
building, situated about three miles east of Lostwithiel, in a richly
wooded park well stocked with deer. The interior contains many handsome
suites of apartments, a good library, and among other works of art, a
fine bust of the late Earl of Chatham, on which the following panegyric
lines have been written:
“Here trophies faded, and revers’d her spear,
See England’s genius bend o’er CHATHAM’S bier,
Her sails no more in every clime unfurl’d
Proclaim her dictates to th’ admiring world.
No more shall accents nervous, bold and strong
Flow in full periods from his patriot tongue.
Yet shall th’ historic and poetic page,
Thy name, great Shade, devolve from Age to Age;
Thine and thy Country’s fate, congenial tell,
By thee she triumph’d, and by thee she fell.”—
On a commanding eminence, a short distance from the house, stands an
elegant-proportioned obelisk, 123 feet in height, with the following
inscription carved on the pedestal.
In gratitude and Affection
To the Memory of
Sir Richard Lyttleton,
And to perpetuate the Remembrance
which rendered him
The delight of his own age,
And worthy the Veneration of
Posterity.
1771.
The country between Lostwithiel and St. Austell is pleasing, and most
delightful views of the ocean occasionally present themselves.
On approaching the village of ST. BLAZEY, about half a mile to the
right, is _Prideaux Place_, at present the residence of David Howell,
Esq.; but what perhaps engrosses the particular attention of the
traveller, is a very fine bold promontory, nearly opposite the house,
and the lands about it are ornamented with young plantations. The
_Church_ is a small antient fabric, standing on an eminence close to the
mail road. From hence to St. Austell the distance is four miles.
Within one mile of that town, on the left, is PORTHMEAR or CHARLESTOWN,
now become of some considerable consequence, owing to the spirited and
laudable exertions of Mr. Charles Rashleigh. Since the year 1791, a
_Pier_ has been built, and the pilchard fishery carried on. Some
pilchard seans have been put on, and several buildings erected for that
purpose. Here from this place also, most of the _China clay_ brought
from St. Stephen’s is exported.
ST. AUSTELL is situated in a highly cultivated part of the county, on
the side of a hill. It is now become a very considerable and populous
market town, and with the parish, which is one of the largest extent,
contains no less than 6175 inhabitants. Although it has no claim to
antiquity, it is noticed only as a poor village in Leland’s times; but
the numerous _Mines_ in its vicinity,[8] have caused its present rapid
rise. The _Church_, which stands nearly in the centre of the town, is a
handsome fabric, ornamented with fanciful and grotesque sculpture.[9]
Over the principal entrance on the south side, are some curious cyphers,
the meaning of which has not been satisfactorily explained, by the most
intelligent antiquarians. The interior is commodious, and contains a few
good monuments. The _Font_ resembles that in Bodmin church.
The benefices of St. Austell and St. Blazey, are coupled together, and
are in the gift of the crown: it is now enjoyed by the Rev. Richard
Hennah. St. Blazey is famous for being the landing place of Bishop
Blaze, the patron of the woolcombing trade; whose effigy is in the
parish church, to whom it was dedicated, and from whom its name was
derived. In this parish also is held an annual festival, on the very
period which is observed for the commemoration of the great blaze by all
the woolcombers in the kingdom. In a field near the church is a stone
above seven feet high, and not above 18 inches square, whose inscription
is totally obliterated; but tradition says it was a sepulchral monument
of a West Saxon Chief. On it are several crosses engraven.
The market of St. Austell is held on Friday, the charter for which was
first bestowed by Oliver Cromwell, as a grateful reward for the heroic
exertions of one May, who had a seat near the town; and for his
particular gallantry displayed in a battle fought near Boconnoc, in
Cornwall. It is plentifully supplied with all sorts of provisions. A
large market, equal to a fair, is held annually on the day preceding
Good Friday. It has two fairs for bullocks, sheep, coarse woollen goods,
&c. The first is held on Whit Thursday, and the other on the 30th of
November. Since the year 1792, there have been two additional fairs, or
shows of cattle, held annually at this place; the one to be constantly
on the third Tuesday in July, and the other on the third Tuesday in
October. Both these last mentioned fairs are for horses, bullocks,
sheep, &c.
Although the manufactured commodities in St. Austell are not deserving
of mention, except it be in coarse woollens; yet its commerce in various
branches is very considerable, and its inhabitants numerous. They are in
general remarked for an industrious thriving people, deriving their
subsistence from trade.
Not far from the western parts of the town, are three very spacious
_Blowing Houses_. In two of them, cylinders are adopted instead of the
common-formed bellows, and this mode of operation is considered
preferable to the other.
There are _Quarries_ in this neighbourhood, which produce what is
commonly called china clay. Sometimes not less than 1000 tons per year
is shipped at Porthmear, and conveyed to Bristol, Liverpool, and Wales,
and from those places to Staffordshire; where it is manufactured into
porcelain.
Near this town, at a place called _Menacuddle_, is a waterfall, over
which is a small dilapidated arched _Chapel_, supposed formerly to have
been used as a place of retirement, for the sake of holy purification.
Although it is near the road, yet, being in a wood, is not easily seen.
It is a very pleasing subject for the pencil as a vignette, and has been
engraved on more than one occasion.
_Penrice_, which is only two miles south of St. Austell, is an antient
mansion, but has lately undergone a complete modernization by the
proprietor, Joseph Sawle Sawle, Esq.: it contains a few good family
portraits.
The ride from St. Austell to Mevagissey, a distance of six miles, is
very pleasing. The opening bay of the sea is a striking feature, and
bursts suddenly upon the traveller at a place called Portuan, within two
miles of Mevagissey.
As a fishing town, MEVAGISSEY ranks before any other in the county. It
has a spacious _Harbour_; and the town, having very narrow streets, is
chiefly built in a bottom; but has an imposing appearance when viewed
from the neighbouring heights, with the beautiful mansion and
plantations of Helegan forming the back ground.
The _Church_ is a small edifice, standing at the north-east entrance of
the town; but the tower has not been rebuilt, since it fell down a few
years back. The interior contains a handsome monument, with effigies of
the deceased, erected to the memory of Otwell Hill, Esq., and his wife,
who died in 1614, with the following curious inscription:
Stock Lancashire, birth London, Cornwall gave
To Otwell Hill inheritance and grave,
Frank, frugal, pleasant, sober, stout, and kind,
Of worde true, just in deede, men did him finde.
Two Raigns he served a justice of the Peace,
Belov’d he liv’d and godly did decease,
Mary his Wife, to overlive him lothe,
This Monument hath raised to them both.
Mevagissey contains near 400 houses, and according to the late census,
2450 inhabitants. About two miles from the town, is _Helegan_, the seat
of the Rev. Henry Hawkins Tremayne, a very elegant and substantial
residence, most beautifully situated and embellished with fine gardens
and shrubberies, and when perfectly finished, will be as handsome a
residence as any in the county. The present liberal proprietor possesses
great taste, and is daily improving the grounds, &c. The walk to the
_Battery_ close to the sea is really delightful, and the woody
plantations add greatly to the beauty of this residence.
_Caerhays_, the seat of John Bettesworth Trevanion, Esq. Lieutenant
Colonel in the Cornish Militia, is another beautiful mansion of a
castellated form, lately rebuilt at a very considerable expense from
designs of that eminent architect Nash.
About four miles from hence is TREGONY, a very antient Borough-town, and
in former times a place of some consequence. It formerly had two
_Churches_, a _Castle_, and _Priory_; but one of the former has long
since gone entirely to decay, and the one now remaining at the head of
the town, though very small, has a respectable and venerable appearance.
Scarcely a vestige remains of the Castle, which stood at the lower end
of the town. This is said to have been built by Henry de Pomeroy, on
behalf of John, Earl of Cornwall, at the time that King Richard I. was
in the Holy Land: it was standing, and was the seat of the Pomeroys, in
the reign of Edward VI.
In the year 1696,[10] Hugh Boscawen, Esq., founded an _Hospital_ for
decayed housekeepers, and endowed it with lands, now let at 30£. per
annum, but capable of being soon raised (at the expiration of the
present lease) to about three times that sum.
Tregony returned members to Parliament in the reign of Edward I., and
the right of election is vested in the principal housekeepers paying
scot and lot. According to the late census, the inhabitants amount to
1035, being an increase of only 112 since the year 1811. Tregony has a
market weekly, and five fairs annually.
On the north side of the town stood what is called Old Tregony, where
was a church dedicated to St. James, the walls of which were standing
when Tomkin made his collections about the year 1736: part of the tower
remained many years later. This church was a rectory, the advowson of
which belonged to the Abbey de Valle, in Normandy, and was given by that
convent, in the year 1267, to the prior and convent of Merton, in
Surrey, in exchange, together with the Priory of Tregony, a small cell
to that alien monastery. Mr. Whitaker says, that the site of the Priory
of Tregony was opposite the old mount of the castle, and speaks of a
doorway belonging to a stable, as having been the gateway of the Priory.
The rectory of St. James is held with the vicarage of St. Cuby.
There was also in the Borough of Tregony, a chapel of St. Anne, which
was a chapel-of-ease to the church of St. James.
_Trewarthenick_, about two miles from this place, the seat of the late
Francis Gregor, Esq., formerly M.P. for the county, is a pleasant and
comfortable residence, with a good library and a few portraits; one, of
Oliver Cromwell, is very fine.
RUAN LANYHORNE, a small village two miles south-west of Tregony, is
remarkable as having been for upwards of 30 years, the residence of the
Rev. John Whitaker, the learned author of the Ecclesiastical History of
the Cathredral of Cornwall, who died in the year 1808, aged 73 years.—A
few days after his decease, the following lines appeared in the Cornwall
Gazette, and are supposed to have been written by the late Fortescue
Hitchins, Esq. author of the poem called “_Tears of Cornubia_,” founded
on the melancholy loss of the St. George, in which Admiral Reynolds and
many Officers perished.
“Ah Whitaker, Cornubia’s proudest boast,
Thou brightest gem that ever genius lost
From her Tiara—must we then deplore
Thy last farewell, to time’s immortal shore,
Must we oppressed with unavailing grief,
Seek, (where thou sought’st) but vainly seek relief,
From fair philosophy; alas! too true,
Oh wisdom’s pride, oh virtue’s child! adieu!
Not even age that checks fond fancy’s flight,
And whelms the genius in Lethean night,
Could to thy powers one envious barrier raise,
Or blast the laurel of thy well-earned praise;
But like a cloudless morn, thy period passed,
Bright with superior virtues to the last.
When way-worn travellers, at day’s decline,
See yon grand orb with matchless lustre shine,
Urged by a sudden impulse of delight,
Heedless they wander of approaching night:
Till deeper shades o’erspread their devious way,
And every pleasure vanishes with day.
Then, Whitaker, true votaries of woe!
Robb’d of thy lustre, whither shall we go,
Go where we list—prophetic is the strain,
We ne’er shall look upon thy like again.”
From Tregony to Grampound the distance is about two miles, within half a
mile of which, on the left, is the parish church called _Creed_, a neat
embattled structure, pleasantly surrounded by foliage. Here, till very
lately, as rector, lived the Rev. William Gregor, one whom fame will
ever eulogize as a being of a superior order; he is well known as a very
scientific gentleman, and was the intimate friend of Mr. Whitaker. In
this parish is a capital modern-built house, with beautiful gardens and
fish ponds, the residence of the Rev. George Moore.
GRAMPOUND is remarkable as having been, till lately, one of the
Borough-towns of the county.[11] It principally consists of one street,
the houses having a decayed and mean appearance. Nearly in the centre
stand a very antient _Chapel_, and _Market-house_: the former, now fast
mouldering to decay, has a small septangular cross in front of it.
Grampound contains, according to the late returns, 668 inhabitants,
being an increase of only 67 during the last 20 years.
Crossing an antient bridge over the Fal at the bottom of the town, from
which its name is derived, the distance to Probus is two miles and a
half, and within one mile of that village, on the left, is _Trewitham_,
the seat of Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bart., M.P. It is a spacious
mansion, commanding a number of diversified prospects; the interior is
embellished with a few good paintings and portraits, and also contains a
very valuable selection of books. Much praise is due to its owner, for
his unwearied endeavours to promote the mining interests of the county.
He is a scientific gentleman, and has written a small interesting
Treatise on Tin, &c.
The _Church_ of Probus has often been noticed for the simplicity of its
architecture, the tower of which rises majestically to the height of 108
feet, which, contrasted with the low humble thatched cottages
surrounding it, has a very picturesque appearance. Each angle of the
tower is supported by a double buttress, diminishing in size as they
approach the top, which is embellished with embrasures, and 40 pinnacles
in eight clustres. The plinth, cornices, and upper story, are decorated
with a variety of sculpture, consisting of small figures, foliage,
fleurdelis, animals, and other objects. On the north and south sides are
three Gothic niches.[12] The interior contains a large marble monument
to the memory of Thomas Hawkins Esq., of Trewitham, on which is a female
figure reclining on an urn. The accompanying view of the church was
engraved from a drawing by the Rev. George A. Moore, of Garlennich, near
Grampound.
At a distance of two miles north from Probus, in the parish of Ladock,
in one of the most picturesque vales in the county, stands PESSICK,
which, though a very small village, possesses great beauties.
_Tregothnan_, the seat of the Earl of Falmouth, is indeed a beautiful
mansion lately erected at a very considerable expense, from the designs
of W. Wilkins, Esq., and, in point of beauty, is surpassed by none in
the county. The situation of the house is really delightful, and may be
considered as one of the most enchanting spots in the kingdom. It is
built on a gentle eminence commanding a great variety of extensive
prospects, which are enlivened by the winding courses of the river Fal.
In the construction of this mansion, the architect has made a very
choice selection of the most perfect examples extant. Its irregularity
of form, and variety of ornament, closely resemble the style of the
buildings erected during the reign of Henry VII. The great staircase is
42 feet in height, and occupies the large central tower, around which
are placed the drawingroom, (54 feet long by 28 feet wide,) book room,
dining room, billiard room, &c. A wide terrace with a parapet extends
round the south-western part of the building; the _Park_ is embellished
with some very fine timber, and a very pleasant ride has been formed
along the banks of the river, extending some miles.
The _Church_ of St. Michael Penkervil, which almost adjoins the park, is
an antient fabric, and contains a handsome monument by Rysbrach, to the
memory of the late Admiral Boscawen.
From Tregothnan, after passing Nopus Passage, the distance to Truro is
two miles.
The town of TRURO, which is generally and not improperly denominated the
metropolis of the county, is pleasingly seated in a valley, at the
conflux of the rivers St. Allen and Kenwyn, which (united with a branch
of the river Fal) become navigable for vessels of 100 tons. This town
appears to have been a place of some consequence even prior to the
Conquest, and, according to _Leland_, once possessed a _Castle_, and
enjoyed many privileges. Truro has returned members to Parliament since
the reign of Edward I.: the right of election, however, like most other
Boroughs in this county, is confided to the privileged few: the Mayor
and others of the Corporation, to the number of 18 or 20, are the only
voters.
The alterations and improvements made of late years at Truro, have
certainly given the town a very respectable and handsome appearance; the
streets being also well paved and lighted, this town is rendered more
comfortable than any other in the county. The Rev. Mr. Warner, in his
Tour through this county, published in the year 1809, says, “here all
the modes of polished life are visible in genteel houses, elegant
hospitality, fashionable apparel, and cautious manners;” which
observation, although not incorrect, may be attributed to the success of
the inhabitants in mining transactions.[13]
The _Church_ is a very beautiful Gothic fabric. It consists of three
aisles, with a modern tower at the west end, surmounted by a lofty
spire. On the north side the chancel is a monument, with a long
inscription to the memory of the courageous _Owen Phippen_, who died in
March, 1636:
Melcombe in Dorset was his place of birth,
Aged 54: and here lies earth on Earth.
There are several other memorials in this church, but none particularly
deserving of notice. Besides the church, there are no less than seven
other places of worship, for the different denominations of Christians.
Near the town, on a commanding healthy spot, stands the _County
Infirmary_, opened in the year 1799, under the patronage of his present
Majesty, but maintained entirely by voluntary subscriptions and
contributions. Truro has also a neat _Assembly Room_, convertible into a
Theatre; besides a _County Library_, established in the year 1792. A
Literary Society has lately been set on foot, and their _Museum_ is
already worth seeing. The Easter Quarter Sessions are also held in this
town; and the markets, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, are well supplied
with all kinds of provisions. The parish of St. Mary’s, with the
adjoining streets, contained, according to the late returns, 2712
inhabitants, or an increase of 230 since the year 1811.
The celebrated Samuel Foote, of dramatic celebrity, was a native of this
town.
The scenery in the immediate vicinity of Truro, is particularly
beautiful, and such as must delight every traveller; the town itself has
a very picturesque appearance, particularly so, when viewed from the
spot exhibited in the accompanying engraving.
The _Smelting house_ for _tin_, about a mile from Truro, on the Falmouth
road, is well deserving of notice, as it contains no less than 10
furnaces. Culm coal is used as the flax in the proportion of about
one-eighth to the ore, of which nearly 600 cwt. is smelted within six
hours, and yields about 350 cwt. of tin.[14]
About seven miles from Truro, is _Carclew_, the seat of Sir William
Lemon, Bart., M.P. and one of the most beautiful mansions in the county.
It is situated on an eminence in an extensive and rich wooded park,
rising from the valley through which the celebrated Carnon Stream Works
are conducted, and commands a number of delightful prospects. The house
is an elegant building of the Ionic order, composed of granite. The
portico in the centre, is connected with the wings, by colonnades. The
interior is not so spacious as many other residences in this county, but
contains some very handsome apartments, and the following paintings:
_Portrait of Pontius Pilate_, by Rembrant.
_Two Boys at Dinner, and a View in India_, by Murillo.
_Angels singing_, by Amioni.
_Landscape, with Water falling over a Rocky Precipice_, by Wheatly.
_A View in Italy_, by Stalbent.
_Landscape and Castle_, by Pynaker.
_Portrait of William Lemon, Esq. grand-father to the present Baronet._
_Portrait of Sir William and his Lady_, by Romney.
PENRYN is a large antient Borough and market town, pleasantly situated
about nine miles from Truro, at the head of a branch of Falmouth
Harbour. It was formerly embellished with a College, founded in the
thirteenth century, by Walter Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter, for 12
prebends, which continued until the dissolution of religious edifices in
the reign of Henry VIII., when its annual revenues were valued at £205
10_s._ 6_d._ This building is said by _Leland_, to have covered a space
of _three acres_, and to have been surrounded by embattled walls; but
every vestige of it has long since been entirely obliterated. Penryn was
incorporated in the 18th year of the reign of James I. and is governed
by a Mayor, eight Aldermen, 12 Common Councilmen, a Recorder, and
inferior officers. The right of returning two members by the same
charter, is vested in the Mayor, Aldermen, and all the inhabitants
paying scot and lot.—There is a silver cup and cover belonging to the
corporation, given by Jane, Lady Killigrew, with this inscription, “From
maior to maior to the town of Permarin, when they received me that was
in great misery, J. K. (Jane Killigrew) 1633.” Hals says, that this lady
had gone on board two Dutch ships with a party of ruffians, and having
slain two Spanish merchants, their owners, robbed them of two barrels of
Spanish pieces of eight. The lady, he adds, was by means of great
interest pardoned; but her accomplices all executed. Hals’s stories are
not much to be depended upon; it is more certain that she was divorced
from her husband, and that in consequence she was protected by the
inhabitants of Penryn, who bore no good will to Sir John Killigrew, and
his rising town of Smithick. Jane, Lady Killigrew, was daughter of Sir
George Fermor, Knt. of Easton Neston, ancestor of the Earl of Pomfret:
she died in 1648.[15]
In the centre of the principal street, which is composed of many antient
and irregular built houses, stand the _Market House_ and _Town Hall_,
the appearance of which is not very pleasing.
_St. Gluvias_, or the _Parish Church_, is over a branch of the river,
the tower of which, with the surrounding scenery, appears highly
picturesque, and attracts the attention of every one passing. The
interior contains a variety of handsome memorials to the Pendarves
family, once of Roscow, in this parish, and the following lines are
inscribed on a monument to the memory of the Rev. John Penrose, who died
in 1776, aged 63, after being 35 years vicar of this parish.
_If social manners, if the gent’lest mind,
If zeal for God, and love for human kind,
If all the charities which life endear
May claim affection, or demand a tear,
Then Penrose o’er thy venerable urn,
Domestic love may weep and friendship mourn._
_The path of duty still, the path he trod,
He walked with safety, for he walked with God;
When lost the powers of precept and of prayer,
Yet still the Flock remained the Shepherd’s care,
Their wants still nobly watchful to supply,
He taught his last best lesson, how to die!_
_Eny’s House_, the seat of Francis Ens, Esq., near Penryn, which was
erected before the reign of Edward I., has been in his family from that
time, and is noticed by Camden for its fine gardens and shrubberies: it
is still a residence of great respectability.
FALMOUTH, which is now become a very important and populous sea-port
town, is distant from Plymouth 55 miles, and 269 west of London. The
_Harbour_, which is considered one of the very best in England, is so
commodious and sheltered, that the most numerous fleet may ride here in
safety; and when it was surveyed a few years ago by Commissioner Bowen,
buoys for 16 sail of battle ships were laid down.[16]
Much disquisition and doubts have arisen regarding the origin of this
town; but it seems to be generally admitted, that it was a place of but
little consequence until the reign of James I., when the greater part of
the town was then built; neither was it incorporated until the 13th of
Charles II.
The town is chiefly built along the western shore of the harbour, the
houses forming a street nearly half a mile in length. Owing to the
improvements which have been made of late years, Falmouth has a very
prepossessing appearance, and is now inhabited by many respectable
families; but although the population of the parish amounts, by the late
census, to 6374, it is not represented in Parliament, whilst St. Mawes,
a mean fishing cove, on the opposite side of the harbour, possesses that
advantage.
The entrance to the harbour of Falmouth is fortified on each side, by
the _Castles_ of _St. Mawes_ and _Pendennis_. The latter has a very
magnificent appearance, being built on a rock, rising upwards of 300
feet above the level of the sea, and is almost insulated. This castle
was first erected in the reign of Henry VIII., but the works were
materially altered and strengthened in the reign of Elizabeth. It is now
strongly fortified, and contains commodious barracks for troops, good
storehouses, and magazines, besides a comfortable residence for the
Lieutenant Governor. In the time of the civil wars this fortress was
bravely defended against the Parliament forces, by John Arundell, of
Trenie, and was only surrendered on the same conditions as were granted
to other places.
_St. Mawes Castle_, although erected in the same reign as Pendennis, is
very inferior both in size and situation. The hamlet adjoining, is
remarkable only as being one of the Boroughs of Cornwall, and has
returned members to Parliament since the year 1562. The manor is now
vested in the Marquis of Buckingham, but the right of election is
confined to the freeholders only.
The _Church_ of Falmouth is a modern building, with a handsome altar,
&c. It contains several memorials, but none very remarkable. There are
several meeting houses in the town, for different sects, a small Roman
Catholic Chapel, and a Jew’s Synagogue; also a Public Dispensary and
Hospital for the relief and support of disabled seamen, their widows,
and children, which is liberally patronized.
The trade of this town, and its prosperity, have much increased by the
establishment of the packets that sail from hence every week to Lisbon,
Portugal, the West Indies, and other places; also by the detention of
fleets of ships, (particularly those outward-bound) which seek refuge in
its capacious harbour, and frequently remain many weeks till the gales
are more favourable.—Falmouth has a good weekly market, and two fairs
annually.
_Arwenack House_, remarkable as having been the residence of the
_Killigrews_, (one of whom, Sir William Killigrew, of notoriety in the
civil wars, lies buried in the church,) has been much altered from its
original plan, yet still possesses an antient appearance. A manuscript
history of the Killigrews, written by one of the family, says, that
there was only a single house at Falmouth, besides Arwenack (the seat of
the Killigrews,) when Sir Walter Rayleigh, being homeward-bound from the
coast of Guinea, put in there; that he was entertained at Arwenack, and
his men poorly accommodated at the solitary house, which, it is
probable, had been originally built for the entertainment of sea-faring
persons; that this celebrated navigator, being struck with the utility
of providing more extensive accommodations at the mouth of Falmouth
Harbour, for the officers and crews of homeward-bound ships, laid before
the council a project for erecting four houses for that purpose. It is
probable, that the single house here spoken of, was single as a house of
entertainment, and that there were also a few fishers’ cottages, though
too inconsiderable to have been described by Norden, even as a village.
The _Church_ of the village of Maylor, near Falmouth, is a very
picturesque building, containing a number of memorials, among which
there is a monument for Capt. Yescombe, of the King George Lisbon
Packet, who was killed in defending his ship against the enemy, in 1803.
_Trefusis House_, the property of Lord Clinton, in this neighbourhood,
is a very antient building, most delightfully situated; but not having
been inhabited for many years, is going rapidly to decay. Part of it is
now occupied as a farm-house.
On the right of the road from Penryn to Helston, in the parish of
Constantine, is a very curious massy rock, called a _Tolinen_; it is 33
feet long by 14½ feet wide, 18 feet high, and 97 feet in circumference.
In form it resembles an egg, and is poised on two natural rocks. Much
has been said as to the origin of this curious pile, but it is generally
supposed to have been erected by the Druids.
HELSTON, situated about 10 miles from Penryn, is a large respectable
town, built on the side of a hill, gradually sloping to the River Cober,
and is noticed by historians as a place of considerable antiquity, and
as having once possessed a Castle.[17]
It now principally consists of four streets built in the form of a
cross, with a handsome _Market-house_ and _Town Hall_. The _Church_, a
handsome fabric standing on an eminence, on the north side of the town,
was rebuilt in the year 1762, at an expense of £6,000, defrayed by the
then Earl of Godolphin. It contains a number of monuments, and a neat
altar-piece painted by Lane.
Helston has returned members to Parliament since the reign of Edward I.,
and the government of the town is vested in the Mayor, four Aldermen,
and 24 Assistants: they have exclusively the right of election and other
privileges.
The number of inhabitants, according to the late census, amounts to
2671, or an increase of 374 since the year 1811.
This town has long been noted for its remarkable Jubilee on the 8th of
May, on which day it has been customary with the inhabitants for ages
past, to cease from their labours, and participate in the rural
pleasures of the peasantry. Yet many of the foolish customs on this
occasion, have vanished before modern refinement, and even the
genteelest classes engage in the pleasures of the day, when the greatest
harmony usually prevails, and dancing with its consequent hilarity, is
kept up until a very late hour.
The scenery about the _Loo Pool_ is peculiarly fine and picturesque; it
combines every characteristic excellence for forming a good picture, and
affords many an interesting study for the landscape painter. The rocks
start abruptly from the margin of the lake, and a fine hanging wood
clothes the sides of the neighbouring hills. On the south, the prospect
is only terminated by a narrow bank of sand, which appears almost to
unite the sea with the lake: and indeed upon certain occasions, when the
pool is so full of water as to endanger the submersion of property on
the valley above, it has been found necessary to cut through this sandy
partition, and allow the overplus water of the lake, to flow away into
the main ocean. This indulgence, with the privilege of fishing for a
peculiar and valuable species of trout, is readily granted, on
application to the Lord of the Manor, John Rogers, Esq., of Penrose.[18]
On the western side of the Loo Pool, about two miles from Helston, is
_Penrose_, the seat of John Rogers, Esq., which has been considerably
improved, since it came into the possession of that gentleman.
A ride to the _Lizard Point_ from Helston, a distance of 14 miles, will
be highly gratifying to the lovers of romantic scenery, and which, to
use the expression of a celebrated tourist, “is rarely to be surpassed
in England.” The immense rocks which here rise in awful dignity to a
very considerable height, resisting the mighty violence of the ocean,
cannot fail to make a lasting impression on the minds of those who visit
this interesting spot.
The first place of any note, at about the distance of six miles from
Helston, is the little fishing village of MULLION. The tower of the
_Church_ forms a conspicuous feature in this part of the county.
Three miles from hence, is the celebrated Steatite or _Soap Rocks_,[19]
which have been of great use to the china manufacturers.
_Kynan’s Cove_, situated within a mile of the Lizard Point, is highly
deserving of notice, and is considered one of the most extraordinary
spots on the coast. It is composed of huge rocks of immense height,
partly projecting into the sea, and in one place so singularly formed,
as to resemble an arched grotto.[20]
In _Lanerwednack Church_, almost adjoining the Lizard, is a curious
antient _Font_.
The _Lizard Point_, is remarkable as being the spot from which all ships
leaving the Channel, date their departure; and notwithstanding two
_Light-Houses_ have been built, as beacons to warn the mariner of the
danger of steering too close to the shore, shipwrecks are not
unfrequent, particularly among foreign vessels, whose commanders may be
supposed to be unacquainted with the dangers of this part of the
coast.[21]
Returning to Helston over Goonholly Downs, in the parish of Mawgain, is
_Trelowarrens_, the seat of Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart., a very curious
and antient embattled mansion, containing fine portraits by Vandyke.[22]
The house and grounds were much improved by the late Sir Vyell Vyvyan,
and adjoining the house is a very neat _Chapel_, well fitted up with an
organ, &c.
In _Mawgan Church_, is a very antient tomb to the memory of the Carminoe
family, with the mutilated effigies of a crusader and his lady.
About five miles north of Helston, on the left of the road to Redruth,
is _Clowance_, the property of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart. It is an
antient building standing in an extensive park, surrounded by high
walls. This estate is said to have been in possession of this family,
ever since the reign of Richard II. Great improvements have been made by
the present noble proprietor, although he seldom resides here: the
plantations and grounds are arranged with great taste and judgment, and
tend greatly to enliven the dreariness of this part of the county. The
interior contains a number of fine family portraits, by Sir Peter Lely
and other eminent artists, besides a valuable selection of rare and
choice prints.
_Godolphin House_ is one of the most interesting mansions in the county,
and although going rapidly to decay, displays much of its former
grandeur. It is situated two miles and a half from Clowance, and about a
mile from the direct road to Marazion. The Godolphin family are said to
have possessed the manor, as far back as the time of William the
Conqueror; but the present mansion was built in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, by Sir Francis Godolphin. It also appears, that by his
successful adventures and perseverance in mining concerns, the customs
were increased above £10,000 per annum. Charles II. created Sir William
Godolphin a Baronet in 1663, and his son Sidney was made Baron Godolphin
of Rialton, in 1689. This nobleman displayed great ability in the House
of Commons, and filled several distinguished offices under the crown. He
died in the year 1712, and was succeeded by his son Francis, whose
youngest daughter married, in 1744, the Duke of Leeds, by which event
the Godolphin estates, are now become the property of the Osborne
family.[23]
_Pengersick Castle_, the remains of which chiefly consist of the keep,
and a machicolated gate, are highly deserving of notice. History is
silent as to the origin of this fortress; it however appears that the
manor and barter were purchased in the latter end of the reign of Henry
VIII., by a Mr. Milliton, (Job Milliton, who is mentioned as possessor
of St. Michael’s Mount, in the time of Edward VI.,) who having slain a
man privately, made the purchase in the name of his son, and immured
himself in a secret chamber in the tower, where he died without being
called upon to account for the offence! The remains are situated at the
bottom of an eminence, on the borders of a creek near the sea, and
although not very extensive, form a very interesting and picturesque
subject for the pencil of an artist.
The manor is chiefly the property of the Duke of Leeds, and William
Aremdell Harris, Esq.
From hence to Marazion, the distance is six miles, and a very pleasing
ride.
MARAZION or MARKET JEW, is a small town distant 286 miles from London,
and exactly 10 from Helston; but few places in England surpass it for
mildness of climate and agreeable prospects. This town is stated in
former times to have been a place of some consequence, and to have
suffered more than once by conflagration. It now consists of about 200
houses, chiefly built at the bottom of a hill, which shelters the town
from the cold north winds, and, by the late returns, contains about 1300
inhabitants. This town is governed by a Mayor, eight Aldermen, and 12
Burgesses, according to a charter granted in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, although it does not return members to Parliament.—It has a
weekly market, and two fairs annually.
The majestic appearance of _St. Michael’s Mount_, which has for ages
past been so much extolled for its singularity and beauty, cannot fail
to arrest the attention and admiration of every traveller.[24] Regarding
the origin of this wonderful object, much dispute has arisen among
antiquarians; but the circumstance that the mount was partly, if not
wholly, covered with wood, seems to be generally credited. When the
mount first became a religious spot, is uncertain; but a _Priory of
Benedictine Monks_ was founded by Edward the Confessor, which after the
conquest was augmented by Robert Earl of Mortaign, and continued until
the dissolution of religious houses in the reign of Henry VIII., when
its revenues were valued at £110 12s. per annum! The monks however were
frequently disturbed in their religious avocations, during the turbulent
state of early reigns; particularly by one Henry de la Pomeroy, who
treacherously took possession of this priory, during the imprisonment of
Richard I. in Germany, but who fearing the king’s anger, is said shortly
after to have died through grief.[25] From this and other circumstances,
the mount was fortified in a castellated manner, and in after times
became a place of considerable notoriety, particularly during the
contentions in the reign of Charles I.[26] After the dissolution, it was
granted to Humphrey Arundell, of Lanherne. In the reign of Edward VI. it
was leased to Job Milliton, Esq. Sheriff of Cornwall, and passed through
the hands of several persons, until it became the property of the St.
Aubyn family, and now belongs to Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart., of Clowance,
who has converted the remains of the priory into an occasional summer
residence. Attached to it is a very pretty _Chapel_, in which divine
service is occasionally performed; the seats are extremely well carved
and ranged on each side, much in the manner of stalls in cathedrals. At
the western end, an organ has been recently erected, and may be
considered one of the finest instruments in the county. In the
alterations which have taken place, great attention has been paid to
preserve the original character of the buildings, and the dining room
(which was the refectory of the convent) has a curious frieze in stucco,
displaying the mode of hunting several wild animals.
The mount is chiefly composed of granite, and the passage to its summit,
which is on the north side, is extremely steep and craggy. At high water
it appears a complete insulated mass of rock, gradually diminishing in
size from the base, until it forms a pyramid, nearly 240 feet high. The
prospects from the summit cannot fail to raise the most lively emotions,
as the eye ranges over a vast range of the ocean, and which appears the
more noble, when contrasted with the humble dwellings of the poor
fishermen beneath.
During the early part of the last century, the _Pier_ was rebuilt and
enlarged, and is now capable of affording great shelter to vessels; the
advantage of which to the fishermen on the coast is incalculable, as
they often put in here for safety in stormy weather. Most of the persons
who have taken up their abode on the north side of the mount, are
engaged in fishing pursuits, where many cottages have been erected for
them.
After proceeding about three miles over the sands of Mount’s Bay, is
PENZANCE. This town has long been noted for the pleasantness of its
situation, the salubrity of its air, and the beauty of its natives; and
is in consequence much resorted to by travellers, who, in most
instances, have derived more benefit than they had anticipated. Indeed
the mildness of the climate of Penzance, is often compared to that of
Italy. It is situated on the north-west side of Mount’s Bay, and distant
little more than 10 miles from the Land’s End, and 283 from
London.—Owing to the improvements made of late years, Penzance is now
become a very populous and highly respectable place,[27] and altogether
possesses as many claims as any watering place in the kingdom. The
Corporation consists of a Mayor, eight Aldermen, 12 Assistants, and a
Recorder; but, like Marazion, does not return members to
Parliament.—Beside the chapel dedicated to St. Mary, there are separate
meeting-houses for Methodists, Quakers, and Jews.
A very considerable trade is carried on here in the pilchard fisheries,
and from thence great quantities of tin and copper are also exported.
The market here is abundantly supplied with fish, and all kinds of
provisions are remarkably plentiful and reasonable.
About half a mile from the town, is the celebrated _Wherry Mine_, which
has not been worked since the year 1798, owing to the great danger
attending the progress of the works. The opening of this mine, says Dr.
Maton, “was an astonishingly adventurous undertaking. Imagine the
descent into a mine through the sea, the miners working at the depth of
12 fathoms below the waves; the rod of a steam engine extending from the
shore to the shaft, a distance of nearly 120 fathoms; and a great number
of men momentarily menaced with an inundation of the sea, which
continually drains in no small quantity through the roof of the mine,
and roars loud enough to be distinctly heard in it.” Tin is the
principal produce of this mine, and the ore is extremely rich.
On the western side of Mount’s Bay, about a mile and a half from
Penzance, is the small fishing town of NEWLYN, and the village of
MOUSEHOLE; the latter remarkable only as having been the residence of
_Old Dolly Penkeath_, the last person said to have spoken the Cornish
dialect, and who died at the age of 102 years, in the month of January,
1778.
About three miles from hence, at a place called BOSCAWENUN, close to the
sea, is a very curious piece of antiquity, composed of two large flat
stones, one resting on a natural rock, and the other on three large
stones; but whether this singular pile is the remain of some Druidical
monument, or may be classed under the denomination of _Roman
Antiquities_, is a matter not easily determined. The most interesting
Druidical remains in this neighbourhood, are a pile of stones, between
St. Burian’s and Sarund, consisting of 19 in number, set upright in a
circle 25 feet diameter, one large stone being in the centre.
ST. BURIAN, the next place of any note, was once remarkable as having
possessed a college of Secular Canons, said to have been founded by King
Athelstan, after the conquest of the Scilly Isles; but not a vestige of
this antient edifice now remains. St. Burian’s, however, is an
independent deanery, in the gift of the King, and under the jurisdiction
of the Bishop of Exeter.
The _Church_, which stands on a commanding eminence, and serves as a
land mark, is a spacious fabric, consisting of three aisles, and
contains several curious monumental remains; but when it was repaired in
1814, a handsome carved screen and other relics of antiquity were
removed. Near the south porch, which is ornamented with embrasures and
pinnacles, is a small cross,[28] raised on four steps, with a circular
head perforated with four holes, and on one side is a representation of
the Crucifixion. In this parish are several decayed seats, now mostly
occupied by farmers, which formerly belonged to several eminent persons
in the county.
The celebrated _Logan_ or _Rocking Stone_ at Treryn Castle, in the
parish of St. Levan, is highly deserving of notice, and indeed is
considered as great a curiosity as any thing in Cornwall. This
extraordinary stone, or immense block of granite, supposed even to weigh
90 tons, is so balanced on the summit of an immense pile of rocks, that
one individual, by placing his back to it, can move it to and fro
easily.
“Behold yon huge
And unhewn sphere of living adamant,
Which, pois’d by magic, rests its central weight
On yonder pointed rock, firm as it seems,
Such is its strange and virtuous property,
It moves obsequious to the gentlest touch.”
The stupendous and majestic appearance of the rocks which form the
Promontory of the _Land’s End_, the raging of the ocean beneath, the
incessant screaming of sea gulls and other wild birds, when disturbed by
the sight of man, raise the strongest emotions of admiration and
astonishment. On a ridge of rocks, called the Long Ships, a
_Light-House_ was erected in the year 1797, by a Mr. Smith, under the
sanction of the Trinity Board.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSION II.
_From the Land’s End to Stratton; through St. Ives, Camborne,
Redruth, St. Columb, Padstow, and Camelford._
St. Just, about five miles from the Land’s End, is the first place of
any note in this direction, and is situated about seven miles from
Penzance; but chiefly remarkable as the birth-place of the celebrated
Dr. Borlase, the historian of the Natural History and Antiquities of
this county.[29]
“The road to St. Ives,” says Dr. Maton, “when returning from the western
part of the county, passes near numerous shafts of mines, which render a
journey over this part of the country by night extremely dangerous. The
moor stone or granite lies dispersed in detached blocks, many of them
huge enough for another _Stone Henge_. Scarcely a shrub appears to
diversify the prospect, and the only living beings that inhabit the
mountainous parts are the goats, which browse the scanty herbage.”
ST. IVES is a very antient and populous sea-port town, situated near the
north-east angle of a very fine bay, about eight miles from Penzance;
seven from Marazion; 13 north-west from Helston; 14 west from Redruth;
and 277 from London. In antient records, this town was called
_Porth-Ia_; and it is said to have derived its name from St. Hya, or Ia,
an Irish saint, who came over to Cornwall accompanied by St. Breaca and
others, and was buried in the church at this place.
It has a good _Pier_, erected by Smeaton, about 40 years ago; but the
streets being very narrow, irregular, and dirty, the town has but a poor
appearance in itself, yet when viewed from the environs, it has a very
picturesque effect. It is also one of the Borough-Towns of Cornwall, and
the right of electing the Members of Parliament, is vested in the
Corporation and all the inhabitants of the town and parish paying scot
and lot. According to the late returns, the parish contains upwards of
3000 inhabitants. A considerable traffic is carried on at St. Ives, with
the Bristol merchants, besides the Pilchard Fisheries; but this port,
like most others on the north coast, is much incommoded by the quantity
of sand driven in by the north-west winds.
Speaking of St. Ives, Leland observes that “most part of the houses in
the peninsula be sore oppressid or overcovered with sandes that the
stormy windes and rages castith up there. This calamte hath continuid
ther litle above 20 yeres.” Again he says, “the best part of the toun
now standith in the south part of the Peninsula, toward another hille
for defence from the sandes”. Norden describes the haven as much annoyed
with sands, and unfit for receiving ships of any burden. “The town and
port of St. Ives,” says Carew, “are both of mean plight; yet with their
best means (and often to good and necessarie purpose) succouring
distressed shipping. Order hath been taken,” he adds, “and attempts made
for bettering the road with a peer; but eyther want or slacknesse, or
impossibilitie, hitherto withhold the effect: the whiles plentie of fish
is here taken and sold verie cheap.” Holinshed has mention of a
light-house, and block-house, near St. Ives, to the following effect. On
“a little byland cape or peninsula, called Pendinas, the compass not
above a mile, standeth a Pharos or light for ships that sail by those
coasts in the night. There is also a block-house and a peer on the east
side thereof, but the peer is sore choaked with sand, as is the whole
coast from St. Ives unto St. Carantokes.” There is still a battery on
the eastern side, and the old pharos, which still exists, is used for
depositing government stores.
Sir Francis Basset, member for this town in the reign of Charles I.,
gave the Corporation a handsome cup, on which is the following singular
inscription:
_If any discord ’twixt my friends arise,
Within the borough of beloved St. Ives,
It is desyned that this my Cup of Love,
To evince one a Peace Maker may prove.
Then am I blest to have given a legacie
So like my harte unto posteritie._
This Sir Francis Basset, (who was of Tehiddy) procured for St. Ives,
from King Charles, in the year 1639, its first charter of incorporation;
under which the body-corporate consisted of a Mayor, 12 capital
Burgesses, and 24 inferior Burgesses: but by the subsequent charter of
James II., granted in 1685, the Corporation consists of a Mayor,
Recorder, Town clerk, 10 Aldermen, and 12 Common-council-men. Four of
these are Justices of the Peace, and hold a Sessions. It appears that
before the incorporation, the chief officer of this town was called the
Mayor or Portreeve; and it is said that one Payne, who held that office
in the reign of Edward VI., was executed by order of Sir Anthony
Kingston, for being concerned in Arundell’s rebellion.[30] The Borough
has sent members to Parliament ever since the reign of Philip and Mary.
The Rev. _Jonathan Touss_, the learned annotator on Sudidas, and editor
of Longinus, was born at St. Ives, and died at the age of 72, in the
year 1785, after being 34 years rector of St. Martin’s, near Looe.
The _Church_ is a low antient fabric, situated near the seashore, and
contains a curious _Font_, the body of _St. Ia_, the foundress of the
church, and the patroness of the town.
On the summit of a hill, near the town, is _Treguma_, a modern
castellated building, the seat of S. Stephens, Esq. which commands a
fine prospect of the sea. About a mile from the house, is a pyramid
erected to the memory of the late John Knill, Esq., of Gray’s Inn,
London, and secretary to Lord Hobart, when Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
who by will, directed that at the end of every five years, an old woman,
and 10 girls under 14 years of age, should walk in procession with
music, from the market-house at St. Ives, to this pyramid, round which
they should dance and sing the 100th Psalm, and for which purpose he
gave some freehold lands.[31]
About four miles from St. Ives, at a place called _Hayle_, situated on
the eastern bank of the river of that name, were, till lately, several
houses for smelting copper, but which have been discontinued, owing to
the too great expense necessary to be incurred. The process of smelting
the ore and rolling the metal, was brought to great perfection at these
works, but materially effected the constitution of the poor men employed
in them. A very considerable trade is however carried on at Hayle, in
timber, iron, limestone, and Bristol wares.
On the west side of the harbour, is _Trevethoe_, the property of Wm.
Praed, Esq. The house stands in a very pleasant situation, and the
grounds have been much improved by the introduction of the pine-aster
fir, which flourishes extremely well in this part of the county.
The county between this place and Redruth, has long been celebrated for
its numerous mines, some of which have produced a golden harvest for
their proprietors, and have given employment to many hundred persons.
In the midst of them stands CAMBORNE, which has in consequence become a
considerable market town, and has four fairs annually. The market-house
was erected at the expense of Lord de Dunstanville.
The _Church_ is an antient fabric, and contains some elegant memorials
of the Pendarves family, a handsome marble altar-piece, and a curious
carved stone pulpit; but its antient font has been removed to the
gardens at Tehiddy. According to the late returns, the population of
Camborne is stated at 6219, or an increase of 1005, during the last 10
years.
_Pendarves_, in this parish, the seat of Edward William Wynne Pendarves,
Esq. is a large handsome building, situated on a commanding eminence,
and has lately undergone many judicious improvements.
About four miles to the left of the road to Redruth, and the same
distance north-west of that town, is _Tehiddy Park_, the seat of the
Right Hon. Lord de Dunstanville, which forms a noble feature in this
part of the county. It is a handsome edifice, chiefly built of Cornish
free-stone, with detached wings at the angles, and erected in the early
part of last century. It is embellished with a number of fine paintings,
of which the following are most worthy of notice.
_King John signing Magna Charta._—Miller.
_The Cascade of Terni_, and another of the
_Cascatellis of Tivoli_, with _Mecœnuskilla_.—More.
_The Lake of Nirni._—Dulancy.
_The Death of Lucretia_, & a _Venus and Cupid_.—Gavin Hamilton.
_The Three Graces._—Rubens.
_A Philosopher with a skull in his hand._—Rembrant.
_A Nativity_, and a _Flight into Egypt_.—G. Bassan.
_Herodias, with the Head of John the Baptist._—Bonomi de Ferrari.
_Sketch of our Saviour appearing to St. Bruno._—Lanfrane.
A small picture of a _Nun_.—Carlo Dolcii.
_A Battle Piece._—Burgognon.
_Portrait of a Venetian Senator._—Pordenon.
A whole-length _Portrait of Gen. Massey_.—Vandyke.
Ditto _of Sir Francis Basset_, Vice-Admiral of Cornwall.—Ditto.
_Chief Justice Keybridge and his Wife._—Peter Lely.
_Lady Masters, aged 74_, sister to Sir Francis Basset.—Godfrey Kneller.
_The late Sir John St. Aubyn and the late Francis Basset_, Esq.—Hudson.
_Lord de Dunstanville and his Lady._—Gainsborough.
_Ditto_, when about 18 years of age, in a vandyke dress.—Sir Joshua
Reynolds.
_Sir John St. Aubyn._—Ditto.
_John Prideux Basset._—Ramsey.
The extent of Tehiddy Park amounts to about 700 acres, and the grounds
have been much improved and beautified by extensive plantations, since
the present nobleman succeeded to this estate.
Two miles south of Tehiddy, and within the same distance of Redruth, is
_Carn-bre’ Hill_, a very interesting spot, and considered by Borlase,
(from the numerous remains of cromlechs, basons, circles, and kairs, in
its vicinity) to have been the principal seat of Druidical worship in
this neighbourhood. Notwithstanding many other writers have coincided in
this opinion, yet it is evident from the observations of one of the most
learned Antiquarians, that these remains _do not exhibit a complete
system of Druidical worship_, and _Dr. Maton_ also observes, “these
rocks exhibit awful vestiges of convulsions, and the immense detached
masses of granite, which appear about to roll down their declivities,
awaken sublime ideas in the mind of a spectator.” Neither is there any
appearance of systematic designs in the remains alluded to.
On the eastern side of the hill, stands _Carn-bre’ Castle_, erected on a
vast ridge of rocks, which not being all contiguous, are connected by
arches turned over the cavities. One part of this fortress is very
antient and pierced with loop holes, but the other seems more modern,
and is supposed to have been erected to embellish the prospect from
Tehiddy, and from its elevated situation, being nearly 700 feet above
the level of the sea, commands a most extensive view of the surrounding
country. In the year 1749, several gold coins and other relics of
antiquity, were found in digging a part of the hill, and a plate of them
is given in Borlase’s Work.
REDRUTH, which is supposed to be one of the most antient places in the
county, is now become a very considerable and populous market town. It
principally consists of one long street, built on the side of an
eminence, in the very bosom of the mining district.
The _Church_, which was rebuilt about 50 years ago, is a neat edifice,
standing nearly a mile from the town; and the rectory is in the gift of
Lord de Dunstanville.
Redruth has two markets weekly, and three fairs annually. The population
of the parish, according to the late returns, amounts to 6,000.
_Scorrier House_, about two miles from Redruth, the seat of John
Williams, Esq., contains a very valuable collection of minerals.
The country between Redruth and St. Agnes, appears extremely desolate
and barren, as a late writer has observed—“like the shabby mien of a
miser, it’s aspect does not correspond with its hoards;” since there are
more mines in this part of the county, than any other.
ST. AGNES is a small town, on the northern coast, nine miles from Truro,
and 267 from London, and had formerly a considerable harbour, now
choaked up with sand; and the quay has been partly washed down by the
impetuosity of the waves, but is now in tolerable repair.
The lover of the picturesque, however, will be highly pleased at the
grandeur of the rocks, which face the shore at this part of the coast;
and here is a remarkable stupendous mountain, called _St. Agnes’
Beacon_, rising pyramidically to the height of more than 600 feet above
the level of the sea. The beacon on the top is greatly dilapidated, yet
is particularly valuable to vessels passing this coast. An antient well
at this place, has been much extolled, and many miraculous stories are
told regarding its virtues.
St. Agnes has to boast of the birth of that celebrated painter, Opie,
and one of the members of the Royal Academy, who died so much lamented,
at an early age. His Lectures on Painting have since been published,
with his portrait, and are highly interesting and useful to the artist.
The _Church_ is an antient edifice, and is consolidated with the
vicarage of Piranzabuloe, being in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter
of Exeter. There are also several antient manors in this parish. The
population, according to the late returns, amounted to 5,762, being an
increase of 738, since the year 1811.
In PIRANZABULOE, the adjoining parish, is of a circular amphitheatre,
with a rampart and fosse surrounding it, called _Piran Round_. The area
is about 130 feet in diameter, and it is supposed to have been
originally designed for the performance of Cornish interludes, or where
plays were acted.
_Perraw Porth_ in this parish, is much resorted to during the bathing
season, on account of its fine sandy beach, &c.
_Trerice_ in Newlyn, is one of the most interesting antient buildings in
the county, and although going to decay, still displays much of its
original grandeur. The principal entrance hall being very spacious, is
lighted by a fine large window of 24 compartments, and over the
chimneypiece in the drawing-room, (which is in a very deplorable state,)
are the arms of the Arundel family, who resided here at a very early
period. It is now the property of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., and at
present is occupied by a respectable farmer.
About three miles from hence, in the parish of St. Columb Minor, are
some considerable remains of _Railton Priory_, and which is said to have
been founded by Prior Vivian of Bodmin, who is noticed in a subsequent
part of this work.
The remains are seated in a romantic valley, and principally consist of
the entrance gateway, and an inner court with an embattled dwelling,
lighted with three Gothic windows. There is also a very antient _Well_,
at the back of which is a curious carved niche, with a pedestal for an
image. At different parts of the building are several coats of arms of
the founder, and a stone with some curious characters upon it. The
accompanying view exhibits the most interesting and entire part of this
religious building.
Quitting this sequestered spot, on ascending the hill leading to St.
Columb, on the left, stand the ruins of _Nanswhyden House_, the seat of
the late Robert Hoblyn, Esq., and which was unfortunately destroyed by
fire, in 1803, together with the whole of the furniture in it. The house
was one of the handsomest buildings in the county, and erected from the
designs of Potter, at an expense of upwards of £30,000. It had a very
valuable library, which fortunately escaped this catastrophe, having
been sold before by auction in London, after the sale lasting 25 days.
The catalogue was embellished with a portrait of the owner, and is now a
valuable relic of literature.
At MAWGAN, a romantic village three miles north-west from St. Columb, is
_Lanherne_, formerly the residence of the Arundels; but remarkable as
being the abode of several Carmelite Nuns from Antwerp, and the only
nunnery now existing in this county. It is a very antient building, and
contains a neat _Chapel_ adorned with a few good paintings, brought
hither at the time the nuns emigrated to this country. The east front of
the house being the principal, displays much of its original character,
but the whole is an interesting pile of building. It is now the property
of Lord Arundel, of Wardour Castle, who takes great pleasure in
affording an asylum, and attending to these unprotected women:
“Oft the musing passer by
At the Mansion casts his eye,
Griev’d for the devoted host,
There to social freedom lost.”
The nuns are very strict and regular in their devotions, and employ
their leisure time in the manufacture of fancy articles, which are
disposed of to those persons who visit the place. Although this
indulgence is allowed, the nuns are seldom seen, except at a funeral,
when the whole of them attend the corpse, to the end of the lawn in
front of the house.
The _Church_ of Mawgan almost adjoins Lanherne, and is a very antient
fabric, containing a great variety of curious brass monumental
inscriptions, but several of them have been defaced. The carving of the
screen which separates the chancel, is a fine piece of workmanship. In
the church-yard stands a very curious and antient _Gothic Cross_, on the
east side of which is a niche containing the Crucifixion, sculptured in
pretty high relief. In the niche on the west side, is carved a subject,
taken no doubt from some legend, consisting of the figures of a king and
queen; the latter in the dress of the fourteenth century, kneeling on
one side before a desk. On the other side, is a large bolt with a
serpent coiled round it, which seems to be biting the face of the king,
whilst an angel holds its tail.[32] The whole is in tolerable fine
preservation, but for whom, or for what purpose it was erected, has
never been ascertained.
_Carnanton_, in this parish, the seat of James Willyams, Esq., is a neat
and commodious building, but almost surrounded by trees. An earthen
vessel was lately found near this house, containing near 700 silver
English coins of different reigns, in fine preservation.
_Trewan_, the seat of Richard Vyvyan, Esq, the late Sheriff for the
county, is situated on the brow of a hill facing the south, commanding a
fine view of the town of St. Columb. It is an irregular building of
granite, said to have been erected in the year 1633, and the interior
contains several handsome apartments; but the drawing room being richly
ornamented with sculpture, representing the principal events of the Book
of Genesis, is highly deserving of notice.—There are also a few good
portraits, and a fine picture of a Shipwreck, by Vandervelde.
ST. COLUMB MAJOR, as it is called, to distinguish it from a parish of
the same name adjoining the village, but of less consequence, is a
considerable market town; and although not situated on the high mail
road to Truro, yet is a town of some importance on the northern side of
the county. It is built on an eminence, and contains a few good houses;
the _Market-house_ has an antient appearance. It is situated 11 miles
north-west of Bodmin, and 15 from Truro; but after leaving the regular
high mail road, the other roads winding to the town are very bad and
dirty.
The _Church_ is a large antient fabric; but has, perhaps, been
injudiciously altered from its original design. The interior contains a
variety of memorials, one of which has a handsome bust of the deceased
Robert Hoblyn, Esq. of Nanswhyden, who represented the City of Bristol
in three Parliaments, and died in the year 1756. The living of St.
Columb is the best in the county, and computed to be worth at least
£2000 per annum, and in the gift of the Rev. George Moore, of
Garlennick, near Grampound.
The population of the parish, according to the late returns, amounted to
about 2,493. It has a market every Thursday, and two fairs annually.
About two miles from the town, to the left of the road leading to
Bodmin, but in St. Columb parish, is _Castle-an-Dinas_, a noble
entrenchment, originally fortified with three circular walls, and an
immense ditch. It is generally supposed to have been constructed by the
Danes, and was a permanent fortified residence of some Scandinavian
Chief. The diameter of the space enclosed, is 400 feet; and the
principal ditch is 60 feet wide. Castle-an-Dinas, Dr. Borlase says,
consisted of two stone walls, built one within the another, in a
circular form: the ruins he describes as fallen on each side the wall,
shewing the work to have been of great height and thickness: he also
mentions a third wall, built more than half way round, but left
unfinished. This remain is seated on the highest hill in the hundred of
Penwith.
From St. Columb to Padstow, the distance is eight miles, but the country
between those places does not present any thing deserving particular
observation.
PADSTOW has long been noted as the principal sea-port town on the north
coast of Cornwall, and in a commercial point of view is of the greatest
advantage to the county. Here also the first religious house was founded
by St. Petreock, as early as the year 432. It is situated 11 miles from
Bodmin, and about 243 from London, and is noted as one of the most
antient places in England. The town is built on the western side of the
harbour, sheltered by an immense hill, and at high water has a pleasing
appearance.
A very considerable trade is carried on here in iron, coals, timber,
groceries, and merchandize in general. Padstow has a market weekly, and
two fairs annually. These are now little more than mere holiday fairs;
though within these 60 years they were well supplied with cattle, cloth,
hats, &c. Leland, speaking of this town, says—“There use many Britons
with smaul shippes to resorte to Padestowe, with commodities of their
countrey, and to by fische: the town of Padestowe is ful of Irisch men:
there is a large exporte of corne.” Carew again says—“It hath lately
purchased a corporation, and reapeth greatest thrift by traffiking with
Ireland, for which it commodiously lieth.” We have not been able to
learn any thing about the charter of corporation alluded to by Carew,
and are assured that the town has no such charter. The principal
import-trade, for iron, is from Cardiff; coals, from Wales; timber, from
Norway; and groceries, and bale goods, from Bristol: and considerable
quantities of corn are still exported; the other principal exports are
malt and block-tin.
In the _Church_, an antique building, situated at the head of the town,
are several handsome memorials: that of Sir Nicholas Prideaux, Knt., who
was Carew’s contemporary, and died in 1627, commemorates also Sir
William Morice, who married a daughter of Humphrey Prideaux: “he was
knighted,” says his epitaph, “by King Charles II., on his landing at
Dover, and afterwards made Secretary of State and a Privy Counsellor, in
consequence of his great services in bringing about the Restoration, by
his influence with General Monk. He died at Werrington, in 1676, aged
75.” The learned Dr. Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, was a grandson
of Sir Nicholas above-mentioned, and was born at Padstow, in 1648. Dr.
Prideaux, who was educated at Liskeard school, besides his well-known
work on the connexion between the Old and New Testaments, published “The
True Nature of Imposture fully displayed in the Life of Mahomet.”—The
_Font_, in this antient building, is in itself a curious relic of
antiquity, decorated with effigies of the twelve Apostles.
There are several antient _Chapels_ in this parish. That of St. Saviour,
of which the east wall remains, stood on the brink of the precipice
which overlooks the town: near Place-house, at the top of the town, was
St. Sampson’s chapel: at Trethyllic, near Place grounds, was a chapel
with a cemetery: between St. Saviour’s, and Stepper-point, was another
chapel, the name of which is not known: and about a mile and a half from
the town, that of St. Cadock, which had a tower, the pinnacles of which
were used in rebuilding that of Little Petherick church.
One of the schools founded by the trustees of the Rev. St. John Elliot’s
charitable donations (1760;) and endowed with £5 per annum each, was
established in Padstow. Two Sunday-schools, and several Day-schools,
have also been established; by which several institutions for relieving
the poor, and encouraging the industrious, are supported.
Padstow contains, according to the late returns, 1702 inhabitants, or an
increase of 204, since the year 1811.
On Sander’s Hill, a handsome residence was erected a few years ago, at a
very considerable expense, by the late Thomas Rawlings, Esq., but which
is about to be taken down, owing to the death of that gentleman, and as
the property cannot be disposed of.
_Place-House_, the seat of the Rev. Charles Prideaux Brune, situated a
little distance above the church, is an antient embattled mansion. It
contains a few remarkable fine family portraits, and other works of art.
The house has been lately beautified and enlarged at a considerable
expense, and may now be ranked as one of the finest residences in the
county. The western front with its circular tower and Gothic library
window, has a very handsome effect.
The _Rocks_ off the coast in the neighbourhood of Padstow, and the sand
banks on the coast, not always visible at low water, have been the cause
of many shipwrecks, and scarcely a winter passes without the occurrence
of such dreadful calamities. The Rev. Mr. Warner, in his Tour through
Cornwall, speaking of the dangerous rocks off this coast, says, “their
black perpendicular heads frown inevitable destruction on every vessel
that approaches them, and seldom does one of the unhappy crew survive to
tell the horrors of the wreck.”
Again she plunges! hark a second shock
Tears her strong bottom on the marble rock.
Down on the vale of death, with dismal cries,
The fated victims shuddering roll their eyes
In wild despair, while yet another stroke
With deep convulsions rends the solid oak:
’Till like the mine, in whose infernal cell
The lurking dæmons of destruction dwell,
At length asunder torn, her frame divides,
And crashing spreads in ruin o’er the tides.
Quitting Padstow, the lover of the picturesque will be much delighted
with the village of LITTLE PETHERICK, where a bridge across the road, an
old mill, the church, a few rustic cottages, and some luxuriant foliage,
form a picture highly interesting.
After crossing the river Camel at Wadebridge, over which there is a
bridge, built in the year 1485, of 17 Gothic arches, and 320 feet long,
in the parish of EGLESHALE, is _Peucarrow_, the handsome seat of Sir
Arscott O’Molesworth, Bart. The house has lately undergone a complete
repair, and is fitted up in an elegant style, with a good library,
billiard room, and the usual comforts attached to a gentleman’s
residence. Here are also a few good pictures, but mostly portraits. The
gardens and hot-houses are very beautiful, and kept in excellent order.
In the _Church_ of Egleshale, is a very handsome carved stone pulpit,
and a neat monument to the memory of Sir John Molesworth and his lady.
The road from hence to Camelford, a distance of 11 miles, contains
little to interest the traveller, excepting perhaps, the celebrated
_Slate Quarry_ of _Delabole_, in the parish of St. Teath, and which has
been already described in page 7.
The town of CAMELFORD is a place of considerable antiquity, and has
returned members to Parliament, since the reign of Edward VI. The right
of election is vested in the freemen, and the town is governed by a
Mayor and eight Burgesses.
Although it is a place of but little trade, yet it has a market weekly,
and four fairs annually, at which great quantities of cattle are bought
and sold.
The _Town Hall_ is a neat structure, built a few years ago, at the
expense of the late Duke of Bedford.
According to tradition, the neighbourhood of Camelford is remarkable as
having been the site of a memorable battle fought between King Arthur
and his treacherous nephew, Mordred; in which the former was slain, and
his troops routed with considerable loss.
About five miles north-west of Camelford, is TINTAGELL, in which parish,
the small Borough-town of BOSSINEY is situated; but as far as regards
appearances, this town can only rank as a village of the meanest
description, although it has returned members since the reign of Edward
VI. It contains about 140 houses, but the number of voters seldom exceed
14 or 15, the right of election being chiefly confined to certain
individuals possessing the property.
Among its noble representatives are ranked the great Sir Francis Drake,
Sir Thomas Cottington, Secretary of State to Charles I., and Sir Richard
Weston, afterwards Earl of Portland and Lord Treasurer in the same
reign.[33] But the most interesting circumstance relative to Tintagell,
is its being the reputed birth-place of the renowned King Arthur;
respecting whom, it was the opinion of Lord Chancellor Bacon, that there
was truth enough in history to make him famous, besides that which was
fabulous. His history, however, has been so blended with the marvellous,
by the monkish historians, that some authors have been disposed to doubt
even his having ever existed; and certainly the circumstances connected
with his asserted birth at Tintagell, are not among those parts of his
story which are most entitled to credit.
The certainty, however, that there has been a _Castle_ at this place,
cannot be imaginary, even if we only judge from the ruins now existing;
but as far as regards its origin, there are many different accounts, and
none, perhaps, whose authority can be relied on. That there should have
been a castle erected here, in the time of the antients, is very
probable, as few places are so well calculated for the mode of warfare
then in practice. The commanding and open situation of this spot, with
other concurrent circumstances, leave but little doubt that this
fortress was erected long previous to the Conquest. “The ruins now
existing, consist of two divisions, one scattered over the face of the
main promontory, and another over the peninsula, which is severed from
it. The walls of the former are garetted and pierced with many little
square holes, for the discharge of arrows. They seem to have included
within them, two narrow courts. At the upper end of the most southern of
them, are the remains of several stone steps, leading probably to the
parapet of the walls. Here the ramparts were high and strong, this being
the quarter overlooked by the neighbouring hill. As they wound round to
the west, however, less labour had been expended upon their structure,
for a hideous precipice of 300 feet deep, to the edge of which they were
carried, prevented the fear of any assault in that quarter. The works on
the peninsula had been anciently connected with those on the mainland,
by a draw-bridge thrown across the chasm, in the division above
mentioned.”[34] This however had gone to decay in Leland’s time, and the
only means of approaching this part are by a dangerous and narrow
ascent, winding up the cliffs on the western side.
Leland’s description is curious.—“This castelle hath bene a marvelus
strong and notable forteres, and almost _situ loci inexpugnabile_,
especially for the dungeon, that is on a great high terrible cragge,
environed with the se, but having a draw-bridge from the residew of the
castelle unto it. There is yet a chapel standing withyn this dungeon of
S. Ulette _alias_ Ulianne. Shepe now fede within the dungeon. The
residew of the buildinges of the castel be sore wetherbeten and yn
ruine, but it hath beene a large thinge.” In another place he says—“The
castel had be lykhod three wardes, wherof two be woren away with gulfing
yn of the se: withowte the isle renneth alonly a gate howse, a walle,
and a fals braye dyged and walled. In the isle remayne old walles, and
yn the est parte of the same, the grownd beyng lower, remayneth a walle
embatteled, and men alyve saw ther yn a postern, a dore of yren. There
is in the isle a prety chapel, with a tumbe on the left syde.” Carew’s
and Norden’s accounts of Tintagell castle are nearly similar; the latter
of these, indeed, appears to have been taken from the former. “Half the
buildings,” says Carew, “were raised on the continent, and the other
halfe on an iland, continued together (within men’s remembrance) by a
drawebridge, but now divorced by the downefaln steepe cliffes, on the
farther side, which, though it shut out the sea from his wonted
recourse, hath yet more strengthened the iland; for in passing thither
you must first descend with a dangerous declyning, and then make a worse
ascent, by a path, through his stickleness occasioning, and through his
steepnesse threatning, the ruine of your life, with the falling of your
foote. At the top, two or three terrifying steps give you entrance to
the hill, which supplieth pasture for sheepe and conyes: upon the same I
saw a decayed chappell. Under the iland runs a cave, through which you
may rowe at full sea, but not without a kinde of horrour at the
uncouthnesse of the place.” Norden is rather more particular in his
description of the ascent to the island “by a very narrow rockye and
wyndinge waye up the steepe sea-clyffe, under which the sea-waves
wallow, and so assayle the foundation of the ile, as may astonish an
unstable mayne to consider the perill, for the least slipp of the foote
sendes the whole bodye into the devouringe sea; and the worste of all is
the highest of all, nere the gate of entraunce into the hill, where the
offensive stones so exposed hang over the head, as while a man
respecteth his footinge, he indaungers his head; and lookinge to save
the head, indaungers the footinge accordinge to the old proverbe;
_Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim_. He must have his eyes
that will scale Tintagell. Most of the iland buyldings are ruyned.” It
appears by the view of Tintagell annexed to Norden’s description, that a
great part of the building on the main land was in his time standing.
The immense height of the cliffs on which these ruins are situated, the
desolated aspect of the surrounding country, and the grandeur of the
ocean raging beneath, all conspire to form a scene truly sublime, and
cannot fail to make a lasting impression on the mind of those who have
visited this interesting spot.
O’er Cornwall’s cliffs the tempests roar’d,
High the screaming Sea Mew soar’d
On Tintagel’s topmast tow’r,
Darksome fell the sleety show’r,
Round the rough Castle shrilly sung
The whistling blast, and wildly flung
On each tall rampart’s thund’ring side
The surges of the trembling tide.
When Arthur rang’d his red-cross ranks,
On conscious Camban’s crimson banks,
By Mordred’s faithless guide decreed,
Beneath a Saxon spear to bleed!
_Wharton’s Poems, p. 95._
After the Conquest, Tintagell Castle became the occasional residence of
several of our English Princes, and here Richard, Earl of Cornwall,
entertained his nephew, David, Prince of Wales, when the latter rebelled
against the King in 1245.
In subsequent centuries, almost within a few years of the commencement
of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it had, like other fortresses in this
county, a governor, (being annexed to the Duchy of Cornwall) and was
occasionally used as a state prison. The remains are now fast mouldering
to decay; and in a few years, perhaps, not a vestige will be standing,
to shew where grandeur had once usurped its despotic power.
The _Church_ of Tintagell was formerly appropriated to the abbess and
convent of Fontevralt in Normandy, and having passed in the same manner
as Leighton-Buzzard in Bedfordshire, was given by King Edward IV. to the
collegiate church at Windsor; the Dean and Chapter of which church have
now the great tithes, and are patrons of the vicarage. There were
chapels in this parish dedicated to St. Piran and St. Dennis, besides
that in the castle of Tintagell.
At Tintagell is a Charity-school, supported by the mayor and free
burgesses, who pay a salary of £10 per annum to the master.
About two miles from hence, over a rocky road, is BOSCASTLE, a small
village, in a very romantic situation. Here a pilchard fishery has been
established some years, but with little success to the adventurers.
The _Quay_ has been greatly improved, and several new buildings
erected.—This place had formerly a _Castle_, the antient residence of
the Bottreaux family; but it was entirely gone prior to Leland’s time.
In the _Church_ is the following epitaph for the Rev. W. Cotton and his
wife, who died within a short time of each other.
Forty-nine years they lived man and wife,
And what’s more rare, thus many without strife,
The first departing, he a few weeks tried
To live without her, could not and so died.
The road from hence to Stratton, is highly pleasing, and presents many
fine prospects of the surrounding country.
The village of ST. MARY WEEK is noticed by Carew, as the birth-place of
_Thomasine Bonaventure_, who, although a poor cottager’s daughter, had
the good fortune to marry for her last husband, (the last of three,) Sir
John Percival, a wealthy merchant, and Lord Mayor of London; at whose
death she became possessed of a large property. She retired to this, her
native village, where she spent the remainder of her life and fortune in
acts of unbounded charity.
STRATTON is a small market town, standing rather in a low situation, 223
miles from London, and 18 from Launceston, but noted in history as the
place where a great victory was obtained during the civil wars by the
King’s forces, in consideration of which, Sir Ralph Hopton was in 1643,
created Lord Hopton of Stratton. The parliamentary force amounted to
upwards of 5000 men, with 13 pieces of ordnance, and although the troops
of the King were very inferior, they fought with such desperate fury,
that the enemy were completely defeated, their baggage, ammunition and
ordnance, being all lost. A few years after the death of Lord Hopton,
Sir John Berkeley was created Baron Berkeley of Stratton, but the title
became extinct in 1773. In the year 1797, Lord de Dunstanville was
created Baron Basset of Stratton, with remainder to his daughter and her
issue male.[35]
The market is on Tuesday, and there are here held three fairs annually.
The former appears to have been held by prescription: it is for corn and
provisions. Camden states this parish to have been famous for gardens
and garlick: there are now no gardens in the neighbourhood, but such as
are cultivated for private use, nor is it remarkable for the culture of
garlick, although it is occasionally to be seen in the market, where it
is purchased by the cattle doctors.
The manors of Stratton and Binamy belonged, at an early period, to an
antient family, called in various records, De Albo Monasterio,
Blanchminster, and Whitminster. Sir John de Blanchminster dying without
issue, towards the latter part of the fourteenth century, these estates
passed to Emmeline, only daughter and heir to Sir Richard Hiwis, who had
married Alice, daughter of Sir Ralph de Blanchminster, and aunt of Sir
John: this Emmeline first married Sir Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice of
the King’s Bench, and after his death, Sir John Coleshill, to whom Guy
de Blanchminster, rector of Lansallos, released in 1393 all right in the
manors of Stratton, Binamy, &c. Sir John Coleshill, son of the above,
who was killed in the battle of Agincourt in 1415, left an infant son;
after whose death, in 1483, the large estates of this family passed by a
female heir to a younger branch of the Arundells, soon extinct, and were
afterwards in severalties among its numerous representatives. The manors
of Binamy and Stratton, having been purchased by the Grenville family,
passed with the Kilkhampton estate, and are now the property of Lord
Carteret. Binamy Castle, which appears to have been built by Ralph de
Blanchminster, in or about the year 1335, is spoken of as a seat of the
Coleshills by William of Worcester, who made a tour through Cornwall in
the reign of Edward IV. Borlase describes the house of the
Blanchminsters as having been situated half a mile from Stratton, and a
furlong from the antient causeway made by that family: on this estate,
now called Binhamy, is a farm-house, a little to the west of which is a
moated orchard, described in Camden’s map as a square fort, and called
Binnoway.
The _Church_ contains several antient memorials, one of which, with the
effigy of a knight in armour, is supposed to be intended for Ralph de
Blanchminster, who was Lord of the Manor at a very early period. In the
parish-register occurs the following remarkable instance of
longevity:—“Elizabeth Cornish, widow, buried March 10th, 1691. This
Elizabeth Cornish was baptized in October, 1578: her father’s name was
John Veale: she was, when she died, in the 114th year, having lived at
least 113 years, four months, and 15 days.” It appears also by the
register, that not less than 153 persons died of the plague in this
small town, in the year 1547: and in 1729, out of 49 persons buried, 42
fell victims to that destructive distemper the small-pox.
The lands given to the church of Stratton, for the maintenance of the
poor of the parish are very considerable, and chiefly vested in eight
persons, who have the appropriation of the rent of them.—There is also
in the church, the following epitaph, to the memory of one of these
eight trustees, and which is rather a curious piece of composition.
Near by this place interr’d does lye,
One of the eight whose memory
Will last, and fragrant be to all posterity.
He did revive the Stock and Store,
He built the Almshouse for the poor;
Manag’d so well was the revenue ne’er before.
The Church he lov’d and beautified,
His highest glory and his pride,
The sacred Altar shews his private zeale besides.
A Book he left for all to view,
The accounts which are both just and true;
His owne 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.
About two miles north from Stratton, is the small port of BUDE, which is
much resorted to in the summer season for sea-bathing. The trade of this
place will be greatly increased when the _Canal_, now making, is
completed: the chief exports are timber, bark, and oats; the imports,
coal and lime-stone from Wales, and groceries, &c., from Bristol. The
harbour, on account of its sands, is best adapted to vessels not
exceeding 60 tons burden: but occasionally, vessels of from 80 to 90
tons enter it; and one of more than 90 tons was built at Bude in 1813
for the trade of this port. Great quantities of sea sand are carried
from hence for manure, not only into the neighbouring parishes, but into
the north of Devonshire, to the distance of 20 miles and upwards.
KILKHAMPTON, about four miles north of East Stratton, is remarkable for
the singular beauty of its _Church_. It is a large edifice, said to have
been erected by a Baron of the Grenville line, who came into England
with William the Conqueror, and whose arms are sculptured in many parts
of the building.
The whole fabric is a light and rich piece of workmanship, particularly
the southern entrance, a semicircular arch, round which is a very
curious zig-zag Anglo-Norman moulding, in fine preservation. The
interior contains three aisles, divided by slender pillars, supporting
obtuse Gothic arches, and has an elegant appearance. It is embellished
with several handsome memorials, but the most remarkable one is, the
monument of Sir Beville Grenville,[36] who was slain in the civil wars;
and as Hervey says, “swords and spears, murdering engines and
instruments of slaughter, adorn the stone with formidable magnificence.”
It bears the following inscription:
“Here lyes all that was mortal of the most noble and truly valiant Sir
Beville Grenville, of Stowe, in the county of Cornwall, Earl of Corbill,
and Lord of Thorigny and Grenville, in France and Normandy, descended in
a direct line from Robert, second son of the war-like Rollo, first Duke
of Normandy, who, after having obtained divers signal victories over the
rebels in the West, was at length slain, with many wounds, at the battle
of Lansdowne, 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 examples of true piety. He was
indeed an excellent person, whose activity, interest, and reputation,
were the foundation of what had been done in Cornwall; his temper and
affections so 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
cheerful and innocent conversation.”
“To the immortal memory of his renowned grandfather, this monument was
erected by the Right Honourable George Lord Lansdowne, Treasurer of the
Household to Queen Anne, and one of Her Majesty’s most honourable Privy
Council, &c., in the year 1714.”
“Thus slain thy valiant ancestor[37] did lye,
When his one bark a navy did defy,
When now encompass’d round the victor stood,
And bath’d his pinnace in his conqu’ring blood,
Till all his purple current dryed and spent,
He fell, and made the waves his monument:
Where shall the next famed Granville’s ashes stand.
Thy grandsire fills the seas, and thou the land.”
MARTIN LLEWELLIN.
_Vide Oxford University Verses, printed 1643._[38]
Clarendon, in his History of the Rebellion, speaks of Sir Beville
Grenville’s death as “that which would have clouded any victory, and
made the loss of others less spoken of: and the monument is indebted to
that noble author’s own words for all the latter part of the panegyric
it is so properly intended to perpetuate.
The _Pulpit_ is a rich piece of carved work, and the _Font_ very
antient.
The magnificent and old residence of the Grenville family, called
_Stowe_, in this parish, has been pulled down many years, and the park
dismantled. It was one of the most superb residences in England, and the
beauty of the grounds and scenery adjacent, have been frequently
eulogized. John Grenville, Earl of Bath in the reign of Charles II.,
erected it. It stood on an eminence, overlooking a well-wooded valley;
but not a tree near it, says Dr. Borlase, to shelter it from the
north-west. That writer speaks of it as by far the noblest house in the
west of England, and says that the kitchen offices fitted up for a
dwelling-house, made no contemptible figure. It is a singular
circumstance, that the cedar wainscot, which had been brought out of a
Spanish prize, and used by the Earl of Bath for fitting up the chapel in
this mansion, was purchased by Lord Cobham at the time of its demolition
(the house being then sold piecemeal) and applied to the same purpose at
Stowe, the magnificent seat of the noble family of Grenville in
Buckinghamshire, where it still remains.
Kilkhampton is noticed in history, as the place where the renowned and
pious Harvey conceived his Meditations among the Tombs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSION III.
_From Stratton to Bodmin; through Launceston, Callington, Saltash,
St. Germains, and Liskeard._
The country between Stratton and Launceston, a distance of 12 miles,
does not present anything requiring particular notice, except perhaps,
within a few miles of the latter place bordering on Devon, _Werrington
Park_, the seat of his Grace, the Duke of Northumberland. The house is
rather a low building, and in point of architecture, is by no means
imposing. The situation of the park, however, is particular fine, being
highly diversified and embellished with some of the finest trees and
foliage in the kingdom.
On entering St. Stephen’s, the attention of the traveller is immediately
arrested by the handsome appearance of its _Church_, which is
embellished with a handsome _Gothic Tower_, of great height. This
edifice was rebuilt in the sixteenth century, and before the Conquest,
was made collegiate; but suppressed through the influence of William
Warlewast, Bishop of Exeter, who founded a Priory of Austin Monks in the
adjoining parish of St. Thomas. This continued until the dissolution of
religious houses in the reign of Henry VIII., when its annual revenues
were valued at 354£. 0_s._ 11½_d._; yet not a vestige of it has been in
existence for many years.
A most interesting view of Launceston presents itself from the bridge of
Newport, and the _Keep_ of its venerable castle rises with awful dignity
over the surrounding houses. The accompanying view is taken from the
position alluded to.
Newport _Church_, generally called St. Thomas, is a small fabric of a
very antient appearance, and here are several decayed houses, which
exhibit the nature of domestic architecture a few centuries past.[39]
After ascending a steep hill, and passing through the north gate, stands
LAUNCESTON, one of the most antient towns in the county, on the great
western road to the Land’s End, distant 214 miles from London. This town
ranks as one of the principal in the county, and from the influence it
formerly possessed, from being fortified with a noble castle and
embattled walls, it has enjoyed in early reigns, many privileges and
immunities; but was not, however, incorporated until the reign of Queen
Mary, in the year 1555. It has returned members to Parliament, however,
since the reign of Edward I. The right of election is in the Corporation
and free Burgesses.
The assizes for the county were formerly held wholly in this town; but
an act was passed in the first of George I. to empower the proper
authorities to hold the summer assizes at Bodmin.
The magnificent ruins of the _Castle_ are still highly interesting to
the antiquary, and few subjects are better calculated for the pencil of
the artist; their form being highly picturesque, and which are highly
pleasing from being richly over-grown with ivy. The accompanying view
exhibits the remains of the principal entrance, with the majestic and
venerable keep rising above, together with the walls now fast falling to
decay.
Regarding the origin of this antient fortress, little is known that may
be deemed authentic; but, according to historians, it is said to have
been in existence long prior to the conquest, which opinion is
materially strengthened, from this neighbourhood having been the scene
of many severe contests with the antient Britons and Saxons. After the
conquest, it was given to the Earl of Morteyne, to whom no less than 288
manors in this county were also granted by William the Conqueror.
The remains chiefly consist of a _Gateway_, a small _Tower_ at the
south-east angle, some decayed walls and the keep. The latter is 93 feet
in diameter, and the height of the parapet from the base of the conical
rocky mount on which the keep stands, is upwards of 100 feet. The ascent
to it is on the south side, but the steps are mostly wanting, and to get
its summit is now become even dangerous. It consists of three wards,
each surrounded by a circular wall; the outer one, or parapet wall, is
not more than three feet thick; the second wall is about six feet from
the former, near four times as thick, and considerably higher; but
between these two, a staircase leads to the top of the ramparts. The
inner wall is 10 feet thick, and 38 feet high, and the diameter of the
inclosed area is about 18 feet. This is said to have been divided into
two apartments, and the lower one, having no light, is supposed
originally to have been a dungeon, but the whole pile has become so
extremely ruinous, that it is impossible to state exactly how, and for
what purpose it was originally constructed. The doorways of the keep are
chiefly composed of round arches, and a curious Saxon doorway, now
forming the entrance to the White Hart Inn, is supposed to have belonged
formerly to the castle. Lysons, however, concludes that it came from the
antient priory at St. Thomas, above alluded to.
This fortress, like most others in the county, had in former reigns a
governor; but the mode in which buildings of this kind are in general
constructed, render them ill calculated as places of residence. It
appears that Launceston Castle was in ruins as early as the reign of
Edward III., although it was a post of much consequence during the civil
wars in after times. At the Restoration it was granted to Sir Hugh
Pyper, Knt. (who lies buried in the church here,) and was in the
possession of his grandson, till the year 1754. It now belongs to his
Grace, the Duke of Northumberland.
The _Church_ is a large handsome structure, composed of square blocks of
granite, each of which is enriched with carved ornaments. The porch on
the south side is particularly beautiful, and has a very striking
appearance from the street adjoining. At the eastern end, also highly
sculptured, is a curious figure of a Magdalene, in a recumbent posture.
The interior contains several monuments, but none meriting particular
observation. On the north side of the church is a very pleasant
promenade sheltered by an avenue of trees, which is enlivened by a very
extensive and beautiful prospect of the distant country.
Part of the old wall that surrounded the town and two _Gateways_ still
remain: the one on the eastern or Exeter road, has a very antient and
interesting appearance. The accompanying view which represents this
gateway, is taken from the road leading to Callington.
The houses in the town are in general well built, but the streets are
very narrow and badly paved. There are two _Charity-Schools_ maintained
by voluntary subscriptions, and a _Free School_ founded in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, and endowed with an income payable out of the revenues
of the Duchy of Cornwall.
The market at this town is well supplied with all kinds of provision,
and remarkably cheap. There are also no less than six fairs, held here
annually. The town suffers much inconvenience in the summer season, from
a scarcity of water.
The number of inhabitants, according to the late returns, amounted to
2163, and in 1811 to 1758, exclusive of the adjoining parishes of St.
Thomas and St. Stephen’s.
_Trebursy_, near this town, a handsome modern residence, erected some
distance from the site of the old house, is the property of the Hon. W.
Eliot, M.P. late Colonel of the Cornwall Militia.
From Launceston to Callington, the distance is about 12 miles, and the
country, as far as the first nine miles extend, is very beautiful and
romantic. About three miles from Callington, in the parish of Stoke
Clainsand, is _Whiteford House_, the seat of Sir William Pratt Call,
Bart. It is a handsome building, standing in a beautiful and luxuriant
valley, which, with the meandering water in front, has a very pleasant
aspect. The fish ponds and gardens here are extremely fine, and kept in
a high state of cultivation.
CALLINGTON is a market and Borough-town, situated in a flat and open
part of the county, distant 214 miles from London. The houses are
chiefly disposed in one broad street, and being very irregularly built,
have rather a poor appearance.
The _Church_ is an antient and spacious fabric, consisting of three
aisles, the centre one very lofty, and was built chiefly at the expense
of Nicholas de Asheton, one of his Majesty’s Justices of the Court of
King’s Bench, who died in the year 1645, and lies buried in the chancel,
where there is a handsome brass plate with effigies of himself and lady.
There is also a handsome alabaster tomb, to the memory of Lord
Willoughby de Broke, lord of the manor, who died in the year 1502. In
the church-yard is a very antient octagonal cross, surrounded with some
antient sculpture, but it has been most shamefully defaced.
This town is governed by a Portreve, who is chosen annually, at the
court leet of the lord of the manor. The elective franchises of the
inhabitants were lately determined by a committee of the House of
Commons, but the members are usually returned by the freeholders and
resident leaseholders.
Callington has a weekly market on Wednesday, and four fairs annually.
The prospects from the summit of Kitt Hill on Hengeston Downs, near
Callington, are very extensive; comprehending the windings of the Tamar,
the Hamoaze, Plymouth Sound, Mount Edgecumbe, and surrounding country.
About five miles from Callington, in the parish of Calstock, is
_Cotehele_ or _Cuttayle House_, one of the most antient and curious
constructed mansions in England. It is situated on a pleasing eminence
on the western bank of the Tamar; but being almost surrounded with wood,
the river can only be seen from some of the windows of the higher
apartments. There is no account when this mansion was erected; but from
the style of architecture, is supposed to have been built about the time
of Henry VII. It is a very irregular pile of building, inclosing a small
quadrangle, the approach to which is through a square gateway tower on
the south side. At the north angle, is a large square tower, which
contains the principal apartments.
This place from the beauty of its situation and other local
circumstances, has excited great curiosity, and parties of pleasure make
frequent water excursions to it in the summer: boats for such purposes
are to be hired at Plymouth or Saltash.
The entrance hall opening from the quadrangle, is embellished with a
collection of antient armour, and warlike instruments; and gives a true
picture of the feudal dignity of antient times. The several apartments
in the house are enriched with a great variety of curious old articles
of furniture, such as carved ebony chairs, cabinets, &c. There is
besides, some very fine tapestry, ornamented with the figures of Romulus
and Remus, &c., in good preservation. The chapel connected with the
dining room is small, and was originally ornamented with painted glass
windows. The altar cloth, composed of rich velvet embroidered, is
ornamented with the figures of the Twelve Apostles, and other
appropriate embellishments.
This mansion has belonged to the Edgecumbe family since the reign of
Edward III.; and here Sir Richard Edgecumbe, who was attached to the
House of Lancaster, concealed himself from the tyranny of Richard III.
In remembrance of his miraculous escape, he erected the small chapel
which stands on a rocky precipice, close to the river.
In the month of August, 1789, their late Majesties, with the Princess
Royal and the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, honoured this old
mansion with a visit, and breakfasted with the Earl and Countess of
Mount Edgecumbe.
_Calstock Church_ stands about half a mile from the village, on a
commanding eminence, and is a small antient fabric, containing several
memorials of the Edgecumbes.
About a mile from the church, is _Harewood House_, the seat of Salisbury
Trelawney, Esq. It is a handsome building, erected on one of the most
delightful spots of the banks of the Tamar. Mason in his poem of
Elfrida, has made Harewood the scene of the loves of Ethelwold, and of
the misfortunes consequent to his union with the fair daughter of Edgar.
The village of Calstock is situated close to the side of the river, and
here is a regular ferry to Beer Alston, in Devonshire.
About three miles from hence, is _Pentillie Castle_, the seat of John
Tillie Coryton, Esq. which was erected a few years ago, from designs by
Wilkins, on the site of an old family mansion. It is a very beautiful
Gothic structure, with a majestic portico on the south side, surmounted
with pinnacles, and being built on a bold eminence rising abruptly from
the river Tamar, it really possesses a commanding and dignified
appearance. The interior contains a number of spacious apartments
finished in a handsome and costly manner.
The approach to the house is embellished with a neat Gothic _Lodge_, on
the road leading to Saltash; and the grounds are enriched with a variety
of beautiful plantations. In the grounds is a _Tower_ or _Sepulchral
Building_, erected for Sir James Tillie, whose interment here has given
rise to a tale, that being of Atheistical principles, he had directed
himself to be placed after his death, in a chair therein, with bottles,
glasses, &c. to perpetuate his derision of a future existence. The fact
however, of his being buried in a coffin, was proved a few years ago;
and from his will, it is clear that he died in the “hope of a glorious
immortality.”
From hence to Saltash, the distance is six miles, and about a mile and a
half to the left, in the church of the village of Landulph, is the
following remarkable inscription:
Here lyeth the body of Theodore Paleologus
of Pesaro in Itale, descended from the imperyall
Lyne of the last Christian Emperors of Greece
Being the sonne of Camilio, the sonne of Prosper
the sonne of Theodoro, ye sonne of John,
the sonne of Thomas, the second brother to Constantine
Paleologus that rayned in Constantinople, until
Subdued by the Turks, who married with Mary the
daughter of William Balls of Hadley in
Suffolke Gent. and had issue five children, Theodore,
John, Ferdinando, Maria and Dorothy, and departed
this lyfe at Clifton the 21st of January 1636.
There is also a large tomb in the chancel, with a handsome marble slab
to the memory of Sir Nicholas Lower and his lady.
The _Parsonage House_ has been greatly improved, and commands a
beautiful prospect of the river and Saltash. It contains a good library,
and a few paintings by some of the antient masters. Much praise is due
to the present incumbent, the Rev. F. V. I. Arundell, for having raised
an embankment round the house, and for bringing the grounds into a high
state of cultivation, and for improving the plantations.
About two miles from hence, in the parish of BOTUS FLEMING, is
_Moditonham_, the seat of Charles Carpenter, Esq. a commodious modern
building, most delightfully situated, and commanding some extensive
views of the surrounding country.
In the _Church_, a small venerable pile, is a recumbent figure of a
crusader with a sword and target, which was accidentally discovered
about three years ago, on the removal of some old wainscot.
In the centre of a field, at the north side of the village, stands a
pyramidical monument, erected in memory of Dr. William Martin, of
Plymouth, who died in the year 1762.
The town of SALTASH principally consists of one long street rising
abruptly from the Tamar, to a considerable eminence, and the houses in
general have an antient appearance. It is a place, as Carew observes,
which, owing to the steep ascent on which it is situated, “every shower
washes clean.” It is also of great antiquity, and in the year 1393, the
assizes for the county are said to have been held here. During the civil
wars it was considered of much importance, being one of the principal
passes into the county. It was first garrisoned by the Parliament, and
surrendered without opposition to Sir Ralph Hopton, in the autumn of
1642. General Ruthen, finding it open after his defeat at Bradock-down,
in January, 1643, took possession, and hastily fortified it; but it was
soon afterwards taken by assault, by Lord Mohun and Sir Ralph Hopton: a
garrison was left in it in the month of May that year, but on the
approach of the Earl of Essex, it was given up the latter end of July,
1644. We are told that on this occasion Sir Edward Waldegrave gallantly
defended the pass, and, as it appears, with temporary success. After the
capitulation of Essex, Saltash was again taken possession of by Sir
Richard Grenville: in the month of October following, it was taken by a
detachment from the garrison at Plymouth: Sir Richard Grenville
afterwards recovered it by assault: and it was finally abandoned by the
King’s troops in the month of February, 1646.
Saltash is governed by a Mayor, six Aldermen, and an indefinite number
of burgesses; but they generally amount to about 30. It was made a free
borough in the reign of King John, or that of Henry III., by Reginald de
Valletort, who confirmed to the burgesses various privileges which they
had enjoyed under his ancestors: these privileges were confirmed by King
Richard II. In the year 1682, Charles II. granted this borough a renewed
charter of incorporation, under which the body-corporate was defined to
consist of a Mayor and six Aldermen, styled the council of the borough,
who had liberty to chose a Recorder: but the charter first mentioned, in
virtue of which the town is now governed, was procured in 1774. It has
returned members to Parliament since the reign of Edward VI. The right
of voting is confined to the freeholders of the borough, amounting to
about 70 persons. Some names of eminence appear in the list of its
representatives; as Sir Francis Cottington, Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl
of Clarendon, and Edmund Waller the poet.
The _Chapel_ is an antient structure, having Gothic windows and a
massive tower. It contains a handsome altar piece. In the north aisle
there is a superb monument to the memory of three brothers, named Drew,
officers in the navy, who were unfortunately drowned.
Saltash has a market weekly, and four fairs annually; and over the river
is a constant ferry; boats are to be had at a short notice, for Plymouth
Dock, or any place in its vicinity. The market mentioned as attached to
the castle of Trematon, when the survey of Domesday was taken, was
probably held at Saltash: it is spoken of in that survey as a new market
of the Earl’s, which had been prejudicial to the Abbot’s market at St.
Germain’s. The small weekly market for butcher’s meat is held on
Saturday: an old writer says, that the burgesses claimed another market
on Tuesday, but that it was not in his time held. The present fairs are
on the Tuesday before each quarter-day, (the remnant, probably, of the
Tuesday’s market,) February 2, and July 25: the two last are for horned
cattle and sheep. The tolls of the market and fairs belong to the
Corporation, who are entitled to the proceeds of the ferry over the
Tamar, the privilege of dredging for oysters, the farm and tolls of
oysters, and certain duties payable by masters of ships; which
altogether produced about £300 per annum in 1714.
Leland speaks of “Asche (Saltash) as a praty quick market town. The
tounesmen,” he says, “use boothe merchandise and fischery.” Norden says,
“the towne increaseth daylie in merchandise and wealth: there belonge
unto the towne some 8 ships besydes small boates. The haven is capable
of anie burden. The great carrack that Sir Frauncis Drake browghte home
so rich, arrived here, and was here disburdened, and after fatally
fyred.”
The remains of _Trematon Castle_ are situated on a commanding eminence
on the northern bank of the river Lynher, just below Saltash, but the
carriage road to it, a very pleasing ride, extends at least two miles
from the town. Proceeding in the latter direction, about half way, the
tower of _St. Stephen’s Church_ has a conspicuous appearance. It is
remarkable as containing a variety of antient memorials, but many of
them are much defaced. Carew relates, that in the church of St.
Stephen’s a leaden coffin was found about the middle of the sixteenth
century; but the grounds on which he supposes it to have been that of
_Orgarius, Duke of Cornwall_, are very weak; for it appears that all he
learned from his informant, who had been an eye-witness of the discovery
fourscore years before, was, that an inscription on the lead imported it
to contain the body of a Duke, whose heiress married a Prince. One of
the monuments in this church, is for _Master_ Hechins, as Carew calls
him, lessee of the great tithes in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The
church was given to Windsor College by Edward the Black Prince.
On approaching the _Castle_, its venerable _Keep_ arises majestically
amidst the surrounding foliage, and with the little bridge and cottages
in the valley, forms altogether a very picturesque subject. The entrance
is through a small arch on the north side, and a circular road, leading
to it, has been lately cut through the hill on which it stands. The site
of the area covers more than an acre of ground, and is enclosed by
embattled walls, six feet in thickness. The keep stands on the summit of
a conical mound at the north-west angle, embattled with walls 10 feet
thick and 30 high. The space enclosed is of an oval form, and was
formerly divided into apartments, but as there are no marks of windows,
they would appear to have been lighted from the top. The entrance to it
was through a circular arched doorway on the western side, from whence
an irregular path leads to a small sally-port; but the most perfect part
of the building is the principal gateway, composed of three strong
arches, with grooves for portcullises between them. These arches support
a square tower, embattled, containing an apartment, which has been
fitted up as a museum for natural curiosities. The walls are decorated
with some of the finest tapestry in England, the colours being as bright
as if it had only lately been finished.
Regarding the origin of this antient fortress, little is known, that may
be deemed authentic; but it is generally believed, like most other
buildings of a like nature, to have been originally erected prior to the
Conquest. Afterwards it was given to Robert, Earl of Moreteyne and
Cornwall, and in subsequent reigns was annexed to the Duchy of Cornwall.
During the civil wars of the eighteenth century, we find no account of
this castle’s having been occupied by either of the contending parties:
but Carew relates, that during the Cornish commotions in 1549, Sir
Richard Grenville held Trematon for a while against the rebels; but that
having been induced to quit it, for the purpose of holding a parly with
the beseigers, they intercepted his return, seized on the castle, sent
him a prisoner to Launceston gaol, and plundered and ill-treated his
lady and her attendants.—A few years ago it was leased to Benjamin
Tucker, Esq. Surveyor General of the Duchy of Cornwall, and who was for
many years Secretary to the gallant Admiral, Earl St. Vincent. This
gentleman has erected a very comfortable residence within the area, and
embellished it with a great variety of choice paintings and other works
of art. Among the most valuable is “La fameuse Aurore de Natier,” a
picture well known on the Continent, besides the Twelve Cæsars, by
Goltzius. There is also the celebrated organ which was made by Mr.
Moore, of Ipswich, for the Empress of Russia, at the price of _£_16,000,
and a most beautiful specimen of shell-work, which was formed in the
Brazils, and the construction of which is said to have occupied two nuns
the whole of their lives. The garden round the house, is laid out with
great taste, and embellished with a good hot-house. In one part of it,
on a marble slab, is a bust of Admiral St. Vincent, with the following
inscription from the eclogues of Virgil.
O Melibœe, Deus hæc nobis otia fecit
Namque erit ille mihi semper Deus, illius aram
Sæpe tener nostris ab ovilibus imbuet agnus.
A short distance from the castle, near the ferry across Anthoney
Passage, are some small remains of an antient _Chapel_, called
Shillingham, which is richly over-grown with ivy.
The manor of _Ashe-torre_, or _Esses-torre_, the site of which is a rock
at the bottom of Saltash town, abutting on the water, has an extensive
jurisdiction, although it was itself held as seven fees under the honor
of Trematon. Carew speaks of this rock as “invested with the
jurisdiction of a manor, and that it claymed the suites of many
gentlemen as his freeholders in knights’ service.” This manor, which
extends its jurisdiction into several parishes in Cornwall and
Devonshire, belonged to the ancient family of Fleming of Devonshire,
Barons of Slane in Ireland: it was sold in the sixteenth century, by
Nicholas and Robert Dillon, sons and heirs of Anne, one of the sisters
and co-heiresses of Christopher Fleming, Baron of Slane, to Thomas
Wyvell, Esq. from whose family it passed, by a female heir, to the
ancestor of Francis Wills, Esq. of Saltash. The site of this manor is
thus described in old papers:—“All that messuage, dwellinghouse, palace,
&c. and waste ground in and nigh Ashe-torre Rock, with the remains of
houses, on which premises manor-courts were held, all unconnected with
any other person’s land, and forming a peninsula, situated at the bottom
of Fore street or road, in the borough of Saltash, on a rock, part of
which abutteth into the sea.”—A record of the year 1620 is said to have
claimed _Wadsworthy_ as parcel of the demesne of the manor of
Ashe-torre.
_Ince Castle_, the seat of Edward Smith, Esq. is an interesting
building, situated on the banks of the Lynher, and forms a conspicuous
object in this part of the county.
Returning to the high road at the distance of three miles, is LANDRAKE,
the _Church_ of which is remarkable for its high tower, which is visible
for many miles round. In the interior is a curious brass plate, dated
1509, with an effigy of Edward Courtenay, Esq., and a monument to the
memory of Nicholas Wylls, Gent., who died in the year 1607.
_Wootton_, an antient seat in this parish, has long since gone entirely
to decay.
Near Landrake is _Stockton_, the seat of Admiral de Courcy, a modern
mansion, commanding many interesting views. The interior contains a
number of war-like instruments, and a variety of natural curiosities.
From Landrake to ST. GERMAINS, a decayed market and Borough-town, the
distance is three miles. This place is remarkable as having been in
early time, the seat of the episcopal government of the diocese of the
county; and it takes its name from St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, who
is said to have resided here for a time, during his visit to England. It
is situated in a very romantic dell, on the borders of a creek formed by
the river Lynher, about nine miles from Plymouth and eight from
Liskeard; but is one of the largest parishes in the county, being 20
miles in circumference. It has been represented in Parliament since the
year 1562; the right of electing the members being vested in the
inhabitant householders, who have resided 12 months within the Borough.
The town, as it is called, which contains less than 100 dwellings, is
governed by a Portreve, chosen annually at the Court Leet. Leland spoke
of it as “a poor fischar town,” and he adds, that “the glory of it stood
by the priory.” Carew observed, “the church-towne mustereth many
inhabitants and sundry ruines, but little wealth, occasioned eyther
through abandoning their fishing trade, as some conceive, or by their
being abandoned of the religious people, as the greater sort imagine.”
Its market scarcely existed even when the survey of Domesday was taken;
having been reduced almost to nothing in consequence of the Earl of
Moreton’s market (most probably Saltash) then lately established in the
neighbourhood. This market was at that time held on Sundays; but the day
was afterwards altered to Friday: in Browne Willis’s time it was very
inconsiderable, and has long been wholly discontinued. There are two
cattle fairs, held May 28, and August 1.
Whitaker supposes the bishop’s see to have been established at this
place, so early as the year 614. That St. Germains was the episcopal see
as long as an episcopal see existed in the county of Cornwall, he has
proved in the most satisfactory manner; but of its existence at that
early period, his learned volumes on the subject of the Cathedral of
Cornwall afford no _proof_; nor have we any intimation from history of
any Bishop of St. Germains before the year 910, when Athelstan was
appointed to that see. King Athelstan, who founded a college of Seculars
here, made Conan Bishop of St. Germains in 936. After the death of
Bishop Burwold, Livingus, Bishop of Crediton, procured this bishopric to
be annexed to his own, and his successor Leofric made interest to have
them both united to that of Exeter. Leland says, that Bartholomew
(Iscanus) Bishop of Exeter, who died in 1172, changed the Monks of St.
Germains into Canons Regular, on account of the laxity of their lives.
At the suppression of this monastery in 1535, it was valued at £227. 4s.
8d. clear yearly income. King Henry VIII. leased the site of the priory
and other lands to John Campernown and others; relative to which grant,
Carew has the following story. “John Champernowne, sonne and heir
apparent to Sir Philip of Devon, in Henry the Eighth’s time, followed
the court, and through his pleasant conceits, of which much might be
spoken, wan some good grace with the King. Now when the golden showre of
the dissolved abbey lands rayned wellnere into every gaper’s mouth, some
two or three gentlemen (the King’s servants,) and Master Champernowne’s
acquaintance, waited at a doore where the King was to passe forth, with
purpose to beg such a matter at his hands: our gentleman became
inquisitive to know their suit; they made strange to impart it. This
while, out comes the King: they kneel down; so doth Master Champernowne.
They preferre their petition; the King grants it: they render humble
thanks; and so doth Master Champernowne. Afterwards, he requireth his
share; they deny it: he appeals to the King: the King avoweth his equal
meaning in the largesse; whereon, the overtaken companions were fayne to
allot him this priory for his partage.” Norden has strangely mistaken
this story, and says, that King Henry VIII. bestowed the priory of St.
Germains upon an ancestor of the Eliots, “being full of pleasant
conceytes wherewith the Kinge was delited.” It is certain that the
Champernownes became sole possessors of the priory estate, and that in
1565 they conveyed it to Richard Eliot, Esq., of Coteland, in
Devonshire, in exchange for that manor. Sir John Eliot, son of Richard,
was a distinguished patriot in the reign of James I., and an active
opposer of the Duke of Buckingham and the court measures, particularly
that of raising taxes without the consent of Parliament: for some bold
speeches on this subject he was committed to the tower, where he died in
the year 1632. Daniel Eliot, his grandson, left an only daughter,
married to Browne Willis, the celebrated antiquary, by whom we are
informed that his father-in-law, in order to keep up the family name,
bequeathed his estates of Edward Eliot, grandson of Nicholas, fourth son
of Sir John above-mentioned, from whom they descended to the present
possessor.
It appears that the _Cathedral_, now the Parish Church, was first built
in the reign of Athelstan, when it formed a part of the _Priory_,
founded at the same time for Secular Canons. On the removal of the
diocese to Exeter, the manor of St. Germains was divided between the
Bishop and the Prior of the convent. On the Priory site a spacious
mansion has been erected for the residence of the Eliot family, and is
now the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of St. Germains. It is
called _Port-Eliot_, but was formerly called _Porth-Prior_. The exterior
is not very striking; perhaps “its simplicity,” says a late writer, “is
more correspondent to the scenery by which it is surrounded, and which
is rather to be called pleasing than picturesque or grand.” The
interior, however, is embellished with some fine portraits by Sir Joshua
Reynolds, Rembrant, Opie, &c.
The _Church_ almost adjoins Port Eliot House, and in point of
architectural beauty, is equal, if not superior to any in the county.
At the west end are two towers, both of which are said formerly to have
been octagonal, but the south one is now of a square form, and contains
the clock. Between the towers is a remarkably fine entrance doorway, or
circular receding arch, 20 feet wide, with four pillars on each side,
having plain square bases and capitals. The arch contains seven
mouldings, with alternate zig-zag ornaments, which is also continued
between the pillars. Over the arch is a pediment, with a cross at the
top resembling an heraldic cross. Above are three narrow round-headed
windows, and as great part of the edifice is richly mantled with ivy, it
forms a very interesting and beautiful subject for the pencil. The
interior is spacious; and the capitals of the pillars which divide the
aisles from the nave, are curiously ornamented with Saxon sculpture. It
contains a great variety of memorials, but the most remarkable are those
for the learned Walter Moyle, who died at the age of 49, in the year
1721, and the superb monument by Rysbrack, in memory of Edward Eliot,
Esq. who died in the following year. A white marble tablet, to the
memory of Elizabeth, wife of John Glanville, Esq., has the following
beautiful lines inscribed on it.
While faithful earth doth thy oold relics keep,
And soft as was thy nature is thy sleep,
Let here the pious, humble, placed above,
Witness an husband’s grief, an husband’s love;
Grief that no rolling years can e’er efface,
And love, that only with himself must cease;
And let it bear for thee this heartfelt boast—
’Twas he that knew thee best, that loved thee most.
In the south aisle is a low ornamented recess, said to have contained
the effigy of an abbot of the convent. Another recess is called the
Bishop’s throne; and among other relics of antiquity, is preserved a
curious carved oaken chair, supposed to have belonged to one of the
monks.—“A great part of the chauncell” of this church, as Carew relates,
“fell suddenly downe upon a Friday, very shortly after the publick
service was ended, which heavenly favour, of so little respite, saved
many persons’ lives, with whom immediately before it had been stuffed;
and the devout charges of the well-disposed parishioners quickly
repayred this ruine.”
_Cuddenbeck_ the antient seat of the Bishops, has long been occupied as
a farm, and now exhibits but little of its ancient episcopal grandeur.
Quitting St. Germains, at the distance of about a mile, is the direct
coach road from Tor Point, and within four miles of Liskeard is
_Catchfrench_, the seat of Francis Glanville, Esq., which being built on
an eminence, has a commanding effect; although it is a very comfortable
and spacious building, yet it does not possess much architectural
beauty. The west front is embattled and faced with slate, and at a
distance, with the surrounding scenery, has a pleasing effect.
The road from Tor Point to Liskeard is extremely hilly, and in many
places even dangerous.
_Coledrimick_, another spacious mansion like Catchfrench, is also in the
parish of St. Germains. It stands about a mile from the road, and within
three miles of Liskeard.
Near this also on the right, is the village of MENHENIOT, the _Church_
of which is a very large edifice with a lofty spire, visible at a
considerable distance. This building contains memorials for the families
of Carminow and Burell; J. Trelawney, of Coldrinnick, Dean of Exeter;
and Lady Charlotte, daughter of James, Earl of Errol, Lord High
Constable of Scotland, and wife of William Holwell Carr, B. D.,
incumbent of the parish, who died in 1801. The vicarage is one of the
most valuable benefices in Cornwall, being endowed with the great
tithes, subject only to an annual payment of £20 to Exeter College,
Oxford. The Dean and Chapter of Exeter are patrons, but pursuant to the
directions of Bishop Courtenay, must nominate a fellow of Exeter
College. William of Wykham was vicar of this parish: and Dr. Moreman, a
learned divine, who was instituted to the vicarage in the reign of Henry
VIII., is said to have been the first in these parts who taught and
catechised his parishioners in the English language.
The parish of Menheniot abounds with beautiful scenery; its numerous
vallies being pleasingly diversified with rock and wood.
Here is a very antient and curious building called _Pool_, now occupied
by the poor of the parish; but remarkable as having been the seat of the
ancestors of the present Sir Harry Trelawny; though Carew speaks of it
as being far beneath the worth and calling of its then possessor, Sir
Jonathan Trelawny. It is now fast mouldering to decay, but displays some
very interesting specimens of antient architecture. On the south front,
which was the principal entrance, (and exhibited in the accompanying
view) is a massive chimney, which age and other circumstances have
inclined three feet from its perpendicular; and at this time perhaps, it
is chiefly, if not wholly, supported by the ivy which grows about it.
LISKEARD is a large and populous market town, situated on rocky hills,
and partly in a bottom, about 16 miles from Plymouth, and 223 from
London. This place ranks as one of the oldest towns in the county; and
it had once a Castle, supposed to have been erected by one of the Earls
of Cornwall. It stood on the north side of the town, and its site is
still called the Castle Hill; but, even in Leland’s time, it was little
more than a heap of ruinous walls. The manor of Liskeard formed a part
of their ancient possessions; Liskeard having been made a free borough
in 1240, by Richard Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans, who
bestowed on the burgesses the same privileges which he had already
granted to those of Launceston and Helston. His son Edmund, in 1275,
granted them the fee of the borough, with the profits arising from the
markets, fairs, &c., subject to a rent of £18 per annum, which rent King
William III. granted to Lord Somers: it is now paid to Lord Eliot, who
purchased it of the late Lord Somers.
The _Church_ is a spacious edifice, standing on an eminence at the
eastern entrance to the town. It is composed of three aisles, with a low
embattled tower at the west end, on which are some curious grotesque
heads. The southern part of the building is the most handsome, and over
the porch are three Gothic niches. It contains but few monuments worthy
of notice.—In the south aisle, is a neat cenotaph to the memory of
Lieut. Joseph Hawkey, who was killed in action with some gun boats in
the Gulph of Finland, in July 1809, in the 23rd year of his age. There
is another for Joseph Wadham, who died in 1707, “being the last of that
family, whose ancestors were the founders of Wadham College in Oxford.”
Liskeard has returned members to Parliament, since the reign of Edward
the I.; the right of election being vested in the corporation and
freemen. The former, according to the charter of Elizabeth, consists of
a Mayor, Recorder, eight capital Burgesses, and 15 Assistants.[40] In
the list of representatives for this borough, we find the name of Lord
Chief Justice Coke.
Leland speaks of the _Market_ at Liskeard as “the best in Cornwall,
savyng Bodmyn.” In his time the market was held on Monday, and there are
still three great markets on that day; Shrove-Monday, the Monday after
Palm Sunday, and the Monday after St. Nicholas’s Day. Browne Willis
tells us that this market much exceeded that of Bodmin: it was then
held, as it now is, on Saturday. It is most amply supplied with all
sorts of provisions; a great portion of which is purchased for the
supply of the market at Plymouth Dock. There are three large
cattle-fairs; upon Holy Thursday, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and
St. Matthew’s Day. Liskeard is one of the four towns for the coinage of
tin; but there has been no coinage held there of late years.
The _Town Hall_ was erected about the year 1707, at the expense of Mr.
Dolben, one of the representatives for the borough. It is a curious
structure supported by granite columns; and the meat market is held in
the space between them.
A new _Market House_ is about to be erected on a very commodious plan.
The trade of the town is not of any particular description; but such as
most country towns enjoy, where the neighbouring agriculturists carry on
the farming business to a great extent. There is, however, a _Paper
Mill_ in the neighbourhood, which perhaps does not so particularly
affect the place.
The population of the town, according to the late census, amounts to
1896, being an increase of but 101 persons, since the year 1811. Browne
Willis speaks of Liskeard as the largest town in Cornwall, containing as
he was informed, 1000 houses. He must have been much misinformed; as the
population appears, by the parish-register, to have been considerably
increased within the last century, and in 1801 there were but 323
houses, and 1860 inhabitants.
The town consists of several streets very irregularly built; still the
houses are in general substantial, and slate-roofed. It has two good
Inns, called the Bell, and the King’s Arms.
Here was formerly a Nunnery of _Poor Clares_, founded and endowed by
Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans, but of which we have
not been able to obtain any further account. A great part of the
conventual buildings, known by the name of the _Great Place_, yet
remains, converted into dwelling-houses; and the Chapel is now a
bake-house.
A battle was fought near Liskeard on the 19th of January, 1643, between
Sir Ralph Hopton, and the Parliamentary forces, in which the latter were
defeated; Sir Ralph marching into the town with his army that night.
King Charles, on his entrance into Cornwall in 1644, halted at Liskeard
on the 2nd of August, and stayed there till the 7th.
A survey of the year 1337, in the Treasurer’s Remembrancer’s Office,
speaks of a new _Park_ at this place, in which were then 200 deer: it
was disparked by Henry VIII., and the land which it comprised (still
called the Park) is now held on lease by Lord Eliot. There was formerly
a chapel in this park, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to which there was
a great resort of pilgrims.—There are three _Meeting-houses_ in the
town, belonging to the Independents, Quakers, and Methodists: the former
was originally built by the Johnson family, for the Presbyterians.
Defoe, in his Tour through Great Britain in the early part of the last
century, speaks of it as a large new-built meeting-house; and observes,
that there were only three more in Cornwall. A volume of Poems by the
Rev. Henry Moore, some time minister of this Meeting, was published
after his death, under the superintendance of Dr. Aikin.—The
_Grammar-School_ here is supported by the corporation, with a salary of
_£_30 per annum: Dean Prideaux, and Walter Moyle, were educated at this
school. A CHARITY-SCHOOL for poor children, in which 10 girls are now
taught, was founded by the trustees of the charitable donation of the
Rev. St. John Eliot, who died in 1760, and endowed by them with _£_5 per
annum.
The _Church_ of ST. CLEER, a village three miles north-west of the town,
is an interesting fabric, with a lofty tower, surmounted with pinnacles
at the angles, and the buttresses which support it are embellished with
purfled fineals. The antient _Well_ of St. Cleer, about a mile from the
church, is a pleasing subject for the pencil, the top being richly
overgrown with ivy. Near it is a _Stone Cross_, ornamented at the top
with some rude sculpture.
In this neighbourhood are several other objects highly interesting to
the antiquary. The _Hurlers_, when perfect, consisted of three circles
of upright stones from three to five feet high, but several of them have
been removed. According to historians, these monuments of antiquity are
said to have been of Druidical origin; but the name of hurlers is most
probably derived from an opinion among the common people, that the
stones were once men, who were transformed for _Hurling_ (a favorite
game among the antient Cornish people) on the sabbath day.
The _Cheese-Wring_ is a natural pile of rocks 32 feet high, of eight
stones, or layers, apparently placed one above another, the largest at
the top: considering its perilous form and exposed situation, how this
pile has withstood the rage of storms for so many ages, is a matter of
just astonishment.
The _Cromlech_, or _Trewethy Stone_, as it is generally called, standing
on an eminence some distance from the Cheese-Wring, may be ranked as one
of the greatest antiquities in the county. It consists of six upright
stones, and one large slab, covering them in an inclined position. This
impext measures 16 feet in length, and 10 broad, and is, at a medium,
about 14 inches thick. It rests on five of the uprights only, and at its
upper end it is perforated by a small circular hole. No tradition exists
as to the time of its erection; but, its name at once designates its
being a work of the Britons, and sepulchral.[41]
The village of St. NEOT’S, four miles from Liskeard, has long been
celebrated for possessing a church, embellished with some of the finest
painted glass windows in the kingdom. They amount to 17, and display
various subjects connected with the legend of _St. Neot_, Portraits of
Saints, the History of the Creation, &c., but some of them have
unfortunately been defaced by ignorant or malicious depredators.
The _Church_ is a handsome fabric, built of granite, and from the style
of architecture is supposed not to be older than the reign of Henry VI.
It stands on a rising ground at the head of the village, and has a
dignified appearance, especially when contrasted with the humble
dwellings near it.
A correspondent has favoured us with the following additional
particulars relative to St. Neot’s:—
This village is about four miles west of Liskeard. Until the close of
the ninth century, it was called HAM-STOKE; from that period till the
Conquest, or later, it had the name of NEOT-STOKE; it received its
present name soon after. About the middle of the ninth century, St. Neot
(a pious hermit, who had been Sacristan at Glastonbury Abbey) retired
here. His pool is still shown; respecting which there are some curious
traditions.[42] The Saint erected a College of Priests, and a church
here, (on the site of the more antient Chapel of St. Guerir,) in which
he was buried in 877: the edifice was rebuilt in 884. The present Church
was erected in 1480.[43] It is an elegant building, consisting of a nave
and two side aisles. Its greatest ornament is its beautifully stained
glass; of which a considerable portion remains in a mutilated state.
Many of the legends of these richly “storied windows,” have perished:
Mr. Gorham[44] has preserved 85: in 1786, Mr. Forster published a coarse
outlined engraving of the windows, containing the legends of St. Neot,
and of St. George.
On the north side of the Chancel (where was doubtless the Saxon Chapel)
is a small recess, from which projected one end of a stone casket, 18
inches by 14. Here were preserved some remains of Neot; the founders of
St. Neot’s Priory in Huntingdonshire, having left “one arm”[45] of the
Saint for the Cornish Church, when they stole the greater part of the
treasure about 974! In October, 1795, this little cemetery was broken
open by some intoxicated workmen, whose curiosity had been excited by a
visit of Mr. Whitaker. The casket above-mentioned, was found to be a
shallow cenotaph: behind it was a stone, closing the mouth of an
aperture rudely formed in the solid wall; in this inner recess was
discovered “about a quart of mould-earth, very fine in itself, yet
adhering in clots, and dark in colour.”[46] By the side of this cavity
is a wooden tablet; on which are inscribed some quaint and puerile
verses, supposed to have been written just before the Reformation: the
narrative which they detail, is extremely inaccurate.
Returning from St. Neots to the high road, within four miles of Bodmin
is _Glynn House_, the residence of E. J. Glynn, Esq., which has lately
been rebuilt on the site of an elegant mansion, unfortunately destroyed
by fire, about three years ago. This misfortune not only was a great
loss to its worthy owner, but the literary world has suffered an
irreparable one; for it contained one of the finest libraries in the
county. The family also narrowly escaped, being all in their beds at the
time, but were luckily apprized of their dangerous situation by a female
domestic.—The present mansion is built at the bottom of a gentle
declivity, in a very pleasing valley, and is therefore sheltered from
the violence of the north-east winds. It is certainly a low structure,
but contains a number of commodious apartments. The grounds round the
house have been greatly improved, and now have a very pleasing aspect
from the road.
After crossing an antient bridge over one part of the river Fowey, at
Resprin, the antient mansion of _Lanhydrock_, situated at the head of a
noble avenue of trees, nearly a mile in length, has a very striking
effect. It is an embattled structure of granite, occupying three sides
of a quadrangle, and the windows are divided by stone mullions. On the
north side is a gallery 116 feet long, covered with a profusion of
uncouth and ill-executed plastered figures. There are, however, a few
family portraits, but none remarkable. In front of the house, is a large
irregular building, with a fine circular arch, once a porter’s lodge;
but as the owner of it, the Hon. Mr. Bagnal Agar, has not resided here
for some years, the whole building is getting much out of repair, though
as interesting a spot, perhaps, as any in the county.
The _Church_ of Lanhydrock, almost adjoining the house, is a beautiful
small edifice, with an embattled tower, finely mantled with ivy. The
whole fabric has recently undergone a complete repair, and at the same
time the antient character of the building has been judiciously
preserved as much as possible.
The plantations in the grounds near the grand entrance lodge, are daily
improving; and in a few years time will tend materially to the beauty of
the domain.
About three miles from hence, is BODMIN, a large town, situated on the
high western road, 243 miles from London, 30 from Plymouth, 21 from
Launceston, and about 12 from the two channels on the north and south
sides of the county. The late learned Mr. Whitaker, in his History of
the Cathedral of Cornwall, has with much ability, proved the fallacy of
the grounds upon which it was supposed to have been a bishop’s see; an
error into which Dr. Borlase, Browne Willis, and other eminent
antiquaries, had fallen; and has shewn very satisfactorily, that it was
not the monastery at Bodmin, but another religious house dedicated to
St. Petroc, near the sea-side, at Padstow, that was burnt by the Danes.
In early times, however, Bodmin possessed a Priory, a Convent of Grey
Friars, and several other religious structures, of which there are now
but few remains.
The _Priory_, which stood near the church, has gone entirely to decay,
but a handsome modern house, called the Priory, erected on its site, is
now the residence of Walter Raleigh Gilbert, Esq. This spot was first
selected for religious retirement as early as the sixth century, by St.
Guron and St. Petroc. It owed its origin to the circumstance of St.
Petroc, its founder, having taken up his abode in a valley, now occupied
by the town of Bodmin, but then the residence of St. Guron, a solitary
recluse, who having resigned his hermitage to St. Petroc, it was by him
enlarged for the residence of himself and three other devout men, who
accompanied him with the intention of leading a monastic life according
to the rules of St. Benedict. Here St. Petroc died before the middle of
the sixth century. His shrine was preserved in a small chapel, attached
to the east end of Bodmin church, as we learn from Leland and William of
Worcester. The hermitage which he had founded, continued to be inhabited
by monks of the Benedictine Order, till the reign of King Athelstan,
who, in 926, founded, on or near the same spot, a priory of
Benedictines: but this convent having been dissolved at an early period,
and its possessions fallen into the hands of secular canons, Robert,
Earl of Moreton and Cornwall seized them for his own use, and, after the
death of his son William, Earl of Moreton and Cornwall, they became
vested in the crown. Algar, to whom it is probable they had been
granted, with the King’s license, and that of William Warlewast, Bishop
of Exeter, re-founded the monastery, and replenished it with Austin
Canons, who continued till the general dissolution of religious houses,
when its revenues were valued at 270£. 0s. 11d. clear annual income. The
Prior had, among other privileges, a market and fair, gallows, pillory,
&c. as proved in a _quo warranto_, in the reign of King Edward I. The
site, with the demesnes, was granted to Thomas Sternhold, one of the
first English translators of the Psalms.—Various relics of antiquity
have been found at different times on this consecrated spot; among which
were some columns with ornamented mouldings and a mutilated effigy of a
skeleton, finely executed, which has been placed against a gateway in
the garden belonging to the Priory House.
The _Convent of Grey Friars_ is said to have been founded in the year
1239, under the patronage of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, and principally
supported by the benefactions of Sir Hugh and Thomas Peverell, of
Egloshale, who were buried in the friary church. In the year 1565, it
was conveyed to the Corporation of Bodmin, to whom it still belongs.
Since the early part of last century, it has been fitted up as an Assize
Hall, 150 feet long and 60 in height; but the removal of its two
beautiful Gothic windows is to be lamented. The two ends are
appropriated for the Courts of Assize, and the intermediate space for
the business of the Corn Market, &c. Above is the Grand Jury Room, and a
large Ball Room, often used during the races in August.
The only remains of the _Chapel_ of _Bery_, is a ruinous tower, standing
on a hill north of the town.
Some ruins of _St. Leonard’s_ and _St. Nicholas’ Chapels_ were standing
when Dr. Borlase published his work on the Antiquities of the County;
but they have long since been entirely removed.
The _Church_, which is the largest in the county, and stands at the
north-east end of the town, on rising ground, was rebuilt in 1472, as
appears by the inscription on the cornice of the south chancel, viz.
Ano dni Mo CCCCo LXXo II doma fem fecit.
It is a handsome edifice, consisting of a lofty nave and side aisles,
separated by clustered columns and pointed arches. The capitals of the
pillars, which are of very fine moorstone, are ornamented with roses.
The _Tower_ stands on the north side, and has a venerable appearance.
Over the porch on the south side, there are three handsome niches. The
whole building (particularly the interior) has, within the last seven
years, undergone a thorough repair. It contains a fine altar-tomb,
erected in memory of Prior Vivian, Suffragan Bishop of Megara, in
Greece, who died in the year 1533, and on which is the effigy of the
deceased in his pontifical robes, with a mitre and crozier, his hands
clasped on his breast, and two angels supporting shields charged with
the Vivian and Priory arms.
The _Font_ is the most interesting piece of antiquity in the church, and
of large dimensions. It is supported by a pedestal in the middle, and
four pillars on the outside, with angel’s heads for capitals; and the
basin in the centre is highly ornamented in the Saxon style, with
grotesque animals, foliage, &c. A handsome painted window, by Lowe, of
London, representing the Resurrection of our Saviour, will be put up in
the course of a short time. It is the gift of Lord de Dunstanville, who
is the patron of the vicarage.
A very particular account of the expense of rebuilding the church, is
preserved among the town records. The whole cost, exclusive of
_presents_ of timber, amounted only to 194£. 3s. 6½d. The timber for
St. John’s aisle cost 20£. 13s. 4d. Sir John Arundell gave several
timber-trees for the building. The lead for roofing, came to 16£. 2s.
3½d. The rate of wages at this time appears to have been, for a
labourer, four-pence by the day; for a mason, hewing stones,
five-pence; for making the pillars, &c. sixpence; for a plasterer,
five-pence half-penny. The following is a specimen of some of the
charges:—“Forty-nine journeys (days work) for the windows above the
Vyse, 24s. 6d.; fourteen journeys on the gabell window, 7s.” There was
formerly a spire on the tower, said to have been built by Prior
Vivian, and esteemed, as Tonkin tell us, the loftiest and finest in
the West of England. It was destroyed by lightning in 1699.—Jasper
Wood, 37 years vicar of Bodmin, who died in 1716, a man, it may be
supposed, of deranged intellects, fancied himself bewitched, and that
he was delivered from the witches’ power by his guardian-angel. Tonkin
says there was a printed account of this man, and various traditions
relating to him are still current in the town.
The Corporation consists of a Mayor, 11 Aldermen, 24 Common Councilmen,
and a Town Clerk. This town was regularly incorporated by charter of
Elizabeth, which was lost, by lapse, previously to the year 1798, when a
similar charter was granted by his late Majesty.
The right of electing two representatives in Parliament is vested solely
in the 37 members of the Corporation.
Among the antient corporation accounts, are the following curious items,
relating to the election of members of Parliament, and the payment of
their wages, in the reign of Henry VII.
“19, 20 Hen. VII, paide to Richard Watts and John Smyth, burgesses of
the Parliament for the towne, 13s. 4d.
“Paide for the endentes for the burgesses of the parliament, 20d.
“Paide and yeven in malmesey to the under-sheryff, 4d.
“Paide for the makyng a payr of endentes and an obligation, 12d.
“It. Paide and yeven onto Thomas Trote in rewarde, 20d.
“It. Paide to Sir Richard Downa, the wich was promysed by the maier and
the worshipfull in a reward towardes his wagys, 13s. 4d.
The town principally consists of one long street, running nearly a mile
from east to west; the houses in general, are low, decayed, and
irregular; but much improvement has been made within the last 20 years.
Some centuries ago, Bodmin appears to have been of much greater extent,
and more populous, than at present: it was probably largest, and
contained the greatest number of inhabitants, about the fourteenth
century. It is now smaller than either Helston, Liskeard, Megavissey,
and Penryn; and considerably smaller than St. Austell, Truro, Redruth,
Penzance, or Falmouth; yet in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it appears
to have still taken precedence of all the other Cornish towns.
The _Grammar School_, said to have been founded by Queen Elizabeth, and
endowed with 5£. per annum, (which the Corporation have increased to
100£. per annum) was held in an old chapel, in the church-yard, until
the last year, when a new school-room was opened in a more commodious
situation.
The population, according to the late returns, amounts to 2902, but the
whole parish contains 3278, being 802 more than the number returned in
1811.[47]
The market on Saturday is much frequented, and well supplied with
provisions; but some judicious regulations are necessary, (particularly
to remedy the want of a market house,) which would render it more
generally useful and commodious. There are also three fairs held here
annually, chiefly for cattle.
There was a market at Bodmin when the survey of Domesday was taken, the
profits of which, belonging to the Prior, were then valued at 35s. per
annum: the tolls were afterwards let at a fee-farm rent to the
burgesses, in whom the market and fairs are now vested. Leland speaks of
the market at Bodmin as being like a fair for the confluence of people;
and Hals compares it, in point of supply of all kinds of provisions &c.,
to those of Exeter and Tavistock. The fairs, which are great marts for
cattle and horses, are on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul,
Saturday after Midlent Sunday, Saturday before Palm Sunday, Wednesday
before Whitsuntide, and on the feast of St. Nicholas the Bishop
(December 6.) Leather-shoes are made in great quantities at this town,
and exposed to sale in standings at the markets and fairs.
Bodmin is said to have been one of the coinage towns which had the
privilege of stamping tin; but it appears that it had been lost before
the year 1347, when the burgesses petitioned parliament, complaining,
that although by royal charter they were authorised to deal in all kinds
of merchandise, tin as well as other, in the county of Cornwall, they
had of late been hindered by the Prince and his men from buying or
coining tin: they were unsuccessful in their application, the answer of
Parliament being, that the Prince might order the tin to be sold where
he pleased.
The Summer Assizes for the county have been held in this town, with few
exceptions, since the year 1716, and the Michaelmas Quarter Sessions are
also held here.
The races usually commence the week following the assizes, and are held
about a mile and a half from the town, on the left of the road leading
to Launceston. The course is considered one of the finest in England.
_The County Gaol_ was erected in the year 1780, from the designs of Sir
John Cull, on the principles recommended by the great philanthropist,
the late John Howard, Esq. It stands in a healthy situation, on the side
of a hill, to the north of the town.
Within the last three years a very handsome and commodious _Lunatic
Asylum_ has been erected at the western end of the town, and is fitted
up in a very comfortable manner, for persons afflicted with that
dreadful malady.
The earliest historical event, of any importance, connected with this
place, is, that it became the head-quarters of Thomas Flanmauck and
Michael Joseph, the ringleaders of the rebellion of 1496, both of whom
indeed appear to have been inhabitants of this parish.—Perkin Warbeck,
after his landing in Cornwall, in the year 1498, assembled at Bodmin a
force of 3000 men, with which he advanced to attack Exeter.—In 1550, the
Cornish rebels, under the command of Humphry Arundell, encamped at
Castle-Hynock, near this town, and marched thence to the siege of
Exeter. After the suppression of this rebellion, which soon followed,
Sir Anthony Kingston, the Provost-marshal, came, with the King’s
commission, to punish some of the chief offenders; and, it is said, he
hanged the mayor at his own door, after partaking of the hospitalities
of his table.—Bodmin does not appear to have had any garrison during the
Civil War, though it was occasionally occupied by both parties. General
Fairfax finally took possession of it for the Parliament in 1646, a few
days before the capitulation with Sir Ralph Hopton, near Truro.
At St. Lawrence, about a mile north-west of Bodmin, are some remains of
the _Hospital for Lepers_, founded by Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1582,
but which was abolished a few years since owing to certain abuses, and
the lands belonging to it, worth about £140. per annum, appropriated to
the Infirmary at Truro. The remains chiefly consist of three fine
arches, springing from clustered columns, with ornamented capitals, and
some ruinous walls, now fast mouldering into decay. On one part of the
old buildings, is the following inscription:
Richarde Carter of Saynt Columbe Marchant by his laste wylle &
Testament in ano Dom 1582 did geve ten pounde for the allurance
of twentie shillinges. yerelye to be payed unto us the poer
Lepers of the Hospytall & to oure 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 & rare
example in oure tyme God grantete main to follow hereaftre
The seal of this hospital is a curious relic of antiquity, containing
the figure of St. Lawrence, under a Gothic canopy, and another figure
below it, in the attitude of prayer, with this inscription:—“_S. Sci
Lawrencie Bodmons de peupo_.”
ST. LAWRENCE is merely a hamlet to Bodmin, but is remarkable as having
two very large fairs for cattle annually.
At LANHWIT, the adjoining village, about three miles from Bodmin, are
some remains of an antient _Monastery_, called St. Bennet’s, which,
although greatly defaced some years ago, by the removal of the
cloisters, still displays a fine tower, richly mantled with ivy. The
other parts have been fitted up at the expense of the proprietor, the
Rev. F. V. I. Arundell, as a family residence. The remains are seated in
a narrow valley, almost surrounded by wood, with a rapid stream in the
front, which adds greatly to the beauty of this romantic spot.
_Tremere_, an ancient seat of the Courtenays, in this parish, is now a
farm-house.
A ride from hence to the _Roach Rocks_, will be highly gratifying to the
curious traveller, or an admirer of natural curiosities. They consist of
three immense piles of craggy ponderous stones, rising to a considerable
height, and at a distance resembling an antient castle. On the summit of
the pile, in the centre, stand the remains of a small building, which
formerly contained two apartments, and is supposed to have been erected
for religious purposes.
These rocks, says Dr. Maton, “consist of a white sparry quartz, mixed
with schoerl, which appears in innumerable needle-like crystals. Two or
three varieties of this substance are observable; in one the schoerl
being more sparingly interspersed, and in another more abundantly.” A
pile of rocks starting abruptly out of a wide green surface, and
covering some space with enormous fragments, on which there are only a
few vestiges of incipient vegetation, form a singular scene, exhibiting
a kind of wild sublimity, peculiar to itself. The accompanying view was
taken from the south side, and the chapel on the summit is a very
beautiful and picturesque feature in the picture.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
OF THE
MINES IN CORNWALL,
WITH AN
=_Excursion to the Scilly Islands._=
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
OF
THE MINES, &c.
-------
In a former part of this work, we gave a list of the principal Tin and
Copper Mines in this county; but as we apprehended the limits of it
would not allow a particular description of them, we have since, at the
suggestion of some of our subscribers, curtailed the historical and
topographical notices, with the view to enable us to present our readers
with some little particulars as to the situation and nature of the most
valuable mines now working. In passing through the county according to
the plan of our several Excursions, there are not any mines deserving of
particular attention, until the traveller arrives at St. Austell; here
it is necessary that he should make some stay, as the vicinity of the
town possesses many attractions, and the numerous works now in progress
will amply gratify his curiosity.
The most considerable _Tin Mine_ in the county is _Polgooth_, which is
situated about two miles south-west of St. Austell; and even in
Borlase’s time, is said to have yielded to its proprietors a profit of
£20,000 annually for some years. Owing, however, to some unfortunate
disputes, the operations have been suspended for nearly 20 years, but
have lately been resumed with increased vigour. From the extensive
nature of the works carried on in this mine, the whole surface of the
country in its vicinity, has been completely disfigured, and presents a
very gloomy aspect. The quantity of ore which has been raised from this
mine, during the progress of its workings, is far beyond calculation:
the immense piles of earth, which have been excavated and thrown up,
have quite a mountainous appearance: roads have been formed in several
directions leading to the places or shafts, where the miners are at
work; and the dreariness of the scene is only enlivened by the humble
cottages, which have been erected for their residence. The number of
shafts which have been sunk in this mine, amount to near 50, and the
greater part of them are mostly working; but since the introduction of
steam engines, the operations have been considerably increased, as the
water is now raised to the level of the adits, and which before had in
some cases overflowed certain parts of the mine.
The introduction of steam engines for drawing off the water from the
mines in Cornwall, is one of the most valuable discoveries imaginable;
and the greatest advantages have attended these powerful machines, while
on the other hand few accidents have been occasioned by their
adoption.[48]
In Dr. Maton’s Observations on the Western Counties, is the following
description of a _Steam Engine_; but since that time, their powers of
acting have been considerably augmented; and on some occasions they are
now made on a very large scale, with _cylinders_ even 90 inches in
diameter.
“The Steam Engine is one of the most curious, and perhaps most useful
machines that owe their origin to the discoveries of philosophy; without
it many of the mines in Cornwall must long ago have ceased to have been
worked; and among other purposes to which it has elsewhere been most
advantageously applied, should be mentioned, the supplying of towns with
water, the grinding of corn, the turning of the wheels of machines in
woollen manufactories, and the blowing of bellows to fuse ores and
metals; we have to boast of this grand machine, being invented, as well
as perfected, in our own country: Captain Savery is said to have first
discovered the method of raising water by the pressure of air, in
consequence of the condensation of steam; or at least he was the first
person that put any method of this sort into practice: he obtained a
patent, in the year 1698, for a machine contrived in the following
manner; the air was expelled from a vessel by steam, and the steam
condensed by the admission of cold water, which causing a vacuum, the
pressure of the atmosphere forced the water to ascend into the steam
vessel through a pipe 24 or 26 feet high: by dense steam brought from
the boiler, the water in the steam vessel was elevated to the requisite
height. This construction, however, did not answer, because very strong
vessels were wanted to resist the expansive violence of the steam; an
enormous quantity of which was, besides, condensed by coming in contact
with the cold water in the steam vessel. The danger of bursting the
vessels was avoided soon afterwards by the invention of Messrs. Newcomen
and Cawley, of Dartmouth. These gentlemen employed for the steam vessel
a hollow cylinder, shut at the bottom and open at the top, and furnished
with a piston sliding easily up and down in it, but made tight by oakum
or hemp, and covered with water: the piston was suspended by chains from
one end of a beam moveable on an axis in the middle of its length; to
the other end of this beam hung the pump rods. Some imperfections still
remained; but the most important were at length wholly removed by the
discoveries of Mr. Watt, and the construction made use of by that
gentleman and Mr. Bolton, of Soho, near Birmingham; who obtained a
patent for 25 years, in addition to the term granted to Mr. Watt alone,
in the year 1768. One of these machines will work a pump of 18 inches in
diameter, and upwards of 100 fathoms in height, at the rate of 10 or 12
strokes, of seven feet long each, in one minute. It will raise to the
height of 80 feet, in that same space of time, a weight equal to 18,000
pounds; the combined action of 200 horses could not effect more. In
Newcomen’s engine this would have required a cylinder 10 feet in
diameter; but as, in the new engine, the steam acts, and a vacuum is
made, alternately above and below the piston, the power exerted is
double to what the same cylinder would otherwise produce; and is farther
augmented by an inequality in the length of the two ends of the lever.
It must be considered too, that one-third part only of the coals which
the old engine would have required, is used for the same portion of
work.” The expense of erecting the first steam engine in the Polgooth
Mine, amounted to nearly £20,000; and the quantity of coals consumed by
it, in the short space of 24 hours, is stated to amount to 144 bushels.
According to Borlase, the main vein of ore in this mine, was about six
feet thick, running from east to west, and dipping to the north, at the
rate of about six feet in a fathom; towards the east it divides into two
branches, and there is another that cuts the former nearly at a right
angle, and consequently runs north and south, but dipping to the east.
The _ore_ is disseminated in general through a matrix of _Caple_,[49]
accompanied with a _yellow cupreous pyrites_, and sometimes a
_ferrugineous ochre_; it is of the vitreous kind, but rarely found in
crystals, the colour for the most part being of a greyish brown.
_Crennis Copper Mine_, which is situated about two miles east of St.
Austell, is highly deserving of notice: here also steam engines have
been introduced with the most beneficial effects; but although the ore
found in this mine is extremely rich, it was not discovered till within
the last few years, but is stated in some instances to have yielded a
clear profit to its proprietors of £84,000 in one year.
The several _Tin Stream Works_ also in the neighbourhood of St. Austell,
are particularly deserving of notice; the one on the left of the road
near Pentuan, has proved a considerable benefit to the adventurers
concerned in it. In Luxilian parish, through which the road leading from
St. Austell to Bodmin has been formed, there are several works of a
similar nature; but owing to the number of excavations which have been
made for the discovery of ore, it is desirable that strangers should
avoid travelling in this direction after dusk. The celebrated _Wood
Tin_, as it is called, is mostly found in the Stream Works, and which
although extremely valuable, appears far from prepossessing in the minds
of those persons who are unacquainted with mineralogy.
Small particles of gold are frequently found in the Stream Works, but
they are mostly incorporated with tin crystals in streaks.
The celebrated _Clay Works_ in the parish of St. Stephen’s are also well
deserving of attention; as they are now conducted upon a very extensive
scale. In a commercial point of view, the discovery of this clay, or
china stone, has been attended with the greatest advantages, besides
being the means of affording employment to many men, women, and
children. The value of this clay, or china stone, as it is generally
called, was accidentally discovered about 60 years ago; since which
time, immense quantities have been exported for the porcelain
manufactories in Staffordshire and Wales. It is a decomposed granite,
the felspar of which has lost its properties of fusibility; but, in the
manufacture of china and earthenware, it is of the greatest value. In
the manufacture of crucibles at Truro, it has been found of much value.
Notwithstanding, however, the great success which has attended the
progress of the china stone works, it is to be lamented, the wages
allowed to the several persons employed in them, are so trifling. Little
occurs to interest the traveller in regard to mines, after leaving St.
Austell, until his arrival at Truro.
The _Carnon Stream Works_, on the left of the road leading to Falmouth,
are the most considerable in the county, and merit particular
observation. It is now nearly 40 years since they were first discovered;
and the quantity of tin which they have yielded, has proved a golden
harvest to the proprietors of them. The works occupy a considerable
extent of ground, and appear to have been gained from the sea; the mud
and other matter washed down by the stream, having raised a sort of
embankment, which, by its continual extension, and some assistance from
art, has gradually contracted the boundaries of the tide.[50] The bed of
pebbles from which the tin is extracted, is about 30 feet below the
surface of the ground, and from four to six feet thick. As a proof that
these works must have been known in very early times, a wooden shovel,
and picks made of deers’ horns, together with some human bones and
skulls, have been found at different periods. Great improvements have
been lately made in the works for drawing off the water, and which has
also, from the lowness of their situation, been attended with
considerable benefit to several other mines in the neighbourhood.
When at Helston, the traveller will derive much gratification from
visiting the celebrated _Tin Mine_, called _Huel Vor_, which is situated
about three miles west of that town. This mine is allowed to be one of
the most valuable in the county; and its proprietors are said to have
gained a clear profit of upwards of £10,000, in the short space of three
months, notwithstanding the monthly charges amount to £5,000. Here are
no less than five large steam engines for drawing off the water, besides
several others of less magnitude for raising the ore, &c. There are also
four large stamping mills worked by steam. The operations of this mine
extend more than a mile and a quarter below the surface of the earth,
and about 1300 persons are employed in conducting the different works.
The ore is smelted and roasted on the spot; and when properly cleansed,
is ladled from the furnaces into moulds of 370lbs. each. The principal
lode in this mine is said to be of the enormous width of 30 feet, and
extremely rich. The expenses incident to carrying on the working of this
mine are very great; especially in the consumption of candles and
gunpowder, which far exceeds any estimate a stranger to mining concerns
could form. In this mine, no less than 3,000lbs. of candles, and about
3,500lbs. of gunpowder are consumed every month.
The _Botallack Tin and Copper Mine_, in the parish of St. Just, near the
Land’s End, is one of the most surprising undertakings in the county, as
the operations of the miners extend for nearly 70 fathoms under the bed
of the sea; and the entrance to the works is at least 200 feet below the
cliffs.
——“How fearful
And dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low,
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air
Show scarce so gross as beetles:——
——I’ll look no more,
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.”
As a late writer[51] justly observes, that on descending to the surface
of the mine, “You will then behold a combination of the powers of art
with the wild sublimity of nature, which is quite unparalleled; the
effects of the whole being not a little heightened by the hollow roar of
the raging billows which are perpetually lashing the cliff beneath. In
looking up you will observe troops of mules laden with sacks of coals,
for the supply of the engine, with their undaunted riders, fearlessly
trotting down the winding path which you trembled at descending even on
foot. As you approach the engine, the cliff becomes almost
perpendicular; and the ore raised from the mine is therefore drawn up
over an inclined plane, by means of a horse engine placed on the extreme
verge of the overhanging rocks above, and which seems to the spectator
below, as if suspended in “_Mid Air_.”
The ore of this mine is the _grey_ and _yellow sulphuret_ of _copper_,
mixed with oxide of tin. Here a great variety of interesting minerals
have been collected, among which are several varieties of _jasper_;
_arborescent native copper_; _jaspery iron ore_; _arseniate of iron_;
_sulphuret of bismuth_, imbedded in _jasper_; beautiful _specular iron
ore_; _lamatitic iron_, and the _hydrous oxide of iron_, in _prisms
terminated by pyramids_.
The neighbourhood of Redruth is, as before stated in a preceding part of
this work, the very centre of the mining district; and there are more
mines in the vicinity of that town than in any other part of the County.
We therefore recommend travellers, especially those who are interested
in mining transactions, to make some stay at Redruth, and we can venture
to say that they will derive much gratification in consequence.
About two miles west of that town is the noted _Copper Mine_ of
_Dolcoath_, which from its situation on the brow of a hill, enables the
visitor to see at one view, all the principal machinery by which its
working is conducted. As the same writer justly observes; “it is quite
impossible to convey an idea of this singular and interesting scene;
steam engines, water wheels, horse whims, and stamping mills are all in
motion; while in the glen beneath, many hundred labourers are to be seen
busily engaged in the different operations of separating, dressing, and
cleansing the ore. In the whole circle of human inventions, there is
nothing which so fully manifests the resources of intellect, for the
production of immense effects, as the stupendous art of mining, and it
is impossible that the workings of Dolcoath Mine, can be viewed without
exciting the strongest sensation of wonder and exultation.” The works of
this mine extend upwards of a mile in length, from east to west, and in
depth, 1050 feet below the level of the sea; being much deeper than any
other mine in the county.
_Cook’s Kitchen_ in Illogan, another rich copper mine, is also situated
on the summit of the same hill, and from the extent of its operations
presents a grand scene, the picturesque effect of which is materially
heightened by the solemnity of Carnbre’ Hill, and the numerous ponderous
masses of rock which lie scattered about its base
In the _Chacewater Mine_, which is situated three miles south of
Redruth, is one of the largest steam engines now in use; and when
erected in the year 1813, was then the most powerful engine ever made.
As a proof of its immense power, if it were applied as a mill, it could
grind a bushel of wheat in a minute; and notwithstanding its velocity,
and the complex nature of its several parts, the engineer in charge of
it, can in one instant put a stop to its motion, by the mere act of
turning a screw. This engine is made upon the improved system, by Bolton
and Watt, and finished with much elegance. The cylinder is 66 inches in
diameter; the depth of the engine shaft is 128 fathoms; from the adit to
the bottom, 90 fathoms. It makes eight strokes in a minute, and at every
stroke raises 108 gallons of water to the adit, and at the same time
also, 60 gallons 10 fathoms high, for the purpose of condensing the
steam. The quantity of coals which it consumes in 24 hours, is estimated
at about eight chaldrons.
About two miles from hence, in a southerly direction, are the
_Consolidated Mines_, which have only lately been re-established.[52]
Here are two very powerful steam engines, with cylinders 90 inches in
diameter. The expenses attending the resumption of the workings of these
mines, are said to have amounted to the enormous sum of nearly £70,000;
but owing to the immense quantity of copper ore which has been raised,
and other advantageous circumstances, the shares are now selling in
London at more than £100 per cent. The monthly charges for workmen, &c.
amounts to no less a sum than £7000. These mines are now under the
management of Mr. Taylor and a London Company.
_Huel Unity_ and the _Poldice Mines_ are also situated in this
neighbourhood; the former produces copper, and the latter tin and
copper. Both have been very profitable to their adventurers, and are
said to have yielded them a profit of from 12 to £16,000 annually. The
Poldice Mine is one of the oldest in the county, and yields a _yellowish
copper ore_, a _rosin tin_, and a few stones of _galena_. In both of
these, steam engines have been long erected, but they are not on so
extensive a scale as those used in some of the mines above noticed. In
these mines, some of the most beautiful specimens of _arseniate of
copper_ and _lead_ have been discovered. _A whitish grey copper,
crystallized_, in triangular and quadrangular pyramids, has also been
found here.
_Huel Alfred Copper Mine_, which, some years ago, was the richest and
most profitable mine in Cornwall, is situated about a mile and a half
south-east of Hayle. In former times the adventurers in this mine are
said to have gained £130,000; but owing to some misunderstanding, the
operations have been discontinued since the year 1816, until within the
last six months. It is in contemplation to erect two steam engines in
this mine, with cylinders of the largest dimensions; when, no doubt,
from the favourable appearance of the lodes, the proprietors will be
amply repaid the expenses incident to such an undertaking. To the
Mineralogist this mine is highly interesting, as several very rare and
curious minerals have been discovered; viz. _stalactitic swimming_, and
_cubic quartz_, _carbonate_ and _phosphate of lead_, _stalactitic_,
_cotryoidal_, and _investing calcedony_, _&c._ If a stranger should be
desirous of descending into a mine, he cannot select a better
opportunity than here presents itself, owing to the extensive scales of
the lodes. On these occasions, it is always customary to put on a
suitable dress; viz. a flannel jacket and trowsers, a close cap, an old
broad brimmed hat, and a thick pair of shoes; thus accoutred, a lighted
candle is put into his hand, and another suspended to a button of his
jacket. A few years ago the Duke of R—d gratified his curiosity in this
respect, and many others have followed his example; but as a
satisfaction to our readers, we insert Dr. Forbes’s observations on the
subject. “A person unacquainted with the details of mining, on being
informed of many hundreds of men being employed in a single mine, might
naturally imagine that a visit to their deep recesses, would afford a
picturesque and imposing spectacle of gregarious labour and bustle;
tremendous noise, and much artificial brilliancy to cheer the gloom:
nothing, however, is further from the truth, as far as regards the mines
of Cornwall; for, like their fellow labourers, the moles, the miners are
solitary in their operations. Seldom do we find more than three or four
men in one _level_ or gallery, at a time, where they are seen pursuing
the common operations of digging, or boring the rock, by the feeble
glimmering of a small candle, stuck close by them, with very little
noise or more latitude for bodily movement; besides whom, there are
generally one or two boys employed in wheeling the broken ore, &c. to
the shaft. Each of these boys has also a candle affixed to his
wheelbarrow by the universal subterranean candlestick, a piece of clay.
A certain band of men, who, however numerous, are always called “_a
pair_,” generally undertake the working of a particular _level_. These
subdivide themselves into smaller bodies, which by relieving each other
at the end of every six or eight hours, keep up the work,
uninterruptedly, except on Sunday. By means of this subdivision of the
_pairs_, there is in general not more than one third of the under-ground
labourers below at any one time. Very seldom are the miners within the
sound of each other’s operations, except occasionally they hear the dull
report of the explosions. In the vicinity of the main shaft, indeed, the
incessant action of the huge chain of pumps, produces a constant, but
not very loud noise; while the occasional rattling of the metallic
buckets against the walls of the shaft, as they ascend and descend,
relieves the monotony both of the silence and the sound; still every
thing is dreary, dull, and cheerless; and you can be with difficulty
persuaded, even when in the richest and most populous mines, that you
are in the centre of such extensive and important operations.
The _Herland Mines_ are situated about a mile east of Huel Alfred, and
are chiefly remarkable for the beautiful specimens of _native silver_,
_vitreous silver ore_, and _black oxide of silver_, which they have
produced, and which has been noticed in a former part of this work.
After an interval of nearly 20 years, the workings of these mines have
lately been resumed, under the management of a London Company; who have
had two steam engines erected, with cylinders 80 inches in diameter. The
copper ore found in the Herland Mines is extremely rich; but although
the lodes are more numerous than in Huel Alfred, they are not so large.
All mines are placed under the superintendance of a foreman, called the
_Captain_, who keeps the accounts, and pays, and regulates the workmen;
they are in general men of respectability, and get liberally paid. The
designation of _Captain_, however, is very absurd; for in many
instances, even strangers are frequently accosted as such by the Cornish
people. There are also inferior superintendants, who are employed to
superintend the internal operations of the miners.
The miners, in general, are a civil, honest, and active class of beings,
and since the extension of the Wesleyan system, have become very
religious. The hardships many of them endure is beyond belief,
particularly such as have large families; and who, in most cases, live
in little huts in the immediate vicinity of the mines. Their mode of
living is very hard, as they seldom taste animal food; indeed, the
reduced scale of their wages is such as scarcely to allow bread, and
that in many instances composed of ground barley only. In some cases,
many of the miners work like slaves, and are obliged to wheel barrows a
considerable distance, filled with ore to the extent of four cwt.; while
on the other hand, those who are employed under ground, have a wretched
emaciated appearance, and mostly die at an early age, in pulmonary
consumptions.
The _Iron Foundries at Hayle_ are well deserving of notice, and here
some of the largest engines used in the mines were cast. The _Water Dam_
which was constructed about 30 years ago, (near the house where the
copper was formerly smelted,) for scouring out the sand from the
harbour, has been attended with the most beneficial effects. It is now
in contemplation to have a causeway built across the Hayle, the estimate
for which amounts to about _£_5,000; and which, if accomplished, will be
highly beneficial.
The singular and desolate appearance of the whole surface of the country
in this neighbourhood, which, with few exceptions, extends even as far
as Padstow, excites the attention of every stranger. The immense banks
of sand which have been thrown up on the coast, have been a great
injury; and in some instances, many dwellings have even been buried by
the shifting of the sands; here human bones have also been frequently
discovered, supposed to have belonged to cemeteries which have been
inundated during violent hurricanes.
Many of the above particulars were obligingly communicated by Sir
Christopher Hawkins, Bart., M.P., and Recorder for St. Ives; and who
also has a seat, called Trewinnard, in this part of the county.
_Tredea_, which is near to Trewinnard, is the property of Davies
Gilbert, Esq., M.P. for Bodmin, and President of the Royal Geological
Society at Penzance.
With the view to enable mineralogists to prosecute their endeavours, it
is necessary on their proceeding into Cornwall, that they should visit
the most interesting collections in the county. Of these may be ranked
the valuable collection belonging to William Rashleigh, Esq., at
Menabilly, near Fowey, which has been noticed in a former part of this
work. In this splendid collection are some very magnificent _oxide of
tin_, _fluors_, _melachite_, and some very rare varieties of _sulphuret
of copper_; wood tin forming a vein in a matrix of quartz, to one side
of which adheres a fragment of rock. An account is given in the first
volume of the transactions of the Penzance Geological Society. Here are
also some fine specimens of _yellow copper ore_, with _opal_; triple
_sulphuret of antimony_; _copper and lead_ in various forms; _ruby
copper_ in _cubes_; _quartz_ with water in globules; _topazes_ of
beautiful lustre; and _green fluor_, in crystals with 24 sides. Many of
the specimens above enumerated are of considerable value and scarcity,
besides which there are also many others highly interesting. They are
contained in a spacious apartment, which has been fitted up in the most
elegant manner, with glass cases to prevent them from being injured. Mr.
Rashleigh takes great pleasure in allowing strangers to visit his
collection, and is entitled to every mark of commendation for his
politeness on such occasions.
In the collection of Joseph Carne, Esq. at Penzance, may be seen
_prehnite_ in a variety of forms, _axinite_ in its usual form,
_stilbite_ in flat four-sided prisms terminated by pyramids, _mesotype_
radiated, _garnets_ in 12 and 24 sided, crystals, _pirite_ in six and 12
sided prisms, _uranite_ in quadrangular tables with the angles in some
cases truncated, and also in forms much resembling cubes and
octohedrons, _uranochre_, _native bismuth_, and _specular iron_ ore,
very simular to that found at Elba; _grey sulphuret_ of _copper_, the
best defined crystals of which are very obtuse dodecahedrons, and
six-sided prisms; in some specimens the dodecahedrons are so placed upon
the summit of the prisms, as to resemble a nail: this is one of the most
rare specimens ever found in Cornwall, and is much sought after by
mineralogists. Here are also two very rare and curious specimens of
_yellow_ and _grey sulphuret of copper_, in forms resembling a cube, the
latter being pseudomorphous.
The Royal Geological Society at Penzance possessed many valuable and
rare specimens; among the earthy species may be enumerated, _calcedony_,
_sodalite_, _haiiyne_, _petalite_, _colophonite_, _vesuvian_, &c. In the
metallic branch, is _carbonate of lead_, _specular iron_, _arseniate of
iron_, the _oxide_, _carbonate_, _arseniate_ and _phosphate of copper_,
_native gold_, found in the Cornish Tin Stream Works; _arsenical
pyrites_, _uranite_, _uran ochre_, _native nickel_, &c. besides a
mineral but little known, viz. _subcarburet_ of iron, and which was
analyzed by the late Rev. W. Gregor.
The cabinet of John Williams, Esq. at Scorrier House, near Redruth, is
unrivalled in its specimens of _red oxide of copper_ in _octohedrons_,
cubes, and capillary crystals; there are also some fine specimens of
_arseniate_ of copper in very perfect obtuse octohedrons; a mass of
uranite, which for size and beauty surpasses any that has ever been
found: _blende_ in octohedrons and cubes, _native_ and ruby silver,
besides a very rare and highly valuable specimen of the muriate of _horn
silver_ and _arseniate of lead_ in six-sided prisms.
Such strangers as are desirous of forming a collection of the several
minerals which have been found in this county, cannot adopt a better
plan than applying to the different dealers; they are, however,
sometimes to be had of the miners. The most respectable dealers in
minerals are, at St. Austell, Mr. Hennah, Bookseller; at Truro,
Tregoning and Mudge; at Falmouth, Mr. Trathan; at Penzance, Mr. Jacobs;
at Redruth, Mr. Bennett; at Gwenap, Mr. Michell; at St. Agnes, Mr.
Argall; and the landlord of the Tamar Inn, Calstock; who was once a
superintendant of some of the mines near St. Austell.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCURSION TO THE SCILLY ISLANDS.
Such travellers as may be desirous of making an excursion to these
islands, will not only be much gratified by the voyage, but their health
will be materially benefited by the congenial breezes of the ocean, and
the mild temperature of the atmosphere, which is so peculiar to this
part of the coast. The beauty also of the several marine prospects which
such an excursion presents to notice, cannot fail to excite the most
lively emotions: yet who can enjoy it, without reflecting on the many
dreadful shipwrecks which have occurred off the Scilly Islands;
especially the melancholy fate of Sir Cloudesly Shovel and his brave
companions. Owing, however, to the erection of light-houses, and other
salutary measures, such disasters have not been so frequent as formerly.
The difficulty of navigating the passage round the Land’s End, is
nevertheless very great, and, in many instances, attended with much
danger.
The contiguity of these islands to the county of Cornwall, renders it
necessary that some little notice of them should be given in the present
work. From the Land’s End they are distant about nine leagues, and on a
clear day are distinctly visible; but from Penzance, from whence the
packet sails every Friday, the distance is fourteen leagues. With a fair
wind the voyage is generally accomplished in six hours; but on some
occasions has lasted two days.
According to the most eminent historians, these islands were originally
denominated the CASSITERIDES, or TIN ISLES, and their number not to have
exceeded _ten_; but their original appearance has been greatly altered,
either by the violence of the sea, or some other convulsive effort of
nature. At present their number amounts to _one hundred and forty_,
although the following only appear to be inhabited; viz. _St. Mary’s_,
_St. Agnes_, _St. Martin’s_, _Trescow_, _Bryher_, and _Sampson_. The
population of the whole of them, (more than half of which reside in St.
Mary’s,) does not exceed 2000.
ST. MARY’S is the largest and most cultivated, possessing three towns, a
pier, a garrison, custom-house, &c. The length of this island is about
two miles and a half; and its circumference is about 10 miles. The
prospects from some of the hills are extremely fine; and from their
rocky character and other local circumstances, present a very singular
and interesting appearance. “The principal settlement is _Heugh Town_,
so called from the neighbouring peninsula, on which, during the pilchard
fishery, a man is stationed to watch the coming of the fish, and give
notice of their approach by _heughing_ to the boats below. On the summit
of the peninsula is a small fort, erected in 1793, by Sir Francis
Godolphin, and called _Star Castle_, from having eight points projecting
like the rays of a star. In the centre is the governor’s house, having a
foss between it and the outer rampart; where, at the salient angles, are
four small apartments, designed for as many captains of the garrison.
The lines are at some distance below the fort, nearly two miles in
extent, and flanked by several strong batteries. Below them are the
remains of an antient fort, that seems to have had a circular keep, like
the castles of Trematon, Launceston, and Restormel. Nearer the water’s
edge, on the western side of the peninsula, is the Heugh Town, which
skirts the border of a sandy bay, with a good anchorage, and
sufficiently spacious to contain 100 sail of shipping. The houses are
chiefly low buildings, but were much improved under the late Earl of
Godolphin, at whose expense the pier was erected about the year 1750.
The other towns, which are called Old Town and Church Town, consist only
of a few houses, and present little to excite curiosity.”[53]
At _Porthelic Cove_, on this island, the body of Sir Cloudesly Shovel
was washed on shore, and not being recognized, was buried in the sands,
but afterwards removed to Westminster Abbey, where there is a handsome
monument to his memory. It is to be regretted, that although it was
executed many years ago, when the art of sculpture had not arrived at
much perfection, it has been so much defaced by idle and mischievous
persons. When the fatal accident occurred, Sir Cloudesly was returning
with his squadron from Toulon; and in a thick fog on the night of the
22nd October, 1707, his ship (the Association) struck on the Gilstone
Rock, and sunk instantly, when every soul on board perished: the Eagle,
Captain Hancock, experienced a similar fate, and the Romney and
Fire-Brand were also lost, but their captains and 25 men were
fortunately rescued from a watery grave.
The civil government of the Scilly Islands is chiefly managed by 12 of
the most respectable inhabitants, who hold their meetings every month at
Heugh Town, where they mostly settle differences or disputes by
compromise: all criminal causes are referred to the military power.
ST. AGNES contains upwards of 300 inhabitants, and is situated about a
mile to the south-west of St. Mary’s. It is extremely pleasant, fertile,
and well cultivated, but is chiefly remarkable for its beautiful
light-house. This highly useful structure was completed about the year
1680, under the superintendance of Mr. Adam Walker, the celebrated
lecturer on natural and experimental philosophy; it is upwards of 60
feet high, and is built on a very elevated spot. The light is produced
by several parabolic reflectors of copper, plated with silver, and each
having an Argand’s lamp in its focus, supplied with oil from behind. The
frame in which the reflectors are disposed, stands perpendicularly to
the horizon, on a shaft united to a machine below, that turns the whole
round every two minutes; by this motion the light progressively sweeps
the whole horizon, and by its gradual intermission and increase, is
readily distinguished from any other; its brilliancy is also
extraordinary; and by these combined effects, its benefits are greatly
increased, as the seaman is at once rendered completely sensible of his
situation.[54] The charges attending the erection of this light-house,
were defrayed by the Trinity House; but all vessels passing it pay the
same rates as those received by the one on the Long Ships at the Land’s
End, except coasting vessels, which pay only a shilling each. There is a
small church on this island, the service of which is performed by a
minister, appointed and paid by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge.
ST. MARTIN’S, which is situated about three miles eastward of St.
Mary’s, appears from the remains of the numerous enclosures which
intersect it in various places, to have been formerly well cultivated,
and it would in all probability have been entirely deserted, had not Mr.
Thomas Ekines, a respectable merchant of these islands, encouraged some
people to settle here about a century ago. This gentleman likewise
caused a tower and spire to be erected on it, as a land mark to seamen
passing this part of the channel. The inhabitants chiefly consist of
between 30 and 40 families, who are mostly related to each other, and
much attached to the place. They have also a church, the service of
which is performed by the minister appointed by the same Society, who
also officiates at Trescow and Bryher. Borlase has noticed a druidical
circle on this island; and from the several _barrows_ which are also to
be seen, concludes that not only this, but most of the other islands
were in former ages very populous, and the lands much cultivated. “The
barrows,”says that learned writer, “were all constructed in one manner;
the outer ring is composed of large stones pitched on end, and the heap
within consists of smaller stones, clay, and earth, mixed together: they
have generally a cavity of stone work in the middle, covered with flat
stones; but the barrows are of various dimensions; and the cavities,
which, being low, and covered with rubble, are scarcely apparent in
some, consist of such large materials in others, that they make the
principal figure in the whole monument.” Although he had several of them
opened, nothing of any consequence was discovered.
TRESCOW, which is situated two miles south-west of St. Mary’s, is only
about half the size of that island; although _Leland_ describes it as
the largest of the whole cluster. It is, however, chiefly remarkable for
having once possessed a monastery, some small remains of which are to be
seen in a very beautiful situation, near the borders of a lake,
separated from the sea by an ever-green bank. There are also the ruins
of several other buildings; but those belonging to the _Old Castle_,
which are situated on an eminence overlooking the harbour are most
extensive. “Some other fortifications are called _Oliver’s Castle_,
_Battery_, &c., in honor of Cromwell; though that called _Oliver’s
Castle_ seems to have been originally fortified many years prior to the
civil wars; about the conclusion of which, these islands were seized for
the king, by Sir John Grenville, who afterwards capitulated to Blake and
Sir George Ascough.
This event was chiefly effected through the judicious disposition of the
Parliament’s forces on this island, and on Bryher; which prevented
supplies being carried to St. Mary’s, where the King’s forces were
concentrated.”[55]
The number of inhabitants at _Dolphin Town_ amounts to about fifty
families, who live in about twenty small houses. Here is also a _Church_
and some _Tin Mines_; the latter, although of little value, are said to
be the only mines now to be seen on any of the islands. This
circumstance is the more singular, as the Scilly Islands have long been
noted for their _numerous mines_, and extensive trade with the
Phenecians, &c. Much has been said by _Borlase_ and other celebrated
writers respecting the great change which the islands have undergone;
not only in regard to antiquities, trade, extensive population, &c.; but
that it must be evident to those who are acquainted with the situation,
_all the changes_ have arisen from the continual encroachments made by
the sea, and violent tempests. The many shipwrecks which have also
occurred, have in a great measure prevented many persons from entering
into trade with them. It is the opinion also of a very eminent writer;
that the islands are undoubtedly undergoing a gradual diminution; and
that at no great distance of time, St. Mary’s will probably be divided
by the sea, and a channel formed through the low land, between the new
town and the south-east side of the garrison.
BRYHER or BREHAR, so called from its extreme mountainous position, is
situated to the west of Trescow, and contains little to interest the
tourist, except several barrows; the largest of which, situated on high
ground, is 77 feet in diameter. Borlase says, “within this barrow are
many _kistvaens_, as the Britons call stone cells; and many of the flat
stones which covered them, lie here and there; some keeping their first
station, and some being removed to make stands for shooting rabbits,
with which this part of the hill abounds.” The number of families now
resident in Brehar, do not exceed 20. At low water, the Sands between
this island and that of Trescow, may be crossed by foot passengers.
SAMPSON ISLAND is chiefly composed of two circular hills, connected by a
low rocky precipice. The inhabitants are but trifling compared to the
other islands, but it is noted by Borlase for containing several stone
barrows, some rock basins, a _kistraen_, &c.
After the conquest of the Scilly Islands by King Athelstan, they were
bestowed on several monks, and continued in their possession till the
reign of Henry I., who granted “to _Osbert_, one of the Abbots of
Tavistock,” all the churches of _Scilly_, with their appurtenances, and
the land, as the monks or hermits held it in the time of Edward the
Confessor, and Burgald, Bishop of Cornwall. “Prior to the reign of
Edward I., they appear to have reverted to the crown, being then held by
Ranulph de Blackminster, who paid annually, at Michaelmas, _a rental of
300 puffins, or six shillings and eight pence_.” In the reign of James
I., they were leased to Sir Francis Godolphin, and are now held by the
Duke of Leeds, on a lease for 31 years, granted in the year 1800, at an
annual rent of £40, with the option of a renewal on paying a fine of
£4000.
The climate of the Scilly Islands is reputed to be both milder, and more
equable than that of Cornwall; but the storms which occur, are more
sudden and violent. The natives are remarked for being a robust and
hardy race of people; but as a late celebrated writer[56] observes,
“were it not for the facility with which they obtain spirituous liquors,
they would live to an advanced age.”
They are mostly employed in maritime pursuits, and in making kelp from
the _Algæ_, which is disposed of to the Bristol merchants for the use of
the glass manufactories. The same writer also justly observes; “from a
combination, however, of unfortunate circumstances, in addition to the
fatal blow given to the smuggling trade by the activity of the
preventitive service, the inhabitants were reduced to such extreme
distress, that it became necessary in the year 1819, to appeal to the
generosity of the public in their behalf; and notwithstanding the great
difficulties of the times, the sum of £9000 was collected for their
relief: in this great work of charity it is but an act of justice to
state, that the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, by their
purse, as well as by their writings, performed a very essential service.
The funds thus obtained, were in part appropriated to the relief of the
immediate and pressing distress under which they laboured, while the
remainder was very judiciously applied towards the promotion of such
permanent advantages as might prevent the chance of its recurrence. A
fish cellar was accordingly provided in the island of Trescow, for the
purpose of storing and curing fish; boats adapted for the mackerel and
pilchard fisheries were purchased, and others were repaired; nets and
various kinds of tackling were also at the same time liberally supplied.
By such means have the inhabitants of these cheerless rocks been enabled
to avail themselves of some of the resources which Providence has placed
within their reach, and their families have been thus enabled to exist
without the dread of absolute starvation.”
Notwithstanding this relief, the fisheries of the Scilly Isles are
capable of much extension, and although the expense incident to the
necessary outfit would be considerable, yet the advantages to the
inhabitants would be incalculable. The importance of this subject has
been very ably brought to notice by the Rev. George Woodley, Missionary
from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and Minister of St.
Agnes and St. Martin’s, in his work on the State of the Scilly Islands,
which was published in the year 1822.
Various species of fish are to be caught by the hook and line at these
islands during the season, and which are salted by the inhabitants for
winter consumption.
A very curious fact is also noticed respecting the arrival of the
woodcock, in Scilly, that they are generally to be had there before any
other place in England. Owing to the great distance they are supposed to
have travelled, great numbers have been taken by the natives, from their
becoming exhausted; instances have also occurred of their falling dead
by striking against the light-house, the splendour of the lanthern no
doubt having attracted them!
To the geologist, the Scilly Islands present but little to interest; at
St. Mary’s are several beds of _porphyry_ and _clorite_ containing
pyrites; the former are deserving of attention on account of their
distinct appearance of stratification. The granite of the Lizard Point
at the Island of Trescow, the felspar of which is of a pure white, might
be advantageously employed in the China manufactories.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix.
The interior of the _church_ of _St. Anthony_, which is situated on the
coast south of Falmouth, is highly deserving of notice from its style of
architecture, the arch separating the nave being a fine specimen of
Anglo-Norman workmanship.
In the parish of Luxilian is an immense pile of rocks, totally different
from the Roach Rocks, yet extremely well worth seeing; they are seated
on a considerable eminence, and many of the ponderous fragments have
rolled into the valley beneath, presenting altogether a very singular
appearance. In some places the stones very much resemble antient
cromlechs.
_Four-Hole Cross_ is situated about six miles on the right of the road
leading from Bodmin to Lanson, and is considered one of the most
interesting relics of antiquity in Cornwall; but the upper part, either
from age or other causes, is not perfect.
* * * * *
LIST OF THE PRESENT REPRESENTATIVES IN PARLIAMENT, FOR THE SEVERAL
BOROUGHS OF THE COUNTY OF CORNWALL, WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE
RESIDENCES.
BODMIN D. Gilbert, Esq., F.R. & L.S., Eastbourne. J. W. Croker, Esq.,
L.L.D., F.R., and L.S., Secretary to the Admiralty, &c.
BOSSINEY Sir C. Domville, Bart., Santry House, Dublin. John Stuart
Wortley, Esq., Wortley Hall, Yorkshire.
CALLINGTON Matthias Attwood, Esq., Banker. William Thompson, Esq., an
Alderman of London.
CAMELFORD Mark Milbank, Esq., Thorpe Hall, Yorkshire. Sheldon Cradock,
Esq., Hartforth, York.
CORNWALL Sir William Lemon, Bart., D.C.L., Carclew, near Truro. John
Hearle Tremayne, Esq., Heligan, Cornwall.
FOWEY Viscount Valetort, John Street, Berkeley Square. George Lucy,
Esq., Pall Mall.
HELSTON Lord J. N. B. B. Townsend. Harrington Hudson, Esq., Bessenby,
near Bridlington, Yorkshire.
LAUNCESTON James Brogden, Esq., Clapham, Surrey. Hon. Pownall Bastard
Pellew, R.N.
LISKEARD Hon. W. Eliot, now Earl St. Germains. Sir William Henry
Pringle.
EAST LOOE Thomas Potter Macqueen, Esq., Ridgmont House, Bucks. George
Watson Taylor, Esq., D.C.L., Earlstoke Park, Wilts.
WEST LOOE Sir C. Hulse, Bart., Breamere, Hants. Right Hon. Henry
Goulburn, 17, Upper Grosvenor Street.
LOSTWITHIEL Sir Robert Wigram, Knt. F.R.S., Belmont Lodge,
Worcestershire. Alexander C. Grant, Esq.
NEWPORT Jonathan Raine, Esq. Wm. Northey, Esq., Box Hall, Wilts.
ST. GERMAIN’S Hon. Seymour Thomas Bathurst. Right Hon. Charles
Arbuthnot, K.C.
ST. IVES Lyndon Evelyn, Esq. Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bart., Trewithan,
near Truro.
ST. MAWES Sir S. B. Moreland, Bart., Pall Mall. Joseph Phillimore, Esq.,
D.C.L.
ST. MICHELL Sir George Staunton, Bart., L.L.D. and F.R.S., Leigh Park,
Hants. William Taylor Money, Esq., Streatham Park, Surrey.
PENRYN Pascoe Grenfell, Esq., Taplow House, Bucks. R. Stanton, Esq.,
Colebook House.
SALTASH William Russell, Esq., Brancepeth Castle, near Durham.
TREGONY Viscount Barnard, Selby, Northamptonshire. James O’Callaghan,
Esq.
TRURO Sir Richard Hussey Vivian. William Gossett, Esq., Sackville
Street.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LOGAN STONE OVERTURNED.
The following Letter to the Editor of the Annals of Philosophy is taken
from that work for May, 1824.
_Plymouth April 18, 1824._
“DEAR SIR,
Your geological readers will hear with infinite regret, that the
celebrated _Logan Stone_ in Cornwall, which has for so long a
period been regarded as an object of great national interest and
curiosity, and which has been visited by persons from the
remotest extremity of Europe, has within the last few days been
overturned by _one of the Lieutenants of his Majesty’s navy,
now_ commanding a revenue cutter, stationed between the Lizard
and Land’s End, assisted by a party of his men. The barbarous
and wanton folly which could induce an officer bearing his
Majesty’s commission to commit so unwarrantable an act, as to
remove a great national curiosity from a position in which it
had stood for ages, defying the hand of time, and affording to
the enlightened traveller an object of such singular interest,
will, it is hoped, be visited with the severest displeasure of
the Admiralty. In a tour through Cornwall in the summer of 1821,
I was informed by a cottager who lived near the spot, that an
attempt was made by a party of seamen some years before, to
remove it, but without success. Cornwall by this wanton outrage,
has lost one of its most interesting monuments.
I remain, dear Sir, yours very truly,
G. W. HARVEY.”
N. B. For a description of the Logan Stone, and an interesting view,
vide p. 61.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnootes
-----
Footnote 1:
If some of our most eminent Historical Painters were also employed to
paint Altar Pieces, for the several new churches now erecting in
London; it would be more beneficial to the Public, than the
expenditure of so many thousands upon useless and meretricious
ornaments: indeed some of the new buildings only tend to lessen the
fame of the architects employed to erect them!
Footnote 2:
A Poem, descriptive of the beauty of the scenery on the banks of this
river, has recently been written by Mr. T. N. Carrington, and
published at Plymouth.
Footnote 3:
Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall.
Footnote 4:
Worgan’s Agricultural Survey.
Footnote 5:
“The glorie of Fowey,” says Leland, “rose by the warres in King
Edwarde the Firste and Thirde, and Harrey the 5 day, partely by the
feates of warre, partly by pyracie, and so waxing rich fell all to
Merchandize; so that the Towne was haunted with shippes of divers
Nations, and their shippes went to all Nations, it also appears by the
roll of the huge fleet of Edward the Thirde before Calice, inserted in
Hakaby’s Voyages that Fowey contributed 47 ships and 770 mariners,
being a greater number than came from any other port in England,
except Yarmouth.”—Carew in his time, speaking of the prosperous state
of Fowey, says, “I may not pass in silence the commendable deserts of
Master Rashleigh the elder, descended from a younger brother of an
ancient house in Devon, for his industrious judgment and adventuring
the Trade of Marchandize first opened a light and way to the townsmen
now thriving, and left his sonne large Wealth and possessions, who
together with daily bettering his estate, converteth the same to
hospitality and other actions befitting a Gentleman well affected to
his God, Prince and Country.”
Footnote 6:
Among the most remarkable specimens in this collection, are green
carbonate of lead with quartz, blende in twenty sided crystals and
green fleur in crystals; crystalized antimony, with red blende on
quartz, yellow copper ore with opal, and arseniate of copper, in cubes
of a bright green colour.—A very valuable work was published a few
years ago, entitled, “Specimens of British Minerals,” from this
collection, embellished with a number of fine plates, from drawings by
Underwood and Bone.
Footnote 7:
_Leland_ describes Restormel Castle as “sore defaced” in his time,
“the fair large dungeon” says he, “yet stondith, a chapel cast out of
it, a newer work than it, and now unrofid.”—_Carew_ says “certes it
may move compassion, that a palace so healthful for aire, so
delightful for prospect, so necessary for commodities, so fayre for
building, and so strong for defence, should in time of secure peace,
and under the protection of his natural princes, be wronged with those
spoylings, then which it could endure no greater at the hands of any
forayne and deadly enemy, &c.”—_Norden_ also says, “The whole Castle
beginneth to mourne, and to wringe out hard stones for teares; that
she that was imbraced, visited, and delighted with great princes, is
now desolate, forsaken, and forlorne: the Cannon needs not batter, nor
the pioneer to undermine, nor powder to blow up this so famous a pyle;
for time and tirrannie hath wrought her desolation, her water pipes of
lead gone, the planching rotten, the walls fallen downe, the fayre and
large chimnye pieces, and all that would yield monie or serve for use,
are converted to Men’s private purposes, and there remayneth a false
show of honor, not contentinge anie compassionate eye to behold her
lingrynge decayes. Men greyve to see the dying delayes of anie brute
creature, so may we mourne to see so stately a pyle so long a
fallinge, if it be of no use, the carcase would make some profit,
therefore if it deserve, let her fall be no longer delayde, else will
it drop peece meele downe, and her now profitable reliques will then
serve to little or no use.”
Footnote 8:
The celebrated _Tin Mine_, called _Polgooth_, about two miles
south-west of this town, has ceased working for many years, owing to
some disputes among its proprietors. The profits arising from this
mine is said by _Borlase_ to have been £20,000, for many years.
Footnote 9:
The inhabitants boast of the Tower as the handsomest in the county;
but an impartial observer will not surely prefer it to that of Probus,
though some parts of the sculptural ornaments of the former, surpass
considerably the latter.
Footnote 10:
Lyson’s Mag. Brit. Page 75.
Footnote 11:
In consequence of certain corrupt practices, a Bill has recently
passed Parliament, disfranchising this borough, and allowing two
additional members to be returned for the County of York.
Footnote 12:
Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall, page 249.
Footnote 13:
Truro being one of the privileged coinage towns, more tin is exported
here than at any other port in the county: great quantities of copper
are also exported from hence to Swansea and Neath in Wales. The blocks
of tin lie in heaps about the streets, and are left entirely
unguarded, as their great weight renders the difficulty to remove them
so great, that it is never attempted.
Footnote 14:
Vide Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall.
Footnote 15:
Lysons’s Mag. Brit. page 121.
Footnote 16:
A very correct plan of this harbour is inserted in Gilbert’s History
of Cornwall.
Footnote 17:
“Heylstoun, alias Hellas” says _Leland_, “standeth on a hill, a good
Market towne, having a Mayor and privileges, wythin the which there is
a Court for the Coinage of Tynne, kept twys in the Year. Yn the towne
is both a Chapel and a paroch (Church) and vestegia castelli, and a
ryver runnyng under the same vestegia of the Castel issueth towards
The South Sea, stopped them yn the west part, with S. E. wyndes,
casting up sandes maketh a poole, called _Loo_, of an arrow shot in
breadth, and two myles yn compus yn the Somer. In the wynter, by
reason of fluddes, men be constrayned to cut the sandy banke, between
the Mouth of the Poole and the Sea, by the which gut the Sea floweth
and ebbeth ynto the Poole.—Loo Poole is two mile in length, and
betwixt it and the mayne Sea is but a barre of sand, and once in three
or four year what by the wait of the fresh watier and rage of the Sea,
it bubleth out, and then the fresh and Salt Water meeting maketh a
Wonderful Noise. If this barre be always kept open it would be a good
haven up to Hailston.”
Footnote 18:
See page 5.
Footnote 19:
Its matrix is an hard turpentine rock, in which it lies imbedded in
veins or lobes, almost ductile when first dug out, but gradually
indurating when exposed to the air, though always retaining its
unctious feel. A considerable quantity has been used in the
manufacture of china, but not for some time past.
Footnote 20:
In Lyson’s Mag. Brit. is a beautiful etching of Kynan’s Cove, by Miss
Letitia Byrne.
Footnote 21:
The winters of 1809 and 1817, were particularly fatal to our shipping;
and among others, the Anson Frigate was lost near Portleaven, when
most of her brave crew were swallowed up by the ocean.—The Primrose
Sloop of War, was lost near Gunwalloc Cove, and all on board perished,
except a poor Irish boy.—On the same night, was lost off the Cove of
Loverith, a transport, when only eight men escaped a watery grave!
Footnote 22:
One of which, an equestrian portrait of Charles I. on horseback, was
presented to the family by Charles II., in consideration of the great
attachment, sufferings, and heavy losses sustained in his support.
Footnote 23:
Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall.
Footnote 24:
Majestic Michael rises, he whose brow
Is crown’d with Castles, and whose rocky sides
Are clad with dusky ivy; he whose base,
Bent by the storms of ages, stands unmov’d
Amidst the wreck of things—the change of time.
That base, encircl’d by the azure waves,
Was once with verdure clad; the towering oaks
Here waved their branches green; the sacred oaks,
Whose awful shades among the Druids stray’d,
To cut the hallow’d Mistletoe, and hold
High converse with their Gods.
Footnote 25:
See page 23.
Footnote 26:
_Carew_ states, that “during the Cornish Commotions, divers Gentlemen
with their Wives and Families fled to the protection of this place,
where the Rebels besieged them, fyrst wynning the playne at the hill’s
foote by assault, when the water was out, and then the even ground on
the top, by carrying up great trusses of Hay before them to blench the
defender’s sight, and dead their shot, after which they could make but
slender resistance, for no sooner should any one within peep his head
over those unflanked walls, but he became an open mark to an whole
shower of arrows. This disadvantage together with Woman’s dismay, and
decrease of Victuals forced a Surrender to these _Rakehells_ mercey,
who nothing guilty of that effeminate Vertue, spoyl’d their goods,
imprison’d their bodies, and were rather by God’s gracious providence,
than any want of will, purpose or attempt, restained from murdering
the principal persons.”—Lady Catherine Gordon, wife of the noted
Perkin Warbeck, the impostor and pretender to the crown, was taken
prisoner at St. Michael’s Mount, and when it surrendered in 1646, to
the Parliamentary Forces under Colonel Hammond, after great
resistance, a considerable quantity of ammunition and stores were
taken.
Footnote 27:
Penzance is thus noticed by Leland.—“Penzantes about a mile from
Mousehold, standing fast in the shore of Mount Bay, is the Westest
Market Town of all Cornwall, Socur for botes or Shypes, but a forced
pere or Key—Theyr is but a Chapel yn the sayd towne, as ys in Newlyn,
For theyr paroche Chyrches be more than a mile off.”—Penzance is
noticed in history as having been destroyed by fire in the year 1595,
by a party of Spaniards, who landed at Mousehole, but were soon
prevented from effecting further mischief, by the bravery of the
Cornishmen.
Footnote 28:
Crosses are very prevalent in Cornwall. Almost every village contains
one or more. They consist in general, of a shaft of granite, and a
torved head, with the figure of a cross in relief. The most remarkable
ones, are the cross in Mawgan church-yard, Lanhivitt, and Frier Hole
Cross, on the side of the road leading from Bodmin to Launceston.
Footnote 29:
WILLIAM BORLASE, a learned English antiquary, was born at Pendeen, in
the parish of St. Just, Cornwall, February 2, 1695–6. The family of
that name, from which he was descended, had been settled at that place
from whence they derived it (Borlase,) from the time of King William
Rufus. Our author was the second son of John Borlase, Esq. of Pendeen,
in the parish before mentioned, by Lydea, the youngest daughter of
Christopher Harris, Esq. of Hayne, in the county of Devon, and was
early put to school at Penzance, from which he was removed in 1709, to
that of the Rev. Mr. Bedford, then a learned schoolmaster at Plymouth.
Having completed his grammatical education, he was entered of Exeter
College, Oxford, in March, 1712–3, where, on the first of June, 1719,
he took the degree of Master of Arts. In the same year, Mr. Borlase
was admitted to deacons’ orders, and ordained priest in 1720. On the
22nd of April, 1722, he was instituted by Dr. Watson, Bishop of
Exeter, to the rectory of Ludgvan, in Cornwall, to which he had been
presented by Charles, Duke of Bolton. On the 28th of July, 1724, he
was married in the church of Illugan, by his elder brother, Dr.
Borlase of Castlehorneck, to Anne, eldest surviving daughter and
coheir of William Smith, M. A. rector of the parishes of Camborn and
Illugan. In 1732, the Lord Chancellor King, by the recommendation of
Sir William Morrice, Bart. presented Mr. Borlase to the vicarage of
St. Just, his native parish, and where his father had a considerable
property. This vicarage and the rectory of Ludgvan were the only
preferments he ever received.
When Mr. Borlase was fixed at Ludgvan, which was a retired, but a
delightful situation, he soon recommended himself as a pastor, a
gentleman, and a man of learning. The duties of his profession he
discharged with the most rigid punctuality and exemplary dignity. He
was esteemed and respected by the principal gentry of Cornwall, and
lived on the most friendly and social terms with those of his
neighbourhood. In the pursuit of general knowledge he was active and
vigorous: and his mind being of an inquisitive turn, he could not
survey with inattention or indifference the peculiar objects which his
situation pointed to his view. There were in the parish of Ludgvan
rich copper works, belonging to the late Earl of Godolphin. These
abounded with mineral and metallic fossils, which Mr. Borlase
collected from time to time; and his collection increasing by degrees,
he was encouraged to study at large the natural history of his native
county. While he was engaged in this design, he could not avoid being
struck with the numerous monuments of remote antiquity, that are to be
met with in several parts of Cornwall, and which had hitherto been
passed over with far less examination than they deserved. Enlarging,
therefore, his plan, he determined to gain as accurate an acquaintance
as possible with the Druid learning, and with the religion and customs
of the ancient Britons, before their conversion to Christianity. To
this undertaking he was encouraged by several gentlemen of his
neighbourhood, who were men of literature and lovers of British
antiquities; and particularly by Sir John St. Aubyn, ancestor of the
present baronet of that family, and the late Rev. Edward Collins,
vicar of St. Earth. In the year 1748, Mr. Borlase, happening to attend
the ordination of his eldest son at Exeter, commenced an acquaintance
with the Rev. Dr. Charles Lyttleton, late Bishop of Carlisle, then
come to be installed into the deanery, and the Rev. Dr. Milles, the
late dean, two eminent antiquaries in London. Our author’s
correspondence with these gentlemen was a great encouragement to the
prosecution of his studies; and he has acknowledged his obligations to
them, in several parts of his works. In 1750, being at London, he was
admitted a fellow of the Royal Society, into which he had been chosen
the year before, after having communicated an ingenious “Essay on the
Cornish Crystals.” Mr. Borlase, having completed in 1753 his
manuscript of the Antiquities of Cornwall, carried it to Oxford, where
he finished the whole impression, in folio, in the February following.
A second edition of it, in the same form, was published at London, in
1769. Our author’s next publication was, “Observations on the ancient
and present state of the Islands of Scilly, and their importance to
the trade of Great Britain, in a letter to the Rev. Charles Lyttleton,
L. L. D. Dean of Exeter, and F.R.S.” This work, which was printed
likewise at Oxford, and appeared in 1756, in quarto, was an extension
of a paper that had been read before the Royal Society, on the 8th of
February, 1753, entitled “An Account of the great Alterations, which
the Islands of Scilly have undergone since the time of the ancients,
who mention them, as to their number, extent, and position.” It was at
the request of Dr. Lyttleton, that this account was enlarged into a
distinct treatise. In 1757, Mr. Borlase again employed the Oxford
Press, in printing his “Natural History of Cornwall,” for which he had
been many years making collections, and which was published in April,
1758. After this, he sent a variety of fossils, and remains of
antiquity, which he had described in his works in the Ashmolean
Museum; and to the same repository he continued to send every thing
curious which fell into his hands. For these benefactions he received
the thanks of the University, in a letter from the Vice-chancellor,
dated Nov. 18, 1758; and in March, 1766, that learned body conferred
on him the degree of doctor of laws, by diploma, the highest
academical order.
Though Dr. Borlase, when he had completed his three principal works,
was become more than sixty years of age, he continued to exert his
usual diligence and vigour in quiet attention to his pastoral duty,
and the study of the scriptures. In the course of this study he drew
up paraphrases on the books of Job, and the books of Solomon, and
wrote some other pieces of a religious kind, rather, however, for his
private improvement, than with a view to publication. His amusements
abroad were to superintend the care of his Parish, and particularly
the forming and reforming of its roads, which were more numerous than
in any parish of Cornwall. His amusements at home were the belles
lettres, and especially painting; and the correction and enlargement
of his “Antiquities of Cornwall,” for a second edition, engaged some
part of his time; and when this business was completed, he applied his
attention to a minute revision of his “Natural History.” After this,
he prepared for the press a treatise he had composed some years
before, concerning the creation and deluge. But a violent illness, in
January, 1771, and the apprehension of entangling himself in so long
and close an attention as the correcting the sheets, solely, and at
such a distance from London, would require, induced him to drop his
design, and to recall the manuscript from his bookseller, when only a
few pages of it had been printed. From the time of his illness, he
began sensibly to decline; the infirmities of old age came fast upon
him; and it was visible to all his friends that his dissolution was
approaching. This expected event happened on the 31st of August, 1772,
in the 77th year of his age, when he was lamented as a kind father, an
affectionate brother, a sincere friend, an instructive pastor, and a
man of erudition. He was buried within the communion rails in Ludgvan
Church, by the side of Mrs. Borlase, who had been dead above three
years.
The Doctor had by his lady six sons, two of whom alone survived him,
the Rev. Mr. John Borlase, and the Rev. Mr. George Borlase, who was
Casuistical Professor and Registrar of the University of Cambridge,
and died in 1809. Besides Dr. Borlase’s literary connections with Dr.
Lyttleton and Dr. Milles, before-mentioned, he corresponded with most
of the literary men of his time. He had a particular intercourse of
this kind with Mr. Pope; and there is still existing a large
collection of letters, written by that celebrated poet to our author.
He furnished Mr. Pope with the greatest part of the materials for
forming his grotto at Twickenham, consisting of such curious fossils
as the county of Cornwall abounds with; and there might have been
seen, before the destruction of that curiosity, Dr. Borlase’s name in
capitals, composed of crystals, in the grotto. On this occasion a very
handsome letter was written to the Doctor by Mr. Pope, in which he
says, “I am much obliged to you for your valuable collection of
Cornish diamonds. I have placed them where they may best represent
yourself, in a shade, but shining,” alluding to the obscurity of Dr.
Borlase’s situation, and the brilliancy of his talents.—The papers
which he communicated at different times to the Royal Society are
numerous and curious.
Footnote 30:
Dr. Borlase’s MSS. quoted in Lysons’ Cornwall, p. 149.
Footnote 31:
Lyson’s Mag. Brit. p. 150.
Footnote 32:
Lyson’s Mag. Brit. 245.
Footnote 33:
Lyson’s Mag. Brit. p. 306.
Footnote 34:
Warner’s Tour.
Footnote 35:
Lyson’s Mag. Brit. for Cornwall, p. 296.
Footnote 36:
A very fine portrait of Sir B. Grenville, is to be found in Gilbert’s
Cornwall.
Footnote 37:
Sir Richard Grenville, a celebrated military and naval commander in
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He first distinguished himself in the
wars under the Emperor Maximilian against the Turks, for which his
name is recorded by several foreign writers. In the year 1591, being
then Vice-Admiral of England, he was sent in the Revenge, with a
squadron of seven ships, to intercept the Spanish galleons; when
falling in with the enemy’s fleet, consisting of 52 sail, near the
Tercera islands, be repulsed them 15 times in a continued fight, till
his powder was all spent: his ship, which sunk before it could arrive
in port, was reduced to a hulk, and himself covered with wounds, of
which he died two days afterwards, on board the vessel of the Spanish
commander.
Footnote 38:
A collection of verses, by the University of Oxford, on the death of
Sir Beville Grenville, was printed in 1643, and reprinted in 1684. To
these are annexed King Charles’s Letters to Sir Beville Grenville, and
to the county of Cornwall; and a patent of Charles I. which grants to
the county of Cornwall a trade to Denmark, to the great Duke of
Muscovy, and to the Levant. Martin Llewellyn was a poet and physician,
and was sometime principal of St. Mary Hall, in Oxford: in the latter
part of his life he resided at High Wycomb; died there in 1682, and
lies buried in the north aisle of the chancel.
Footnote 39:
Newport, which was antiently under the jurisdiction of the town of
Launceston, is one of the notorious Boroughs of Cornwall, having
returned members to Parliament since the reign of Edward VI. The
number of voters, does not, in general, exceed 30 persons.
Footnote 40:
In the course of the proceedings on the election case in 1803, when
the rights of the Corporation were confirmed, it appeared from
records, that there was a Mayor in the reign of Richard II.
Footnote 41:
Beauties of Cornwall.
Footnote 42:
See Gorham’s History of St. Neot’s, pp. 29–37. London, 1820.
Footnote 43:
So determined in Gorham’s History of St. Neot’s, p. 231. Mr. Whitaker
(Life of Neot, pp. 191–203) thinks the date is intended for 1530; and
that the body of the Church was built in 1199,—a wild conjecture, in
defiance of architectural evidence!
Footnote 44:
See Gorham’s History of St. Neot’s, pp. 233–245.
Footnote 45:
Archives of Linc. Cath., in a vol. entitled, “Memoranda Oliveri
Sutton,” ff. 122 b., 123, a curious testimonial by Anselm, Abbot of
Bec., of his examination of the relics of St. Neot, in 1078.
Footnote 46:
Whitaker’s Life of Neot, pp. 203–211.
Footnote 47:
Bodmin has been described by many writers, as a very unhealthy place;
the contrary, however, is the fact: for during the last ten years, the
number of funerals have only been 409, and baptisms 854.—The town
suffered much in the years 1576 and 1581, from a pestilence. It is now
remarkable for the health and longevity of the inhabitants.
Footnote 48:
Owing unfortunately to the bursting of the boilers of some of the
engines at this mine, very lately, two men lost their lives; but most
fortunately many others had previously quitted their work, or
otherwise they would have experienced the same melancholy fate.
Footnote 49:
One of the vague terms sometimes given to the crust or coating of the
ore, sometimes to an argillaceous substance, and sometimes to a quartz
ore one. The miners have pretty generally determined, however, that
caple must be black; and at Polgooth they mean a heavy kind of quartz,
which is perfectly opake, and contains a large portion of argill.
Footnote 50:
Vide Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall, page 438.
Footnote 51:
The author of the Guide to Mount’s Bay, recently published.
Footnote 52:
“As some men were lately sinking an air hole to the bottom level of
the Consolidated Mines, when at the depth of 160 fathoms from the
surface, they struck into a cavern; the rush of foul air from which,
compelled them to call out to their companion stationed above, to
raise them by the tackle kept in readiness for that purpose. This vast
subterranean vault is situated in one of the principal lodes of the
mine; it is about nine feet high, and six feet wide; the western end
from the place of entry, has been explored, and is found to be about
40 fathoms in length; the foul air in the eastern end, has hitherto
prevented the miners from fully exploring it; the appearance of the
sides and roof is very craggy, and shews that the cavity has been
occasioned by a convulsion of nature.”
Footnote 53:
Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall, page 485.
Footnote 54:
Beauties of England and Wales for Cornwall, p. 487.
Footnote 55:
Vide Beauties for Cornwall, page 488.
Footnote 56:
The author of the Guide to Mounts Bay, &c. recently published.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Index.
----------
A
Adder, Sea, a fish, 14
Angel Fish, ibid
Antoney, Village of, Church, Monuments, House, and Pictures, 27 and 161
Arwenack House, remarkable as the antient seat of the Killegrews, 50
B
Bake, an antient seat of the Moyles, 29
Blower, or Fin Fish, 13
Blowing Houses, near St. Austell, 38
Boconnoc House, a fine seat, 35
Bodmin, Town of, antient Buildings, Church, Font, Population, &c., 119
Boscawen-un, singular Pile of Stones at, 61
Bossiney, remarkable as one of the Boroughs, 81
Boscastle, a Fishing Village, curious Epitaph in the Church, 85
Botus Fleming, Church, and Tomb of a Crusader, 100
Botallack Mine, at St. Just, account of, 138
Bude, a bathing place, its Canal, &c., 88
C
Carhays, a seat, 40
Callington, Town of, Antient Buildings, &c., 96
Calstock, a Village, Church, &c., 98
Camborne, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 69
Camelford, Town of, Buildings, &c., 80
Carn’-bre, Castle, Rocks, &c., 71
Carnon Stream Works, account of, 137
Carnanton, a seat, 75
Carclew, seat of Sir William Lemon, Pictures, &c., 46
Castle-an-Dinas, an Antient Entrenchment, 76
Cattle, different Species of, bred in Cornwall, 10
Catchfrench, the seat of F. Glanville, Esq., 110
Charlestown, near St. Austell, 36
Cheese-Wring, 116
Church of Creed, 42
Clay Works, at St. Stephen’s, an account of, 136
Clowance, a fine seat, belonging to Sir J. St. Aubyn, 55
Coldrinnick, a seat, 111
Cornwall, derivation of its Name, Situation, Climate, Population, &c.,
1 to 3
Consolidated Mines, account of, 141
Cook’s Kitchen, a celebrated Copper Mine, 140
Copper, its discovery, Mines described, &c., 20
Cotehele House, a very antient building, 97
Copley, Sir J. S., seat of, 29
Crennis Copper Mine, account of, 135
Cross, Antient, at Callington, 97,
and Four-Hole Cross, 161
Cromlech, 116
Cuddenbeck, at St. Germains, noted as the seat of the Bishops, 110
D
Dolcoath, a noted Copper Mine, 140
E
Eels, Conger, very plentiful, 14
Egleshale, Church of, Carved Pulpit, Monuments, &c., 80
Eny’s House, 48
F
Falmouth, Town of, Buildings, fine Harbour, &c., 49
Fowey, Town of, Church, Monuments, Antient Buldings at, Harbour,
Population, &c., 30
Fonts, Antient, in Lostwithiel, 33;
St. Austell, 37;
Lanerwednack, 54;
Padstow, 78;
Kilkhampton, &c., 91
Foote, the Comedian, born at Truro, 46
G
Glynn House, a seat, 118
Gold, found in Cornwall, 22
Godolphin House, an antient building, 55
Grampus, a fish, 13
Grampound, till lately one of the Boroughs of Cornwall, present State,
42
H
Harewood House, 98
Hayle, Port of, Works, &c., 69
Heligan, a seat, 39
Helston, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 51
Herland Mines, some Account of, 144
Hills in Cornwall, 3
Historical Events, brief description of, 23
Huel Vor, a noted Tin Mine, 137
—— Unity ditto, for Copper, 142
—— Alfred, ditto, ibid
Husbandry, improvement in, noticed, 8
I J
Ince Castle, a seat on the banks of the Lynher, 106
Iron, found in great abundance in Cornwall, 22
—— Foundaries at Hayle, 146
John Dorys, a delicious fish, 14
K
Kilkhampton, village of, noted for the singular beauty of its Church,
Monuments, Font, &c., 89
——, the birth-place of the pious Hervey, 92
Knill, J. Esq., singular custom respecting his will, 69
Kynan’s Cove, a curious pile of Rocks at, 54
L
Ladock, a picturesque vale at, 43
Lakes in the County, the Loo particularly described, 5
Lands, Waste, enclosed, 9
Lanlivery, Tower of its Church noticed, 32
Lanhydrock House, an antient seat, Church, &c., 118
Landulph, Village of, singular Monument in the Church, Parsonage House,
&c., 99
Landrake, Church of, remarked for its high Tower, 106
Land’s End, singular Promontory, Light-House, &c., 62
Lanherne, Nunnery of, at the village of Mawgan, 74
Landewednack Church, near the Lizard, Antient Font at, 54
Launceston, Town of, Antient Castle, Church, Public Buildings,
Population, &c., 93
Lead Mines, not very abundant, 21
Liskeard, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 112
Lizard Point, Rocks at, very curious, 53, 54
Looe, East and West, Town of, Bridge, Population, &c., 29
Loo Pool, a Lake near Helston, 53
Lostwithiel, Town of, Church, Antient Font, Exchequer Hall, Population,
&c., 32
M
Mackarel, very plentiful in Cornwall, 14
Marazion or Market Jew, its pleasant Situation, &c., 56
Martin, Dr. William, Monument of, 100
Mawgan, Village of, highly rural, Antient Church, Cross, &c., 74
Menabilly, a fine seat belonging to W. Rashleigh, Esq., noted for its
collection of Minerals, 32 and 147
Menacuddle, Ruin at, 38
Menheniot, Village of, Church, Old Buildings, &c., 111
Metals, various sorts, found in Cornwall, 22
Mevagissey, remarkable as a Fishing Town, Church, Monument of Otwell
Hill, Population, &c., 39
Mineralogical Substances, described, 7
Mines in Cornwall, the mode of working them described, 19
Moditonham, the seat of Charles Carpenter, Esq., 100
Mount Edgecumbe, a fine seat, 27
Mousehole, Village of, remarkable as the birth-place of Old Dolly
Penkeath, 60
Mullets, very plentiful, 14
Mullion, a Fishing Cove, near the Lizard, 54
Maylor, the Church of, a picturesque building, Monuments, &c., 51
N
Nanswhyden House, ruins of, 74
Newport Church, 93
Newlyn, Village of, 60
P
Padstow, Town of, Harbour, Church, Antient Buildings, Population, &c.,
77
Pelynt Church, Antient Monument in, 29
Pencarrow, seat of the late Sir A. Molesworth, 80
Pendarves, a Seat, 70
Pendennis Castle, 49
Pengersick Castle, 56
Penrice, the seat of J. S. Sawle, Esq., 38
Penrose, seat of S. Rogers, Esq. near Helston, 53
Penryn, an Antient Town, Church of St. Gluvias, Monuments, Population,
&c., 47
Pentillic Castle, the seat of J. T. Coryton, Esq., 99
Penzance, remarked as a beautiful Town, healthy climate, &c., 59
Perrow Porth, noted as a bathing place, 73
Pessick, village of, 44
PETHERICK, Little, Village, noted as being highly picturesque, 80
Pilchard Fisheries described, and mode of curing them, 12
Piranzabuloe, singular Amphitheatre at, 73
Place-House, Padstow, 79
Plymouth, scenery about, noticed, 25
Polruan, 31
Polredmouth, Grotto at, 32
Pool, Menheniot, an antient seat of the Trelawney’s, 111
Potatoes, the soil of Cornwall, favourable for the growth of, 9
Polgooth Tin Mine, account of, 131
Poldice, Mine of, 142
Porthmear, or Charlestown, 36
Prideaux Place, ibid
Probus, Village of, noted for its fine Church, 43
R
Redruth, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 72
Restormel Castle, House, &c., 34
Rialton Priory, account of, 73
Rivers in Cornwall, 4
Roche Rocks, a great natural curiosity, 127
Ruan Lanyhorne, a village remarkable as the residence of the Rev. J.
Whitaker, 41
S
Saltash, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 100
Saltram, Seat of Earl Morley, with its fine Pictures, 25
Scorrier House, a seat remarkable for its fine collection of minerals,
72
Shark, the blue species, caught off the Coast of Cornwall, 14
Scilly Islands, concise description of, 151 to 160
Sheviock Church and Monuments, 28
Shillingham, ruins of an antient Chapel, 105
Silver, discovery of, 22
Slate, Delabole, the most celebrated Quarry for, 7 and 80
Smelting House near Truro, noticed, 46
Soap Rocks, at the Lizard, 54
Soils described, 5
St. Blazey, Village of, Festival of St. Blaze, Church, &c., 36 to 37
St. Austell, Town, fine Church, Population, &c., 36
St. Michael Penkervil Church, a picturesque edifice, 44
St. Mawe’s Castle, 50
St. Mawgan Church, an antient Tomb in, 55
St. Michael’s Mount, brief description of, 57
St. Neot’s, Village of, noted for the beauty of its Church, Painted
Glass Windows, &c., 116
St. Bennett’s, remains of a Priory, 127
St. Burian, an antient place, College, Church, and antient Cross, 61
St. Germains, a decayed town, remarkable for the beauty of its
Situation, Antient Church, Monuments, &c., 106
St. Just, near the Land’s End, and remarkable as the birth-place of Dr.
Borlase, 63
St. Ives, Town of, Fisheries, Harbour, Church, Population, &c., 66
St. Agnes, Town, Beacon, the birth-place of Opie, the Painter, &c., 72
St. Columb Major, Town of, Church, Population, &c., 76
St. Stephen’s Church, near Trematon Castle, 92
St. Mary Week, Village of, remarked as the birth-place of Thomasine
Bonaventure, 86
St. Cleer, Village of, noted for its Church, and numerous Antiquities,
115
St. Lawrence, Ruins at, 127
Stratton, Town of, Church, Monumental Epitaphs, &c., 86
Stockton, seat of Admiral de Courcy, 106
Steam Engines, their extensive powers described, and great utility in
the Mines, 133
Stow, an antient seat of the Grenvilles, 91
Sun Fish, 14
T
Tehiddy Park, seat of Lord de Dunstanville, Pictures, &c., 70
Thankes, seat of the Graves, 27
Tin, the different Mines described, and the mode of preparing it; Laws
relating to, &c., 15 to 18
—— Wood, highly valuable, 19 and 136
Tintagel, renowned birth-place of King Arthur, antient Fortifications
at, Church, &c., 81
Tolinen, a curious one in Constantine Parish, 51
Touss, Rev. J. born at St. Ives, 68
Trebursye, a seat near Launceston, 96
Tredea, the seat of Davies Gilbert, Esq., M.P., 146
Trespy House, Fowey, an antient building, 31
Trefusis, an antient seat, 51
Treguma, a seat of S. Stephens, Esq., 68
Tregony, Town of, Antient Buildings, &c., 40
Tregothnan, seat of Earl Falmouth, and its fine Park, 44
Trelawney House, Pictures, &c., 29
Trelowarrens, an antient seat, 54
Trematon Castle, a fine ruin, seat of B. Tucker, Esq., 103
Tremere, an antient seat of the Courtenay’s, 127
Trerice, an antient building, formerly the seat of the Arundell’s, 73
Treryn Castle, Logan Stone, at, 61
Trevethoe, the seat of the Praeds, 69
Trewarthenick, a seat, 41
Trewithan, seat of Sir C. Hawkins, Bart., 43
Trewan, seat of Richard Vyvyan, Esq., 76
Truro, Town of, noted as the metropolis of the West of England, fine
Church, Buildings, Population, &c., 44
Turbots, plentiful in Cornwall, 14
W
Wadesbridge, near Bodmin, 80
Werrington Park, seat of the Duke of Northumberland, 92
Wherry Mine, near Penzance, remarkable one, 60
Whiteford House, seat of Sir W. P. Call, Bart, 96
Woodcocks, singular account of their arrival in Cornwall, 160
Wootton, an antient seat at Landrake, 106
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ The engravings in this book are badly faded, and the scans are not
clear enough to always be certain of the words in the captions.
When a word isn’t clear, it’s replaced by [** illegible].
○ There was a footnote without a reference to it on page 47. The
reference was added to the main paragraph on that page. The nature
of the book referenced makes it likely that the footnote was meant
to provide authority for something in that paragraph.
○ The footnotes have geen gathered together and placed in a section
just before the Index, starting on page 165.
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);
text that was bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).
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