Parishes: Otterham - Probus

Magna Britannia: Volume 3, Cornwall. Originally published by T Cadell and W Davies, London, 1814.

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'Parishes: Otterham - Probus', in Magna Britannia: Volume 3, Cornwall, (London, 1814) pp. 251-274. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol3/pp251-274 [accessed 18 April 2024]

In this section

Otterham

OTTERHAM, in the hundred of Lesnewth, and in the deanery of Trigg-Minor, lies 13 miles west-north-west from Launceston, and six miles north-east from Camelford, which is the post-office town. The manor of Otterham appears to have belonged, in the reign of Edward III., to the Champernownes (fn. n1) : in 1457 it was settled upon Thomas Bonville, and Lena his wife, for life, with remainder to Philip Copleston, and Anne his wife, and the heirs of the said Anne, remainder to John Wybbery, Esq., in fee (fn. n2). John Saltern, yeoman, died seised of the manor and advowson in 1639: we find that the patronage of the rectory continued in the same family in 1736: the manor is now vested in George Welch Owen, Esq. Mr. William Chilcott, of Tiverton, is patron of the rectory.

The barton of Small-hill, some time the property and residence of the family of French, is now a farm, belonging to Charles Chichester, Esq.

Padstow

PADSTOW, in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, is an ancient market-town, situated at the mouth of the Alan or Camel, on the north coast, 14 miles from Bodmin, and 243 from London. The name of Padstow is said to have been a corruption of Petrockstow. Leland says, that it was anciently called Adelstowe, from Athelstan, and in the Cornish language, Lodenek. In Pope Nicholas's Valor it is written Aldestowe, which, as the termination is evidently Saxon, is more likely to be a corruption of Ealde-stowe: it does not appear that Athelstan had ever any connexion with Padstow. St. Petrock is said to have landed at this place, and the church is dedicated to him: the monastery of St. Petrock, which was destroyed by the Danes in 981, and afterwards established at Bodmin, is, by Mr. Whitaker, with much reason supposed to have been at Padstow, where Mr. Prideaux Brune's house now stands; its name of Place, and its connexion with the priory of Bodmin and the rectory, well justify the conjecture. Hals speaks of a nunnery at Credis, in this parish, which was a cell to the monastery of St. Bennet in Lanivet: there are now no remains of buildings, but the supposed site belongs to the poor of Lanivet.

The town of Padstow has a market on Saturdays, by prescription, for butcher'smeat and other provisions: we find no record relating to it. There are two fairs, (April 18, and September 21,) now little more than holiday-fairs; but within these fifty years well supplied with cattle, cloth, hats, &c. &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 towne of Padestow is ful of Irisch men: there is a large exporte of corne." Carew, speaking of Padstow, 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 of Padstow is for iron, chiefly from Cardiff; coals from Wales; timber from Norway; and groceries and bale goods from Bristol: considerable quantities of corn are still exported; the other principal exports are malt and block-tin. The Dummer-bank, a dangerous quick-sand, lies off the parish of Padstow.

The town and parish of Padstow contained, in 1801, 201 houses, and 1,332 inhabitants; in 1811, 220 houses, and 1,498 inhabitants: the principal villages in the parish are, Crugmeer, Treviscar, and Trevone.

The manor of Padstow belonged to the priory of Bodmin, under whom it had been held on lease by the Prideaux family, some time before the Reformation: in 1544 it was granted to John Pope, a trustee, probably, for the Prideaux family, who have ever since possessed it, the present owner being the Rev. Charles Prideaux Brune, who took the latter name on succeeding to considerable property in Dorsetshire (fn. n3). Place-house, the seat of Mr. Brune, which overlooks the town and haven, was built about the year 1600; Carew, whose survey was printed in 1602, calls it a new and stately house: in the court before the house is a hedge of myrtles, and another of tamarisks.

The manor of Padstow-Penkevil, so called, it is probable, from having belonged formerly to the Penkevils, was at a later period in the family of Robartes, Earl of Radnor, and is now the property of the Rev. Charles Prideaux Brune.

Hals speaks of the manor of Tregerryn in Padstow, as having been purchased by John Nanfan, in the reign of Henry VI.: it is not now known as a manor: the barton is the property of Thomas Rawlings, Esq., by purchase from the Molesworths, who inherited it from the Morice family. Mr. Rawlings has lately built a handsome house for his own residence, on the south of Padstow town, commanding a fine view of the harbour.

The barton of Trenear or Trenarran was for some time the seat of the Peters, afterwards of Treator, which last is now the property and residence of Mr. Charles Peter: the elder branch removed to Harlyn in St. Merryn.

In the parish-church of Padstow are monuments of the Prideaux family: 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 great 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 Testament, published "The true Nature of Imposture fully displayed in the Life of Mahomet."

There is a memorial in Padstow church for Lawrence Merther, vicar of Padstow, who died in 1421.

There are several ancient chapels in this parish; that of St. Saviour (fn. n4), of which the east wall remains, stood on the brink of the precipice which overlooks the town: near Place-house, at the top of Padstow 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 re-building that of LittlePetherick church. (fn. n5)

The great tithes of Padstow, which were appropriated to the priory of Bodmin, are now vested in William Hole, Esq.: Mr. Prideaux Brune is patron of the vicarage: the tithe-fish of the whole parish, together with the oblations and emoluments of the chapels of St. Sampson and St. Cadock were leased, in the year 1537, by the prior and convent of Bodmin, to Humphrey Prideaux, Esq., of Thuborough in Devon.

One of the schools founded by the trustees of the Rev. St. John Elliot's charitable donations (1760), and endowed with 5l. per annum each, was established at Padstow: two Sunday-schools and several day-schools have been established by voluntary subscription and private benevolence, by which several excellent institutions for relieving the poor, and encouraging the industrious, are supported: one of these is conducted by a society of young ladies.

St. Paul

ST. PAUL, commonly called Paul, in the deanery and west division of the hundred of Penwith, lies on the western point of Mount's-bay: the church stands on high ground, being about a mile and three-quarters (three miles by the road) south-south-west from Penzance, which is the post-office town. The principal villages in this parish are Mousehole and Newlyn, both upon the sea-coast and numerously inhabited by fishermen. The pilchard and mackarel fisheries are carried on at these places to a great extent: fish of every kind which frequent this coast, are sent in abundance from Mousehole and Newlyn to Penzance, and most of the Cornish towns: the London market, in the early part of the season, is chiefly supplied from Newlyn and Mousehole with mackarel, which is sent by way of Portsmouth.

Mousehole, otherwise called Port-Enys, was formerly a market-town: the charter for a market on Tuesdays, with a fair for three days at the festival of St. Barnabas, was granted to Henry de Tyes, in 1292 (fn. n6) : the market was confirmed in 1313 to Alice de Lisle, with a fair for seven days, at the festival of St. Bartholomew (fn. n7) : it is said that there has been no market at Mousehole since this place, and the neighbouring village of Newlyn, were burnt by the Spaniards in 1595, as beforementioned (fn. n8). A new quay was constructed at Mousehole in or about the year 1392 (fn. n9); it was formerly a port of considerable trade: the manor of Mousehole, which passed with Alwarton (fn. n10), belongs to the heirs of George Veale, Esq., and to James Hals, Esq., of St. Ives.

The manor of Freemarshall, in this parish, some time belonging to the family of Hitchens of Treungle, is now the property of Mr. George John, of Penzance, by purchase from Edward Langford, Esq.

The barton of Trewarveneth came to the Godolphin family by the marriage of Sir David Godolphin with the daughter of John Cowling, of this place: this branch of the Godolphins became extinct by the death of Colonel William Godolphin, in 1689: Trewarveneth is now a farm-house, the property of John Legge. It is probable that the barton of Kerris had formerly manerial rights; for it appears that the manor of Keres, in Cornwall, and we find no other place of the name, was granted to John Duke of Norfolk, in 1483: this barton, on which are now several farm-houses, was some time a seat of the Chivertons, and afterwards successively of the families of Hext, Pearce, and Blewett.

The manors of Kymyell or Kimiel and Butsava belong to Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart., whose ancestors possessed them for many generations. Kimiel-Wartha was the seat of the Kimiel family, whose heiress married St. Aubyn: it is now a farmhouse. Kimiel-Crease or Greaze, and Kimiel-Drea, now farm-houses, were both seats of the Keigwins: Jenkin Keigwin, of this family, was killed by the Spaniards in 1595: the entry of his burial is the first which occurs in the present parish register; the earlier registers having been destroyed when the invaders set fire to St. Paul's church (fn. n11). Treungle, now a farm-house, was the seat of Arthur Hitchens, Esq.: Captain Cluterburg, some time governor of the castle at the Scilly islands, built a house at Treungle, now belonging to the Badcocks, descended in the female line from the Keigwins.

In the parish-church of St. Paul, said to have been dedicated to St. Paulinus, Bishop of Rochester, is the following curious notice of its having been burnt by the Spaniards as before-mentioned: "The Spunger burnt this church in the year 1598 (fn. n12)." There is a monument in this church for William Godolphin, Esq., of Trewarveneth, the last of the family. The great tithes of this parish, which were appropriated to the abbey of Hayles in Gloucestershire, are now vested in William Carlyon, Esq., and Mrs. Elizabeth Veale: the vicarage is in the gift of the crown.

There were formerly chapels of ease at Mousehole and Newlyn: Mousehole chapel, which had been a sea-mark, was destroyed by the encroachments of the ocean before the year 1414, when Bishop Stafford wrote a circular letter, exhorting the inhabitants of his diocese to contribute towards its rebuilding: it is probable that it was then rebuilt, and again destroyed when the town was burnt by the Spaniards. Two other chapels are said to have been in or near the town: unquestionably there was a chapel dedicated to St. Clement, on a little island opposite Mousehole, which still bears that name: Leland mentions this chapel as existing in 1540.

Captain Stephen Hitchens, of the Royal navy, who acquired a considerable fortune by cruising on the Jamaica station, and died at Jamaica in 1709, bequeathed the sum of 600l. for the purpose of building and endowing an almshouse for six poor men, and the same number of women: the lands then purchased, after defraying the expence of building, now produce nearly 70l. per annum: the management of this charity is vested in 14 trustees.

Pelynt or Plynt

PELYNT or PLYNT, in the hundred and deanery of West, lies about two miles nearly north from Polperro; about three nearly west-north-west from Looe; and about eight south-south-west from Liskeard, which is the principal post-office town of the neighbourhood; but there is a bye-post to Polperro.

The manor of Pelyn, which at the time of taking the Domesday survey was held under the Earl of Cornwall by Algar, was given, in the year 1248, by the executors of Giles de Cancellis or Chanceaux, together with the advowson of the church, to the abbot and convent of Neweham in Devonshire, who, in 1356, had a grant of a fair in this manor for three days at the festival of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (fn. n13); this is still held as a cattle-fair on Midsummer-day. The manor is now the property of Frederick William Buller, Esq., colonel in the Coldstream regiment of guards, whose family possessed it considerably more than a century: it is probable that they inherited it from the Trethurses.

The manor of Tregarrick, which belonged to the Winslades, was forfeited by the attainder of John Winslade, Esq., who suffered death for being one of the ringleaders of the Cornish rebellion, in 1549: it was granted by King Edward IV. to Sir Reginald Mohun, and purchased of him, in the succeeding reign, by John Trelawny, Esq., and Mrs. Margaret Buller: this manor, which was long held in moieties by the families of Trelawny and Buller, is now the sole property of the Rev. Sir Harry Trelawny, Bart. Tregarrick was the chief seat in Cornwall of the Winslades, whose family were hereditary Esquires of the White Spur (fn. n14). Carew says, that "Wideslade's (fn. n15) sonne (that is, son of John Winslade abovementioned) led a walking life, with his harpe, to gentlemen's houses, wherethrough, and by his other active qualities, he was entitled Sir Tristram; neither wanted he, as some say, a belle I found, the more aptly to resemble his patterne." Tregarrick was the first seat of the Bullers, when they came into Cornwall, in consequence of marrying the heiress of Trethurfe: the old mansion, which has long been occupied as a farm-house, has lately been repaired by Sir Harry Trelawny.

The manor of Trelawne or Trelawny belonged, at an early period, to the Bodrugans: Sir Henry de Bodrugan gave it, as a marriage-portion, with his daughter, to Henry Champernowne. The heiress of this branch of Champernowne, married Polglass; and the heiress of Polglass, Herle. Sir John Herle the younger, who died without issue, settled the reversion of Trelawny on Sir William, afterwards Lord Bonville, the last of an ancient Devonshire family: it was a remarkable circumstance attending this family, that the havoc of civil war annihilated three generations within the space of two months. At the battle of Wakefield, Lord Bonville witnessed the death of his son Sir William Bonville, and of his grandson William Lord Harington, who enjoyed that title as having married the heiress of Lord Harington, of Harington; this was on the last day of December 1460; in the month of February following, the aged grandfather was taken prisoner at the second battle of St. Albans; and, although his life had been promised, he was beheaded by order of the Queen, who bore resentment against him, as having been one of those who had the custody of the King's person after the battle of Northampton. Elizabeth Lady Harington, upon the accession of Edward IV., had a large dower assigned her out of Lord Bonville's estates in Cornwall: her only daughter, by Bonville, brought Trelawny and other estates to Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, on the attainder of whose grandson, Henry, Duke of Suffolk, they were seized by the crown. It has been already stated, that Trelawny in Alternon was the original seat of the Trelawny family, and that they afterwards resided at Pool in Menheniot. In the year 1600, Sir Jonathan Trelawny, one of the representatives of the county (fn. n16), (father of Sir John, who was created a baronet in 1628,) purchased Trelawny of the Crown, and made it his residence: it has ever since been the chief seat of the family, and is now the property and residence of the Rev. Sir Harry Trelawny, Bart.

Lord Bonville built a castellated mansion at Trelawny, a part of which, with two towers, remains on the eastern side of the present house. Sir Jonathan Trelawny nearly rebuilt the house soon after his purchase of the estate: it was again nearly rebuilt by Edward Trelawny, Esq., Governor of Jamaica, after a fire which happened about the middle of the last century. There are several family-portraits at Trelawny-house, among which are two of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bart., Bishop of Winchester, one of the prelates who were committed to the Tower for their steady defence of the Protestant religion, in the reign of James II.; one of them is by Sir Godfrey Kneller. The gateway at Trelawny was some time the residence of General Trelawny, brother of the Bishop, a distinguished officer in the reigns of Charles II. and King William. A chapel was built at Trelawny, by Bishop Trelawny, on the site of one of more ancient date.

The manor of Muchlarnic was purchased in 1674, by Sir Jonathan Trelawny, of the Achyms, and is now the property of the Rev. Sir H. Trelawny, Bart. who is also proprietor of Trenake, formerly the seat of the Achyms, now a farmhouse.

The manor of Hall, and the church of Pelynt, belonged to the abbot and convent of Newenham (fn. n17). The barton and wood of Hall are now the property (by inheritance from the Trethurfes) of James Buller, Esq. M.P., who is impropriator of Pelynt, and patron of the vicarage.

In the parish-church, said to have been the burial-place of St. Juncus (fn. n18), are several monuments of the Trelawny family (fn. n19); William Achym, Esq. 1589; and the Bullers of Tregarrick (fn. n20). In the north aisle was formerly a monumental effigies, said to have been that of Otes or Otho de Bodrugan, some time lord of Trelawny: an agreement, bearing date 1680, shews that the north aisle was formerly appropriated to the manor of Trelawny; an exchange was made with the parish in that year.

Perran-Arwothall

PERRAN-ARWOTHALL, in the deanery and in the east division of the hundred of Kirrier. The chief population of this parish is at the village of Perran-well, situated on the turnpike road leading from Truro to Penryn, five miles south-west from Truro, and four from Penryn, which is the post-office town. Part of Perran-Wharf, or Perran-Cove, is in this parish. There is an arsenic manufactory in this parish.

The manor of Perran-Arwothall, which includes two-thirds of the parish, belonged to the ancient family of Fitz-William, whose heiress brought it to the Mohuns: Sir Reginald Mohun, in the reign of James I., sold it to Samuel Pendarves, Esq., of Roscrow; it is now, by inheritance from the Pendarves family, the property of the Right Honourable Lord De Dunstanville. The ancient family of Daungers had a house and estate in this parish, which passed by marriage to the Bonithons; probably this was the manor of Bessow, Bizza, or Bissoe, now the property of Peter Hill, Esq. Greenwith common, in this parish, is in thirds between Lord Falmouth, Lord De Dunstanville, and Mr. Hill: five-sixths of the parish belong to Lord De Dunstanville. Perran-Arwothall is a daughter-church to Stithians, and included in the same presentation. Lord Falmouth is impropriator and patron.

Perran-Uthnoe

PERRAN-UTHNOE, in the deanery and in the east division of the hundred of Penwith, lies a mile and a quarter south-east from Marazion, which is the postoffice town, and about four miles and a half nearly east from Penzance. The principal village in this parish is Gold-Sithney, at which a large fair is held on the fifth of August for cattle, coarse clothes, hardware, &c. There is a tradition that this fair was originally held at Sithney near Helston, and that some persons ran off with the glove, by the suspension of which to a pole, the fair was by its charter held, and carried it off to this village, where it is said the glove was hung out for many years at the time of the fair: as some confirmation of the tradition of its removal, it should be mentioned that the lord of the manor, as proprietor of the fair, used to pay an acknowledgment of one shilling per annum to the churchwardens of Sithney. The custom of holding out a glove still prevails at the great fair at Chester.

The manor of Perran-Uthnoe belonged, at an early period, to the Whalesborowes, from whom it passed by marriage to the ancestor of Sir John Trevelyan, Bart., the present proprietor, who is patron of the rectory, and possesses, also, the manor of Gold-Sithney, which belonged to the priory of St. Michael's Mount. Most of the farms in this parish have been sold, by Sir John Trevelyan, to their several occupiers. In this parish, by the sea-side, is a mansion called Acton Castle, built by John Stackhouse, Esq., and now the property and residence of Buckley Praed, Esq.

There was formerly a chapel at Gold-Sithney, dedicated to St. James. (fn. n21)

Perran-Zabuloe

PERRAN-ZABULOE, or St. Piran in the Sands, lies in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, about a mile and a half from St. Agnes; about five from Truro, which is the post-office town; and about six from Redruth. The principal villages in this parish are, Callestock, Lambourn, Lundrawna alias Hendravenna, Millingy, Penwartha, and Rose. A fair is held some years at Millingy, and others at a place called Penhallow, in this parish, on Easter Tuesday, now little more than a holidayfair. The tolls are taken by the church-wardens, or those to whom they are let by them at a small annual rent. At Perran-Porth, where a considerable stream, which runs through Millingy, falls into the sea, is a fine sandy beach, frequented as a bathing-place by the neighbouring gentry, who procure lodgings in the cottages on the beach. The western part of this parish is very populous, being inhabited by miners, who live in detached cottages, which are thickly sprinkled over the barren commons.

The manor or honor of St. Piran (fn. n22), now destroyed by the sands, belonged to a college of canons, by whom it was held free of all taxes in the reign of Edward the Confessor, as appears by the survey of Domesday: it is said to have been, at a latter period, the property and seat of the family of St. Piran, from whom it passed by successive female-heirs to the Kendalls and Vincents (fn. n23). The lords of this manor claimed free warren, and had tin-works, which became of little value, in consequence of the changeableness of the sands. The toll-tin of this estate, reserved by page n="261"> the Vincents, belongs to the Marquis of Buckingham, who possesses the estates of that family: the Dean and Chapter of Exeter have a farm, with a large tract of land, chiefly covered with sand, which might probably once have been the site of the ancient manor of St. Piran.

The manor of Tywarnhaile, being a moiety of the ancient manor of that name, was granted, in 1337, to Edward the Black Prince, and by him soon afterwards given to Sir Walter de Woodland, usher of his chamber, who died without issue (fn. n24) : this manor was afterwards annexed to the duchy of Cornwall, and so continued till the year 1798, when it was purchased, under the powers of the land-tax redemption act, by John Thomas, Esq., of Chiverton, except the mines and wrecks of the sea, which were reserved to the duchy: the tenants of this manor were of four forts, as stated in a record of 1337, viz. freeholders, who paid a certain rent and fealty and suit at the lord's court; free conventioners, who held for seven years in free conventionary; native conventioners, who held also for seven years; and natives, who held in villenage, the younger son inheriting: Tywarnhaile barton is occupied as a farm.

In an ancient deed, without date (fn. n25), Henry Le Tyes is called lord of a moiety of the manor of Tywarnhaile; this formed the manor of Tywarnhaile-Tyes, which descended to the Rutland family: Henry Earl of Rutland, in the year 1561, sold the manor, with the toll-tin, to Pascall Kerne and Richard John; not long afterwards, three-fourths of the manor became the property of the Carews; the remaining fourth, of the Carters of St. Columb, whose heirs still possess two-thirds of this fourth (fn. n26), the other third having been sold to Mr. Prout of St. Agnes; the other three-fourths were vested in the late Mr. Donnithorne, whose ancestor purchased of the Carews.

The manor of Lambourn, held under Tywarnhaile, belonged to the Lambourns as early as the reign of Henry III.: Amara, daughter and heiress of William Lambourn, in the reign of Henry V., married Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, who gave it to his third son Sir Renfrey: Elizabeth, his daughter (and eventually heiress, her brother having left an only son, who died without issue), married Thomas Whittington, and after his death Edward Stradling; having a son by the former, and a daughter by the latter, she divided her large inheritance between them: the daughter married Sir John Danvers, Knt. The grandson of Whittington left six daughters, one of whom married into the St. Aubyn family. Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart. now possesses the whole of the manor, and one-fifth and onesixtieth part of the lands belonging to it: other parts, which had been sold by the coheiresses of Whittington, or their representatives, came, after a while, to the Scawens, and were purchased of that family by Mr. William Hodge, who resides in a farm-house on this estate: his purchased lands and Sir John St. Aubyn's inheritance constitute one moiety of this manor; the other moiety, in which was the manor-house, and a chapel dedicated to St. Edmund, was divided into lots, and after some intermediate alienations, the whole (with the exception of certain lands sold by the family of Oats to an ancestor of the present proprietor, Francis Gregor, Esq. of Trewarthenick) became vested in the Tonkins, and are now enjoyed by their representatives. (fn. n27)

The manor of Penwartha belonged to the ancient family of Pentire, whose heiress brought it to the Roscarrocks: it was purchased of the latter, in the reign of Charles I., by Sir Francis Vyvyan, and is now the property of his descendant, the Rev. Sir Carew Vyvyan, Bart.: this manor is held by a chief rent under the manor of Tywarnhaile. The barton of Lambourn-Wigan or Lambriggan is held under Tywarnhaile-Tyes: two-thirds of this estate passed with Penwartha to the Vyvyans, and are now the property of Sir Carew Vyvyan; the other third was divided into moieties, one having been successively in the families of Trevithick, Hayme, and Beauchamp is now the property of Francis Gregor, Esq.; the other belonged to the Carters, and having since been successively in the families of Tregea and Tonkin, is now the property of Francis Enys, Esq.: on this part of the estate is a house, now occupied by a farmer, which was built by John Tregea, and was some time the residence of Thomas Tonkin, Esq., before he removed to Trevaunance.

The manor of Fenton-Gimps or Venton-Gimps belonged to an ancient family of that name, long ago extinct: Tonkin says, that the heiress married into the family of Penrose. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth this estate was in moieties between the Carters of St. Columb and the Penwarnes of Mawgan: in 1595, Carter bought Penwarne's moiety; his grandson, in 1650, sold the whole to John Cleather, who resided in the manor-house, and laid out extensive gardens, &c. In 1691, Samuel Cleather, his grandson, sold the manor of Fenton-Gimps to Hugh Tonkin, Esq.: it has since passed in the same manor as the Trevaunance estate in St. Agnes (fn. n28). The manor-house was destroyed by fire some years ago; a farm-house has been built on the site.

The manor of Trevallance and Penkaranowe belonged, in the reign of Henry VIII., to the family of Trevallance, whose heiress married Carlyon alias Rosewarne: Trevallance was sold, in 1622, to the Rev. Richard Colmer, vicar of St. Perran, by whose heirs it was conveyed, in 1655, to the ancestor of Mr. John Andrew: the heiress of Andrew brought it to the family of the present proprietor, John Thomas, Esq., of Chiverton. Penkaranowe, which was parcel of this manor, passed with the heiress of Carlyon to Reginald Haweis; and by sale, from Haweis, in 1673, to William Tregea: in 1694 it was purchased of John Worth, (to whom it had been conveyed by Tregea the preceding year,) by Mr. John Thomas of Glamorganshire, ancestor of John Thomas, Esq. abovementioned, in whose family, in consequence of the match with Andrew, the two parts of this estate became again united.

The barton of Chiverton was sold, in 1703, by Lord Longueville and others (as trustees for Richard Arundell, Esq.), to John Rosogan, Esq., whose ancestor had a lease of it in the reign of Queen Elizabeth: in 1724 it was purchased of the Rosogans by Mr. John Andrew of Trevellance, maternal great-grandfather of John Thomas, Esq., vice-warden of the Stannaries, the present proprietor, who, about the year 1718, built a capital mansion for his own residence, and embellished the place with extensive plantations. Mr. Thomas is proprietor also of the manor of Bosvellock, which he purchased, in 1779, of the Angoves: the Angoves purchased of George Hunt, Esq., who inherited it from the family of Robartes, Earl of Radnor.

The manor of Treworthan has been long in the Boscawen family, and is now the property of Lord Viscount Falmouth. The manor or reputed manor of Halwyn, now the property of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn, was inherited from the Carters, who purchased of Mr. John Kearne, in the year 1578. Penhale, which has been some time also in the Hoblyn family, is now occupied as a farm, by a younger brother of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn: there is belonging to this estate a valuable and extensive rabbit-warren, of which there are two or three adjoining on the sands, containing several hundred acres of land. Reenwartha, some time a seat of the family of Haweis, is now a farm-house, the property and residence of Mrs. Jenkins: it is near Perran-Porth, and affords the accommodation of lodgings to families who occasionally resort to the coast for sea-air and bathing.

This parish is said to have been the residence and burial-place of St. Piran, the patron of the tinners, of whom the legend, as given by Hals, is, that "he swam over from Ireland on a mill-stone, and lived 200 years after his emigration:" but this differs from Capgrave's account, who says nothing of the mill-stone; his story is, that "after having lived to the age of 200 years and upwards, and finding his health declining, he determined to end his days in Cornwall." The two preceding parishes take their name from the same saint. "This parish," as Carew observes, "but too well brooketh his surname in Sabulo, for the light sand carried up by the north wind from the sea-shore, daily continueth his covering and marring the land adjoynant, so as the distresse of this deluge drave the inhabitants to remoove their church: howbeit when it meeteth with any crossing brooke, the same (by a secret antipathy) restraineth and barreth his farder incroching that way." It was, probably, in consequence of this notion, that the inhabitants, thinking such situation secure, removed their church only about 300 yards, it being on the opposite side of a brook: in the old church was the shrine of St. Piran, in which his relics were carefully preserved: there was a great resort of pilgrims to make oblations at this shrine, as appears by a deed in the registry of the see of Exeter, bearing date 1485. The brook above-mentioned, having been dried up by the adits made from time to time for the purpose of working the mines, the new church lost all the protection it could have derived from it; and Borlase, in a MS. account of an excursion in 1755, speaks of it "as being then in no little danger, the sands being spread all around it:" it stood among the sand-hills, with only a solitary cottage near it, half buried in sand, and the porch frequently so blocked up, that it was difficult to obtain entrance; it was determined, therefore, about ten years ago, to build a new church near the village of Lambourn, and the centre of the parish: thither the pillars and the font, which appear to have belonged to the original church, were removed, and the new church was consecrated by Dr. Fisher, then Bishop of Exeter, in 1805. When we visited Perran-Zabuloe in that year, the former church, which had been unroosed, was nearly filled with sand. The great tithes of this parish are held on lease by Francis Enys, Esq., under the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, who are patrons of the vicarage. Near Tywarnhaile-house is a small island, on which was an ancient chapel, called Chapel-Engarder; the ruins of it remained in 1733. There were chapels also at Callestock-Veor; Callestock-Rual; near Bethaw-hall; at Lambourn, dedicated to St. Edmund; near Perran-Porth; and Chapel-Widdan, near St. Piran's Well: the tradition is, that most of these were oratories, in which St. Piran celebrated divine service. St. Piran's Well is on a tenement called Caer or Carn-kief, near Lambourn, which belonged to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter; it has been lately purchased by John Thomas, Esq., under the powers of the landtax redemption act: this well, which is enclosed by an ancient stone-building, was formerly much resorted to as a cure for the rickets. About a mile and a half from Lambourn, on the downs, is St. Piran's Round, one of the ancient amphitheatres already spoken of. There are several ancient earth-works in this parish, which also have been elsewhere more particularly mentioned.

Little-Petherick

LITTLE-PETHERICK, formerly called Nassington (fn. n29), in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, lies about two miles south of Padstow, which is the post-office town, and five north from St. Columb.

The only village, besides the church-town, is Tregonnon.

The manors of Ide and of Padstow-Penkevil extend into this parish. Sir A. O. Molesworth, Bart. is patron of the rectory: near the church are the remains of a chapel, supposed to have been that of St. Ide. There was formerly a chapel at Treviban in this parish.

South-Petherwin

SOUTH-PETHERWIN, in the north division of the hundred of East, and in the deanery of Trigg-Major, lies about two miles south-west from Launceston, which is the post-office town. Except the church-town, there are only three small villages in the parish, called Trecroogo, Tregaller, and Trethevy. There are two holiday-fairs at South-Petherwin; the second Tuesday in May, and the second Tuesday in October. The manor of South-Petherwin belongs to the Bishop of Exeter. Tremeal, formerly a seat of the Vyvyans, is now a farm-house, the property of Samuel Archer, Esq., by purchase from Vyel Vyvyan, Esq., of Trelowarren. Tregoddick, formerly the seat of a family of that name, is now a farmhouse, belonging to Robert Fanshaw, Esq., commissioner of the dock-yard at Plymouth, who bought it a few years ago of the Tremaynes. The bartons of Trevozah and Landlake became the property of Jonas Morgan, Esq., by marriage with the heiress of Couch (fn. n30), in whose family they had been many years: the farm-house in the former barton has been occasionally occupied by Mr. Morgan. Botaden, the seat of the Bligh family, which became extinct in 1740, after passing through several hands, is now a farm-house, the property of the coheiresses of the late Mr. Essery. Tresmarrow, formerly a seat of the Pypers, passed by a female heir to the Vyvyans; it is now a farm-house, the property (by a late purchase) of Mr. Down. Treburesy, formerly belonging to the family of Gedy, whose heiress brought it to Sir John Eliot, was bequeathed by the late John Eliot, Esq., of Trebursey, to the Honourable William Eliot, M.P., who has built a new house on the estate for his own residence.

In the parish-church are memorials of the families of Manaton of Trecarrell, Walton of Tremeal, and Couch and Morgan of Trevozah. The great tithes, formerly appropriated to the priory of St. Germans, are now vested in the University of Oxford, who are patrons of the vicarage.

Phillack

PHILLACK, in the deanery and in the east division of the hundred of Penwith, lies about four miles and a half east-south-east from St. Ives; but at high water the travelling distance is increased to nine miles: it is nine miles north-east from Penzance, the same distance west-south-west from Redruth, and nearly 10 miles north-west from Helston: a daily bye-post comes from Marazion to Hayle copper-house, in this parish, where a weekly market on Saturdays has been established, and a markethouse built. The principal villages in this parish, besides the church-town, are, Angallack, where is a tin smelting-house, being the first of the kind that was established; Guilford; Loggan; Venton-Loggan; Hayle copper-house, abovementioned, where the smelting and refining copper, and other manufactories are carried on upon a very extensive scale; and the port of Hayle, where there is a considerable trade with Wales, for timber, coals, iron, and lime-stone, and with Bristol, for earthenware, groceries, &c.: it is one of the chief places of export for the copper-ore of the western mines.

Cayle-Castle, Castle-Cayle or Kayel, spoken of by Leland, with a moat and a keep, belongs to the heirs of John Curnow, Esq.; there is a farm-house within the moat: we find no intimation of the ancient proprietors of this castle: another castle is spoken of by Leland, as almost at the mouth of the Hayle, called Rivier or Theodore's Castle; the site of which has been buried by the sands. The Riviere estate belongs to the Cornish Copper Company, who are possessed also of Trevassack, and part of Ventonleage. Treglisson is the property of Mr. Richard Nicholls.

The manor of Conarton extends over the greater part of this parish (fn. n31) : the barton of Bodrigy belonged successively to the family of Cotwyne (fn. n32), of Sir John Godolphin, and of the families of Pendarves and Williams: it is now vested in Meffrs. Parminter and Millet, and the Rev. William Hockin, as heirs of the late John Curnow, Esq., by whom it was purchased not many years ago: the house is occupied by the families of Parminter and Millet.

The Rev. William Hockin, the present incumbent, is patron of the rectory: it is united to Gwithian, of which Phillack is the mother-church. The injury done to the lands in this parish and Gwithian, by the sands, has been already spoken of; the smoke of the smelting-houses in the neighbourhood of the Hayle river has been almost equally ruinous, and has destroyed all traces of vegetation on two of the best estates in the parish. In this parish is Wheal-Alfred, one of the richest mines now worked in the county. (fn. n33)

Pillaton

PILLATON, in the deanery and in the middle division of the hundred of East, lies about four miles nearly south from Callington, which is the post-office town, and about six north-west from Saltash. The only village in this parish, besides the church-town, is Penter's Cross. There is a fair at Pillaton on Whit-Tuesday.

The manor of Pillaton was at an early period in the family of Inkpen (fn. n34). In 1620, the manors of Pillaton and Hardenfast belonged to Thomas Moone, who had purchased them of Dame Dorothy Dillington, heiress of John Charles, Esq. (fn. n35) : this estate was afterwards in the Corytons; and having passed with Newton in St. Mellion, is now the property of Weston Helyar, Esq. The manor of LeighDurant, which belonged to the Dawneys, and passed with the heiress of that family to the Courtenays, having escheated to the crown by the attainder of the Marquis of Exeter, was annexed, with other manors, to the duchy of Cornwall, in lieu of the honor of Wallingford.

Pentillie-Castle was the seat of Sir James Tillie, who died about the year 1712, and directed by his will, that his body should be deposited, placed in a chair, sitting, in the lower apartment of a small building erected for that purpose, on an eminence overlooking the Tamar, which he called Mount Ararat (fn. n36) : Sir James Tillie left Pentilly to his sister's son, James Woolley, who took the name of Tillie. The daughter and only child of his grandson brought this estate to the late John Coryton, Esq., whose son, John Tillie Coryton, Esq., is the present proprietor. Mr. Coryton has lately pulled down the greater part of the old mansion, which, although it had nothing of the castellated character, was called Pentillie-Castle, and has erected for his own residence a Gothic mansion, from the designs of Mr. Wilkins, jun. Mr. Helyar is patron of the rectory of Pillaton.

St. Pinnock

ST. PINNOCK, in the hundred and deanery of West, lies about four miles nearly west-south-west from Liskeard, which is the post-office town, and about eight eastnorth-east from Lostwithiel. The only village in this parish is Trevillis: the manor of that name belongs to the Honourable Mrs. Agar, as representative of the Robartes family: it had been at an early period (fn. n37) in the Willington family: in 1620 it was in moieties between the families of Mohun and Robartes. The manor of Penvrane belonged to the ancient family of Silvester, afterwards called Penvrane, before the year 1426; from them it is supposed to have passed in marriage, towards the latter part of the following century, to the Colyns: Elizabeth, daughter of John Colyn, brought it as a marriage-portion to the Treffry family: it has ever since passed with the Place estate, and is now the property of J. T. Austen, Esq. The barton was sold a few years ago, by Mr. Austen, to Mr. Raby.

There are two Bodranes in this parish, one of which belonged to an ancient family of that name, afterwards to the Hoblyns: one of these estates belongs to the heirs of the late Thomas Grylls, Esq., of Helston; the other to Mr. Bate. Tregow, formerly belonging to the Robartes family, afterwards to Sir James Laroche, Bart., is now the property of Mr. Samuel Rundle. The advowson of the rectory of this parish is in thirds; one of these is vested in Mr. Austen, as lord of the manor of Penvrane, to which the whole was formerly annexed; another to J. T. Coryton, Esq.; and a third to the Rev. Joseph Pomery of Bodmin, by purchase from Bate.

Poughill

POUGHILL, in the hundred of Stratton, and in the deanery of Trigg-Major, lies one mile north-west from Stratton. The manor was given by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, to the abbey of Clive in Somersetshire: it was sold by King James I. to George Salter and John Williams: Dr. Borlase says, that it belonged in his time to Mr. John Stanbury of Broomhill: it is now the property of Thomas Trood, Esq., who purchased it of the late John Cunyngham Saunders, Esq., an eminent surgeon in London, well known by his institution of a hospital for diseases of the eye, and his improvements in that department of surgery. This manor consists only of a royalty, which extends over the parish, there being neither lands nor rent belonging to it.

William of Worcester, in his Itinerary of Cornwall, written in the reign of Edward IV., relates that, in the year 1437, Nicholas Radford, counsel for the Lord Bonville against Thomas Earl of Devon, was slain in his own house at Poughill, by Thomas, eldest son of the said Earl, who afterwards succeeded to the title.

Flexbury, in this parish, the residence of Mr. Ralph Cole, belongs to the Rev. Charles Dayman. Maer is the property and residence of Richard Martyn Braddon, Esq.; Broomhill, the property and late residence of Thomas Trood, Esq. Reeds has been lately built by John Vikry Jose, Esq., for his own residence.

The well-known battle of Stratton was fought in this parish, near the town of Stratton, on a hill called, from its having been the position of the Earl of Stamford, the parliamentary general, Stamford's Hill (fn. n38) : in the year 1713, a monument was erected on this spot, with the following inscription,—"In this place the army of the rebels under the command of the Earl of Stamford received a signal overthrow by the valour of Sir Beville Granville and the Cornish army, on Tuesday the 6th of May 1643, by George Lord Lansdowne, comptroller of the household, and one of the principal secretaries of state." This monument was taken down before the memory of any one now living: the tablet containing the inscription was removed to Stratton, and fixed on the front of the market-house; when some alterations were made in that building, it was again removed, and placed in the front of the Tree inn, where it still remains.

The great tithes of Poughill, which were appropriated to the priory of Launceston, have been sold in severalties; those of Flexbury, Hollabury, Coumbe, and Coumbe-parks, belong to George Boughton Kingdon, Esq. The vicarage is in the gift of the crown.

Poundstock

POUNDSTOCK, in the hundred of Lesnewth and in the deanery of Trigg-Major, lies 13 miles north-west from Launceston, and six south-south-west from Stratton, which is the post-office town. The only village in this parish is Tregoll. There is a fair at Poundstock on the Monday before Ascension-day. Poundstock was held under the manor of Launcels, as appears by the Exeter Domesday. The manor of West-Widemouth, in this parish, which had been granted by Reginald Earl of Cornwall to William Botterell or Bottreaux, in or about the reign of Henry II., passed, by successive female heirs, to the families of Hungerford and Hastings: it was purchased of one of the Earls of Huntingdon by the Grenville family, and having passed with the Kilkhampton estate, is now the property of Lord Carteret.

The manor of Woolston, which had long been in the Grenville family, and was one of their seats in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, upon a division of the property of that family between the coheiresses, fell to the share of Lord Gower, and was sold, about the year 1770, to the Rev. James Cotton, of whose representatives it was purchased, about the year 1794, by the Right Honourable Lord de Dunstanville, who is the present proprietor: the old mansion on this estate has been pulled down, and a farm-house built on the site. Lord de Dunstanville has also the manor of Penlean, which was inherited by his ancestors from the Heles, about the year 1674. An estate (probably the manor of Woolston) was given by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, to the abbey of Clive in Somersetshire. The manor of Penhallam, partly in this parish (fn. n39), has lately been sold, piece-meal, by the Rev. Charles Dayman.

Trebarfoot, the seat of an ancient family of that name, passed, by a female heir, to the Burgoynes: it was purchased, in 1804, of Mrs. Venning, heiress of the Burgoyne family, by the Rev. Charles Dayman, vicar of Poundstock. Penfowne, the seat of a family of that name, having been previously mortgaged, was sold in 1759, under a decree of Chancery, to Mr. Prideaux of Dartmouth, of whom it was purchased by the Rev. Charles Dayman: both these estates have since been conveyed by him to his nephew, John Dayman, Esq., of Padstow. Calmady, which was the original seat of the family of that name, is now a farm-house, the property of their representative, Calmady Pollexfen Hamlyn, Esq., who resides at LeaWood in Devonshire.

In the parish-church are memorials of the family of Trebarfoot, which became extinct in the year 1630.

The great tithes of Poundstock, which were appropriated to the college of Slapton in Devonshire, are now vested in G. F. Collins Browne, Esq.: after the Reformation they became the property of the Arundell family, of whom they were purchased, about the year 1780, by George Browne, Esq., grandfather of the present proprietor: John Dayman, Esq. is patron of the vicarage.

Probus

PROBUS, in the deanery and in the west division of the hundred of Powder, lies about two miles and a half nearly west from Grampound; three north-west from Tregony; and five east-north-east from Truro, which is the post-office town. A market on Mondays, long since disused, was granted, in the year 1320, to the treasurer of the cathedral of Exeter (fn. n40), to whom this church was appropriated; and two fairs, each for three days; one at the festival of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the other at that of St. George the Martyr. There are now four fairs, all belonging to Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bart.; two of them are vested in him in right of his manor of Lanprobus, the ancient possession of the college of Probus, and afterwards to the church of Exeter; one of the others was purchased of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn; they had both belonged to the family of Williams, and one of them is said to have been granted, soon after the Restoration, in approbation of the loyalty of this parish during the civil war. They are all large fairs for horses and cattle; and held April 5, April 23, July 5, and September 17.

The manor of Trelowthas was parcel of the possessions of the Bodrugans, and was granted with other estates, after the attainder of Sir Henry Bodrugan, to the ancestor of the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe, who is the present proprietor. The manor of Tredenham was the property and original seat of the Tredenhams, who removed thence to Kellis in Cornely, and afterwards to Tregonan in St.Ewe: this manor was purchased of the Tredenham family, (which became extinct about the year 1708,) by Henry Hawkins, D.D., ancestor of Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bart. Sir Christopher's seat is at Trewithan, in this parish, which barton was purchased, early in the last century, of Courtenay Williams, Esq., by Philip Hawkins, Esq. There is a view of Trewithan-house in Borlase's Natural History of Cornwall.

The manor of Trewithgy, or Treworgy, was part of the possessions of the ancient family of Wolvedon, or Wulvedon of Wulvedon alias Golden, in this parish; the last male heir of which died in the year 1512, as appears by his epitaph in Probus church: their large estates passed by a female-heir to the Tregians or Tregyans, who built a magnificent mansion at Golden: this mansion, of which the ruins still remain, was unfinished when Leland visited this county, in the reign of Henry VIII.: that author speaks of it as "richly begon, and amply, but not ended." Francis Tregian, of Golden, being then 28 years of age, having been accused, in the year 1577, of recusancy, and harbouring Cuthbert Mayne, a Romish priest, was found guilty; adjudged to have incurred a præmunire; his goods and estates seized, and himself imprisoned during the Queen's pleasure; after having lain some time, and been subjected to great hardships in Launceston gaol, his lady procured his removal to the King's Bench; he was afterwards removed to the Fleet, where, in 1593, he had been confined 13 years, his lady having lived with him during the whole time of his imprisonment: she then had 18 children, 11 of whom had been born in the Fleet, and most of them then living. Norden, whose survey must have been written about the year 1602, as he had evidently seen Carew's work then printed, says, "for his and his wife's recusancie, and for some former observed offence committed, the land of Tregian was suspended, and himself near 20 years imprisoned; but he is now at libertie, and liveth with sufficient glorie nere London; havinge noe use of his lande, which was in the handes of the late Lorde Hunsdon, Lorde Chamberlaine to Her late Majestie. This gentleman's reliefe is thowght to grow by the bounty of suche as affecte his parte." In July 1606, we are told that Mr. Francis Tregian, then an ancient gentleman, arrived at Douay on his way to Spain. Tregian's estates, consisting of several manors and other lands, then estimated at nearly 500l. per annum, were given by Queen Elizabeth to Sir George Cary, afterwards Lord Hunsdon; whose widow, in the year 1607, sold the whole (except a small part which had been previously disposed of by her husband) to Francis Tregian the younger. Most of these estates, including the manor of Treworgy, and the barton of Golden, were alienated, either by this Francis, or by his younger brother Charles, (who survived, and was in possession of some of the estates in 1620,) to John Vincent (fn. n41). Charles Tregian was in Cardinal Allen's family, and published a work entitled, "Planctus de Morte Cardinalis Alani." Ezekiel Grosse, who became possessed of most of the Tregian property, purchased the barton of Golden of Vincent, and made it his residence; his only daughter and heir married the ancestor of J. F. Buller, Esq., the present proprietor of these estates. Golden has been long occupied as a farm-house: the dilapidated part consists principally of a gateway and chapel, opposite to which is what is called the chaplain's apartment; and within is a small room, with stone seats: they show a dungeon under an old tower, in which Cuthbert Mayne is said to have been confined.

Treworgy-house was successively the seat, as lessees, of the family of Williams, Harris, and Bone: it is now a farm-house of Mr. Buller's. Williams, the wealthy and charitable farmer, spoken of by Carew, was probably Williams of Treworgy; that writer speaks of him as "grandfather to sixtie persons now living, and able lately to ride twelve myles in a morning, for being witness to the christening of a child, to whom hee was great-great-grandfather." This Williams was ancestor of the Williams's of Carvean, Treworgy, and Trehane, in this parish, and Truthan (in St. Erme), several times sheriffs of the county (fn. n42). Trehane belonged, at an early period, to a family of that name, afterwards to the Scawens: the latter sold it to John Williams, Esq., of Carvean, who built a new house on this barton, now the seat of William Stackhouse, Esq., whose father, Dr. Stackhouse, (brother of the Rev. Thomas Stackhouse, author of the History of the Bible, and the Body of Divinity,) acquired it by marriage with a coheiress of the Williams' family. Carvean is now a farm-house of Mr. Buller's. There was another family of Williams of Treverne, in the parish of Probus (fn. n43), whose ancestor, five generations before 1620, married the heiress of Treverne: this family was a younger branch of that of Williams of Herringston, in Dorsetshire; the arms are different from those of Williams of Treworgy. (fn. n44)

The manor of Trenowth belonged to the ancient family of that name, which became extinct in the reign of Henry VIII.; the coheiresses married Boscawen, Borlase, and Herle: this barton was inherited by the Herles (fn. n45), and was some time their seat: it is now a farm-house, the property of the Rev. George Moore, of Garlineck: the manor has been sold in lots. The manor of Hellan was purchased of the Wollocombe family in 1753, by John Roberts, and is now the property of his nephew Matthew Roberts, Esq., of Lamellan, in this parish. Trethower, some time a leasehold seat of the family of Huddy, is now a farm-house, belonging to J. T. P. B. Trevanion, Esq., as parcel of his manor of Cornely, otherwise Grogoth.

In the parish-church, which has a very handsome tower, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth (within our remembrance, says Carew), is the monument of Thomas Hawkins, Esq., and the memorial of Wolvedon, before-mentioned. The church of Probus, and the rectorial estate, called in the survey of Domesday, Lanprobus, belonged to a college of canons at this place: this college consisted anciently of a dean, and five prebendaries: the dean had the patronage of the prebends: in 1268, Henry de Bollegh, Dean of Probus, conveyed the patronage to the Bishop of Exeter, and his successors for ever; probably he was the last dean. The prebendaries continued till the Reformation, when the college was dissolved, and pensions were assigned them: previously to this, they had each certain glebes, and portions of tithes, which were assigned by Bishop Stapleton in 1312. The church of Probus, with the right of nominating the prebendaries and the vicar, had before that time been granted by the Bishop to the treasurer of the church of Exeter, and his successors: in this grant no mention is made of a dean (fn. n46). The lands belonging to the prebendaries, constituting the manor of Lanprobus, were granted by King Edward VI., in 1549, to Sir Thomas Pomeroy, and are now the property of Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bart. The great tithes are now appropriated to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter: the Bishop is patron of the vicarage. The site of the college is supposed to have been near the churchyard, between the school-house and the parish road: the school-house is supposed to have been a chapel. There were chapels also at Golden, Hellan, Trelowthas, and Treworgy, and a small chapel or oratory in Trenowth wood, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and St. Mary. The Exeter registers speak also of a chapel of St. George. (fn. n47)

A grammar-school at Probus was founded by Mr. John Williams of Treworgy, in 1688, and endowed with a salary of 10l. per annum: this school was formerly one of the principal seminaries in Cornwall (fn. n48) : but in consequence of the smallness of the salary, it has not, of late, been kept up as a grammar-school; but only for reading, writing, arithmetic, &c. There is another reading-school, endowed with the interest of 100l. by Mrs. Hawkins.

Footnotes

  • n1. Carew's Survey, f. 40.
  • n2. Esch. 1 Edw. IV
  • n3. See p. cxii.
  • n4. This chapel is described by Norden.
  • n5. From the information of the Rev. R. Lyne, rector of Little-Petherick.
  • n6. Rot. Cart. 28 Edw. I.
  • n7. Rot. Cart. 6 Edw. II.
  • n8. See p. 211.
  • n9. See Rot. Pat. 16 Ric. II.
  • n10. See p. 209.
  • n11. The parish register is thus inscribed:—"Register of St. Pawle, in the countie of Cornwall, from the 23 daye Iulie, the yeare of our gracious Lord God 1595, on the which daie, soon after the sun was risen, the church, tower, bells, and all other things pertaining to the same, together with the houses and goods, was burned and spoiled by the Spaniards, in the saide parish, being Wensdaie the daye aforesaide, in the 37th yeare of the raigne of our Soveraine Ladie Elezabeth, by the grace of God, of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, Queene, Defender of the Faith, &c. "Per me, Johnem Tremearne, Vicarium. "1595—Jenkin Keigwin, of Mousehole, being killed by the Spaniards, was buried the 24th of Iulie. "Iacobus de Newlyn occisus fuit per inimicos et sepultus est 26 die Julii, similiter Teek Cornall et sepultus the 26 of Iulie."
  • n12. The force of the fire is said to have consumed nearly the whole church; yet there is a tradition that the south porch escaped the flames; in confirmation of which tradition, it may be mentioned, that when that porch was repaired in 1807, one of the wooden supporters was found to be partially burnt, at that end nearest the body of the church.
  • n13. Rot. Cart. 30 Edw. III.
  • n14. See p. cxxix.
  • n15. So he uniformly spells the name; but it is spelt Winslade by Sir William Pole, and in the Heralds' Visitations.
  • n16. From the information of Sir Harry Trelawny, to whom we are indebted for many particulars respecting this parish.
  • n17. Record in the Augmentation Office. See p. 26.
  • n18. William of Worcester.
  • n19. Sir John Trelawny, Bart. 1634; Sir John Trelawny, Bart. 1756; Edward Trelawny, Esq. 1636. On the monument of the latter, is the following epitaph:— June 7, 1736 Edward Trelawnye Ana: We wander, alter, dy. O what a bubble, vapour, puff of breath, A nest of wormes, a lump of pallid earth, Is mud wald man; before we mount on high, We cope with change, we wander, alter, dy. "Causidicum claudit tumulus, miraris, honestum Gentibus hoc cunctis dixeris esse novum. Here lyes an honest lawyer, wot you what? A thing for all the world to wonder at." This Edward Trelawny was brother of the first baronet, and lived at Bake, now a farm-house of Sir Harry Trelawny's.
  • n20. Francis Buller, Esq., of Tregarrick, 1615, &c.
  • n21. Borlase's MS. Collections from the Registers of the see of Exeter.
  • n22. So called in the Exeter Domesday. The manor of Tregembris was held by it.
  • n23. Tonkin.
  • n24. Sir William Pole's Devonshire Collections, p. 278.
  • n25. It must have been in the reign of Edward I. or II.
  • n26. The heirs of Carter possess one-fourth of the manor of Tywarnhaile-Tyes; but with respect to the toll-tin, they take one-eighth of both manors: the Donnithornes being entitled to the whole of the toll-tin of Tywarnhaile, by virtue of their lease of the tin under the duchy; and three-fourths of that of Tywarnhaile-Tyes, by virtue of their freehold.
  • n27. See p. 9.
  • n28. Ibid.
  • n29. In some records Nasenton, Naffeton, or Nansyngton.
  • n30. A farm called Combe still belongs to a younger branch of the family of Couch.
  • n31. See p. 129.
  • n32. Norden.
  • n33. The present produce of the mine is about 1,000 tons of copper per month, worth about 9 or 10l. pounds per ton. The land-owners who have an interest in this mine are, Mr. Richard Nicolls, two-sixths; the Honourable Mrs. Agar, James Buller, Esq., M.P., and the Rev. Robert Hoblyn, Esq., one-sixth each; the remaining sixth is subdivided.
  • n34. Esch. Edw. I. and Edw. III.
  • n35. It appears that the directions of his will were not punctually complied with; for, on opening the lower apartment or vault, not long ago, his remains were found to have been deposited in a coffin in the usual way. His effigies in white marble, which was placed in the upper appartment, still remains.
  • n36. Temp. Ric. II.
  • n37. Extent. Terrar. Ducat. Cornub. 17 Jac. I.
  • n38. The following extract of a letter, from the Rev. Walter Harte to Bishop Lyttelton, (preserved in the Marquis of Buckingham's MS. library, at Stowe,) dated from Port-Eliot, August 13, 1743, thus describes the site of the battle of Stratton:— "With pleasure, attention, and Clarendon's History in my great-coat pocket, I surveyed the ground whereon the battle of Stratton was fought. 'Tis an oblong hill, with two batteries raised on its eminence, capable of containing near 4000 men, the number of the parliamentary army, drawn up in close battalions. I thought Lord Clarendon the exactest of writers, till I reviewed the idea he had of this battle, and the place 'twas fought on, but ex pede Herculem. "The front of this oblong hill lay due west, defended with a straight lane, about 400 paces long, which served for a breast-work. The south and north parts were two sharp angles; but front and angles were all ascended to by a moderately gradual ascent. As it happened, so the attack fell judiciously and naturally in four places, as I think the historian tells us; twice, perhaps, in the front, and at each angle, north and south. (I learnt from tradition, that two small parties marched in a semicircle, and made an attack unexpectedly at the angles.) You would think by Clarendon, an attack was made on the east side; but that was impracticable, being exceedingly steep; skirted with wood, a rivulet, and morass at bottom. "The error in the parliament-general was, lying open at too many places, not having ground enough to rectify any mistake, and the impracticability of retreating; for the troops must tumble one over another, and no art could re-collect them."
  • n39. See p. 142.
  • n40. Rot. Cart. 14 Edw. II.
  • n41. Extent. Terrar. Ducat. Cornub, 17 Jac. 1.
  • n42. The late John Williams Hope, Esq. was an immediate descendant of the Truthan branch of this family.
  • n43. Said at least in the pedigrees to be in Probus, but no place or house of the name is now known.
  • n44. See p. cxvii, and p. clxiii.
  • n45. It passed in the same manner as Prideaux, and was purchased of the representatives of Dr. Kendall's daughters. See p. 206.
  • n46. Borlase's Collections from the Registers of the see of Exeter.
  • n47. Ibid.
  • n48. Polwhele's Literary History of Cornwall, p. 57.