Parishes: Callington - St Columb

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

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'Parishes: Callington - St Columb', in Magna Britannia: Volume 3, Cornwall, (London, 1814) pp. 51-67. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol3/pp51-67 [accessed 17 March 2024]

In this section

Callington

CALLINGTON, in the hundred and deanery of East, anciently called Calweton, Calvington, and Killington, is a market and borough town, 213 miles from London, and about fourteen from Plymouth. The market was granted by King Henry III., in the year 1267, to be held on Wednesdays; an annual fair was granted at the same time, to be held at the festival of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (fn. n1). The market is still held on Wednesdays, for corn and provisions: the Lady-day fair has been discontinued: the present fairs are, the first Tuesday in March, May 4th, September 19th, and November 12th; they are chiefly for sheep and cattle. The first-mentioned fair has been recently established.

Callington first sent members to parliament in the 27th year of Queen Elizabeth; the right of election is vested in persons possessed of freehold property, whether resident or non-resident; and in resident lease-holders. The number of votes, which was sixty at the last election, has been since increased to about seventy. The Portreeve is the returning officer. The number of inhabitants in the town and parish of Callington, in 1801, was 819; in 1811, 938; according to the returns made to parliament at those periods. The only village in the parish of Callington, is Frogwell.

The manor was in the Ferrers family when the market was granted as abovementioned: Joan, daughter and heir of Martin Ferrers, brought it into the Champernowne family; Sir Robert Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Broke, became possessed of it by marrying an heiress of the Champernownes. From the Willoughbys, it passed, by successive marriages, to the families of Pawlet (Marquis of Winchester), Dennis, and Rolle; the heiress of Samuel Rolle, Esq. brought it to Robert, the second Earl of Orford; on the death of whose son, the late George Earl of Orford, without issue, in 1791, it passed to Robert George William Trefusis, Esq., the representative of Bridget, sister of Samuel Rolle abovementioned, who afterwards succeeded in establishing his claim to the barony of Clinton, as derived from the said Samuel Rolle's mother, Arabella, daughter of Theophilus, Earl of Lincoln, and Lord Clinton. The manor of Calstock is now the property of his son Robert Cotton St. John, Lord Clinton.

The parish-church was built chiefly at the expence of Nicholas de Assheton, serjeant-at-law, who died in 1465, and lies buried in the chancel, where are the figures of himself, his wife and children, engraved on brass plates. In a chapel on the north side of the chancel, is the monument of Robert Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Broke, lord of the manor, and steward of the duchy of Cornwall, who died in or about the year 1502. Hals erroneously supposed it to be the monument of George Brooke, Lord Cobham, who inherited lands at Callington by marrying Anne, the eldest sister of John Lord Bray. Sir Robert Willoughby, who was created Lord Willoughby de Broke by King Henry VII., in the first year of his reign, was at the siege of Boulogne with that monarch, and was one of the chief commanders against the Cornish rebels in 1497. He acquired the manors of Callington, Bere-Ferrers, &c. by marrying the heiress of Champernowne, as beforementioned. It appears that he occasionally resided, and that he died, at the manorhouse of Callington, for he directed by his will, that he should be buried in the church of that parish in which he should die. His son Robert, by whose death the title became extinct, lies buried at Bere-Ferrers, in Devonshire.

Callington passes under the same presentation with Southill, the mother-church. It is esteemed a parochial chapel.

Calstock

CALSTOCK, in the deanery and in the middle division of the hundred of East, lies about five miles from Callington, and about the same distance from Tavistock in Devonshire, which is the post-office town. The principal villages in this parish, exclusively of Calstock itself, which contains between four and five hundred inhabitants, are Albeston, Chilsworthy, Harrobear, Latchley, and Metherell. The manor of Calstock was given by Roger Valletort to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, from which time it continued to be vested in the Earls and Dukes of Cornwall; till the year 1798, when it was purchased, under the land-tax redemption act, by John Pierson Foote, Esq. In 1806, it was conveyed by Mr. Foote to John Williams, Esq. of Scorrier-house, near Redruth, who is the present proprietor.

The fishery, which was formerly on lease to the Carew family, is now rented under the duchy, by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe.

The manor of Harwood, which had been held under the duchy of Cornwall, by the family of Foote, about fourscore years, was purchased in fee, under the land-tax redemption act, in 1798, by J. P. Foote, Esq., who conveyed it to Thomas Bewes, Esq.; it was purchased of the latter by William Roberts, Esq., the present proprietor and occupier.

Cotehele or Cuttele, a singular ancient mansion, beautifully situated on the west bank of the Tamer, came into the possession of the Edgcumbe family, by the marriage of Hilaria, daughter and heir of William de Cotehele, with William de Edgcumbe, in the reign of Edward III. (fn. n2) After this marriage, Cotehele became for a while the chief residence of the Edgcumbe family. In the reign of Richard III., Sir Richard Edgcumbe, who was attached to the house of Lancaster, is said to have concealed himself from the resentment of that monarch, amongst his woods at Cotehele, and to have built afterwards, a chapel on the spot, in grateful remembrance of his preservation (fn. n3). Carew, speaking of this place, says, "the buildings are ancient, large, strong, and fayre, and appurtenanced with the necessaries of wood, water, fishing, park, and mills, with the devotion of (in times past) a rich-furnished chapel, and with the charity of alms-houses, for certain poor people, whom the owners used to relieve (fn. n4)."

Cotehele-House, which retains its ancient form, has been fitted up with furniture corresponding with its appearance, and is occasionally visited by its present noble owner, the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe. Their present Majesties, with the Princess Royal, and the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, honoured the late Earl and Countess of Mount Edgcumbe with a visit at this house, on the 25th of August 1788.

Harrobear or Harraburrow, which was the seat of a younger branch of the Carews of Anthony, is now a farm-house, the property of Mr. John Worth.

In the parish-church is a burial-chapel of the Edgcumbe family, built by Richard Edgcumbe, Esq. in 1588. In this, among others, are monuments for Piers Edgcumbe, Esq., who died in 1666, and Jemima, Countess of Sandwich, widow of the brave Earl, who lost his life in the action with De Ruyter, in 1672. The Countess died in 1674.

The rectory is in the gift of the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall. The parsonage-house was built, about the year 1720, by Lancelot Blackbourn, then rector and Bishop of Exeter. He was afterwards Archbishop of York.

Camborne

CAMBORNE, now become a market and post-office town, in the deanery and east division of the hundred of Penwith, lies four miles to the west of Redruth, and eight miles to the north of Helston. The market, which is a considerable one for butchers'-meat and other provisions, on Saturday, was established in the year 1802. The market-house was built at the expence of Lord de Dunstanville. There are four fairs for cattle, &c.; March 7th, Whit-Tuesday, June 29th, and the second Tuesday in November. The principal villages in the parish, exclusively of the Church-town, are, Berippa, Penpons, Trewithan, and Tucking-mill: the whole parish is scattered over with cottages belonging to the miners, and contains, according to the last returns, 4,714 inhabitants. Lord de Dunstanville's manors of Nancekuke and Tehidy (in Illogan) extend over great part of this parish.

The manors of Berippa and Penpons have long been in the St. Aubyn family, and are now the property of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart. The manor of Tresbothan belonged to the Pendarves family, and has passed with Pendarves, which was for many generations their seat. This estate was bequeathed, by Sir William Pendarves, Knt., the last heir-male, to his sister, Mrs. Grace Percival, wife of Samuel Percival, Esq., who, dying in 1763, left it by will to John Stackhouse, Esq., a younger son of Dr. William Stackhouse, of Trehane. It is now, by his father's gift, the property of Edward William Stackhouse, Esq.

Menadarva, many years the seat of a branch of the Arundells of Trerice, is now a farm-house, the property of Lord de Dunstanville, whose father purchased the estate, about the year 1755, of the Arundells. John Arundell, in the early part of the seventeenth century, described this estate in his will as the manor and barton of Menadarva (fn. n5); but we have not seen it described as a manor in any other record, nor has it, of late, been considered as such.

Treswithan, the seat of the ancient family of De Bray, escheated, on the death of the last heir-male, in the reign of Charles I., to Sir Francis Basset, as lord of the manor of Tehidy, and is now the property of Lord de Dunstanville; there are no remains of the ancient mansion, which is described by Norden, as the seat of George Brea. Roswarne and Crane, both seats of families who took their names from those bartons, now farm-houses, were sold, in the reign of James I., to Mr. Ezekiel Grosse; they have since passed together, and having undergone various alienations, are now the property of Lord de Dunstanville, having been purchased, in 1811, of the Willyams family.

In Camborne church are several memorials of the family of Pendarves. The monument of Sir William Pendarves has his bust in armour, with a flowing peruke. The altar-piece, which is of Sienna marble, was put up, in 1761, at the expence of Samuel Percival, Esq.

The benefice is a rectory, in the patronage of Lord de Dunstanville, the advowson having, from time immemorial, been annexed to the manor of Tehidy; in ancient records, the church is called Mariadoci.

Borlase mentions the walls of a chapel on the tenement of Treun, a few paces from a well, called Fentoner, noted for its medicinal qualities. He mentions also the chapels of St. James, St. Ye, St. Derwe, St. Margaret, and St. Anne (fn. n6). Mrs. Grace Percival, before-mentioned, founded a school at Camborne for twelve boys and eight girls, to be taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. The endowment consists of a house, and twenty guineas per annum.

Cardinham

CARDINHAM, in the hundred and deanery of West, lies about four miles nearly west from Bodmin, which is the post-office town; about six, south-by-west, from Lostwithiel, and about ten, nearly east, from Liskeard. The principal villages in this parish are, King's-wood, Old-Cardinham, and Mill-pool.

The honor of Cardinham or Cardinan, which was of very extensive jurisdiction, and of which several manors, both in distant parts of this county and of Devonshire, were held, belonged, in the reign of Richard I., to Robert de Cardinan, who appears to have acquired the whole of the large estates of Robert Fitz-William, in marriage with his heiress (fn. n7). Isolda, the representative (probably the grand-daughter) of Robert de Cardinan (fn. n8), appears to have married Thomas de Tracy, who, in the year 1257, was in her right (as we must suppose) one of the greatest landholders in Cornwall. In 1259, his widow, styling herself Isolda de Cardinan, who had been the wife of Thomas de Tracy (fn. n9), conveyed this manor and Bodardle, in Lanlivery, to Oliver de Dinant (fn. n10), or, more properly, Dinan (fn. n11); his family taking their name from Dinan, in Britanny, where they had a castle, and founded a monastery (fn. n12). The ancestor of this Oliver is said to have come into England in the train of William the Conqueror: his descendant, of the same name, was in arms against King Henry II., but was afterwards reconciled to his favour. The brother of this Oliver, Geffery, was a great benefactor to Hartland Abbey, of which he seems erroneously to have been reputed the founder (fn. n13). Geffery, son of Oliver, was father to Oliver who became possessed of Cardinham. It is most probable, that he was a relation of the Cardinan family, who, being originally a younger branch of the Dinans, on acquiring this estate by the match with Fitz-William, as before-mentioned, might have given their name to the castle, which was the seat of the honor (fn. n14). The son of the last-mentioned Oliver, inheriting his name and his estate, was summoned to parliament as a baron in the year 1295. The family-name was occasionally written Dynam, and Dinham, at an early period, and, in course of time, the latter was constantly used. Sir John Dinham, the immediate descendant of Oliver, was a distinguished character during the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster; he was instrumental in conveying the Duke of York's friends, the Earls of March, Salisbury, and Warwick, from Exmouth to Guernsey, and thence to Calais, from the pursuit of King Henry VI.: after this, he attacked, in Sandwich harbour, a fleet which was destined to reduce Calais, took Lord Rivers, the admiral, prisoner, and, sailing with the fleet to Calais, placed it at the disposal of the Earl of March, who immediately embarked, and directed his course to Ireland. On the accession of King Henry VII., Sir John Dinham, who had been summoned to parliament by writ in 1466, as Lord Dinham of Cardinham, was, in 1485, created Lord Dinham, and made Lord-Treasurer. He died without issue-male, his estates were divided between his four sisters or their representatives; Catherine, the third, married Sir Thomas Arundell, in whose family, eventually, by inheritance and purchase, seven-eighths of the manor became vested. These portions, and a small manor, called Newland Prayse, were purchased, about the year 1800, of Lord Arundell by E. J. Glynn, Esq., the present proprietor, whose ancestor, Denys Glynn, Esq., had purchased the greater part of an eighth of the Cardinham estate, inherited by the Wreys. There are no remains of Cardinham castle, the seat of the Dinhams; but the site is still called the Castle. Leland speaks of it as standing in the reign of Henry VII., and observes, "to this castell longith many knights services." (fn. n15)

The custom of free-bench, similar to that at Chaddleworth and Enborne, in Berkshire, as described in the Spectator, prevailed in this manor. Hals, who wrote about the year 1736, says, that instances of a widow recovering her lands, by riding on the black sheep, had occurred within the memory of persons then living.

The manor of Glynn belonged, for many generations, to the ancient family of that name; the elder branch of which became extinct in the early part of the fourteenth century, when the heiress of that branch brought Glynn to the Carminows (fn. n16); a coheiress of Carminow married into the Courtenay family, of whom this manor was purchased, by a younger branch of its ancient possessors, and having ever since continued in the male line of that family, is now the property of Edmund John Glynn, Esq., elder son of John Glynn, Esq., serjeant-at-law, some time recorder of London, and member for Middlesex, who possessed and resided at Glynn.

The manor of Carballa or Cabilla, which belonged anciently to the Archdeknes, was afterwards in the Roscarrocks, from whom it passed to the family of Robartes Earl of Radnor: it is now the property of their representative, the Hon. Mrs. Agar. This manor was held by the service of attending the Duke, whenever he should come into Cornwall, at his expence, and carrying for his use, during the whole time of his remaining in the county, a grey cloak, which cloak was to be delivered to the lord of this manor at Poulston-bridge, on the Duke's entry into the county, by the owner of Pengelly in St. Neot (fn. n17). The Robartes family had a park in this parish, called Pinchley, which has been many years disparked: the estate belongs to Mrs. Agar.

The duchy manor of Grediowe is partly in this parish and partly in Luxulion: it belonged to the priory of Tywardreth, and was one of those annexed to the duchy in lieu of the honor of Wallingford, in 1540.

Deviock, a farm-house, in this parish, was the seat of the family of Hanne, who removed into Dorsetshire, and are now extinct in the male line.

In the parish-church are some memorials of the family of Glynn, and a small brass plate in memory of Thomas Awmarle, some time rector. The fee of the advowson belongs to Mr. Glynn, subject to certain leases for lives, now vested in the Rev. Thomas Trevenen, the present incumbent. There are the remains of a small ancient chapel at a place called St. Bellarmins-Torr. Tradition speaks of another at a place called Vale, and a third at Holywell (probably an oratory), where are some small ruins over an arched spring of very fine water.

St. Cleather

ST. CLEATHER, in the hundred of Lesnewth and deanery of Trigg-Major, lies about six miles nearly west of Launceston, and about the same distance east of Camelford. Basil, in this parish, spoken of by Hals as a manor, had been many years, and continued in his time, to be a seat of the Trevelyan family: it is now the property of Robert Fanshawe, Esq., commissioner of Plymouth Dock, who purchased it, about the year 1790, of Arthur Tremayne, Esq. of Sydenham, in Devonshire; the house is occupied by a farmer.

The church of St. Cleather was in ancient times considered as part of the manor of Treglasta, and was held as such in the reign of Edward I. by John de Ripariis, who conveyed it to Philip Cornwallis, Archdeacon of Winchester (fn. n18); the latter made it the endowment of a Chantry chapel, in the church-yard of St. Austell (fn. n19); the great tithes are now annexed to the church of St. Thomas, near Launceston, having been purchased for that parish with Queen Anne's bounty. The advowson of St. Cleather, and the chapel of Menacuddle, in St. Austell parish, were granted by Queen Elizabeth, in 1596, to William Bourne and James Grenge (fn. n20). There was an ancient chapel in this parish, the ruins of which are still visible. The present patron of the vicarage is John Carpenter, Esq.

St. Cleer

ST. CLEER, in the hundred and deanery of West, lies two miles and a half northnorth-east from Liskeard, which is the post-office town, and about eight west from Callington. The principal villages in this parish, exclusively of the Church-town, are, Crowsnest, Tredinneck, Tremellick, and Tremarr.

The manor of Rescaddock or Roscraddock, which belonged anciently to the family of Bray (fn. n21), and afterwards successively to the Dernefords (fn. n22), Mayows, and Langfords; and the manors of Treworrick, Redgate, St. Cleer-Coleshill, (which belonged to the ancient family of Coleshill (fn. n23),) Bulland, and Penquite, are now all vested in Mrs. Arminel Inch, widow, and Mrs. Anne Hodge, spinster, as devisees of the widow of the late Nicholas Connock, Esq., the last of a family whose ancestors had possessed the greater part of them for a considerable time. Bulland was purchased of the late Philip Rashleigh, Esq. Treworgy in St. Cleer, now the residence of Mrs. Inch and her sister, was the seat of the Connocks in Queen Elizabeth's reign. (fn. n24)

The manor of Forsnewth, in this parish, the property of the Rev. Edward Morshead, has been in his family ever since the year 1706. Mr. Morshead has also the barton of Trethake. The manor of Trethewye came into the Killigrew family by a match with the heiress of Kentebury: it was afterwards in the Bodrugans, and having been forfeited by the attainder of Sir Henry Bodrugan, was granted, by King Henry VII., to Robert Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Brooke (fn. n25) : it is now the property of the Rev. Philip Lyne, LL.D., whose ancestor purchased it of the Ingram family, in 1678.

Trenowth was the seat of the ancient family of Bray, who continued to reside there so lately as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and afterwards of the Kingdons: the late Mr. Samuel Kingdon, devised Trenowth in trust for his nephew, Mr. Samuel Davey, who has lately sold it to the Rev. William Fookes.

John Pollexfen Bastard, Esq. is impropriator of the great tithes, which were formerly appropriated to the priory of St. John of Jerusalem. The vicarage is in the gift of the crown.

At Cradoc, in this parish, was formerly a chapel dedicated to St. Winwalloc (fn. n26). On St. Cleer common, are some alms-houses for poor widows, built at the expence of the late Mrs. Mary Connock, widow; but not endowed.

St. Clements

ST. CLEMENTS is in the deanery of Powder, and in the west division of the hundred of that name. The church-town lies about two miles from Truro, but the parish extends to that town, and comprises a considerable part of its suburbs.

The duchy manor of Moresk, comprising the greater part of this parish, was sold under the land-tax redemption act, in 1799, to Henry Prynn Andrew, Esq., subject to the remainder of a lease of thirty years, granted to Sir William Lemon, Bart. William of Worcester, whose Itinerary of Cornwall was written in the reign of Edward IV., speaks of the castle of Moresk, then in ruins, as having been the residence of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall. There are now no remains of the buildings. This manor was given by Edward the Black Prince, to his usher of the chamber, Sir Walter de Woodland, who died without male issue. (fn. n27)

The manor of Trewythenick (commonly called Trennick) belonged to a family of that name, whose heiress married Sir John de Treiago; it passed afterwards successively to the Chamonds, Porters, and Boscawens: it is now the property of Lord Falmouth. The barton passed into other hands, and was successively in the families of Wayte, Avery, and Harris: it is now the property of Mr. Bate, who farms the estate, and has built a cottage on it for his own residence.

Polwhele, the seat of the ancient family of that name, is now the property of the Rev. R. Polwhele, the learned author of the Histories of Cornwall and Devonshire, and other works; whose ancestors are said to have been settled there before the Norman conquest. Drugo de Polwhele was chamberlain to the Empress Maud. William of Worcester, who wrote in the reign of Edward IV., says, that Polwhele castle, which he describes as the property of Otho Philip, was then in ruins. It appears by the pedigree of Polwhele, that their ancestor, who then possessed the estate, was Otho Polwhele, who married a Killigrew. The present manor-house, which has of late years been occupied by the tenants of the farm, is now enlarging and fitting up for Mr. Polwhele's residence.

Lambesso, where, according to Hals, was formerly the duchy prison for the manor of Moresk (fn. n28), was several years the seat of the family of Lambesso, whose heiress married Ralph Tredenham: it was afterwards in the family of King, from whom it passed, by devise, to the Footes, in the reign of Charles II. This barton is now the property of Henry Foote, Esq.: a part of the old mansion has been lately repaired, and is now occupied by Mr. Wright; the other part is occupied by the farmer who rents the estate. (fn. n29)

Penarth or Penair, formerly a seat of the Launces, was sold by them to the Boscawens, and having since passed through several hands, is now the property of John Vivian, Esq., by whose family it was purchased of Mr. Edward Cregoe, in 1767. Rear-Admiral Reynolds, who was lost in the Baltic in the month of December 1811, had a lease of the estate, and built a good house on it: it is now the property and residence of his son, Captain Barrington Reynolds, of the Royal navy.

Tresimple, which is described by Hals as some time belonging to the Vincents, is now the property of John Vivian, Esq. of Pencalenick. This estate was in severalties, which were purchased at various times by Mr. Vivian and his father; the house is occupied by a farmer.

Condurro, for many generations in the family of Catcher, was sold by them, about the year 1700, to the Rowes; having since passed through several hands, it is now the property of Mr. Wallis, of St. Ives.

Park, formerly a seat of a family of that name, was afterwards successively in the families of Harris, Coven, and Long. It was purchased of the latter by Mr. Peters, who bequeathed it to one of his daughters, the wife of Mr. Christopher Warrick, in whose representatives it is now vested, the house being the residence of his two unmarried daughters.

Penhellick, or Penmont, a large barton in this parish, was purchased of the Rev. Mr. Collins by William Macarmicke, Esq., who built on it a capital mansion for his own residence, but being soon afterwards appointed deputy-governor of Cape Breton, he sold it to the late Sir George Richardson, Bart. It was purchased of his family by Mr. Manning of Exeter, and by him sold to Mr. Williams, an opulent yeoman of St. Enoder; the house having scarcely ever been inhabited, and being in a very dilapidated state, the present proprietor is about to pull down a great part of it, and fit up the remainder for his own residence.

The barton of Tregolls was many years in the family of Thomas. The late Samuel Thomas, Esq., who died in 1796, bequeathed it to his sister, the wife of Thomas Spry, Esq., Admiral of the White. The house is at present occupied by Rear-admiral William Lake.

Penkalenick, in this parish, the seat of John Vivian, Esq. was purchased, by his great uncle, Mr. Johnson Vivian, in the year 1758, of the Rev. Edward Foote. It has of late years been much ornamented and improved. Bodrean, the seat of H. P. Andrew, Esq., who has purchased the duchy manor of Moresk, as before-mentioned, was acquired by marriage with the family of Prynne.

In the parish-church is a monument by Bacon, in memory of Samuel Thomas, Esq., who died in 1796, and a tablet for Honor, wife of Mr. John Thomas, who died in 1777, at the age of ninety-three.

The tithes of this parish were appropriated to the monastery of Syon, as parcel of the possessions of St. Michael's priory (fn. n30). The vicarage is in the gift of the crown.

Colan

COLAN, in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, lies about four miles south-west from St. Columb, which is the post-office town. The principal villages in this parish are, Bezoan, Melancoose, and Mountjoy. The barton of Colan belonged to the ancient family of Colan, or St. Colan, whose last heir-male, about or before the year 1500, left two daughters married into the families of Blewett (of Holcombe Rogus, in Devonshire), and Trefusis (fn. n31), between whom the estate was divided. The Blewetts resided for some generations at the barton. Major Colan Blewett distinguished himself as an active officer under King Charles I., and is said to have had four brothers engaged in the same service. A moiety of the estate was purchased of the Blewetts by the Hoblyns, of Nanswhyden, in the seventeenth century. The whole is now the property of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn, the other moiety having been purchased, many years ago, of the representatives of the last Earl of Radnor, whose ancestors were possessed of it (probably by purchase from Trefusis) as early as the year 1620.

The barton of Cosowarth, or Coswarth, belonged for many generations to a family of that name. John Coswarth, of this place, is said to have been knighted by King Henry VIII., "for that with equal courage and hazard he took down the Pope's bull, set up at Antwerp against his sovereign. (fn. n32) " John Coswarth, Esq., receiver-general of the county, who died in 1575, has a monument in the church. The last of this family, Sir Samuel Coswarth, left an only daughter, married to Henry Minors, Esq. The sole heiress of Minors, in 1698, married Captain Francis Vyvyan (fn. n33), who possessed this barton, and left an only daughter, married to Sir Richard, ancestor of Sir Carew Vyvyan, Bart., the present proprietor. What remains of the ancient seat of the Coswarths is occupied as a farm-house.

The great tithes, which had been appropriated to the college of Glaseney, are now the property of Sir Carew Vyvyan, Bart. The Bishop is patron of the vicarage, which is endowed with the great tithes of the manor and barton of Colan.

St. Columb-Major

ST. COLUMB-MAJOR, in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, is a considerable market-town, eleven miles from Bodmin, and 243 from London. The principal villages in the parish are, Glivian, Halloon or Halewoon, Lanhinzey, Rosedinick, Rosevanion, Ruthvos or Ruthoes, Tolskedy, Tregameer, Tregaswith, Tregatilian, Trekening, Trepadannon, Trevarron, Trevolvas, and Trugo. A market at St. Columb was granted by King Edward III., in the year 1333, to Sir John Arundell, to be held weekly, on Thursday, together with an annual fair, at the festival of St. Columba the Virgin (fn. n34). The principal market-day is still Thursday; there is a market also on Saturday in the summer. There are two fairs; on Mid-lent Thursday, for cattle and sheep; and on the Thursday before Nov. 13, principally for sheep.

The manor of St. Columb, which had belonged to the Priory of Bodmin, and was afterwards in the Arundell family (fn. n35), was purchased of Lord Arundell about the year 1806, by Thomas Rawlings, Esq., of Padstow.

The manor of Tregamere, in this parish, which belonged formerly to the Courtenay family, having been forfeited to the crown, was, in the year 1540, annexed by King Henry VIII. to the duchy of Cornwall, together with other manors, in lieu of the honor of Wallingford. In this parish, also, is the ancient duchy manor of Tolskedy, or Talskedy, in which the custom of free-bench, similar to that at Cardinham, &c. prevails. (fn. n36)

Bodeworgy, Bosworthgy or Bosworgy, in some old records called a manor, belonged, for several generations, to the family of Bottreaux, who had a grant of an annual fair at this place for two days, at the festival of St. Mary Magdalen (fn. n37). Hals speaks of Bosworgy as having been in his time, for four or five descents, in the family of Keate; and says that, on the death of Captain Ralph Keate without issue, it devolved to Sir Jonathan Keate, of the Hoo, in Hertfordshire. It was afterwards in the family of Crews, of whom it was purchased, by Mr. William Drew, the present proprietor.

The manor of Denzell and Glivian belongs to the Vyvyan family, who have long had two seats in this parish, called Trenowth and Trewan: they were originally of Trenowth, which is now a farm-house. The heiress of Trenowth married Denzell, of whose representatives the Vivians purchased. The heiress of Vivian of Trenowth and Coswarth (fn. n38), brought these estates to the Vyvyans of Trelowarren, since which time Trewan has been the seat of a younger branch of that family. On the death of the late Thomas Vyvyan, Esq., in 1812, these estates passed to Richard Vyvyan, Esq., late of Annery House, in Devonshire, who now resides at Trewan.

The manor of Ruthvos, and the manor of Treliver, both now the property of Sir William Lemon, Bart., were purchased by his grandfather, of Sir Edward Dering, Sir Rowland Wynne, and William Strickland, Esq., who married the coheiresses of Edward Henshaw, Esq., and, through the Ropers, were representatives of one branch of the Lower family. (fn. n39)

The manor of Burlace-Vath, which, in the reign of Charles II., passed by sale from Typpett to Hawkey (fn. n40), has lately been advertised for sale.

The manor of Gaverigan belonged, for several generations, to the family of Gaverigan, whose coheiresses, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, married Godolphin and Trefusis. This manor is now in moieties between Sir John St. Aubyn, as representative of one branch of the Godolphins, and Lord Clinton. Thomas Grylls, Esq. has purchased a moiety of the barton, on which is now a farm-house. (fn. n41)

The manor of Bosuen, now the property of Dowager Lady Arundell, has been long in the Arundell family.

The manor of Nanswhyden was purchased, about the year 1581, of the representatives of John Nanswhyden, by the Hoblyn family, and from that time till within these few years has been their chief residence. The present mansion, a large and handsome stone-edisice, was built, from the designs of Potter, at the expence, as it is said, of 30,000l., by Robert Hoblyn, Esq., who formed there a valuable library, a catalogue of which was printed, with the portrait of the owner prefixed, under the title of Bibliotheca Hoblyniana (fn. n42). Mr. Hoblyn, who died in 1756, represented the city of Bristol in three parliaments; he was a man of considerable literary attainments, and actively engaged in public business, particularly in what related to the important concerns of the tin-mines, having been speaker in two convocations of Stannators, and having published an edition of the Stannary laws, as appears by the inscription on an handsome monument in St. Columb church, which is ornamented with his bust. Nanswhyden house was set on fire by accident on the 1st of December 1803, when the whole of the interior part was destroyed; no lives were lost, but the melted lead, which ran down copiously from the roof (the house being covered with that valuable material), rendered it extremely hazardous to attempt saving the furniture, the greater part of which was destroyed. The shell has ever since remained unrepaired, the walls being nearly entire. This estate is now the property of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn, of Bath. There is a view of the house in Dr. Borlase's Natural History.

The manor of Trevithick, in this parish, near Nanswhyden, now the property of the Rev. Robert Hoblyn was purchased by his ancestor of the Noys in 1675. The barton of Trevithick, in another part of this parish, was, for several generations, the seat of a branch of the Arundells of Lanherne, from whom it passed, by marriage, about the year 1740, to the Rawes of Endellion. It is now a farmhouse, the property of Richard Rawe, Esq.

Higher Trekyninge, which appears to have been, in the reign of Edward III., divided between the Arundells and Hamelys (fn. n43), was at a later period, for some generations, in the family of Jenkin, whose coheiresses married St. Aubyn, Slanning, Trelawney, and Cary. It is now the property of Richard Rawe, Esq. The greater part of the ancient mansion was pulled down in the reign of James I. The site is supposed, from the name, to have been a royal residence (fn. n44). Lower Trekyninge, which belonged to the Bishops, is the property and residence of Francis Paynter, Esq.,

Tresadern belonged, anciently, to a family of the same name, the heiress of which brought it to the Bonithons; it passed afterwards, by successive sales, to the families of Nankivell, Bligh, and Hoblyn (fn. n45), and is now a farm-house, the property of William Harris, Esq.

William of Worcester, whose Itinerary of Cornwall was written in the reign of Edward IV., speaks of a castle, then in ruins, at Carloygas (Carloggas), in this parish, and of a turretted mansion, which had belonged to John Tregoos, Esq.

In the parish-church are several monuments and gravestones of the families of Arundell, Hoblyn of Nanswhyden, Hoblyn of Tresadern (a younger branch), Pendarves of Pendarves, Vyvyan of Trenowth and Trewan, Sir Richard Bealinge, 1710, &c. Tonkin says, that the Arundell chapel was built by Renfrey Arundell, who died in 1310, for whom there was a memorial, destroyed in the year 1676, when the church was much damaged by the blowing up of a barrel of gunpowder belonging to the parish, which was kept in the roodlost: it was occasioned by the carelessness of some school-boys, three of whom lost their lives; the windows of the church, which were of painted glass, were entirely destroyed. Sir John Arundell, in the reign of Henry VI., founded a chantry of five priests, in a chapel called the Arundell chapel, allowing the warden 6l. 13s. 4d., and the other four 5l. 6s. 8d. per annum (fn. n46). These priests probably formed the college of Black monks, spoken of by Hals, who had their residence adjoining to the church-yard. The college-house was burnt down by accident, in 1701. Hals says, that Archbishop Arundell was educated in this college; he was a younger son of Renfrey or Humphrey Arundell, a younger branch of the Lanherne family, who married the heiress of Coleshill, and was sheriff of Cornwall 3 Edward IV. There are no remains of buildings on the site of the college.

Hals says, there were anciently four free-chapels in this parish, called Tregoos, Tresithny, Lanhinzy, and Ruthos, of which in his time there were no remains. The cemeteries had been converted into gardens and orchards. He mentions, also, the ruins of a chapel, called Bespalfan, or Bispalvan, called in old writings Bospolvan. The rectory is in the patronage of Lord Clinton; the parsonage-house, which is pleasantly situated at the foot of a hill, about a quarter of a mile from the church, is said to have been built by Bishop Arundell. Mr. Whitaker supposes that the college was originally the rectory-house.

Castle-an-dinas, a remarkable ancient fortification, described under the head of Camps and Earth-works, is in this parish.

St. Columb-Minor

ST. COLUMB-MINOR, in the hundred and deanery of Pyder, lies about five miles west from St. Columb-Major, which is the post-office town; it is about twelve miles north-east from Truro. The principal villages in this parish are, Towan, now called the New Quay, where there is a considerable pilchard fishery; and Porth, a sea-port, chiefly for the importation of coals from South Wales.

The manor of Rialton, which had been given by one of the Earls of Cornwall to the Prior and convent of Bodmin, was leased by Queen Elizabeth, with the manor of Reterth or Retraigh and the bailiffry of the hundred of Pyder, to Richard Senhouse; they were afterwards in the Munday family (fn. n47), who continued to be lessees under the crown, till 1663; at which time, the lease expiring, it was granted to Sir Francis Godolphin. When Sidney Godolphin was made a peer, in 1684, he was described in the patent as Lord Godolphin of Rialton. The lease of this estate, having been renewed from time to time in the Godolphin family, is now vested in the Duke of Leeds, who inherits all the Cornish estates which belonged to the Godolphins. The old mansion of Rialton, of which mention has been already made, is now occupied as a farm-house. Borlase says, that a considerable part of it was destroyed by a fire not many years before the date of his writing (fn. n48). There is an annual fair at Rialton, on the 9th of June, on a green, which, from the Munday family, still bears the name of Munday's green.

The manor of Treloy, which was one of the earliest possessions of the Arundell family (fn. n49), has been divided into severalties. The site belongs to Mr. Silas Martyn. The manor of Bezuen, which belonged also to the Arundells, has been divided piece-meal. The manor of Gusteven, which belonged also to the Arundells, has probably shared the same fate. The name is not now known. The Arundells had a seat at the barton of Trebelzew, now a farm-house, in this parish, sold a few years since to Mr. John Henwood, the tenant of the farm. There was formerly a manor of Trebiljew or Treveljewe attached to this barton, when it belonged to the Arundells.

The manor of Crugantarran or Cragantallan, partly in this parish, and partly in Newlyn, belonged to the Arundells of Trerice; it is now the property of Sir Thomas Ackland, Bart.

Trencreek was for many years a seat of a younger branch of the Bonithons, still extant in Tonkin's time. Trelawgan was a seat of the Coswarths, of which branch there was a Vincent Coswarth, living at Margate, in Kent, in 1732. Trevethick was a seat of the Pollamounters or Polamonters, and was, in 1736, in the possession of Mr. Richard Pollamounter. Hendra was a seat of the Cock family, afterwards of the Tonkins. John Tonkin, Esq., of Hendra, died without issue, in 1734; all these are now farm-houses.

The patronage of the curacy and impropriation of the great and small tithes, which, it is probable, formerly belonged to the priory of Bodmin, as parcel of their great manor of Rialton, are vested in trustees under the will of the late Sir Francis Buller, Bart., one of the justices of the King's-Bench.

There were formerly chapels at Treloy, Chapple, and Trebeljew, of which there are now no remains.

There is a small school in this parish, founded about the year 1780, by Mr. John Martyn, and endowed with 4l. per annum: a like sum was added by the Buller family.

Footnotes

  • n1. C. 52 Hen. III.
  • n2. Collins's Peerage, VII. 267.
  • n3. Ibid.
  • n4. Survey of Cornwall, f. 114.
  • n5. Hals.
  • n6. Borlase's Notes from the Exeter Registers, among his MSS. in the possession of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart.
  • n7. It appears by the Liber Niger and Lib. Ruber de Scaccarrio, that Robert de Cardinan, who is said to have married the daughter of a Fitz-William (see Leland), held seventy-one knights-fees in Cornwall, the largest landed property in the county, and the same number that were held by Robertus filius Willielmi, temp. Hen. II. In the year 1169, we find Robertus filius Willielmi joining in a deed with Agnes his wife and Robert his son. (Dug. Monast., I. 587.) Robert, the son, died probably fine prole.
  • n8. It appears that Robert, Baron of Cardinan, left male issue; to his younger son, Robert, he gave an estate in Devonshire, which passed, with his daughter and heir, to the Treverbins. (Sir W. Pole's Collections, p. 302, 303.) Hugh Treverbin, the representative of this Robert, released Cardinham to Oliver de Dinant, 27 Ed. I.
  • n9. Probably of Wollecombe-Tracy, in Devonshire: this family of Tracy became extinct, in the male line, about 2 Edw. III.; partition was then made between the coheiresses, one of whom was Isolda. (Sir W. Pole's Devonshire Collections, p. 512.)
  • n10. From a copy of the deed, communicated by J. T. Austen, Esq.
  • n11. The distinction is the more necessary, as there is a town called Dinant, in the Austrian Netherlands.
  • n12. This monastery was partly endowed, by the Dinan family, with lands in Devonshire. (Sir W. Pole.)
  • n13. See Dugdale's Monasticon, II. 285.
  • n14. See the account of the Cardinans, under the head of Extinct Peers, and Baronial Families, in the General History.
  • n15. Itin., vol. iii.
  • n16. Sir Ralph, son of Sir John Carminow, by Alice Glynn, died seised of this manor, 10 Ric. II.
  • n17. Extent. Terrar. Ducat. Cornub. 17 Jac. I., in the possession of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart.
  • n18. See Esch., 22 Edw. I., N. 82.
  • n19. Ibid.
  • n20. Records in the Augmentation Office.
  • n21. Esch., 1 Edw. III.
  • n22. Esch., 6 Hen. VI.
  • n23. 12 Ric. II.
  • n24. Norden.
  • n25. Dugdale.
  • n26. Borlase's MS. notes from the registers of the See of Exeter.
  • n27. Sir William Pole's Devonshire Collections, p. 278.
  • n28. There is no appearance or tradition of this.
  • n29. This estate is said to have been some time parcel of the possessions of the priory of St. Michael's Mount, and as such, claims an exemption from tithes. The tradition seems to have originated in a circumstance explained in note (30) on the opposite page.
  • n30. The church of St. Clements was given by King Edward IV., as parcel of the possessions of the monastery of St. Michael's Mount, and was granted by Queen Elizabeth, in reversion, to Robert Earl of Salisbury, whose son William, the succeeding Earl, in 1666, conveyed the whole, with the exception of those of the barton of Lambesso, to Sir James Smyth, Knight. In 1712, Sir Nathaniel Napier and others, conveyed the same to John Collins, by whose family they were sold, a few years ago, to Hugh Andrew, Esq. Mr. Vivian of Penkalenick, has since purchased of Mr. Andrew, the great tithes of about half the parish, in which his own estate lies.
  • n31. Tonkin.
  • n32. Carew's Survey, f. 144, b.
  • n33. Hals.
  • n34. See Cart., 7 Edw. III.
  • n35. See Esch., Henry V. Edw. IV., &c.
  • n36. See p. 57.
  • n37. Rot. Cart. 8 Ed. II.
  • n38. See p. 62.
  • n39. See the account of St. Winnow.
  • n40. Borlase's MSS.
  • n41. Lord Clinton's moiety has been lately advertised for sale.
  • n42. This library was sold by Baker and Leigh, in London, in the month of March 1778. The sale lasted twenty-five days.
  • n43. See Carew's Survey, f. 43.
  • n44. See Whitaker's Cathedral of Cornwall.
  • n45. Tonkin.
  • n46. Records in the Augmentation-office.
  • n47. Hals says, that the Mundays had been stewards of the manor from the time of King Henry VIII., and that Rialton was their seat. It is described as such by Norden; but (his spelling being generally very erroneous) he makes the name Myntaye. The Mundays were a branch of the Derbyshire family of that name.
  • n48. MS. notes to Carew, in the possession of Sir John St. Aubyn.
  • n49. They held it, 20 Edw. III. (See Carew, f. 13.)