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THE

PAROCHIAL HISTORY

OF

CORNWALL.

J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT-STREET.

THE

PAROCHIAL HISTORY

OF

CORNWALL,

FOUNDED ON THE MANUSCRIPT HISTORIES

OF

MR. HALS AND MR. TONKIN;

WITH ADDITIONS AND VARIOUS APPENDICES,

BY

DAVIES GILBERT,

SOMETIME PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
F.A.S. F.R.S.E. M.R.I.A. &c. &c.
AND D.C.L. BY DIPLOMA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. III.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY J. B. NICHOLS AND SON;

AND SOLD BY

J. LIDDELL, BODMIN; J. LAKE, FALMOUTH; O. MATTHEWS, HELSTON; MESSRS. BRAY AND ROWE, LAUNCESTON; T. VIGURS, PENZANCE; MRS. HEARD, TRURO; W. H. ROBERTS, EXETER; J. B. ROWE, PLYMOUTH; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS IN CORNWALL AND DEVON.

1838.

HISTORY

OF THE

PARISHES OF CORNWALL.

LANWHITTON, or LAWHITTON.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Lanwhitton, vulgo Lawhitton, is in the hundred of East; and hath to the west South Pederwin, to the north Launceston, to the east the river Tamar, to the south Lezant.

As for the name, I take Whitton to be the same as Whidden, white or fair; so as to signify the white or fair church, from the beauty of its first building. It is a rectory valued in the King’s books at 19l. 6s. 8d. The Bishop of Exeter is the patron.

All this parish doth in a manner entirely belong to the Bishop of Exeter’s great manor of Lanwhitton.

I shall begin therewith: Mr. Camden tells you that this was one of the three manors given by Edward the elder about the year 905 to the Bishop of Kirton, from whom, on the union of the sees, it came to the Bishop of Exeter, in whose hands it hath ever since continued.

By an extract from the Register of John de Grandison, Bishop of Exeter, from 1327 to 1369, it appears that at

an Assizes held at Launceston, before John de Berwick, Walter de Burveton, Henry Spigurnel, John Ralph, and Henry de Stainton, Justices Itinerant, Thomas Bishop of Exeter was summoned to answer to our Lord the King by what authority he held the different royalties in the manors of Lanwhitton, St. Germans, and Poulton, and certain other privileges in Tregear and Penryn, with a free market, fairs, &c.; and free warren over all lands belonging to the see throughout Cornwall. And the said Bishop, by his attorney, comes into court and saith, That as to the free market and fairs, and free warren, that the Lord Henry, father to our Lord the King that now is, did grant to one William, lately Bishop of Exeter, his predecessor, the said liberties to him and his successors for ever; and produced the said King’s charter for the same. And in respect to the liberties, he saith, that himself and his predecessors have held them from time of which there is no memory, without interruption, and therefore claims their continuance.

The jurors agree that the said Bishop and his predecessors had the said liberties, &c. in his manor of Penryn; but as for the manor of Tregear, that he and his predecessors had the same liberties from his and their villains, and not from their free tenants, a tempore quo non extat memoria, sine intermissione.

The Bishops of Exeter have been accustomed to farm out their manor on lives to several gentlemen. The present farmers are—Francis Manaton, Esq., William Clowberry, Esq., and Edward Bennet, of Hexworthy, Esq.

I now come to treat of the remarkable places of the said manor; and first of the barton Hexworthy.

Hexworthy—the field of reeds, corrupted, by pronunciation, from hesk or hesken, a reed or bulrush, and the Saxon worthing, a field. This place has been for three or four descents the seat of the family of Bennet. The present possessor, Edward Bennet, Esq., has been twice married; first, to a daughter of Sir Walter Moyle, of

Bake; and, secondly, to a daughter of —— Coffin, Esq., of Portledge, in Devonshire. The arms of Bennet are Gu. a Bezant between three demi-lions Arg.

Bullsworthy, id est, the Bull’s-field (qu.? Ed.) This was lately the seat, by copy of court roll under the farmers of this manor, of John Coren, Esq., who in the reign of Queen Anne was in the Commission of the Peace, and Deputy-Surveyor of the Duchy of Cornwall, who dying without issue, left his estate to his widow; and on her decease it fell to the three gentlemen above-named, lessees of the manor. Mr. Coren derived himself from the Corens of St. Stephen’s, in Branwell, and gave for his arms, Arg. a millrind between two martlets in fess Sab. He left a part of his estate to a younger brother, now (November 1735) a captain of foot.

THE EDITOR.

The church of this parish, although gone much into decay, is said to exhibit appearances of venerable antiquity. In it is a monument to the memory of Richard Bennet, counsellor at law, who died in 1619. And another of artificial stone, with the following inscription:—

Underneath lieth the body of Richard Coffin, Esq.
and also some of his nearest and dearest relations,
who resided for many generations at Hexworthy, in this county.
He was the son of Edward Bennet and Honor his wife,
daughter of Richard Coffin, of Portledge in Devon, Esq.
and Honor his wife, who was daughter of Edmund Prideaux, of Padstow, Esq.
in this county.
Dying without issue, in him ended the lineal descent of
the families of Bennet and Coffin.
He was born in the year 1715, and died Sept. 30, 1796.

This gentleman gave Hexworthy to one of his relations, the Prideauxes of Padstow.

The lessees of the great manor having neglected to renew their holding, it reverted to Doctor George Lavington,

Bishop of Exeter fom 1746 to 1762, who made a new lease in favour of his only child, afterwards married to the Rev. Nutcombe Nutcombe, Chancellor of the Cathedral, in whose three daughters or their families it still remains.

The Editor cannot quit this parish without noticing that here resided as rector during many years the Rev. Robert Walker, who once entertained thoughts of really executing, what is now feebly attempted, a parochial history of Cornwall. The Editor well remembers waiting on him in 1787, to make inquiries respecting some of his own ancestors, when Mr. Walker, then far advanced in life, received him with the utmost kindness, insisted on his taking refreshments, and when they were declined on the ground of giving him trouble, Mr. Walker remarked, that such trouble was at once a duty and a pleasure, since our most important business in this world was to accommodate each other, and to make each other happy.

In a letter from him dated November the 9th, of the same year, the parish is written Lewhitton.

Mr. Walker is said to have been born in 1699.

Lawhitton measures 2455 statute acres.

giving an increase of nearly 68 per cent. in thirty years.

Present Rector, the Rev. J. D. Coleridge, collated by Bishop Carey in 1826.

GEOLOGY, BY DOCTOR BOASE.

The rocks of this parish are very similar to those of Launceston. Where argillaceous earth, either alone or in conjunction with carbonate of lime, prevails in these rocks, the soil produced from them is very fertile; but sometimes silica is so predominant, that the ground is comparatively barren.

LELANT.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Lelant is in the hundred of Penwith, and hath to the west Towednack, to the north St. Ives, to the east the river Hayle and St. Ives Bay, to the south St. Earth and Ludgvan.

I take Lelant to be compounded of Le, a place, and Lan, a church, so as to signify the church place. It is dedicated to St. Uny, and therefore hath the adjunct of Uny Lelant mostly used in writings. But Leland calls it Lannant; and if that be the right name, it is a church in a valley. In the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of Pope Nicholas, Lanvanta or Laventa is rated at 15l. 13s. 4d.

It is a vicarage valued in the King’s book together with St. Ives and Tewednack, which pass in the same presentation, at 22l. 11s. 10d. The patronage in the Bishop of Exeter. The sheaf and tithe of fish in Lord Hobart, as heir to Sir John Maynard, who got possession of them from Edward Noseworthy, Esq.

St. Uny, to whom not only this church, but also that of Redruth, and a ruined chapel in St. Wendrone, are dedicated, is by Leland called St. Unine.

THE EDITOR.

The church of this parish is situated in the midst of sand, at the very extreme point inclosed by the sea, and by the estuary of Hayle. It is said to have been almost entirely covered towards the early part of the last century by one of these immense drifts of shell-sand which occasionally overwhelm this coast, originating, as is supposed,

from the Nympha Bank, lying about midway between the Land’s End and Cape St. Clear. The Editor has in his possession the following receipt for money contributed by his collateral ancestor towards clearing the church, and accommodating it for the celebration of divine service; which was then done, and the old church restored—not a new one constructed, as some writers on Cornwall have erroneously stated.

August 11th, 1738.

Mr. Hugh Powley and Mr. John Pears received of Mr. Henry Davies for bounty money towards Lelant church, twenty-six pounds five shillings, as appears by the church book.

Thomas Kniveton.

Several great inundations of sand appear to have covered this coast at distant and uncertain periods; but the comminuted shells are perpetually increasing on the sea-shore, from whence they are drifted over the adjacent lands: their progress has, however, been checked, and in some places almost arrested, by the simple expedient of planting the Arundo Arenaria of Linnæus, named by others, Calamagrestis Arenaria. This rush grows readily in the sand, where it mechanically opposes all motion on the surface, and ultimately favours the production of a grassy turf.

Tradition asserts, that a town of some magnitude, having a market, and the establishment of a custom-house, stood near the church, when Hayle afforded deep water without the aid of artificial works, and before St. Ives had risen into consequence. Foundations of houses have undoubtedly been discovered here under the sand; and the tradition is somewhat confirmed by a distinction paid to the principal village, which is universally called Lelant Town, and not Church Town, as in other parishes.

The town is divided into two separate portions, usually distinguished as higher or lower, but the latter was formerly called Tredreath, the town on the sand or beach.

This parish has several other villages: Brunion, Trecrobben, giving name to the most picturesque granite hill in that whole district, Polpear, Trink, &c.

In the taxation of Pope Nicholas, Lelant, under the name of Lanvanta or Laventa, is rated at 15l. 13s. 4d. without any notice of St. Ives or Towednack.

Lelant, as the mother church, is alone of the three parishes provided with a glebe; but this land, although more extensive than what falls, on an average, to neighbouring incumbents, is rendered of very little value, and totally unfitted for a residence, by the encroachment of sand. An ancient vicarage house is believed to have disappeared with the town at the last great inundation, and the parish has remained longer than the period of memory, without a resident clergyman; but in this very year (1835) the Reverend Uriah Tonkin having been most liberally accommodated with an elevated situation at some distance from the sea, by Mr. Praed, is now constructing a house adequate to every thing that can be wished.

The rectorial tithes are said by Mr. Lysons to have been given by Robert de Cardinham, in the reign of Richard Cœur de Lion, to the monastery of Tywardreath; but that afterwards they were appropriated to the College of Crediton. Although this college has in part survived the general devastation of King Henry the Eighth, yet the tithes of Lelant were taken from it, and after passing through various hands, they now belong to Mr. Praed.

Mr. Lysons also states, but without giving any authority, that St. Uny (a brother of St. Herygh), patron of Lelant, Crowan, and Redruth, was buried in this church.

If St. Uny and St. Herygh ever existed at all, they were probably two of the missionaries from Ireland.

The parish feast is celebrated on the nearest Sunday to Candlemas day, but supposed to be in commemoration of the Saint.

Trembetha is said to have been the seat of John Hals, one of the judges in the reign of King Henry the Fifth,

and to have been sold by him to the Godolphins. In the time of Queen Elizabeth it belonged to the Mahons. The barton and manor are now the joint property of Mr. Praed and Mr. Champernowne, of Dartington, near Totnes, as to two-thirds; and the remaining share is divided between Mr. Tremayne, Mr. Rodd, and Mrs. Stephens, as coheirs of the family of Hearle.

Lelant was for centuries the residence of three old and respectable families—Praed, Hoskin, and Pawley. The Hoskins still remain possessed of their ancient freehold, and other property; and Mr. Henry Hoskins, the present head of the family, resides in a house at the northern extremity of Tredreath, or Lower Lelant Town, bearing all the marks which distinguished the dwellings of private gentlemen in the times of the Tudors or Plantagenets. The Pawleys are extinct, having declined through a series of years; Goonwhyn, or Gunwin, (the White Croft) where the family had long resided, together with some other remnants of property, came to Miss Jane Pawley, sufficient, however, to give her the reputation of an heiress: but misfortunes and disgraceful conduct reduced her so very low, that the Editor recollects her soliciting charity from those who once looked up to her superior station; and this representative of an ancient family closed her mortal career in a parish workhouse.

The Praeds are also extinct; but the name has, with singular felicity, arrived at tenfold splendour in a new dynasty.

The original family became at last represented by two brothers: the elder distinguished as Colonel Praed, married a Basset of Tehidy, but died soon after, leaving all the personal property to his widow: the younger brother succeeded to the real estate; but having been unsuccessfully engaged in trade, and finding the farms mostly leased on lives with the payment of small quit-rents, according to the custom of those times, he became more and more embarrassed; till, meeting with a gentleman of the family

of Mackworth, in Glamorganshire, bred to the higher department of the law, he arranged with this gentleman, that on being freed from all pecuniary difficulties, and receiving a certain annuity for life, the whole Cornish estate should be transferred to Mr. Mackworth; on the further conditions of his taking the name of Praed, and what seems almost ludicrous, of his engaging, so far as the consent of one party could be sufficient, to marry Miss Penrose, of Penrose, near Helston, the heiress-at-law to Mr. Praed’s estate.

Mr. Praed died about the years 1716 or 1717, when Mr. Mackworth came into possession, having performed every engagement to the utmost of his power; for the Editor recollects having heard from his son, the late Mr. Humphrey Mackworth Praed, that his father went to Penrose in execution of the condition dependent on another; but that, so far from obtaining success, he found some difficulty in escaping with his life.

The validity of the transfer was ultimately disputed on the part of Miss Penrose; and Mr. Humphrey Mackworth Praed has told the Editor that he was present at the trial in his nurse’s arms, when the agreement was finally established. The lady married a gentleman of the name of Pearse, and left an only daughter, who married Mr. Cumming; and their great-grandson, Sir Alexander Cumming Gordon, of Elginshire, is the present representative of the former family of Trevethow.

Mr. Mackworth Praed settled at Trevethow, where he was succeeded by his eldest son, Mr. Humphrey Mackworth Praed, one of the most distinguished men in his adopted country, for abilities, acquirements, wit, knowledge of the world, kindness, and unbounded hospitality. He once represented the county in Parliament, and on another occasion the borough of St. Ives. He married a lady of the eminent family of Forrester, in Shropshire, widow of Sir Bryant Broughton Delves, and had six children: William, his eldest son and heir; Herbert, Rector of

Ludgvan, who died in early life; and four daughters,—Catherine, Mary, Arabella, and Julia.

Mary married the Reverend William Sandys, Vicar of St. Minver, and died without leaving any family. The other three never married.

Mr. William Praed married Miss Backwell, of Tyringham, in Buckinghamshire, eventually sole heiress to her very opulent family. He represented St. Ives in several Parliaments, and Banbury in one.

Endowed with a strong mind and with an active disposition, Mr. Praed did not confine his public services to the discharge of duties in the House of Commons. To him the nation is mainly indebted for one of the most useful and most successful of our public works—The Grand Junction Canal.

Three extensive chalk ridges issue from the great central nucleus forming Salisbury Plain; the most southern terminates at Beachy-head, constituting what is called the South Downs. The middle range, passing through Hampshire, Surrey, and Kent, extends to Dover, inclosing between them the wealds of Kent and Sussex, with the Hastings sand formation, and the great alluvial deposits of Romney and Pevensey Marshes. The northern range is still more extensive than the other two: this, passing through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, traverses Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire; then, after being cut through by the Wash, re-appears in Yorkshire, and finally terminates its long course at Flamborough Head. These two latter ranges intercept all water communication between the capital and the interior of England, except by the Thames, which finds its way through the northern ridge of chalk above Reading. Most river navigations beyond the reach of tides, are impeded by shallows in summer, by floods in winter, by artificial rights of mills, drainages, &c., all of which are avoided by the Grand Junction Canal, which, availing itself of cross valleys, and perforating narrow ridges, has opened an inland navigation from the metropolis

to the British Channel, to the Irish Sea, and to the German Ocean.

Mr. William Praed closed his useful and honourable career of life at Trevethow, in Oct. 1833, having completed his eighty-fourth year; and is succeeded by his eldest son, Mr. James Praed, recently elected member for Buckinghamshire, the county in which he principally resides. Mr. Praed married Miss Chaplin, of Lincolnshire, and has several children.

If this distinguished family should now unfortunately be lost to Cornwall, it is curious to remark that, after remaining there much above a century, no permanent connexion has been formed, and not a single relative will be left behind.

Trevethow is by its natural situation one of the finest places in the west of Cornwall. The house looks to the estuary of Hayle, over a park variegated by rising ground and vales; and immediately behind the house stands Trecrobben or Trencroben-hill, crowned by an ancient fortress, corresponding with those described by Dr. Barham in the third volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of Cornwall; this hill is the last towards the killas formation of a granite district, extending from the Land’s End, and covered with rocks of a magnitude to create strong impressions of grandeur. The house was so much enlarged and decorated by Mr. Humphrey Mackworth Praed, as almost to claim him for its founder; and it is sheltered by trees more numerous and of a larger size than can usually be found in a country unfavourable to their growth.

But the great artificial ornament of this place is its extensive plantations. Mr. Humphrey Mackworth Praed displayed on this comparatively trifling subject, the same acumen which distinguished him in matters of importance, throughout a long life. Having observed a single pinaster fir, the Pinus Pinaster of Linnæus, growing in an exposed situation, and braving the violence of our west wind, Mr.

Praed immediately conjectured that this tree might be rendered available not merely for ornament, but as affording a shelter for better trees; the experiment was immediately tried, and with complete success.

The pinaster loses all its beauty when it gets beyond the dimensions of a shrub: its wood in this climate is almost useless, and no tree ceases to live after so short a period; but it grows rapidly at first in all situations, and almost in any ground, so that mixed with deciduous trees, and planted round the exterior, it acts as a nurse, and the office is fully performed long before the termination of its short existence.

By this use of the pinaster fir, Cornwall is now acquiring valuable and decorative plantations of the best timber trees, for all which it is indebted to the example given by Mr. Praed.

Lelant measures 3,279 statute acres.

giving an increase of 48 per cent. in 30 years.

GEOLOGY, BY DOCTOR BOASE.

The western part of this parish rests on granite, which is generally coarse-grained and crystalline, often with large porphyritic crystals of felspar; here and there it contains beds of porphyry (elvan courses), and also of shorl rock, sometimes in masses, but more frequently in the form of large and irregular veins. This granite has been productive of metallic ores, and more particularly of tin. The eastern part is composed of rocks belonging to the porphyritic series. The principal varieties are felspar rock, both massive and schistose, and green-stone. The soil derived from these rocks, as is often the case near granite, is on some spots very fertile. Some land near

the entrance into Hayle is covered with testaceous sand, so common in the vicinity of all the bays and inlets of the sea on the north coast of Cornwall, and which, whenever it is unprotected by vegetation, is drifted by the winds over the uncultivated lands. Nature has pointed out the remedy for this evil to be the diffusion and increase of arenaceous plants.

The Editor.—Whele Reath, a mine on the extreme western border of this parish, where it joins Towednack, has proved more productive of tin than any other mine except Whele Vor; and it has been prosecuted to a depth unexampled till within these few years, even in mines of copper.

At the other extremity of the parish, near the sea-shore, both copper and tin have been found in the belt of green stone which generally interposes between the granite and the sea-shore.

LESKEARD.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Leskeard is situate in the hundred of West, and hath to the west St. Pinnock, to the north St. Clair, to the east Menhinnet, to the south St. Kaine, and St. Matin’s juxta Looe.

As for the name of this town and parish, I derive it from les, a court or palace, and kaer, a fortified town, as having been for many ages a seat and castle of the ancient Princes

and Dukes of Cornwall. Mr. Carew’s derivation from les-broad and ker-gone, is so much out of the way that it is not worth confuting; neither doth he himself put any stress on it.

This parish is a vicarge, valued in the King’s Books at £18. 13s. 10d. The patronage in Mr. Blatchford.

This church, in A. D. 1291, 29 Edward I., was valued at £8. and the vicarage at £2. 13s. 4d. it being appropriated to the Priory of Launceston.

The great duchy manor of the same name, including the whole parish and borough, I shall first begin with it, and then go on with the town, the church, castle, and the other most noted places in it.

THE MANOR OF LESKEARD.

In the extent of Cornish acres 12 Edward I. this is valued in 18. The 3d Henry IV. this manor is said to be half of a small fee of Morton, and was then in the hand of the King; who had not then, it seems, as may be made out in other places of the same book, given livery to Prince Henry of all the lands belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall; but since that time it having gone with the rest of the Duchy of Cornwall, and accounted for accordingly, I need not say any more of it here; and so come to treat of the

TOWN OF LESKEARD.

Mr. Willis, in his Rot. Parliamentaria, vol. ii. p. 27, gives this account of it: “This borough was, in like manner as spoken of in Launceston, held in the time of the Conqueror by Robert Earl of Morton and Cornwall; and afterwards, as that did, belonged to Richard, brother to King Henry the Third, created Earl of Cornwall in the 15th year of his reign, who made this place a free borough, and granted to the burgesses all those liberties and free customs which he, by his charter, had before granted to his

burgesses of Launceston and Helston. This charter is dated the 5th of June, anno 1240, in the 24th year of the reign of his brother King Henry the Third, about ten years after the date of Launceston charter, as I guess. To this Richard succeeded Edmund Earl of Cornwall, his son, who in the 3d year of the reign of Edward I. granted this whole burgh, with the rent of the same, &c. and toll of the market and fairs, and all fines, mulcts, and perquisites thereof belonging to him and his heirs, in fee farm, at the rent of £18 sterling; upon which conditions the said borough being leased to the townsmen, has remained in their hands ever since, and the corporation at present enjoy the profits of the fairs and markets, &c. which yield them about £200 per annum. The royalty of this borough has been in like manner as that at Launceston, vested in the Duchy ever since Edward the Third’s time; and the Dukes of Cornwall, as tenants of the Crown, have received the said fee-farm rent till the reign of the late King William, who alienated the same, and gave it to the present Lord Somers, to whom the corporation pay the abovesaid chief rent of £18.”

Leland, Itinerary, vol. iii. lob. 19, saith, “The towne knowlegith freedom and privileges by the gift of Richard, King of Romanes and Earl of Cornewaul.” Perhaps by him this place was antiently incorporated; but the present charter doth not say when or by whom, for thus runs the last Visitation: “The towne and burrough of Liskeret, alias Liskerd, was antiently incorporated by the name of Mayor and Burgesses of Liskeret, alias Liskerd, and re-incorporated the 6th day of July, in the 29th year of Queen Elizabeth, by the same name of Mayor and Burgesses, and by that name to have perpetual succession; and enabled in law to purchase lands, tenements, and liberties, and likewise to assign the same, and by the same name to plead and be impleaded; and that the borough and corporation should consist of 9 Burgesses, which shall be called the Common Councell of the said burrough, whereof one for

the time being shall be yearly chosen for Mayor, to have power to chuse a Steward and Recorder. That the Mayor and Burgesses shall have a common seal for their affairs; and that the Mayor and Recorder shall be Justices of the Peace within the said burrough (of which new corporation, granted by Queen Elizabeth, John Hunkin was the first Mayor), with diverse other privileges and immunities, as by their charter doth appear. And at this present visitation, the 12th day of October, 1620, was Edward Chapman, Mayor, Sᵗ William Wrey, Knight, Recorder, John Hunkin, Gent. High Steward, Thomas Jane, John Vosper, Martin Sampson, John Pott, Jeffrie Clarke, John Taperell, and William Grege, Chief Burgesses, and Walter Nicholls, Town Clark, of the said town and burrough.”

Mr. Willis goes on: “As for the right of election of Members of Parliament, ’tis vested in these nine capital burgesses and fifteen assistants, with others who are free of the borough, as many of the neighbouring gentlemen are; so that the whole number of electors is near about 100, who are all sworn freemen. The town of Leskeard is very large and populous, and contains (as I am informed) about 500 houses. It has a very considerable market, and perhaps the greatest in this county. It was in Leland’s time the best except Bodmin, which it much exceeds now, [this is a great mistake,] as the town does in buildings. This being in all respects one of, if not the biggest and best built in Cornwall [I take Falmouth to exceed by much every way, and so doth Truro too in building, if not bigness]; ’tis situate partly on rocky hills, and partly in a bottom. On the eastern ascent of the hill stands the church (of which more by and by). On the north side of the town stood the castle, of which Leland speaks thus: ‘There was a castle on an hill in the town side, by north from St. Martin. It is now all in ruin; fragments and pieces of waulles yet stand. The site of it is magnificent, and looketh over all the town. This castle was the Earles of Cornwall.’”

Mr. Willis continues: “In this town is an admirable conduit of water (this Leland too mentions), which plentifully supplies the streets about the market-place, which lies in a bottom about the middle of the borough; and from thence branch several other streets, divers of which lie on steep ascents. The town is near four furlongs over every way, and in some parts the houses stand scattered, though the streets are generally broad. This is one of the towns for coinage of tin (but there are hardly —— blocks of tin coined here in a whole year, the works in its neighbourhood being rather neglected than worn out); and was remarkable, anno 1642, for the defeat of the Parliament army by Sir Ralph Hopton, a memorial of which was put up in the church. The market, in Leland’s time mentioned to be observed on the Monday, is now kept on Saturday. The town hall stands on stone pillars, and is a good building. At the top is a clock-turret, having four dials. It was erected about the year 1707, by Mr. Dolben, one of the Members for this town, at near £200 expense. There has been given also to this corporation very handsome presents of plate, with two large silver maces well gilt, as are several of their silver cups, round one of which, in most constant use, is this engraved:

‘Qui fallit poculum, fallit in omnibus.’”

THE EDITOR.

Leskeard still continues a place of considerable trade, and distinguished by its excellent market, although in relative importance it does not maintain the station among towns in the county assigned to it a hundred years since by Mr. Tonkin. Of late years, several persons possessed of large properties have decorated the environs with excellent houses; and one gentleman of the town, Mr. Lyne, has brought home from successful trade and speculation, conducted at Lisbon by himself and his uncles during two-thirds of a century, a fortune that may be denominated

princely. Leskeard has benefited beyond most other towns by the recent improvements of roads, and by a canal from the port of Looe, which affords a cheap and easy conveyance for lime, the most important of all manures in that district.

This town has been the residence, if not the origin, of several distinguished persons.

Dr. William Jane, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford in the time of Charles the Second, was from hence. And I believe that Mr. Jane, for many years master of the grammar-school at Truro, was his nephew; and this gentleman’s son, first a student at Christchurch, and afterwards Rector of Iron Acton, in Gloucestershire, bore a conspicuous part among the learned divines of his day.

From hence also originated the family of Taunton; of whom Mr. William Elias Taunton, knighted on some occasion of the King visiting Oxford, attained the highest eminence in that city as a legal practitioner; and he had the satisfaction of seeing his eldest son attain the proud situation of a judge. Of this family is also Richard Taunton, M.D. distinguished by his eager pursuit of all scientific acquirements, as well as by his medical skill; now resident at Truro. To this gentleman’s liberality the Editor is indebted for the original manuscript of Mr. Hals’ Parochial History, the foundation of this work.

Among eminent persons residing at Leskeard, it is impossible to omit Mr. Haydon, for many years master of the grammar-school. Of his classical acquirements it may be sufficient to say that Dr. Cornelius Cardew, who has been mentioned under St. Ewan, and must be again under Truro, was his favourite scholar; but, in addition to literature, Mr. Haydon acquired a profound knowledge of mathematics and of astronomy; and in these, the most exact and the most noble of sciences, he was not content with theory, and with the practical result of labours carried on by others. Mr. Haydon provided himself with various instruments, of a size and accuracy rarely possessed by individuals at that

period; and with those he made important observations on the transit of Venus in June 1769; and for a long time all the longitudes of places in the West of England were deduced from Mr. Haydon’s determination of Leskeard. He ultimately retired to the family living of Okeford, in Devonshire, and was succeeded in the school by Mr. Lyne, whose grandson has been noticed for his acquisition of an immense fortune.

A gentleman of very singular habits flourished at Leskeard through a large portion of the eighteenth century, the last of an ancient and respectable family, Trehawke. No one stood more prominent for ability, knowledge of business, or for integrity; all disputes were referred to his arbitration, and every one pressed eagerly to obtain his advice; but habits of parsimony grew on him to such an extent, that the most ridiculous tales were circulated of his private savings, without, however, detracting from the estimation in which he was otherwise held. Having decupled his fortune, he left the whole to a distant relation, Mr. Kekewich, since Member for Exeter, a gentleman altogether worthy of so splendid a gift.

Mr. Lysons says, “In the town of Liskeard was a nunnery of poor Clares, founded and endowed by Richard King of the Romans,” but of which he had not been able to obtain any further account. But this seems to be a mistake; as Richard King of the Romans died in 1271, and the Nuns of St. Clare were first brought into England by Blanch Queen of Navarre, and wife of Edmund Earl of Lancaster, about twenty years afterwards. The monastic remains appear, moreover, too magnificent for an establishment of Nuns Minories, or Poor Clares, the female branch of the begging monks or friars instituted by St. Francis.

The castle walls have entirely disappeared, but the elevated site is still conspicuous; it is surrounded with trees, and the centre is occupied by the school-house.

The church is among the largest in Cornwall, and its

south wall, like that of St. Neot, is embattled, and also ornamented by a handsome porch. There is a tradition which describes this church as being decorated with two towers, one on each side of the building, but taken down in the year 1627. The existing western tower is very inferior to the church.

The great tithes of this parish were appropriated to the Priory of Launceston. They were granted by Queen Elizabeth to a Mr. Harris, and they have recently been sold in parcels to the various proprietors of land. Mr. Honey, who holds the vicarage, is also patron.

In the church are various monuments to the family of Trehawke, &c. and one to Joseph Wadham, who died in 1707; being the last of that family, founders of Wadham college, Oxford.

The house and the room are still shewn which were occupied by King Charles the First in August 1644, before the surrender at Fowey of the army commanded by Lord Essex.

Mr. Lysons gives an account of the various persons and estates in this parish. The chief proprietors are Mr. Kekewich and Mrs. Connock. The extensive property of the Moreheads has been entirely sold in various lots, and their manor of Lamellian, or Lamellin, now belongs to the Editor of this work.

The borough, made co-extensive with the parish by the Reform Act of 1832, sends one Member to Parliament.

There cannot be a question as to the first syllable in the name of this town being les, a court, or inclosure; and the second may probably be derived, as Mr. Tonkin conjectures, from kaer, a fortress; but in times when every thing was referred to the French language, les became changed into lis, and a flower-de-luce was adopted on the town seal.

The parish measures 7126 statute acres.

giving an increase on the borough of 53½ per cent.; on the parish of 42 per cent.; on both of 49 per cent. in 30 years.

Present Vicar, the Rev. T. Foote, instituted in 1821.

GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.

The rocks of this parish are principally on the boundary of the porphyritic and calcareous series; partaking of the former in the northern part, and of the latter in the southern. The former sometimes nearly resemble hornblende schist; and, gradually leaving the hornblende, they pass into a coarse, lamellar, argillaceous rock, of a dirty yellowish brown colour, irregularly and indistinctly marked with blue spots. There are several large quarries in this rock round the town of Leskeard, where the stone is extensively used for building. It very nearly approaches in character to that of Bodmin, but is not quite similar.

The Editor. At a short distance from the town, on the road side leading towards Plymouth, occurs a soft micaceous schist, of a deep yellow tinge, which was most unfortunately mistaken for an ore of gold, about fifty years since, by a Mr. Hoskin, of Leskeard, and by his son, a clergyman, who, in utter ignorance of modern science, expended considerable sums of money in erecting machinery, for the prosecution of pursuits so vain as the raising of gold ore and extracting the metal.

LESNEWITH.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Lesnewith is in the hundred of the same name, and hath to the west Trevalgar, to the north Tintagell and Minster, to the east Otterham, to the south Davidstow.

I have always imagined, whether rightly or not I am not certain, that this place, instead of giving name to the hundred, changed its own, when this was divided into two hundreds, Strathan and Lesnewith; having been formerly but one hundred, called Trigg Major, as they still continue in respect to ecclesiastical affairs; and if so, then the name signifies the New Court.

This is a rectory valued in the King’s book at £8, the incumbent Mr. Crewys.

This church, in 1291, by the taxation of Pope Nicholas, was valued at £4. 6s. 8d. never having been appropriated.

I shall begin with the principal estate in this parish, the manor of Lesnewith.

In the third year of Henry IV. Henry de la Pomeroy held here and in Trevygham half a knight’s fee.

I fancy this to be the same which is called in Domesday Book by the name of Lisniwen. And if so, it was one of the manors which William the Conqueror gave to his half-brother the Earl of Morton, with the earldom of Cornwall.

THE EDITOR.

There does not appear to be any thing remarkable in this parish. The only village, except the church town, is Treworrell.

The manor of Grylls in this parish formerly belonged to the Betensons, who intermarried with the Gilberts of Tackbear; and their arms remain in the church, Argent, within a bordure engrailed Ermine, a fess Gules, with a lion passant gardant in chief.

The advowson of the rectory is annexed to the manor of Lesnewith, which belonged two centuries ago to the family of Dennis. It was a considerable time in the family of Glynn. Mr. Jose is the chief proprietor in the parish.

Lesnewith measures 1,734 statute acres.

giving an increase of 22 per cent. in 30 years.

Present Rector, the Rev. Charles Worsley, instituted in 1813.

GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.

Under the head of St. Cleather, a peculiar calcareous rock was noticed, consisting of a variety of hornblende and calc spar, either distinctly conjoined in a granular or laminated form, or so intimately blended, as to form an homogeneous green rock. A large bed of this peculiar rock occurs at Grylls or Garles, near the western boundary of the parish. An attempt was made here to burn this rock as a limestone for agricultural purposes; but after several trials it was abandoned; for, unless great care be taken in selecting those parts alone in which calc spar mainly abounds, the whole charge of the kiln vitrifies, or runs into a slag, owing to the great fusibility of hornblende, the other constituent of this calcareous rock.

LESTWITHIEL.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Lestwithiel is in the hundred of Powder, and is surrounded to the west, north, and south, by Lanlivery; to the east it has Fowy river between it and St. Winnow. As for the name, I take it to be a corruption of Les-uchel, i. e. the lofty place, as having been from all antiquity the chief seat of the Dukes, &c. of Cornwall. Mr. Camden in Cornwall saith, “the Uzella of Ptolemy is seated, and has not yet quite lost its name, being called at this day Lestuthiell, from its situation. Now uchel, in British, signifies the same as high and lofty.” But of this more when we come to describe the town. As for Mr. Carew’s derivation, who calls it Lostwithiel, from the Cornish Losswithiall, which in English, saith he, signifieth a lion’s tail, it is so ridiculous, as not to be worth repeating; neither doth the word carry that sense. This parish is a vicarage, valued in the King’s books at £2. 13s. 4d.

The Duke of Cornwall is patron. The incumbent Mr. Baron, who succeeded Mr. Whiteford.

This church is not valued in Tax. Benefic. anno 1291; and was then appropriated to the Priory of Bodmin.

THE TOWN AND BOROUGH OF LESTWITHIEL,

“Reputed,” saith Mr. Willis, “the ancient Uzella of Ptolemy, lies situated on the river Uzella,” (I wonder how Mr. Willis came to be guilty of this mistake, since both Leland and Camden, whom he quotes, tell him that it lies on the river Fowy,) “from which it more probably had its

name, as the learned Camden thinks” (Mr. Camden says as I have quoted him above,) “than from Carew’s interpretation of the word Lestwithiel, which he would have to signify in English, lion’s tail. This town is reputed in former times to have stood on a high hill, where the old castle of Lestormel showeth its ruins, which with a park thereto belonging, lies on the north side of the town” (and is in the parish of Lanlivery, for which reason it is not treated of here). “In the park was a Chapel of the Trinity, long since defaced, as are the public buildings of the town, insomuch that little remains of them; though some small parts are repaired, and made use of for the prisons and courts belonging to the Tin Stannaries, which are appointed to be kept here, this being one of the coinage towns.”

Before I go on any further with Mr. Willis, it may be proper to insert at length what Mr. Camden saith of it. “More within the land, on the same river (Fowy), the Uzella of Ptolemy is seated; and has not quite lost its name, being called at this day Lestuthiell, from its situation; for it was upon a high hill, where is Listormel, an ancient castle; though now it is removed into the valley. Now Uchel, British, signifies the same as high and lofty; from whence Uxellodunum of Gaule is so termed, because the town being built upon a mountain, has a steep rugged ascent every way. This in the British history is called Pen-Uchel-Coit, a high mountain in a wood, by which some will have Exeter meant. But the situation assigned it by Ptolemy, and the name it has to this day, do sufficiently evince it to have been the ancient Uzella. Now it is a little town, and not at all populous; for the channel of the river Fowy, which in the last age used to carry the tide up to the very town, and bring vessels of burthen, is now so stopped up by the sands coming from the tin-mines, that it is too shallow for barges; and indeed, all the havens in this county are in danger of being choaked up by their sands. However, it is the county town, where the Sheriff every month holds the County Court, and the Warden of the Stannaries has his

prison. For it has the privilege of coinage, by the favour (as they say) of Edmund Earl of Cornwall, who formerly had his palace there. But there are two towns which especially eclipse the glory of this Uzella,—Leskerd to the east, and Bodman to the north.” Now to return to Mr. Willis. “It is a very ancient corporation, belonging to the Duchy, having had great privileges conferred upon it by Richard Earl of Cornwall (so saith Leland, Itinerary, vol. III. fol. 16,) who, when he was King of the Romans, in the twelfth year of his reign, by charter dated at Wallington, made Lostwithiel and Penknek (alias Penkneth, in the parish of Lanliversey, for Lanlivery, saith Leland, in the above cited place,) a place near adjoining, and now part of the borough, one free burgh, and granted his burgesses a gild mercatory, &c. When this place was first incorporated, I have not been informed; but it has returned Members to Parliament ever since 4 Edw. II. and once before, viz. 23 Edw. I. The Representatives are chosen by the majority of the Corporation, which consists of seven capital burgesses (whereof one is Mayor), and seventeen assistants, in whom, as I presume, the fee-farm rent of the borough is vested, who hold the same, or not many years since did, of the Duchy. This Corporation (otherwise a poor one) holds also the anchorage in the harbour, and bryhelage of measureable commodities, as coals, salt, malt, and corn, &c. in the town of Fowey; which port lies lower on this river, which was navigable to this town before the sands barred it up. The town of Lestwithiel consists chiefly of two streets, from east to west, meanly built, and has in it a church (of which more at the end).

“In August 1644, some soldiers of the Parliament Army, as may be seen in Dugdale’s Short View of the late Troubles in England, p. 560, defaced several stately edifices in this town, as the great Hall and Exchequer of the Dukes of Cornwall, who had their palace here in times past; this having been formerly reputed the shire town of the county,

a small branch of which it yet retaineth, viz. the election of knights of the shire, and keeping the county weights and measures, which it had assigned by Act of Parliament, anno 11 Hen. VII. Who held this manor (note, that this place is no manor, but Penknek,) at the making of Domesday Book, the learned Dr. Brady could not discover; but no doubt it was reckoned among those of Robert Earl of Moreton and Cornwall, the King’s brother. Though in the reign of Richard I. it was part of the demesne lands of Robert de Cardinan Lord of Fowey, who was returned debtor into the Exchequer, of ten marks due to the King for having a market at Lestwithiel. Robertus de Cardinan debet decem marcas pro habendo Foro apud Lostwithel. Mag. Rot. 6 Ric. I. Rot. 12 a. m. 2, Cornwallia. However, this town belonged, temp. Hen. III. to Richard Earl of Cornwall, King Richard’s nephew, upon the death of whose son Edmund, it became part of the King’s demesne, and anno 7 Edw. III. upon the creation of John Earl of Cornwall, the King’s brother, he had this borough, inter alia, granted him; which was afterwards assigned to Edward the King’s son, when he was made Duke of Cornwall, and became, upon his death, the jointure or dowry of Joan Princess of Wales, his wife; on whose decease, anno 9 Ric. II. the King granted it to Tho. Holland Earl of Kent, his (half) brother, who held for life the manors of Lestwithiel and Camelford; he died in the 20th Ric. II. His son Thomas was created Duke of Surrey, and was beheaded anno 1 Hen. IV.”

Mr. Willis having a little mistaken this, I have thus rectified it. After the death of which last Thomas, (who also held them for life), Sir John Cornwall, Lord Fanhope, obtained a grant of the same on account of marrying Elizabeth, the King’s sister; and obtained a grant of the same from Henry Prince of Wales to enjoy them during her life; and afterwards procured it for his own life, and died accordingly seised thereof in December 1443 (22 Hen. VI.) as may be seen in Dugdale’s Baronage.

The yearly rent of this borough, payable to the Duke of Cornwall, is in Doddridge’s History of that Duchy, p. 108, set down at £11. 19s. 10½d.

The town is situated between hills. Boats of ten and twenty tons come up hither. Here are about 70 houses; and the manor is in the duchy.

THE EDITOR.

Lestwithiel evidently owes its locality to that which determined in early times the site of all towns placed on the banks of navigable rivers. They were universally built on the highest point to which vessels or boats frequenting the estuary were capable of being carried by the tide.

Richard Plantagenet might well have been captivated by the beauties of this place and of the surrounding country, by its central situation, and by the commanding eminence of Restormal. Here the last of our real feudal princes, whether he originally built or only enlarged the castle, fixed his court, and collected those revenues with which he is said to have bought from the venal electors of Germany, the titular office of King of the Romans; conveying, however, the legal right of succession to the throne of his grandfather the Emperor Henry the Fifth.

Nummus ait pro me, nubit Cornubia Romæ.

Carew, 204, Lord Dunstanville’s edit.

To Richard King of the Romans Lestwithiel is indebted for the remains of the palace or stannary buildings, and for its privileges.

The palace, if it was ever the residence of a Prince, has long since been converted into a prison, with apartments for occasionally holding the Stannary Courts.

Various charters have been granted to this town. The last was given in the reign of King George the Second, by which seven permanent Aldermen annually chose, for one

year, seventeen other persons, misnamed freemen, who altogether formed the select body for electing Members of Parliament. The validity of this charter has never been contested; but a doubt can scarcely be entertained of all its being utterly void, at least as to constituting a Parliamentary grant, on the ground of its entire variance from the common law of the land: but this question has now lost its importance in consequence of the Reform enacted in 1832.

The church possesses a character unusual in the west of England, by having its nave elevated, with a series of windows above the two ailes. It contains several monuments, and a curious antique font.

The etymology of this town, like that of Leskeard, has suffered from modern caprice, the Les having been here changed into Los; as Dover, from some strange fancy, is rapidly passing into Dovor.

No separate measurement has been taken of this parish, not even co-extensive with the modern town; the site is included in the parishes adjacent.

giving an increase of 108 per cent. in 30 years.

Present Vicar, the Rev. John Bower, presented in 1816 by Lord Mount Edgcumbe.

THE GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.

Dr. Boase says of the geology of this little parish, that it is composed of the same schistose rocks as the eastern part of the parish of Lanlivery.

ST. LEVAN.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

St. Levan is situated in the hundred of Penwith, and is bounded to the west by the ocean, to the north by Sennon, to the east by St. Burian, to the south by the mouth of the Channel.

This parish taketh its name from the saint to whom the church is dedicated, St. Levine.

It is a daughter church of St. Burian, forming part of the deanery of St. Burian.

THE EDITOR.

St. Levan exceeds perhaps every other parish in the whole county for bold and romantic scenery.

First it possesses Trereen Dinas.

This magnificent promontory has towards the land one of those ancient entrenchments which so much distinguish the western coast, from whence the word dinas. There the point runs out into the sea, rising into a succession of natural granite towers in spires, and aiguilles, and the first presenting a perpendicular front, is crowned with the far-famed Loging Rock.

Without calling in question the religious uses made of this stone in rude and barbarous times, it may be declared as a certainty to be entirely natural. Among the thousands of rocks lying scattered in all directions, some possessing a convex surface have accidentally rested on the flat surface of another. Many such rocks are known, but this one transcends in size, and occupies a most commanding station. The rock has been measured with the greatest care, and it is

believed to weigh about ninety tons, yet any one, by applying his shoulder to the edge, and favouring the vibrations, can easily cause the stone to log through a very sensible angle.

Doctor Borlase, in his most learned and ingenious speculations on the religion and policy of the Druids, paid considerable attention to rock monuments in general, and especially to this, the most remarkable of all. In p. 180 of the Antiquities, second edition, Doctor Borlase says, “In the parish of St. Levan, Cornwall, there is a promontory called Castle Treryn. This cape consists of three distinct groupes of rocks. On the western side of the middle groupe, near the top, lies a very large stone, so evenly poised, that any hand may move it to or fro; but the extremities of its base are at such a distance from each other, and so well secured by their nearness to the stone which it stretches itself upon, that it is morally impossible that any lever, or indeed force (however applied in a mechanical way) can remove it from its present situation.”

This rather over-strong expression piqued the vanity of a gallant and intrepid officer, commanding an armed vessel on the coast, in 1824, who maintained that nothing could be impossible to the courage and skill of British seamen, and therefore, attended by ten or twelve of his men, Lieutenant Goldsmith, nephew of the celebrated novelist and poet (for it would even be unjust to withhold his name, as connected with a transaction on the whole redounding to his credit), went on the eighth of April to the rock, and there, by a continued application of their united strength, they threw this huge mass into vibrations of such extent as to cause the convex surface at last to slide from its horizontal base, most fortunately in the direction opposite to that in which they stood. The rock was saved from falling to the ground, and from thence probably into the sea, by a narrow chasm which caught it in the descent.

Mr. Goldsmith having thus achieved what had been declared impossible by the highest authority that Cornwall could produce, must have congratuled himself on such complete

success; but the sensations of all the neighbourhood were entirely at variance from those of the gallant officer; fears were even entertained for his life; and a meeting of the Magistrates and principal persons was contemplated, for the purpose of representing the affair to Government: but the Editor of this work being then in London, and having the honour of being known to all the Lords of the Admiralty, he went there, and representing the exploit that had been performed in the light of an indiscreet frolic, he proposed that the Admiralty should lend a proper apparatus, and send it from Plymouth, while he on his part would endeavour to raise an adequate sum of money; and that Lieutenant Goldsmith, having thrown down this natural curiosity, should superintend the putting it up again. The terms were accepted, and thirteen capstans, with blocks, chains, &c. were sent from the dock-yard.

The Editor having commenced a contribution of money with twenty-five pounds, raised it to a hundred and fifty; and on the 2d of November, in the presence of thousands, amidst ladies waving their handkerchiefs, men firing feux-de-joye, and universal shouts, Mr. Goldsmith had the satisfaction and the glory of replacing this immense rock in its natural position, uninjured in its discriminating properties.

In consequence of the Editor making a second application to the Admiralty, and of his commencing another contribution of money with five pounds, Lanyon Cromlech was also replaced by the same apparatus.

The walk of about a mile and a half along the cliffs from Trereen Dinas to St. Levan Church, is grand and romantic in the highest degree. Between the two points is inclosed Porth Kernow, where the water is beautifully transparent, over a fine sand composed in part of minute shells quite entire, and of various species and genera, to be collected on the beach. The church itself is in a most sequestered spot, and said by Mr. Tonkin to be dedicated to St. Levina, who was a British female, and suffered martyrdom

under the Saxons before their conversion to the Christian faith.

The relics of St. Levine or Lewine were long preserved and honoured at Seaford, about ten miles from Eastbourn in Sussex, till, in 1058, eight years before the Norman Conquest, her remains, together with those of St. Idaberga, another female, and a portion of the relics of St. Oswald, were carried beyond the seas, and deposited in the abbey of St. Winock at Bergh in Flanders, amidst a variety of miracles attested by Drogo, an eye-witness, and published in the great collection of the Bollandists.

The only object worthy of attention in St. Levan church is a plain monument to Miss Thomasin Dennis, with the following inscription:

Thomasin Dennis,
de Trembath,
ingenio, suavitate, virtute
insignis,
doctrina insignissima.
Nata xxix die Septembris, 1771,
væ!
lenta sed præmatura morte
erepta
obiit xxx die Augusti 1809,
anno ætatis xxxviii.

Miss Dennis was born at Sawah in this parish, the daughter of Mr. Alexander Dennis, one of the superior class of farmers, who occupy their own estates held at quit-rents for lives. He afterwards removed to Trembath in Maddern. Her superior genius displayed itself at a very early age, in reciting poetry from our best authors, and then in producing imitations of her own. “She lisped in numbers from her mother’s arms.” French was acquired with equal accuracy and facility; and then, observing that her eldest brother appeared to make an inadequate progress

in Latin, occasioned by the entire want of attention on the part of the schoolmaster at Penzance, this young lady under eighteen studied a classic language for the mere purpose of helping forward her brother.

The celebrity which Miss Dennis had now acquired, brought her acquainted with the Rev. Mr. Hitchins, the learned vicar of St. Hilary, with the Editor of this work, and with several others, more or less scholars, from all of whom she received the praises due to her superior talents, and such instruction or assistance as they could afford, by lending books, or by indicating the most approved methods of proceeding; and with such slender help her progress was so great and almost unexampled, that not only were all the Roman authors soon read, but the Greek writers followed in a rapid succession, till Æschylus and Pindar became her familiar acquaintance.

About this time Miss Dennis was induced to accompany Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Wedgewood from Penzance, chiefly as a friend and a visitor, but partly also, in return for their civilities and kindness, to overlook the progress of their son; but her health began to fail, her only sister fell into a consumption, she returned to nurse her, and died of the same most pitiable complaint.

Εν Μακαρεσσι πονων ανταξιος ειη Αμοιβη.

Nothing of her poetry has been given to the public; nor would it now be fair to print a few trifles. Miss Dennis proved herself adequate to the composition of any work in prose, by publishing in 1806, at Mr. Johnson’s in St. Paul’s Churchyard, “Sophia St. Clare,” in name indeed a novel, but far superior in style of writing and in correctness of sentiment, to the fictions of the day. From the want of incident, however, similar to those which are characterized in the drama by producing stage effect, the work failed of becoming popular.

This parish, after Trereen Dinas, is distinguished by

the possession of Tol-Peder-Penwith, about a mile westward from the church, the approach to which lies under romantic cliffs, and crosses a short deep vale, where boats are sheltered in a small cove apparently inaccessible to human art or daring. At the very extremity of the point an excavation has been made by the sea, of some portion less compacted than the remainder of the rock, probably of a lode, which opens to the surface in the form of an inverted cone. This place is very dangerous of access, on account of the steep descent covered by a slippery turf; but strangers are tempted to risk their lives in approaching the abyss, by the dashing of the waves within it, and by the tremendous roar of the sea. Two gentlemen from London were induced to enter the cavern leading from the sea, and were surrounded by the tide. One, who excelled in swimming, fortunately got out and communicated the perilous situation of his companion to a neighbouring farmer, who hastened with assistance and with ropes to the spot, and succeeded in lifting him to the surface through the cone. Nor must the circumstance be omitted, that, although the stranger was possessed of a very large fortune, he could not prevail on his rescuer to accept of the least pecuniary reward for preserving the life of a fellow-creature.

The villages in this parish are of small importance. Bosistow belonged in remote times to a family of the same name, giving for their arms Azure, three escallops Vaire. Mr. Bosistow, now residing at Tredreath in Lelant, is believed to represent this ancient family. In more recent times Bosistow belonged to the Davieses.

All the farms in this parish have been constantly occupied either by the freeholders or by persons possessing leaseholds, paying quit-rents, for lives; in consequence, they have taken extreme care against making parishioners, and in managing their Poor Rate, as will appear from its small amount.

The parish feast is kept on the nearest Sunday to October the 10th.

St. Levan measures 2079 statute acres.

giving an increase of 29 per cent. in 30 years.

GEOLOGY, BY DOCTOR BOASE.

This parish is entirely situated on granite, which in many places furnishes a good and fertile soil, as has been observed in the adjoining parish of St. Burian. Its fine sea cliffs exhibit many varieties of the granite, and distinctly show the manner of arrangement in the more common and larger masses. To enter on the details of this subject, would occupy too much space. The geologist will find ample amusement along the whole line of these cliffs, which are always viewed by the romantic tourist with great delight. Besides the elevation and grand contour of the cliffs, here will be found the celebrated Logan Rock at Trereen, and the Tunnel Rock at Tol-Peder-Penwith.

THE EDITOR.

It may be observed, that I have always used the words Log-ing Rock, for the celebrated stone at Trereen Dinas. Much learned research seems to have been idly expended on the supposed name, “Logan Rock.” To log, is a verb in general use throughout Cornwall, for vibrating or rolling like a drunken man; and an is frequently heard in provincial pronunciation for ing, characteristic of the modern present participle. The Loging Rock is therefore strictly descriptive of its peculiar motion.

LEWANNICK.

HALS.

The manuscript relating to this parish is lost.

TONKIN.

Lewannick is in the hundred of East, and hath to the west and north Alternun, to the east South Pederwin, to the south North Hill.

The right name of this parish is Lanwennock; and it is dedicated to the same Wennack as Landewednack. It is a vicarage valued in the King’s Books at £7. 18s. 2d. The patronage in the Crown.

This is but a poor parish, and hath not many noted places in it. The most considerable is the manor of Trelask, Trelask, that is the burnt town, from such an accident I suppose happening there.

I take this to be the most ancient seat of the Lowers in this county; who in the last century were a flourishing family, divided into several branches, though now the females have carried off the estates into other families, and there are very few of the males remaining.

On the death of Edward Roper, Esq. this manor fell to —— Plowden, Esq. descended from the famous lawyer of that name, who is the present lord of it.

THE EDITOR.

The parish church is distinguished by some remains of Gothic ornaments, and by its lofty tower. Within the church are some recent monuments to the Archers of Trelask,

and one to the Rev. W. A. Morgan, the late vicar. There are also several ancient monuments, but greatly defaced.

The villages in this parish are small, and the houses are generally constructed of the least durable materials. The principal are Hick’s Mill, Pollyfont, Trenhorne, and Trevadlack.

The manor of Trelaske, having originally belonged to a family of the same name, came to the Uptons. It is stated by Mr. Lysons that two co-heiresses of the Upton family married two brothers of the Lowers, between whom the property was divided. One half passed to the family of Plowden; and the other half was sold by Thomas Lower, Esq. who died in 1703, to John Addis, Esq. whose son purchased the share of William Plowden and others. In 1741, William Addis, Esq. bequeathed the whole to Nicholas Swete Archer, Esq. in whose collateral heirs it still remains. Trelaske is a handsome gentleman’s seat, and surrounded by extensive woods. Mr. Nicholas Swete Archer married a sister of the late Mr. Francis Basset, of Tehidy, and resided chiefly at Truro in a house the property of Mr. Enys, of Enys, who had married another sister of Mr. Francis Basset; this gentleman dying without children, left Trelaske to his nephew, whose son greatly improved the house and the place; but has recently been taken out of this life at an early age, leaving a numerous family amply provided with the gifts of fortune, and consoled by the recollection of a parent universally respected and esteemed.

The manor of Tinney Hall belonged to the family of Beaumont; the last possessor of that name, Mrs. Dorothy Beaumont, bequeathed it to her nephew Mr. John Speccot, of Penheal, from whom it passed to his relation Mr. Thomas Long (see Egloskerry), and the manor now belongs to his heir-at-law the Rev. Charles Sweet.

The etymology given by Mr. Tonkin for Trelaske does not seem to be very probable. The verb Losgi is in

Cornish to burn; but it does not approach nearly to the sound of laske, and the derivation has not any support from tradition at this place, nor in Cubert, nor in Pelynt, where the name occurs.

The manor of Pollyfont was heretofore a parcel of the priory of Minster near Botreaux Castle[1] , and has been annexed to the rectory of Minster parish. Some remains of a chapel are still to be seen at this place.

The great tithes belonged to the family of Gedy or Giddy, of Trebersey, from whom they descended to Mr. John Eliot, heir-at-law of the celebrated patriot Sir John Eliot, who married the heiress of that family; and they were by him devised, with the whole of his property, to Mr. William Eliot, second brother of Lord Eliot, of Port Eliot, now Lord St. Germans, who has parted with them to Mr. William Hocker, of Trewanta in this parish.

Lewanick measures 3,516 statute acres.

giving an increase of 17 per cent. in 30 years.