Stratton is a neat although a small town. Before the great roads were
made through the middle of the county along the central ridge and
above the formation of deep valleys, a northern entrance into Cornwall
passed through this town.
Mr. Lysons says, that the manors of Stratton and Binomy belonged at an
early period to an ancient family called in various records De Albo
Monasterio, or Blanchminster and Whitminster. The property passed by
an heiress to the family of Hiwis; and Emmeline the heiress of Hiwis,
married first, Sir Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice of the King’s
Bench, who lost his life through popular violence in the year 1388;
and secondly, Sir John Coleshill.
Sir John Coleshill, son of the above, was killed at the battle of
Agincourt in 1415, leaving an infant son; after whose death in 1483
the large estates of this family passed by a female heir to a younger
branch of the Arundells, and were afterwards divided among its
numerous representatives.
The manors of Binomy and Stratton having been purchased by the
Grenvilles, have descended to Lord Carteret.
The manor of Efford or Ebbingford, belonged at an early period to the
Waumfords or Waunfords, from whom it passed by a coheiress to the
Durants, and from them by an heiress to the Arundells of Trerice, from
whom it is derived to Sir Thomas Dyke Acland of Killerton.
The church and tower are fine specimens of the style of architecture
prevalent throughout the West of England. There are also several
monuments; and Mr. Lysons quotes from the register, the baptism
and death of Elizabeth Cornish, who lived between these two dates, 113
years 4 months and 13 days. She was baptized in Oct. 1578, and was
buried March the 10th, 1691.
The great tithes and the manor denominated Sanctuary, or Sentery, as
was usual with such professions, belonged to the Priory of Launceston.
After the dissolution of monasteries, this manor carrying with it the
advowson of the vicarage, was annexed to the Duchy of Cornwall, with
various other lands, in exchange for the honour and castle of
Wallingford.
The great tithes were granted to the family of Wadder, but they have
since been sold in parcels.
The place of most importance in this parish after the town, is Bude.
This place has always given some shelter for boats, and afforded sand
for manure. It has within about twenty years received most essential
improvement. A pier or jetty has been built out into the sea, and a
canal with inclined planes has been made for the conveyance of coal
and merchandise into the country, and for bringing down slate and the
produce of land; but above all, for supplying sand as a manure. The
sand at this place consists entirely of powdered shells, as it does
along the whole north coast of Cornwall, and it is found to be so
efficacious for imparting fertility to clay lands, that it is
frequently conveyed in wheel carriages to so great a distance from the
coast, as to require the draft cattle remaining out a night.
The boats used on this coast are formed like boxes, having within each
side a closed trough containing two wheels, which project a very
little beyond the lower surface. These wheels are consequently no
impediment to the boats floating on the water, but they enable them to
ascend or to descend the inclined planes with the facility of other
carriages. See a Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation, by
R. Fulton, 1 vol. 4to, London, 1796, p. 32, where this plan is
suggested perhaps for the first time.
Bude is also become a place of resort for sea bathing; and several
houses for the accommodation of strangers have been built by Sir
Thomas Acland, so that it has acquired the well-known appellation of a
watering place.
The Editor having omitted through inadvertence to notice in the
adjoining parish of Launcels a gentleman one of the most respectable
in the north-eastern part of Cornwall, hopes that he may be excused
for inserting his name here.
Launcells House, a modern building on the spot where formerly stood
the residence of the Chamonds, is the seat of George Boughton Kingdon,
esq. respected by every one who has the honour of his acquaintance,
for scientific and literary acquirements, and esteemed as a benefactor
to his neighbourhood in the characters of a magistrate and of a worthy
country gentleman.
An instance of longevity has been given in the parish of Stratton, and
an occurrence has been stated to the Editor, which proves that
Launcells participates in the general healthiness of that district.
It seems the identical six men who rang the bells in Launcells tower
on the Coronation of King George the Third, rang them also on the day
of his jubilee, having continued the parish ringers during all that
time.
Their names are recorded in the parish, and may therefore be inserted
here.
John Lyle, Henry Cadd, Richard Venning, John Ham, John Allin, Richard
Hayman.
And of these, John Lyle rang at the accession of King George the
Fourth, and of his present Majesty King William the Fourth, being then
in his ninety-sixth year: but all are now gathered to their fathers.
And here, as appertaining more to the general character of the country
than to any particular parish, in reference to the terrific cliffs
which surround this coast, it may be proper to state a fact
communicated by Mr. Kingdon; that, from actual measurement taken by
himself, Hennacleve cliff on Westcot Down, in the parish of
Moorwinstow, is 430 feet above the level of the beach.
Stratton measures 2300 statute acres.
Annual value of the Real Property as £. _s._ _d._
returned to Parliament in 1815 3563 0 0
Poor Rate in 1831 710 19 0
Population,――{ in 1801, | in 1811, | in 1821, | in 1831,
{ 960 | 1094 | 1580 | 1613
giving an increase of 68 per cent in 30 years.
Present Vicar, the Rev. Jacob Hawker, presented by the King as
Prince of Wales in 1833.