St. Veep is situate in the hundred of West, and hath upon the north
St. Wenow, east Lanreth, south Lanteglos, west Fowey river or haven.
It was the church of the Abbat or Prior of St. Carock’s monastery in
this parish, for whom William Earl of Morton built and first endowed
it.
In the Domesday Book 1087, this district was taxed under the
jurisdiction of Lanreth. In the inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln
and Winchester 1294, Ecclesia de Wepe or Weep, in decanatu de West,
was rated c_s._ In Wolsey’s Inquisition 1521, £5. 0_s._ 6_d._ by the
name of St. Wepe. The patronage formerly in the prior of St. Carock,
now in Wrey; the incumbent ―――― Tyncomb; the rectory in possession of
―――― Wrey; and the parish rated to the four shillings per pound
Land Tax 1696, for one year, £229.
In this parish is the priory called Carock St. Pill, in which place
William Earl of Morton and Cornwall founded and endowed an house of
Cluniac monks, and dedicated the same to St. Sergius.
In this cell of St. Syriac lived that celebrated author Walter de
Exeter, a Benedictine Monk 1292, as Isaack in his Memorials of Exeter
calls him, with greater probability than that he was a Dominican
friar, as Bale saith, or a Franciscan friar as Mr. Carew tells us
(Survey of Cornwall, page 59); who, at the request of Baldwin of
Exeter, writ the life of Guy Earl of Warwick, who was the son of
Syward Baron of Wallingford, and married Felicia, daughter and heir of
Rohand Earl of Warwick; which Guy, at the request of King Athelstan,
fought a combat with Colbrand the Danish giant, and slew him, since
which time his valour and conduct hath been very famous.
And Walter of Exeter for this book, and his skill in other histories,
hath by Bale given him this character:――“In historiarum cognitione non
fuit ultimus,” that he was none of the meanest historians of his time;
though Mr. Carew saith he only deformed the history of Guy of Warwick.
The house and chapel aforesaid, except the windows, is now quite
dilapidated, the burying place made a garden, and a new dwelling house
erected near it with the stones thereof on its barton lands, now
pertaining to the heirs of Carter and Sillye. The fee-farm rent of £5
per annum is paid to the king or prince, and is exempted from payment
of tithes.
In this parish at Botowne, i. e. cow town, is the dwelling of ――――
Hawke, gentleman.