St. Wenn is situate in the hundred of Pider, and hath upon the north
St. Breock, east Withiell, south Roach, west St. Colomb Major; but
whether named from its tutelar guardian and patron, Sanctus Wina, or
Wena, the Bishop of Winchester, anno Dom. 660, translated to London
anno Dom. 666, who died 670; or from Anwena or Unwena, Bishop of
Dorchester, anno Dom. 786, I know not.
This place is that San Vene, or Wena, taxed in the Domesday Book, and
the only church or district in all that book in Cornwall to which was
added the pronoun Saint, of which I have spoken elsewhere. In the
Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester into the value of
Cornish Benefices, Ecclesia de Sanct. Wenne in decanatu de Pidre 1294,
was rated at vi_l._ xiii_s._ iiii_d._ Vicar’ ejusdem xiii_s._ iiii_d._
In Wolsey’s Inquisition, 1521, £16. 6_s._ 8_d._ The patronage was
formerly in the Prior of Bodman, who endowed it; afterwards, when that
Priory was dissolved, in the Crown; from whence it passed to Prideaux
of Netherton, by him sold to Rashleigh, now in possession thereof. The
incumbent Bedford; the rectory in Rashleigh; and the parish rated to
the 4_s._ per pound Land Tax, 1696, for one year, £126. 4_s._
About the year 1663, the tower and bells of this parish church were
struck down with thunder and lightning, and broken to pieces in a
stormy night, and a great part of the roof of the church broken in.
(Here is another deficiency in the manuscript.)
And in particular those lands to the Lord Botreaux, by whose heir it
passed in marriage to Hungerford, from Hungerford to Hastings, from
Hastings to Edgecomb, from Edgcomb to Parkinge, from Parkinge to
Vivian of Truan, from Vivian to Hals (the writer hereof), now in
possession thereof.
Of this family was Michael de Tregury, a man of great learning, made
first governor or professor of the University founded at Caen in
Normandy by King Henry V. He was afterwards by him made Archbishop of
Dublin, where, after twenty-two years’ residence, he died, 1471, and
lies buried in St. Patrick’s Church there, with this bold epitaph:
Præsul Metropolis Michael hic Dublinensis
Marmore tumbatus, pro me Christum flagitetis.
i. e. Michael, the Metropolitan Bishop of Dublin, lyes under this
marble tomb, for whome Christ shall earnestly intreate or desire.[15]
* * * * *
Lan-cor-la, in this parish, was formerly parcel of the manor of
Ryalton, the Prior of Bodman’s lands, who endowed this church upon
part of the said manor’s lands, with a considerable glebe, at least
eighty statute acres of ground.
This little barton of Lancorla was anciently the voke lands of a
considerable manor, now all dismembered, held, by the Records of the
Exchequer and Carew’s Survey of Cornwall, page 46, by the tenure of
knight’s service.
It is now by lease in the possession and dwelling of the writer
hereof, from Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bart. Sir John Seyntaubyn, Bart.
and Sir George Cary, of Clovelly, knight, as heirs to Jenkin of
Trekeninge, to whom it came by purchase from Botreauxes and Parkinge’s
heirs and assigns.
This manor of old contained fifteen Cornish acres of land, before
dismembered tempore Edward I. that is to say, 638 statute acres, and
was privileged with the jurisdiction of a Court Baron or Leet, and had
a steward or bailiff pertaining thereto as dependant on Ryalton
aforesaid.
Checkenock, now Killignock (S. T.) in this parish, was another
district taxed in the Domesday Book 1087, from whence was denominated
an old family of gentlemen surnamed de Killignock, where they
flourished in good fame for many generations, till the time of Henry
VIII. when the only daughter and heir of Thomas Killignock was married
to Richard Nanskevall, alias Typpet, of St. Colomb, which marriage
brought these lands into his possession, where for three or four
descents his posterity flourished in genteel degree, till the latter
end of the reign of King Charles II. when Matthew Typpet, Gent. that
married Ringwood, of Braddock, having encumbered his estate with much
debts, sold this place and the manor of Borlace Varth to Mr. Joseph
Hawkey, his attorney-at-law, to pay costs in defence of actions
brought against him by his creditors; and his other lands to Bligh,
Vivian, and Hals, the writer of these lines, and left his son and heir
a beggar. The arms of Typpet, ―――― three tippets, as I remember.
Tre-with-an, in this parish, i. e. the Tree Town, or Town of Trees,
tempore Henry IV. was the land of Stephen de Trewithan, who held in
this place and elsewhere, by the tenure of knight service, 25 Edward
III. £20 per annum in lands of Barkley’s manor of Tremore (Survey of
Cornwall, p. 52), from whose posterity, tempore Queen Mary, it passed
by sale to Renphry, whose son sold it, tempore James I. to Parkings,
whose great-grandson Francis Parkings is now in possession thereof.
The arms of Parkings are, in a field ―――― three pigeons ――――.
In this parish stands Damelsa Castle, a treble entrenchment of earth
on a high mounted bank or hill, on the south side of, and contiguous
with, Damelsa House and lands. Probably it was erected before the
Norman Conquest, to resist the incursions of the Danes, since those
three rampiers consist of rude stones and earth after the British
manner, as a hedge, not a wall. (See Castle an Dinas, in St. Colomb).
For after the Conquest aforesaid, castles in England were generally
built of lime and stones after the manner of the French. Probably it
was demolished tempore King Stephen or King Henry II. when, many
hundreds of those castles by their decree were pulled down in this
island, as our chronologers all tell us.
In this parish, at Treganatha, i. e. the Spinster’s Town or dwelling,
is held annually a fair or mart on St. Mark’s day, April 25, and
another on August 1.