St. Mad-darne, or Mad-ran, a Vicarage, is situate in the hundred of
Penwith, and hath upon the north Sennor or Zeynar, west Sancret, east
Gulval, south Paul and the Mount’s Bay.
At the time of the Norman Conquest this district was taxed in the
Domesday Book, under the jurisdiction of Alverton, of which more
under. In the Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester,
into the value of Cornish Benefices, 1294, Ecclesia de Sancti Maddarne
is rated £5. 6_s._ 8_d._ in decanatu de Penwith; prior Hospitalis
Johannis percepit in eadem £6. 13_s._ 4_d._ The meaning of which is
this: Henry de la Pomeraye, tempore Richard I. (or his ancestors)
built or endowed this church, and gave it to the Knights Hospitallers
of St. John of Jerusalem, for the health and salvation of his own
soul, that of his Lord the King, and the souls of his father, mother,
brothers, sisters, progenitors and successors, as it is set down in
that charter. See Dugdale’s Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. ii. page 792.
In Wolsey’s Inquisition, 1521, it is valued to first fruits £21. 5_s._
10_d._ by the name of Madran as aforesaid, without the appellation or
pronoun Saint. The patronage formerly in the Knights Hospitallers of
Jerusalem at Sythney, subject to St John’s Hospital of Jerusalem at
London, after their dissolution in the Crown, now in Flemen; the
incumbent Bellot, and the parish rated to the 4_s._ per pound
land-tax, 1696, temp. William III. £163. 14_s._ Penzance town £139.
11_s._ 6_d._ in all £303. 5_s._ 6_d._
Who the supposed tutelar guardian of this church, St. Maddarne, was,
is past my ability of finding out, either in the legends or
martyrologies, therefore refer him to the scrutiny of the inhabitants;
only by the way let it be remembered that Galfridus Monmouthensis
tells us in his Chronicle that one Madan was a British king in these
parts before Julius Cæsar landed in Britain, and probably that he
lived or died here, in memory of whom this parish is called Madran,
now Maddarne. Here also is Maddarne Well of water, greatly famous for
its healing virtues, of which thus writes Bishop Hall of Exeter, in
his book called the Great Mystery of Godliness, p. 169, where,
speaking of what good offices angels do God’s servants.
“Of which kind was that noe less then miraculous cure, which
at St. Maddarn’s Well in Cornwall was wrought upon a poore
criple; wherof, besides the attestation of many hundreds of
the neighbours, I tooke a strict and impartial examination
in my last triennial Visitation there. This man for sixteen
years was forced to walke upon his hands, by reason of the
sinews of his leggs were soe contracted that he cold not goe
or walk on his feet, who upon monition in a dreame, to wash
in that well, which accordingly he did, was suddainly
restored to the use of his limbs, and I sawe him both able
to walk and gett his owne maintenance. I found here was
neither art or collusion, the cure done, the author our
invisible God, &c.”
However, notwithstanding this instance of that Reverend Bishop’s, I
know no medicinal waters in Cornwall that are constantly and
universally sovereign for any disease, but only to some particular
persons, at times and seasons.
Alvorton, alias Alverton, in this parish, was the Voke lands of a
considerable manor heretofore pertaining to the Kings and Earls of
Cornwall, and under that jurisdiction and name this district of
Maddern was taxed, 20 William I. 1087, as also Paul Parish; it
consisted, temp. Edward III. of eighty-four Cornish acres of land.
Carew’s Survey of Cornwall, page 46, that is to say 3600 statute
acres. (Page 131 of Lord Dunstanville’s Edition; the Cornish Acres
64).
Within the confines of this parish, or the said manor, stands Mayne
Screffes, that is to say, the written or inscribed stone, being a
monument set up of a rough perpendicular stone, in memory of a famous
Cornish-British Prince or King, that probably lived and died here, and
was interred near the same, in which stone are yet extant these
British and Latin words: “RIALOBRAN CUNOWALL FIL:” [id est, Rialobran
the son of Cunowall] which contracted Latin word fil. for filius,
shows that it was made and erected there since first the Romans came
into this land, for the Britains before had no knowledge of the Latin
tongue; which words, if not monosyllables, are compounded either of
those particles Rial-o-Bren-Cunowall fil: Extraordinary Royal or
Imperial Prince King of Wales son; or rather it ought to be thus read,
Rial-o-Bren-Cornowall filius, viz. the extraordinary Royal Prince or
King of Cornwall’s Son. For as Rial in British answers to Regalis,
Regius, Augustus, Regificus, Basilicus, in Latin, so -o- by itself to
nimius, id est, much, excessive, overmuch; and Bren, Brene, to
Princeps, a Prince, Ruler, or Chief Governor. However, let it be
remembered, in favour of the second etymology, that one Bletius (son
to Roderick King of Wales and Cornwall, anno Dom. 700,) was Prince of
Wales and also King or Prince of Cornwall. But this funeral monument
stone must have been erected before that time; for afterwards it
became lawful to bury dead human creatures in towns and cities, lastly
in churches and churchyards, though not before. [See Dr. Borlase’s
Antiquities, 2d edit. p. 391, and the plate in Lysons’s Cornwall, p.
ccxxi. Editor.]
Landithy. Landegey, Landigey, in this parish, contiguous with the
church, which signifies the temple church, was formerly the lands of
the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, now ―――― Flemen,
gent.
In this parish, at ―――― liveth Francis Seynt Aubyn, esq. sometime
Commissioner for the Peace, who married ―――― Arundel, of this place,
whose lands it was, and Crocker of St. Agnes, and hath issue. He is a
younger son of John Seyntaubyn, of Clowens, esq. by Godolphin of
Treveneage.
Upon the south part of this parish, at the head of St. Michael’s
Mount’s Bay, on a little promontory of land shooting into the sea, is
situate the market and coinage town of Pensance, or Penzance, which
stands now rated in the Exchequer as a noun substantive, or distinct
jurisdiction from Maddarne; whereas the borough of Camelford is taxed
under Lenteglos, Mitchell under Newlan, and St. Enedor-Bosithney under
Dundagell.
The old chapel, and the whole town of Penzance, the 20th July 1595,
was burnt to ashes by five Spanish galleys, that then came into St.
Michael’s Mount’s Bay for that purpose, of which fact there is a large
history to be seen in Mr. Carew’s Survey of Cornwall, page 156, (page
381, Lord Dunstanville’s edition); since which time the new chapel
hath been founded and beautified as it now stands, and the old town
comparatively all new built of brick and stone, and augmented with a
greater number of houses than before.
It was incorporated by charter from King James the First, with the
jurisdiction of a court leet, by the name of the Mayor, Aldermen, or
Magistrates, before whose tribunal all pleas of debt and damage,
within the precincts of that borough, are judged and determined by the
said charter; it is also made the fifth town for coinage of tin, at
the usual times of the year, by the Duke of Cornwall’s officers, as
also with a weekly market on Thursdays, and fairs yearly, on Thursday
before Advent Sunday, and also on Trinity Thursday.
This town of Penzance, anno Dom. 1646, in the time of the wars between
King Charles I. and his Parliament, for the kindness and charity the
inhabitants showed to the Lord Goring’s and Lord Hopton’s troops of
horse, driven into those parts by Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliament
General, was made a prey to his soldiers or troops, who for two days
had the plunder of the town and its inhabitants’ goods, to the one’s
great loss and the other’s great enriching; for one of those troopers,
viz. Edward Best, of St. Wenn, had to his share five gallons of
English coin, silver and gold, and pieces of eight, as I was told by
one of his servants, that was the measurer and spectator thereof;
though long since all riotously spent, as also the shares of his
fellow-troopers Littlecot, Keen, and Lockyer of Roach.
In this port his Majesty and the Duke have their coinage hall for
coining tin, custom-house, collector, surveyor, comptroller, and
wayters for sea and land service. The chief inhabitants of this town
are John Carveth, gent. attorney-at-law, Mr. Gross, of the same
profession, Mr. Tremenheer, Mr. Williams, Mr. Veale, Mr. Rawlinge.
The arms of this town, through ignorance of the true etymology of the
name thereof, is St. John Baptist’s head in a charger.
To remove an action at law depending in the leet of Penzance to a
superior court, the writ must be thus directed: “Majori et
Burgisensibus Burgi sui de Pensance, alias Penzance, in com: Cornu:
salutem:” otherwise, “Majori, Aldermanis, et Senescallo Burgi sui de
Penzance alias Pensance, in comitatu Cornubiæ, salutem.”
On the east side of this town, on the sea shore, at the top of St.
Michael’s Mount’s Bay, stands that notable treble intrenchment of
earth, after the British manner, built as a rampart or fortress for
defence of the country against foreign invaders, called Les-cad-dock
Castle; otherwise Les-caddock, as two monosyllables, refer to Cadock,
Earl of Cornwall, whose broad camp or castle of war it was, as
tradition saith.