This parish, although it is small and situated in a remote part of the
county, possesses several ancient family seats, and a well-built
church, with various monuments, placed in a valley full of trees, and
opening immediately to the sea.
The manor, including the whole parish, originally without doubt in
possession of the lands, although it is now become, like innumerable
other manors, a mere royalty, was given by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of
Kent, to the Abbey of Clyve in Somersetshire. It is an instance,
however, of the small reliance that can be placed on the orthography
of ancient names, since the charter of Hubert de Burgo is in these
words:
“Sciant præsentes et futuri, quod ego Hubertus de Burgo Domini Regis
Camerarius, dedi, concessi, et hac præsenti cartâ mea confirmavi, Deo
et Beatæ Mariæ et monachis de Cliva, ibidem Deo servientibus et
servituris, pro salute animæ meæ, et patris et matris meæ, et omnium
antecessorum et parentum et herædum meorum, in perpetuam elemosinam,
totum dominicum quod habui in Rugeham,” which must be Poughill.
And in a charter of confirmation by Richard Earl of Cornwall it is
thus mentioned:
“Richardus comes Pictaviæ et Cornubiæ, &c. &c. noverit universitas
vestra me concessisse, et hac præsenti cartâ meâ confirmasse, &c.
totas terras quas habuerunt in Cornubiâ, videlicet Pochewille,” et
Treglastan, cum pertinendis, quas prius habuerunt ex dono domini
Huberti de Burgo comitis Kanc. &c.
Mr. Lysons, who, from his situation in the Tower, possessed the most
ample means of ascertaining all transactions with the Crown, states
that King James the First sold this manor to two gentlemen, Mr. George
Salter and Mr. John Williams; in more recent times it belonged to the
family of Stanbury, and is now the property of Thomas Troad, esq.
Mr. Lysons relates, on the authority of William of Worcester, that
Nicholas Radford, counsel for Lord Bonville, against Thomas Courtenay,
Earl of Devon, was slain in his own house in the year 1437, by Thomas
Courtenay, eldest son, and afterwards successor to his father. There
is, however, an anachronism as to William Bonville, who was first
summoned to Parliament twelve years afterwards, as Baron Bonville, and
died in 1480, leaving the barony in fee to his great-granddaughter,
married to Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset.
The Reverend Charles Dayman, lately deceased, resided, as his family
had done for several generations, at Flexbury in this parish; and Mr.
John Bryant is said to have succeeded a long line of ancestors at
Bushill, a seat decorated by several remains of the magnificent house
at Stowe.
The great tithes belong to George Boughton Kingdon, esq.; but the
distinguishing honor of this parish is Stamford Hill, so called from
the position taken there by Lord Stamford, commanding the
parliamentary army in 1643; and where Sir Beville Granville,
commanding the Cornish army, obtained one of the most splendid
victories achieved during the whole course of the civil war. It is
unnecessary to repeat the details of this battle, which are given by
Hyde and by most of our general historians. Its effects nearly decided
the struggle in favour of the party supporting the system of
hereditary power in a single hand.
This parish measures 1,759 statute acres.
Annual value of the Real Property, as £. _s._ _d._
returned to Parliament in 1815 1979 0 0
Poor Rate in 1831 176 15 0
Population, { in 1801, | in 1811, | in 1821, | in 1831,
{ 297 | 355 | 378 | 300
giving an increase of 21 per cent. in 30 years, with a decrease,
however, of 78 persons in the last 10 years.
Present Rector, the Rev. John Davis, presented in 1810 by Lord
Chancellor Eldon.