The church of this parish stands about half a mile south-west from the
town, and is wholly modern; having been constructed on the exact
situation of the former, so as to adopt its handsome and
well-proportioned tower. The new church was built about the middle of
the last century, when attention to propriety in adapting
architectural designs to their respective uses, civil or religious,
seems to have been at its lowest state of depression. This and the
church at Helston, constructed nearly about the same time, present in
the interior one large room, much more resembling a gymnasium for
training cavalry, than a place for religious worship.
This parish, with Crowan and Lelant, are dedicated to St. Uny, or St.
Unine, of whom nothing is known, and therefore conjecture represents
this saint as one of the missionaries from Ireland. The advowson of
the rectory is appurtenant to the honor and manor of Tehidy, which has
been in the Basset family since early times of the Plantagenets.
In the town a chapel has very recently been built, probably near to
the spot where the one formerly stood, that was dedicated to St.
Rumon, of whom little more is known than of St. Uny.
The abbey of Tavistock was dedicated to the honor of Almighty God, in
the names of the Blessed Virgin and of St. Rumon, by Ordgar Earl of
Devonshire, about the year 960, and confirmed by King Ethelred about
twenty years after. In Leland’s Collectanea de Rebus Britannicis, vol.
IV. p. 152, are noticed the following heads of a Life of Rumon:
“Rumonus genere fuit Scotus Hiberniensis. Nemea sylva in
Cornubia plenissima olim ferarum. Sanctus Rumonus faciebat
sibi oratorium in sylva Nemæa Falemutha. Ordulphus Dux
Cornubiæ transtulit ossa Rumoni Tavestochiam.”
Doctor Butler says of this saint:
“William of Malmesbury informs us, that the History of St.
Rumon’s life was destroyed by the wars, a misfortune he says
that has also happened on other occasions in England.
“He was a bishop, although it is not known of what see; his
veneration was famous at Tavistock in Devonshire, where
Ordulf, Earl of Devonshire, built a church under his
invocation, before the year 960. Wilson, upon information
given him by certain persons of that country, inserted his
name on this day (January the 4th) in the second edition of
his English Martyrology.”
Since there seems to be very little probability in the supposition
that the name of this parish can have reference to the Druids; and as
two strong objections may be alleged against its being derived from a
ford of red water, from the absence of any red stream, or ford; is it
too hardy to conjecture, that with variations in the orthography, and
in the pronunciation of the name, and perhaps with some adjunct
syllable, the long-sought-for etymology may be found in a patron
saint, when three other parishes, Ruan Major, Ruan Minor, and Ruan
Lanihorn, are dedicated to his name.
In consequence of the immense extension of workings on lodes of copper
all round the northern and eastern junctions of the forest granite,
with the killas or slate, the town of Redruth has grown into a large
size, and into considerable opulence. The main street is rendered
splendid on both sides by continued lines of shops, and the market on
Friday is supplied in great abundance with every thing that can be
wanted in the ordinary concerns of life. Large quantities of fish, of
pork, and of home manufactures, especially of shoes, are brought from
Penzance market, held on the preceding day, so that the road over
Hayle Causeway is thronged with carts throughout the intervening
night; and the long street of Redruth is scarcely adequate to contain
the people who come there from all these populous mining districts,
although a new and spacious market place has been constructed within
about thirty years, on the south side of the main street, in which all
the standings were previously fixed. Much more recently a bell tower
and clock have been added, by the liberality of the late Lord
Dunstanville.
To the northward of Redruth, and running nearly parellel with it, lies
the village of Plengwary, a name undoubtedly connected with the
Amphitheatre or Round, which, till within half a century, remained
distinctly marked adjacent to it. See Doctor Borlase’s Antiquities,
second edition, p. 208; and his Natural History, p. 297, and all that
is stated on this subject respecting the Round in Perran Zabuloe.
That gwary means a play or exhibition of games and sports, cannot
admit of a doubt. In Lhuyd’s Archæologia Britannica, theatrum is
rendered in Cornish guardy. But Mr. Tonkin’s exposition of the first
syllable, plan or plen, by flat, level, is very doubtful, being
founded perhaps on no other basis than an accidental coincidence in
sound with an English word. This village, frequently called Little
Redruth, is not only grown into a town, but extends so as almost to
join the larger portion.
A curious document relative to this parish was placed in my hands by
the Rev. Samuel Gurney, during thirty-two years vicar of St. Erth, and
for many years preceding curate of Redruth.
The paper has the following attestation:
Taken from the original, by me, William Rowle, 28th
November, 1772.
Redruth 1500.
The copy of a muster book for the said parish made in the
year aforesaid, and now in the custody of Richard Crane,
esq. Camborn, captain.[13]
24 light horse, and six men to carry meat, and them
appointed victuallers; the rest where [wear] bows and
arrows.
John Nacothan, senior, doth horse and harness Thomas Renfry.
Richard Michell doth horse and harness Henry Jenkin.
Thomas Polkenhorn doth horse and harness John Raile.
John Robert Lytho doth horse and harness John Robert Vean.
John Torleh doth horse and harness George Monhure.
Edy Webber doth horse and harness Sondry Renfry.
John West doth horse and harness Richard Clemowe.
Regnald Trevingy doth horse and harness Perkin Jenkin.
John Davie doth horse and harness Henry Gwihter.
John Hawes doth horse and harness Thomas Perre.
Thomas Sondry doth horse and harness Richard Vivian.
John Roben doth horse and harness John Stephens.
Thomas Andrews doth horse and harness himself.
Richard John Rawe doth horse and harness himself.
Henry Refry doth horse and harness himself.
Thomas Cocke doth horse and harness himself.
John Henry Woolcock doth horse and harness himself.
George Brend doth horse and harness himself.
Nicholas Rogers doth horse and harness himself.
Pasco James doth horse and harness himself.
Richard Angove doth horse and harness himself.
John Hack doth horse and harness himself.
In all 24 men, with horses, weapons, harness, and
victuallers for the same.
(Signed) William George, Richard Andrew, Thomas Webber,
Thomas Oppie, David Warren, Henry Gwiator.
On the same paper is the following:
Memorandum.――In the year 1697 there was in Cornwall a great
dearth of corn. Wheat was sold at 39 or 40 shillings per
bushel (the treble Winchester bushel, or 24 gallons); Barley
at 28 shillings per bushel, on Saturday the 27th August, at
Helstone, being their market day. On the next market day the
barley was sold for 7 or 8 shillings per buhels.
* * * * *
This array was made three years subsequent to the Cornish
insurrection, when Michel Joseph and Thomas Flammock led their
followers to Blackheath in Kent.
* * * * *
Having omitted to notice in its proper place under Illuggan, the very
remarkable coincidence between the measurements of former times and of
our own, in respect to the honor and manor of Tehidy, it will not be
improper to do so here.
The Cornish, in adopting the Saxon word acre (æcer) applied it in the
most extraordinary manner, either through utter ignorance of its
meaning, or from an absurd attempt to designate by this term a
previously existing measure of their own, between two and three
hundred times as large.
The Saxon acre in its true extent, was however adopted afterwards in
Cornwall, consisting of one hundred and sixty square poles, each
eighteen feet long. The Normans for some reason quite unknown, reduced
the length of the pole from eighteen to sixteen feet and a half, and
thus established the difference between Saxon or customary, and Norman
or statute acres. They differ in the proportion 18 squared to 16½
squared, or as 12 squared to eleven squared, that is as 144 to 121. As
6 to 5 for any approximate conversion, and as 25 to 21 very nearly.
This Saxon acre continues, up to the present time, in very general use
throughout Cornwall, and is the measure by which woodlands are
estimated in most parts of England.
The absurdly denominated old Cornish acre, is believed to contain 280
Norman acres.
Mr. Carew, fo. 46 of the original edition, p. 131 of Lord
Dunstanville’s, gives the measurement in these Cornish acres, of
various manors and lands as they were returned before the King’s
Justices at Launceston, in the 12th year of the reign of Edward the
First, A. D. 1284, where the very first article is Decunar. de Tihidi,
seventy. Now 70 multiplied by 280, give 19,600 Norman or statute acres.