The parish church is situated on a creek flowing into the Tregony
branch of the Falmouth River, and has the appearance of much
antiquity. When Mr. Tonkin wrote, about a hundred and thirty years
ago, vessels of a size sufficient for enabling them to navigate the
open sea, came up this creek; but in common with many other similar
estuaries, it has become filled up with alluvial detritus from above,
and no longer admits even barges.
Near to the church stood a large and magnificent castle flanked by
eight towers, the residence of a very ancient family bearing the name
of Arcedekne.
Of this family, Thomas le Arcedekne was summoned to Parliament as a
Baron, in the 14th year of Edward the Second, A. D. 1321, as was his
son John le Arcedekne, in the 16th year of Edward the Third. This last
Baron left a son Warine le Arcedekne, who died, leaving three
daughters his coheirs. The arms of this family are stated by Mr.
Lysons to have been Argent, three chevronels Sable.
Of these daughters, Alice became the wife of Walter de Lacy; and her
coheiresses married into the families of Corbett and Vaux. The portion
of Vaux having been forfeited, was given in 1462 to Avery Cornburgh,
and afterwards belonged to the unfortunate Mr. Tregian. On the plunder
and confiscation of his property, it was purchased by Mr. Ezekiel
Grosse.
The manors of Lanihorne and Eleskey belong to Mr. and Mrs. Gregor, and
Mr. Lysons adds, that they were formerly held of the honor of
Launceston, by the annual render of a brace of greyhounds.
Treviles was the seat of the Lukes, of whom William Luke, esq. held
the situation of an admiral.
Mr. Whitaker has added to Mr. Tonkin’s manuscript a history of this
parish, sufficient in quantity to make a volume of itself, therefore
much too long for a portion of this work; and of which the Editor
would not attempt to make an abridgment, since the style discriminates
its author, and the detailed quotations from writers little known to
the generality of scholars, evince his learning and profound research.
Perhaps this example of parochial history may appear at some future
time in a substantive form; but whenever that is done, an addition
must be made to it of the most interesting and most important
circumstance connected with this parish:――the life of Mr. Whitaker
himself. It will therefore be sufficient to state here these short
particulars.
The Rev. John Whitaker was born in the year 1736, at Manchester; this
naturally induced him to write the history of that town, a work which
raised its author to a considerable elevation in literary fame. He
became a Fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford, and retired on
this living acquired for the college by purchase from the Earls of
Buckinghamshire, heirs of Sir John Maynard.
Soon after Mr. Whitaker’s arrival in Cornwall he married a lady,
heiress of the Tregennas, a family long distinguished in Cornwall, and
known throughout England by the fame of one of its members, a lawyer,
a wit, and a man of letters, in the reign of Charles the Second.
Mr. Whitaker died in November 1808, aged 73, and is buried in the
chancel of the parish church with this simple memorial:
John Whitaker, B.D. Rector.
Buried Nov. 14th, 1808, aged 73.
He left two daughters, one of whom is married to Richard Taunton, esq.
M.D. through whose kindness and liberality Mr. Hals’ manuscripts have
been placed in the Editor’s hands for publication.
Mr. Whitaker stands deservedly high in the estimation of the whole
literary world, as a man of superior talent, and as an able and
brilliant writer in the various departments of theology, politics,
biography, general history, and topography; besides these, he has left
sermons and opuscula, which, collected from the British Critic, and
from similar repositories, would fill several volumes, all able, but
strongly marked by impressions indicating the predominance of fancy,
and of an unshakeable determination to support every opinion once
entertained, without any reference to the solidity of the foundation
on which it may repose; thus stamping a character of dogmatism, which
in theological works would seem to be far better suited to a Church
claiming infallibility, than to one owing its very existence to
appeals made from authority to the exercise of private judgment.
In biography Mr. Whitaker, carried away by imagination and feeling,
has wasted the powers of his mind to “make the worse appear the better
reason, to perplex and dash maturest counsels,” in an elaborate and
learned effort to vindicate the character of one among the most
unprincipled and abandoned females recorded in history, because she
was beautiful in her person, and finally paid the forfeit of her
crimes in a manner perhaps too protracted and informal, and because
the blind chance of birth had placed her in the highest political
office of her native country.
The following extract from a manuscript of undoubted authority, is
given to prove how easily men of the greatest genius may deceive
themselves in antiquarian researches, more especially when plausible
theories are adopted, and then maintained, on the fallacious evidences
of doubtful expressions used by obscure writers, immured perhaps
within the walls of cloisters, or removed to considerable distances,
both of time and space, from the scene of occurrences pretended to be
described, and at periods of our civilization, when no intelligence
was circulated, and when the transit of a few miles equalled the
fatigue, or exceeded the danger, of modern journeys into distant
climates.
Mr. Whitaker has printed two volumes in quarto on the Ancient
Cathedral of Cornwall. One great object of this work, replete like all
the others with the most extensive miscellaneous learning, is to prove
that no Bishop’s see ever existed at Bodmin, and the assertion is
maintained with much vehemence of expression, and disregard of
individuals the most respected. Even Doctor William Borlase, whose
name is consecrated among his countrymen as their boast and their
pride, does not escape from invective and contemptuous epithets, for
having maintained the affirmative in regard to the existence of this
see.
The Reverend Josiah Forshall, late Fellow of Exeter College, and now
Keeper of the Manuscripts in the British Museum, has had the goodness
to favour me with the following communication.
* * * * *
[The Volume from which the following entries are taken, is a copy
of the Four Gospels in the Vulgate Version, formerly belonging to
the Church of St. Petroc, and probably at an early period one of
its chief treasures. It appears to be of the Ninth Century, and
would perhaps by some critics be assigned to a still more remote
date. The ornaments of the Ammonian Harmony prefixed, of the
initial capitals, and of a page which is found immediately before
the Gospel of St. John, are rude and curious, and strongly
resemble those which are to be met with in very ancient Mss.
executed in Ireland. The volume is in quarto, of rather an oblong
form, and is very neatly written, though evidently by a scribe
not well informed or of great learning even for those times. It
was purchased by a London Bookseller at the sale of a private
library in Oxfordshire, about three years ago, and soon
afterwards sold to the British Museum, where it is now deposited
and designated by the No. 9381. The entries seem to be
contemporaneous with the manumissions which they record.]
1. Hæc sunt nomina illorum hominum, Húna et soror illius Dolo, quos
liberavit Byrhtflœd pro redemptione animæ suæ super altare sancti
Petroci coram istis testibus, Leofric prespiter, Budda prespiter,
Morhaytho prespiter, Deni prespiter, Hresmen diaconus, Custentin
laicus, Wurlowen laycus, ut libertatem habeant cum semine suo sine
fine, et maledictus sit qui fregerit hanc libertatem.
2. Rumun liberavit Halmn super altar sancti Petroci coram his
testibus, clerici sancti Petroci.
3. Budic, Glowmœeth, duos [quos?] liberavit Uulfsie episcopus super
altare sancti Petroci.
4. Hec est nomen qui liberavit Duihon super altare [sancti Petroci]
sancti Leofstan coram istis testibus, Byrhsie presbiter, Morhaetho
diaconus, Britail, Iohann.
5. Hæc sunt nomina illarum feminarum quas liberavit Rum, Addalburg et
Ogurcen coram istis testibus uidentibus Osian presbiter, Cartgethen
diaconus, Leucum clerus.