St. Breock is situate in the hundred of Pyder, and hath upon the north
St. Issy; east, Wadebridge on the Alan river; south, St. Wenn and
Withiel; west, St. Columb Major.
The name is derived from St. Breock or Briock, the patron of this
church, of one in the island of Guernsey, and perhaps of Breage near
Helston.
This St. Breock was a native of Ireland, born at Cork about the fifth
century. A man famous in his day, for the most strenuous support of
the orthodox faith in opposition to Arianism, the heresy at that time
distracting the Latin Church. He was bishop of a diocese in Armorica,
now called Britany, where the place of his residence is at this day
distinguished by his name.
This parish does not appear in the Bishop of Lincoln’s valuation; but
in that of Wolsey it is rated at 41_l._ 10_s._ 6_d._
In the Domesday survey this parish was rated under the district of
Pelton or Penpow, now Powton.
This Powton was the voke lands of a manor given to the See of our
Cornish Bishop; afterwards to the Bishop of Kirton, and then to
Exeter; finally to the Priory of St. Petroc at Bodmin. After the
dissolution of monasteries, this barton, together with the extensive
manor to which it belonged, passed through a great variety of hands by
sale, so that Mr. Hals says the manor had sixteen lords of different
families in about sixty-two years; a mutability not to be instanced in
any other lands in Cornwall, except Fentongellon in St. Michael
Penkivell, which also contained a religious house, but in 26 Henry
VIII. was converted to secular purposes.
This manor of Pelton has always possessed a court leet, where writs
might be entertained without any limit of amount; but, the lord of the
manor having suffered from various escapes of persons confined for
debt, the prison, and with it the judicial functions of the court,
have been discontinued. Sir William Morice, the secretary of state and
friend of General Monk, acquired this manor by purchase. His second
daughter, Barbara Morice, married Sir John Molesworth of Penconnow,
and brought this property into that family, where it still remains.
Hurston in this parish, which I take to be from the Saxon, and to mean
wood town, is still situated in a wood, and formerly belonged to the
Cormynews of Fentongellon.
Tredinick gave name and origin to an ancient family of gentlemen.
Christopher Tredinick was sheriff of Cornwall in 22 Henry VIII.; he
gave for his arms, In a field Or, on a bend Sable three bucks’ heads
caboshed Argent. His family and name are now, I take it, both extinct.
In the time of Charles II. this property came by purchase to Lord
Robartes.
[Mr. Hals adds a fanciful derivation of this name; but since “doon”
and “din” are well known to signify a place tenable either by nature
or art, and “ick” is unquestionably water, Tre-din-ick will be either
the fortified town, or the hill town, near a river.]
Trevorder, meaning the further town, or the one most distant; also
Trevorder Bickin, the far-off beacon-town, belonged to the Carmynews
of Fentongellon, having come to them by the heiress of Trenowith, as
Trenowith had acquired it by the heiress of Tregago. It passed by sale
from the Carmynews to Vyell, and has subsequently split between six
coheiresses, who married Prideaux, Vyvyan, Dennis, Grensill, Rinden,
and Smith.