Burian is situated at the western extremity of the county, having two
adjoining parishes, Senner and St. Levan annexed; the former of which
includes the Lands’ End. In Domesday tax this district was rated by
the name of Beriand, for Berian or Bury-an; synonymous words,
signifying a cemetery or burying place for human creatures; that is to
say, that place which is now called the churchyard, which was an
inclosure, as in most other places, converted to that use before and
since the church was erected therein. This instance of a Domesday
Roll, wherein this district is named Beri-an, overthrows the story of
Camden’s conjecture, that the name thereof was derived from one St.
Buryana, an Irishwoman that was the tutelar guardian of this church,
whereas the appellation of Saint, as I have elsewhere observed, at
that time was not given to but one church in Cornwall. Besides, this
Irish saint is not to be found in the Roman legend, or calendar, nor
in Capgrave’s catalogue of English and Irish Saints.
This church was founded and endowed by King Athelstan, about the year
930, after such time as he had conquered the Scilly Islands, as also
the county of Devon; and made Cornwall tributary to his sceptre. To
which church he gave lands and tithes of a considerable value for
ever, himself becoming the first patron thereof, as his successors the
Kings of England have been ever since: for which reason it is still
called the royal rectory, or regal rectory, and the royal or regal
peculiar. Signifying thereby that this is the church or chapel
pertaining to the king, or immediately under the jurisdiction of him
as the supreme ordinary, from when there is no appeal; whereas other
peculiars, though exempt from the visitation or jurisdiction of the
diocesan bishop within whose see they stand, yet are always subject to
the provincial archbishops of Canterbury and York, or other persons.
This church or college consisted of canons augustines, or regular
priests, and three prebendaries, who enjoyed the revenues thereof in
common, but might not marry; and the lord chancellors of England of
old visited this peculiar, which extended only over the parishes of
Burian, Sennen, and St. Levan, for the king.
One of the Popes of Rome, about the time of Edward III. obtruded upon
this church, the canons and prebends thereof, a dean to be an
inspector and overseer over them: whom he nominated to be the bishop
of Exon for the time being, who for some time visited this church as
its governor, as the lord chancellor did before; which encroachment of
the Pope being observed by Edward III., as appears from the register
of the writs, folio 40 and 41; 8 Edward III. rot. 97. This usurpation
of the Pope was taken away.
[Mr. Hals here enters into long dissertations respecting secular
canons, regular canons, the state generally of the church and of the
clergy, benefices held in commendam, &c. which, not having any
particular relation to the parochial history of Cornwall, are
omitted.]
Boscawen-ros in this parish, compounded of Boscawen-ros, is a name
given and taken from the natural circumstances of the place, and
signifies in Cornish-British “a valley, notable for skeawe or scawen”
trees. And indeed this place, being naked and exposed to the sea on
the cliffs of the British Channel, anciently, as it seems, produced no
other trees than scawen, (i. e. elder,) proper to that part of the
country; neither, I think, is there any other trees at present that
grow there. From this place was transnominated an Irish gentleman that
settled here either by marriage or purchase, in the latter end of the
reign of Edward IV., who discontinued his paternal name, and styled
himself John de Boscawen, which latter name hath been the hereditary
name of his posterity ever since; who from hence transplanted their
dwellings to Tregameer in St. Colomb Major; and Trevallock in Creed or
St. Stephen’s; and from thence, by marriage with the daughter and heir
of Tregothnan by Lawrence Boscawen, gentleman, attorney-at-law, temp.
Henry VII., who died 1567, and lieth buried in the north aile of St.
Michael Penkivell Church, as is testified by a brass inscription on
his gravestone, there lately extant, upon which, on a lead escutcheon,
was engraved his paternal coat armour, viz. in a field Vert, a bull
passant Argent, armed Or; on a chief Ermine, a rose Gules; crest a
boar Argent:――out of a supposed allusion to their present name, as if
it had signified a white bull and a rose. In the reign of James I. his
posterity discontinued this bearing, and gave only for their arms,
Ermine, a rose; which, I take it, also is the hereditary coat armour
of Beverley. See St. Michael Penkivell. Since the writing hereof this
place is become the hereditary honorary title of Hugh Lord Boscawen,
Baron of Boscawen-rose, and Viscount of Falmouth.
Upon Boscawen downs, some of which was lately the lands of Mr.
Christopher Davis, stands a monument called Dance Meyns, that is to
say the dance stones; which are nineteen pyramidal stones, about six
foot high above ground, set in a round circle, distant from each other
about twelve feet, having in the centre one pitched far bigger than
the rest; a little to the north of those are two admirable great
stones in perpendicular manner, much bigger than the rest, those are
vulgarly called the Pipers. But since it is not probable that those
stones were either dancers or pipers, I take the common appellation
dance meyns, only by the dialect to be a corruption of dans meyns, id
est, men’s stones; that is to say stones set up in memory of once so
many famous men that lived in those parts, or lie interred there,
before the sixth century.[22] Mr. Davis aforesaid informed me, that,
contiguous with those dans meynes, he caused not long since divers
barrows of earth to be carried abroad in order to manure his lands, in
several of which burrows he found two or three urns or earthern pots,
sound and firm, having in them pieces of bones, and ashes.
About twenty years past, the sexton of this parish sinking a grave
four feet deep in the ground, he met with a large flat marble or other
stone, which he lifted up out of the earth, on which was cut or
engraved a long plain cross, surmounted on four grieces or steps; on
the border of this stone, round the said cross, was an inscription in
Norman French, which soundeth thus in English:――“Clarice, the wife of
Geffery de Bolleit, lies here; whosoever shall pray for her soul shall
have ten days’ pardon. Amen.”[23] There is a place still extant in
this parish called Bolait, or Bolaith, i. e. a place of slaying or
killing cows, kine, or cattle; otherwise it may be interpreted cow’s
milk, or a place notable for the same.
Trove, in this parish, is, in Cornish and Armorick, a dent, pit, a
cavern, or valley: a name doubtless taken from the natural and
artificial circumstances of the place, situate between two hills, on a
cavern; also Trewoofe, that is to say the town or dwelling of ob-yarn,
such as the sail-spinsters make, in order to be woof, or woven cross
the warp in pieces of cloth, stuff, or serges, from whence was
denominated a family of gentlemen named Trewoofe; who, out of a
mistaken etymology of their name, (as many others in Cornwall,) gave
for their arms, in a field ―――― three wolves’ heads; whereas,
try-bleith, try-bleit, is three wolves in Cornish; the heiress of
which family was married to Leveale, temp. Henry VIII. of the old
Norman race, whose posterity flourished here in good fame for several
descents, till, for want of issue male, Lewis Leveale’s daughter and
heir, by Cooke of Tregussa, carried this place, together with herself
in marriage, to Mr. Uspar or Vospar, temp. Charles I. who had issue
Arthur Vosper, his son and heir, who married Eyans, of Eyanston in
Oxfordshire, who had issue by her two daughters, married to Mr. Marke
of Woodhill and Mr. Dennis of Leskeard. This last gentleman, Mr.
Vospur, bathing himself in the river Isis in Oxfordshire, with other
young men, was there unfortunately drowned, about the year 1679. The
name Vosper or Vospur, in British-Cornish, signifies a pure or
immaculate maid or virgin. The arms of Leveale were three calves or
veals.
In the middle of this barton of Trove, on the top of a hill, is still
extant the downfalls of a castle or treble intrenchment called ――――,
in the midst of which is a hole leading to a vault under ground. How
far it extends no man now living can tell, by reason of the damps or
thick vapours that are in it; for as soon as you go an arrow flight in
it or less, your candles will go out, or extinguish of themselves, for
want of air. For what end or use this vault was made is uncertain,
though it is probable it was an arsenal or store-house for laying up
arms, ammunition, corn, and provision, for the soldiers of the castle
wherein it stands, in the wars between Charles I. and his Parliament.
Divers of the royal party, pursued in the West by the Parliament
troops under Sir Thomas Fairfax, were privately conveyed into this
vault as far as they could proceed with safety, where Mr. Leveale fed
and secured them till they found opportunity to make their escapes to
the king’s friends and party. See St. Evall.
Pentre, otherwise Pendrea, in this parish, id est, the head town, or
town at the head of some other, denominated a family of gentlemen from
thence called Pendre, who gave for their arms, Argent, on a bend Gules
and Sable, three fleurs de lis of the Field. John Pendre, the last of
this tribe, temp. Henry VI. leaving only two daughters that became his
heirs, who were married to Bonython of Carclew, and Noy. To Noy’s
share fell this tenement of Pendrea, which was the dwelling of him and
his posterity for several descents; and here was born, as I was
informed, William Noy, the Attorney-general to Charles I., who
designed to have built a notable house here but was prevented by
death, having before brought great quantities of materials to this
place in order thereto; his grandson, William Noy, Esq. sold this
place and several others to my very kind friend Christopher Davis,
Gent. now in possession thereof.
Burnewall, in this parish, id est, the walled well or well-pit of
waters, so called from some such place on the lands thereof, was also
formerly the lands of the said William Noy, who sold it to the said
Mr. Davis, who conveyed it to his nephew Henry Davis on his marriage
with Hester, daughter of Humphrey Noy, Gent. younger brother of the
said William Noy, now in possession thereof, and hath issue. The arms
of Davis are, Argent, a chevron Sable between three mullets Gules,
which also is the coat armour of Davey of Creedy in Devon.
Leah, also Lahe, id est, lawe, or leh, a place or dwelling, is the
seat of Oliver Ustick, or Usteck, Gent. (id est, Nightingale;
otherwise, Eus-teck is fair nightingale,) that married Roscrow of
Penryn.
From Als, now Alse, and Alsce, viz. lands towards or upon the
sea-coast, as this whole parish and its members are situate, was
denominated John de Als, or from Bar-Als-ton in Devon; temp. Henry I.
and King Stephen, ancestor of the De Alses, formerly of Lelant, now
Halses, see Lelant; which place was heretofore the voke lands of a
considerable manor, now dismembered and in the possession of Trevanion
and others. This family, in Edward III.’s days, wrote their surname De
Als, now Halse. See Prince’s Worthies of Devon, upon Hals.