Is situate in the hundred of Pider, and hath upon the north, Maugan;
east, St. Colomb Major; south, St. Enedor; west, Lower St. Columb.
It is so called from the barton of Little Colon or Golon, contiguous
with the church, on part of which ground perhaps the same was founded,
and endowed with part of the lands thereof. At the time of the Norman
Conquest this district passed in tax under the names of Carneton, or
Ryalton; and the church being built and endowed by Walter Brounscomb,
Bishop of Exeter, 1250, it was by him appropriated to the canons
Augustine of his college of Glasnith, by him founded. For that we read
in the Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester into the
value of benefices for the Pope’s Annats in Cornwall, 1294, Ecclesia
Sancti Colani, appropriata Canonicis de Penryn, 4_l._; Vicar ejusdem
6_s._ 8_d._ In Wolsey’s Inquisition, 1521, and Valor Beneficiorum,
6_l._ 14_s._ 8_d._; the patronage in the Bishop of Exeter for the time
being; the sheaf or rectory in possession of Vyvyan; the incumbent,
Bagwell; and the parish rated to the 4_s._ per pound Land Tax 1696,
63_l._ 16_s._
From this barton of Colon was denominated an old family of gentlemen,
from thence surnamed De Colon; of which family Roger de Colon was
seised of a knight’s fee of land 25th Edward III., which he held by
the tenure of knight-service. Carew’s Survey Corn. p. 52. Roger Colon,
grandson of the said Roger, having issue only two daughters, Jane and
Margaret, the which Jane was married to John Blewet, a younger branch
of the Blewets of Holcomb Rogus in Devon, who afterwards was made
sheriff of Cornwall the 26th Henry VI. (when Richard Yeard, Esq. was
sheriff of Devon); which Jane’s estate was no small advance of the
wealth of his house, from whom all the Blewets of Cornwall are since
descended, some of whom have erected a monument in this church in
memory of those De Colons; and several of them have made Colon a font
name in their family to this day, of which I may not in justice forget
my late kind friend Major Colon Blewet, a valiant commander under King
Charles I. against the Parliament army, who married Elizabeth daughter
of Sir William Wrey, Knight, but died without issue; whose brother
Robert, that married Arundell, a base son, succeeded to this his
estate, who had issue another Robert that married Wood, as I remember,
and sold the moiety of this barton of Colon to Robert Hoblyn, of
Nanswiddon, clerk, rector of Ludgnan, now in possession thereof; the
arms of Blewet were, Or, a chevron between three eagles Vert. The
Hampshire Blewets, as Camden saith, gave Or, an eagle displayed with
two necks and heads Gules.
Coswarth, also Cosowarth, synonymous words, the far off, or remote
wood, which place, as Mr. Carew tells us, at the time of the Norman
Conquest, transnominated the French family or name of Escudifer, i. e.
shield-bearer or Esquire, to that of Coswarth; in which place those
gentlemen flourished in great wealth and tranquillity, till John
Cosowarth, Esq. lord of this place, tempore Henry VIII. having issue,
by Williams, one only daughter named Katherine, married first to Allen
Hill, and afterwards to Arundell of Trerice, suffered the greatest
part of his lands and estate to go with his daughter’s children, and
then entailed this manor and barton of Coswarth on the heirs male of
his family, by virtue of which settlement his uncle, John Cosowarth,
succeeded to those lands, who had issue by Sir William Lock’s
daughter, Thomas Cosowarth, Esq. that married Seyntaubyn, sheriff of
Cornwall 26th Elizabeth, who by her had issue John and Dorothy; and
Dorothy was married to Kendall. After the death of John, Edward
Cosowarth his uncle succeeded to this inheritance of Cosowarth, and
married Arundell of Trerice, who had issue by her Samuel Cosowarth,
Esq. afterwards knighted by Charles I. He married Heale of Fleet, and
had issue Edward, Samuel, and John, that died before their father;
Robert and Nicholas succeeded to this estate successively, but died
both without issue. The which Robert, upon some distasteful words
given him by his cousin John Coswarth, one of the heirs male in
remainder, did by fine and proclamation bar the estate tail, and made
it fee simple in himself and his heirs. So that after his decease his
brother Nicholas succeeded to the estate, who by an accidental fall
from his horse (coming home from St. Colomb, as was reported, somewhat
intoxicated with liquor), instantly died, without issue; after whose
decease Bridget Cosowarth, his only sister, daughter of Sir Samuel
aforesaid, succeeded to his inheritance, who married Henry Minors of
St. Enedor, her cousin-german, by whom she had issue one only daughter
named Anne, who was married to Captain Francis Vivian of Truan, by
whom he had issue one only daughter named Mary, since become wife and
lady of Sir Richard Vyvyan, of Trelowarren, Bart. now in possession of
Coswarth and Vivian’s estates.
The arms of Cosowarth are, Argent, on a chevron between three falcons’
wings Azure, five Bezants.
This place I suppose is that manor of land in the Domesday roll taxed
by the name of Chor, also Chore, and now vulgarly called
Cud-chore, or Cud-jore, viz. the wood-play, interlude, show, or
diversion; pageants, sights, pastimes, to delight the people. Now
choariou in Cornish, hoariou in the Armorican tongue, is as ludi in
Latin, and ludo and ludus. And further memorable it is that Sir Samuel
Coswarth of this place frequently styled himself Sir Samuel Cudjore
for Cudchoariou, for such was the name of the place before the woods
about were destroyed. Then it assumed the name of Cosowarth, i. e. the
further-off wood, when the woods on the south-west part of it were
destroyed.
Tonkin has not any thing of the least importance different from Mr.
Hals.