the peninsula be sore oppressid or overcovered with sandes that the
stormy windes and rages castith up there. This calamte hath continuid
ther litle above 20 yeres.” Again he says, “the best part of the toun
now standith in the south part of the Peninsula, toward another hille
for defence from the sandes”. Norden describes the haven as much annoyed
with sands, and unfit for receiving ships of any burden. “The town and
port of St. Ives,” says Carew, “are both of mean plight; yet with their
best means (and often to good and necessarie purpose) succouring
distressed shipping. Order hath been taken,” he adds, “and attempts made
for bettering the road with a peer; but eyther want or slacknesse, or
impossibilitie, hitherto withhold the effect: the whiles plentie of fish
is here taken and sold verie cheap.” Holinshed has mention of a
light-house, and block-house, near St. Ives, to the following effect. On
“a little byland cape or peninsula, called Pendinas, the compass not
above a mile, standeth a Pharos or light for ships that sail by those
coasts in the night. There is also a block-house and a peer on the east
side thereof, but the peer is sore choaked with sand, as is the whole
coast from St. Ives unto St. Carantokes.” There is still a battery on
the eastern side, and the old pharos, which still exists, is used for
depositing government stores.
Sir Francis Basset, member for this town in the reign of Charles I.,
gave the Corporation a handsome cup, on which is the following singular
inscription:
_If any discord ’twixt my friends arise,
Within the borough of beloved St. Ives,
It is desyned that this my Cup of Love,
To evince one a Peace Maker may prove.
Then am I blest to have given a legacie
So like my harte unto posteritie._
This Sir Francis Basset, (who was of Tehiddy) procured for St. Ives,
from King Charles, in the year 1639, its first charter of incorporation;
under which the body-corporate consisted of a Mayor, 12 capital
Burgesses, and 24 inferior Burgesses: but by the subsequent charter of
James II., granted in 1685, the Corporation consists of a Mayor,
Recorder, Town clerk, 10 Aldermen, and 12 Common-council-men. Four of
these are Justices of the Peace, and hold a Sessions. It appears that
before the incorporation, the chief officer of this town was called the
Mayor or Portreeve; and it is said that one Payne, who held that office
in the reign of Edward VI., was executed by order of Sir Anthony
Kingston, for being concerned in Arundell’s rebellion.[30] The Borough
has sent members to Parliament ever since the reign of Philip and Mary.
The Rev. _Jonathan Touss_, the learned annotator on Sudidas, and editor
of Longinus, was born at St. Ives, and died at the age of 72, in the
year 1785, after being 34 years rector of St. Martin’s, near Looe.
The _Church_ is a low antient fabric, situated near the seashore, and
contains a curious _Font_, the body of _St. Ia_, the foundress of the
church, and the patroness of the town.
On the summit of a hill, near the town, is _Treguma_, a modern
castellated building, the seat of S. Stephens, Esq. which commands a
fine prospect of the sea. About a mile from the house, is a pyramid
erected to the memory of the late John Knill, Esq., of Gray’s Inn,
London, and secretary to Lord Hobart, when Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
who by will, directed that at the end of every five years, an old woman,
and 10 girls under 14 years of age, should walk in procession with
music, from the market-house at St. Ives, to this pyramid, round which
they should dance and sing the 100th Psalm, and for which purpose he
gave some freehold lands.[31]
About four miles from St. Ives, at a place called _Hayle_, situated on
the eastern bank of the river of that name, were, till lately, several
houses for smelting copper, but which have been discontinued, owing to
the too great expense necessary to be incurred. The process of smelting
the ore and rolling the metal, was brought to great perfection at these
works, but materially effected the constitution of the poor men employed
in them. A very considerable trade is however carried on at Hayle, in
timber, iron, limestone, and Bristol wares.
On the west side of the harbour, is _Trevethoe_, the property of Wm.
Praed, Esq. The house stands in a very pleasant situation, and the
grounds have been much improved by the introduction of the pine-aster
fir, which flourishes extremely well in this part of the county.
The county between this place and Redruth, has long been celebrated for
its numerous mines, some of which have produced a golden harvest for
their proprietors, and have given employment to many hundred persons.
In the midst of them stands CAMBORNE, which has in consequence become a
considerable market town, and has four fairs annually. The market-house
was erected at the expense of Lord de Dunstanville.
The _Church_ is an antient fabric, and contains some elegant memorials
of the Pendarves family, a handsome marble altar-piece, and a curious
carved stone pulpit; but its antient font has been removed to the
gardens at Tehiddy. According to the late returns, the population of
Camborne is stated at 6219, or an increase of 1005, during the last 10
years.
_Pendarves_, in this parish, the seat of Edward William Wynne Pendarves,
Esq. is a large handsome building, situated on a commanding eminence,
and has lately undergone many judicious improvements.
About four miles to the left of the road to Redruth, and the same
distance north-west of that town, is _Tehiddy Park_, the seat of the
Right Hon. Lord de Dunstanville, which forms a noble feature in this
part of the county. It is a handsome edifice, chiefly built of Cornish
free-stone, with detached wings at the angles, and erected in the early
part of last century. It is embellished with a number of fine paintings,
of which the following are most worthy of notice.
_King John signing Magna Charta._—Miller.
_The Cascade of Terni_, and another of the
_Cascatellis of Tivoli_, with _Mecœnuskilla_.—More.
_The Lake of Nirni._—Dulancy.
_The Death of Lucretia_, & a _Venus and Cupid_.—Gavin Hamilton.
_The Three Graces._—Rubens.
_A Philosopher with a skull in his hand._—Rembrant.
_A Nativity_, and a _Flight into Egypt_.—G. Bassan.
_Herodias, with the Head of John the Baptist._—Bonomi de Ferrari.
_Sketch of our Saviour appearing to St. Bruno._—Lanfrane.
A small picture of a _Nun_.—Carlo Dolcii.
_A Battle Piece._—Burgognon.
_Portrait of a Venetian Senator._—Pordenon.
A whole-length _Portrait of Gen. Massey_.—Vandyke.
Ditto _of Sir Francis Basset_, Vice-Admiral of Cornwall.—Ditto.
_Chief Justice Keybridge and his Wife._—Peter Lely.
_Lady Masters, aged 74_, sister to Sir Francis Basset.—Godfrey Kneller.
_The late Sir John St. Aubyn and the late Francis Basset_, Esq.—Hudson.
_Lord de Dunstanville and his Lady._—Gainsborough.
_Ditto_, when about 18 years of age, in a vandyke dress.—Sir Joshua
Reynolds.
_Sir John St. Aubyn._—Ditto.
_John Prideux Basset._—Ramsey.
The extent of Tehiddy Park amounts to about 700 acres, and the grounds
have been much improved and beautified by extensive plantations, since
the present nobleman succeeded to this estate.
Two miles south of Tehiddy, and within the same distance of Redruth, is
_Carn-bre’ Hill_, a very interesting spot, and considered by Borlase,
(from the numerous remains of cromlechs, basons, circles, and kairs, in
its vicinity) to have been the principal seat of Druidical worship in
this neighbourhood. Notwithstanding many other writers have coincided in
this opinion, yet it is evident from the observations of one of the most
learned Antiquarians, that these remains _do not exhibit a complete
system of Druidical worship_, and _Dr. Maton_ also observes, “these
rocks exhibit awful vestiges of convulsions, and the immense detached
masses of granite, which appear about to roll down their declivities,
awaken sublime ideas in the mind of a spectator.” Neither is there any
appearance of systematic designs in the remains alluded to.
On the eastern side of the hill, stands _Carn-bre’ Castle_, erected on a
vast ridge of rocks, which not being all contiguous, are connected by
arches turned over the cavities. One part of this fortress is very
antient and pierced with loop holes, but the other seems more modern,
and is supposed to have been erected to embellish the prospect from
Tehiddy, and from its elevated situation, being nearly 700 feet above
the level of the sea, commands a most extensive view of the surrounding
country. In the year 1749, several gold coins and other relics of
antiquity, were found in digging a part of the hill, and a plate of them
is given in Borlase’s Work.
REDRUTH, which is supposed to be one of the most antient places in the
county, is now become a very considerable and populous market town. It
principally consists of one long street, built on the side of an
eminence, in the very bosom of the mining district.
The _Church_, which was rebuilt about 50 years ago, is a neat edifice,
standing nearly a mile from the town; and the rectory is in the gift of
Lord de Dunstanville.
Redruth has two markets weekly, and three fairs annually. The population
of the parish, according to the late returns, amounts to 6,000.
_Scorrier House_, about two miles from Redruth, the seat of John
Williams, Esq., contains a very valuable collection of minerals.
The country between Redruth and St. Agnes, appears extremely desolate
and barren, as a late writer has observed—“like the shabby mien of a
miser, it’s aspect does not correspond with its hoards;” since there are
more mines in this part of the county, than any other.
ST. AGNES is a small town, on the northern coast, nine miles from Truro,
and 267 from London, and had formerly a considerable harbour, now
choaked up with sand; and the quay has been partly washed down by the
impetuosity of the waves, but is now in tolerable repair.
The lover of the picturesque, however, will be highly pleased at the
grandeur of the rocks, which face the shore at this part of the coast;
and here is a remarkable stupendous mountain, called _St. Agnes’
Beacon_, rising pyramidically to the height of more than 600 feet above
the level of the sea. The beacon on the top is greatly dilapidated, yet
is particularly valuable to vessels passing this coast. An antient well
at this place, has been much extolled, and many miraculous stories are
told regarding its virtues.
St. Agnes has to boast of the birth of that celebrated painter, Opie,
and one of the members of the Royal Academy, who died so much lamented,
at an early age. His Lectures on Painting have since been published,
with his portrait, and are highly interesting and useful to the artist.
The _Church_ is an antient edifice, and is consolidated with the
vicarage of Piranzabuloe, being in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter
of Exeter. There are also several antient manors in this parish. The
population, according to the late returns, amounted to 5,762, being an
increase of 738, since the year 1811.
In PIRANZABULOE, the adjoining parish, is of a circular amphitheatre,
with a rampart and fosse surrounding it, called _Piran Round_. The area
is about 130 feet in diameter, and it is supposed to have been
originally designed for the performance of Cornish interludes, or where
plays were acted.
_Perraw Porth_ in this parish, is much resorted to during the bathing
season, on account of its fine sandy beach, &c.
_Trerice_ in Newlyn, is one of the most interesting antient buildings in
the county, and although going to decay, still displays much of its
original grandeur. The principal entrance hall being very spacious, is
lighted by a fine large window of 24 compartments, and over the
chimneypiece in the drawing-room, (which is in a very deplorable state,)
are the arms of the Arundel family, who resided here at a very early
period. It is now the property of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., and at
present is occupied by a respectable farmer.
About three miles from hence, in the parish of St. Columb Minor, are
some considerable remains of _Railton Priory_, and which is said to have
been founded by Prior Vivian of Bodmin, who is noticed in a subsequent
part of this work.
The remains are seated in a romantic valley, and principally consist of
the entrance gateway, and an inner court with an embattled dwelling,
lighted with three Gothic windows. There is also a very antient _Well_,
at the back of which is a curious carved niche, with a pedestal for an
image. At different parts of the building are several coats of arms of
the founder, and a stone with some curious characters upon it. The
accompanying view exhibits the most interesting and entire part of this
religious building.
Quitting this sequestered spot, on ascending the hill leading to St.
Columb, on the left, stand the ruins of _Nanswhyden House_, the seat of
the late Robert Hoblyn, Esq., and which was unfortunately destroyed by
fire, in 1803, together with the whole of the furniture in it. The house
was one of the handsomest buildings in the county, and erected from the
designs of Potter, at an expense of upwards of £30,000. It had a very
valuable library, which fortunately escaped this catastrophe, having
been sold before by auction in London, after the sale lasting 25 days.
The catalogue was embellished with a portrait of the owner, and is now a
valuable relic of literature.
At MAWGAN, a romantic village three miles north-west from St. Columb, is
_Lanherne_, formerly the residence of the Arundels; but remarkable as
being the abode of several Carmelite Nuns from Antwerp, and the only
nunnery now existing in this county. It is a very antient building, and
contains a neat _Chapel_ adorned with a few good paintings, brought
hither at the time the nuns emigrated to this country. The east front of
the house being the principal, displays much of its original character,
but the whole is an interesting pile of building. It is now the property
of Lord Arundel, of Wardour Castle, who takes great pleasure in
affording an asylum, and attending to these unprotected women:
“Oft the musing passer by
At the Mansion casts his eye,
Griev’d for the devoted host,
There to social freedom lost.”
The nuns are very strict and regular in their devotions, and employ
their leisure time in the manufacture of fancy articles, which are
disposed of to those persons who visit the place. Although this
indulgence is allowed, the nuns are seldom seen, except at a funeral,
when the whole of them attend the corpse, to the end of the lawn in
front of the house.
The _Church_ of Mawgan almost adjoins Lanherne, and is a very antient
fabric, containing a great variety of curious brass monumental
inscriptions, but several of them have been defaced. The carving of the
screen which separates the chancel, is a fine piece of workmanship. In
the church-yard stands a very curious and antient _Gothic Cross_, on the
east side of which is a niche containing the Crucifixion, sculptured in
pretty high relief. In the niche on the west side, is carved a subject,
taken no doubt from some legend, consisting of the figures of a king and
queen; the latter in the dress of the fourteenth century, kneeling on
one side before a desk. On the other side, is a large bolt with a
serpent coiled round it, which seems to be biting the face of the king,
whilst an angel holds its tail.[32] The whole is in tolerable fine
preservation, but for whom, or for what purpose it was erected, has
never been ascertained.
_Carnanton_, in this parish, the seat of James Willyams, Esq., is a neat
and commodious building, but almost surrounded by trees. An earthen
vessel was lately found near this house, containing near 700 silver
English coins of different reigns, in fine preservation.
_Trewan_, the seat of Richard Vyvyan, Esq, the late Sheriff for the
county, is situated on the brow of a hill facing the south, commanding a
fine view of the town of St. Columb. It is an irregular building of
granite, said to have been erected in the year 1633, and the interior
contains several handsome apartments; but the drawing room being richly
ornamented with sculpture, representing the principal events of the Book
of Genesis, is highly deserving of notice.—There are also a few good
portraits, and a fine picture of a Shipwreck, by Vandervelde.
ST. COLUMB MAJOR, as it is called, to distinguish it from a parish of
the same name adjoining the village, but of less consequence, is a
considerable market town; and although not situated on the high mail
road to Truro, yet is a town of some importance on the northern side of
the county. It is built on an eminence, and contains a few good houses;
the _Market-house_ has an antient appearance. It is situated 11 miles
north-west of Bodmin, and 15 from Truro; but after leaving the regular
high mail road, the other roads winding to the town are very bad and
dirty.
The _Church_ is a large antient fabric; but has, perhaps, been
injudiciously altered from its original design. The interior contains a
variety of memorials, one of which has a handsome bust of the deceased
Robert Hoblyn, Esq. of Nanswhyden, who represented the City of Bristol
in three Parliaments, and died in the year 1756. The living of St.
Columb is the best in the county, and computed to be worth at least
£2000 per annum, and in the gift of the Rev. George Moore, of
Garlennick, near Grampound.
The population of the parish, according to the late returns, amounted to
about 2,493. It has a market every Thursday, and two fairs annually.
About two miles from the town, to the left of the road leading to
Bodmin, but in St. Columb parish, is _Castle-an-Dinas_, a noble
entrenchment, originally fortified with three circular walls, and an
immense ditch. It is generally supposed to have been constructed by the
Danes, and was a permanent fortified residence of some Scandinavian
Chief. The diameter of the space enclosed, is 400 feet; and the
principal ditch is 60 feet wide. Castle-an-Dinas, Dr. Borlase says,
consisted of two stone walls, built one within the another, in a
circular form: the ruins he describes as fallen on each side the wall,
shewing the work to have been of great height and thickness: he also
mentions a third wall, built more than half way round, but left
unfinished. This remain is seated on the highest hill in the hundred of
Penwith.
From St. Columb to Padstow, the distance is eight miles, but the country
between those places does not present any thing deserving particular
observation.
PADSTOW has long been noted as the principal sea-port town on the north
coast of Cornwall, and in a commercial point of view is of the greatest
advantage to the county. Here also the first religious house was founded
by St. Petreock, as early as the year 432. It is situated 11 miles from
Bodmin, and about 243 from London, and is noted as one of the most
antient places in England. The town is built on the western side of the
harbour, sheltered by an immense hill, and at high water has a pleasing
appearance.
A very considerable trade is carried on here in iron, coals, timber,
groceries, and merchandize in general. Padstow has a market weekly, and
two fairs annually. These are now little more than mere holiday fairs;
though within these 60 years they were well supplied with cattle, cloth,
hats, &c. Leland, speaking of this town, says—“There use many Britons
with smaul shippes to resorte to Padestowe, with commodities of their
countrey, and to by fische: the town of Padestowe is ful of Irisch men:
there is a large exporte of corne.” Carew again says—“It hath lately
purchased a corporation, and reapeth greatest thrift by traffiking with
Ireland, for which it commodiously lieth.” We have not been able to
learn any thing about the charter of corporation alluded to by Carew,
and are assured that the town has no such charter. The principal
import-trade, for iron, is from Cardiff; coals, from Wales; timber, from
Norway; and groceries, and bale goods, from Bristol: and considerable
quantities of corn are still exported; the other principal exports are
malt and block-tin.
In the _Church_, an antique building, situated at the head of the town,
are several handsome memorials: that of Sir Nicholas Prideaux, Knt., who
was Carew’s contemporary, and died in 1627, commemorates also Sir
William Morice, who married a daughter of Humphrey Prideaux: “he was
knighted,” says his epitaph, “by King Charles II., on his landing at
Dover, and afterwards made Secretary of State and a Privy Counsellor, in
consequence of his great services in bringing about the Restoration, by
his influence with General Monk. He died at Werrington, in 1676, aged
75.” The learned Dr. Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, was a grandson
of Sir Nicholas above-mentioned, and was born at Padstow, in 1648. Dr.
Prideaux, who was educated at Liskeard school, besides his well-known
work on the connexion between the Old and New Testaments, published “The
True Nature of Imposture fully displayed in the Life of Mahomet.”—The
_Font_, in this antient building, is in itself a curious relic of
antiquity, decorated with effigies of the twelve Apostles.
There are several antient _Chapels_ in this parish. That of St. Saviour,
of which the east wall remains, stood on the brink of the precipice
which overlooks the town: near Place-house, at the top of the town, was
St. Sampson’s chapel: at Trethyllic, near Place grounds, was a chapel
with a cemetery: between St. Saviour’s, and Stepper-point, was another
chapel, the name of which is not known: and about a mile and a half from
the town, that of St. Cadock, which had a tower, the pinnacles of which
were used in rebuilding that of Little Petherick church.
One of the schools founded by the trustees of the Rev. St. John Elliot’s
charitable donations (1760;) and endowed with £5 per annum each, was
established in Padstow. Two Sunday-schools, and several Day-schools,
have also been established; by which several institutions for relieving
the poor, and encouraging the industrious, are supported.
Padstow contains, according to the late returns, 1702 inhabitants, or an
increase of 204, since the year 1811.
On Sander’s Hill, a handsome residence was erected a few years ago, at a
very considerable expense, by the late Thomas Rawlings, Esq., but which
is about to be taken down, owing to the death of that gentleman, and as
the property cannot be disposed of.
_Place-House_, the seat of the Rev. Charles Prideaux Brune, situated a
little distance above the church, is an antient embattled mansion. It
contains a few remarkable fine family portraits, and other works of art.
The house has been lately beautified and enlarged at a considerable
expense, and may now be ranked as one of the finest residences in the
county. The western front with its circular tower and Gothic library
window, has a very handsome effect.
The _Rocks_ off the coast in the neighbourhood of Padstow, and the sand
banks on the coast, not always visible at low water, have been the cause
of many shipwrecks, and scarcely a winter passes without the occurrence
of such dreadful calamities. The Rev. Mr. Warner, in his Tour through
Cornwall, speaking of the dangerous rocks off this coast, says, “their
black perpendicular heads frown inevitable destruction on every vessel
that approaches them, and seldom does one of the unhappy crew survive to
tell the horrors of the wreck.”
Again she plunges! hark a second shock
Tears her strong bottom on the marble rock.
Down on the vale of death, with dismal cries,
The fated victims shuddering roll their eyes
In wild despair, while yet another stroke
With deep convulsions rends the solid oak:
’Till like the mine, in whose infernal cell
The lurking dæmons of destruction dwell,
At length asunder torn, her frame divides,
And crashing spreads in ruin o’er the tides.
Quitting Padstow, the lover of the picturesque will be much delighted
with the village of LITTLE PETHERICK, where a bridge across the road, an
old mill, the church, a few rustic cottages, and some luxuriant foliage,
form a picture highly interesting.