distance is three miles. This place is remarkable as having been in
early time, the seat of the episcopal government of the diocese of the
county; and it takes its name from St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, who
is said to have resided here for a time, during his visit to England. It
is situated in a very romantic dell, on the borders of a creek formed by
the river Lynher, about nine miles from Plymouth and eight from
Liskeard; but is one of the largest parishes in the county, being 20
miles in circumference. It has been represented in Parliament since the
year 1562; the right of electing the members being vested in the
inhabitant householders, who have resided 12 months within the Borough.
The town, as it is called, which contains less than 100 dwellings, is
governed by a Portreve, chosen annually at the Court Leet. Leland spoke
of it as “a poor fischar town,” and he adds, that “the glory of it stood
by the priory.” Carew observed, “the church-towne mustereth many
inhabitants and sundry ruines, but little wealth, occasioned eyther
through abandoning their fishing trade, as some conceive, or by their
being abandoned of the religious people, as the greater sort imagine.”
Its market scarcely existed even when the survey of Domesday was taken;
having been reduced almost to nothing in consequence of the Earl of
Moreton’s market (most probably Saltash) then lately established in the
neighbourhood. This market was at that time held on Sundays; but the day
was afterwards altered to Friday: in Browne Willis’s time it was very
inconsiderable, and has long been wholly discontinued. There are two
cattle fairs, held May 28, and August 1.
Whitaker supposes the bishop’s see to have been established at this
place, so early as the year 614. That St. Germains was the episcopal see
as long as an episcopal see existed in the county of Cornwall, he has
proved in the most satisfactory manner; but of its existence at that
early period, his learned volumes on the subject of the Cathedral of
Cornwall afford no _proof_; nor have we any intimation from history of
any Bishop of St. Germains before the year 910, when Athelstan was
appointed to that see. King Athelstan, who founded a college of Seculars
here, made Conan Bishop of St. Germains in 936. After the death of
Bishop Burwold, Livingus, Bishop of Crediton, procured this bishopric to
be annexed to his own, and his successor Leofric made interest to have
them both united to that of Exeter. Leland says, that Bartholomew
(Iscanus) Bishop of Exeter, who died in 1172, changed the Monks of St.
Germains into Canons Regular, on account of the laxity of their lives.
At the suppression of this monastery in 1535, it was valued at £227. 4s.
8d. clear yearly income. King Henry VIII. leased the site of the priory
and other lands to John Campernown and others; relative to which grant,
Carew has the following story. “John Champernowne, sonne and heir
apparent to Sir Philip of Devon, in Henry the Eighth’s time, followed
the court, and through his pleasant conceits, of which much might be
spoken, wan some good grace with the King. Now when the golden showre of
the dissolved abbey lands rayned wellnere into every gaper’s mouth, some
two or three gentlemen (the King’s servants,) and Master Champernowne’s
acquaintance, waited at a doore where the King was to passe forth, with
purpose to beg such a matter at his hands: our gentleman became
inquisitive to know their suit; they made strange to impart it. This
while, out comes the King: they kneel down; so doth Master Champernowne.
They preferre their petition; the King grants it: they render humble
thanks; and so doth Master Champernowne. Afterwards, he requireth his
share; they deny it: he appeals to the King: the King avoweth his equal
meaning in the largesse; whereon, the overtaken companions were fayne to
allot him this priory for his partage.” Norden has strangely mistaken
this story, and says, that King Henry VIII. bestowed the priory of St.
Germains upon an ancestor of the Eliots, “being full of pleasant
conceytes wherewith the Kinge was delited.” It is certain that the
Champernownes became sole possessors of the priory estate, and that in
1565 they conveyed it to Richard Eliot, Esq., of Coteland, in
Devonshire, in exchange for that manor. Sir John Eliot, son of Richard,
was a distinguished patriot in the reign of James I., and an active
opposer of the Duke of Buckingham and the court measures, particularly
that of raising taxes without the consent of Parliament: for some bold
speeches on this subject he was committed to the tower, where he died in
the year 1632. Daniel Eliot, his grandson, left an only daughter,
married to Browne Willis, the celebrated antiquary, by whom we are
informed that his father-in-law, in order to keep up the family name,
bequeathed his estates of Edward Eliot, grandson of Nicholas, fourth son
of Sir John above-mentioned, from whom they descended to the present
possessor.
It appears that the _Cathedral_, now the Parish Church, was first built
in the reign of Athelstan, when it formed a part of the _Priory_,
founded at the same time for Secular Canons. On the removal of the
diocese to Exeter, the manor of St. Germains was divided between the
Bishop and the Prior of the convent. On the Priory site a spacious
mansion has been erected for the residence of the Eliot family, and is
now the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of St. Germains. It is
called _Port-Eliot_, but was formerly called _Porth-Prior_. The exterior
is not very striking; perhaps “its simplicity,” says a late writer, “is
more correspondent to the scenery by which it is surrounded, and which
is rather to be called pleasing than picturesque or grand.” The
interior, however, is embellished with some fine portraits by Sir Joshua
Reynolds, Rembrant, Opie, &c.
The _Church_ almost adjoins Port Eliot House, and in point of
architectural beauty, is equal, if not superior to any in the county.
At the west end are two towers, both of which are said formerly to have
been octagonal, but the south one is now of a square form, and contains
the clock. Between the towers is a remarkably fine entrance doorway, or
circular receding arch, 20 feet wide, with four pillars on each side,
having plain square bases and capitals. The arch contains seven
mouldings, with alternate zig-zag ornaments, which is also continued
between the pillars. Over the arch is a pediment, with a cross at the
top resembling an heraldic cross. Above are three narrow round-headed
windows, and as great part of the edifice is richly mantled with ivy, it
forms a very interesting and beautiful subject for the pencil. The
interior is spacious; and the capitals of the pillars which divide the
aisles from the nave, are curiously ornamented with Saxon sculpture. It
contains a great variety of memorials, but the most remarkable are those
for the learned Walter Moyle, who died at the age of 49, in the year
1721, and the superb monument by Rysbrack, in memory of Edward Eliot,
Esq. who died in the following year. A white marble tablet, to the
memory of Elizabeth, wife of John Glanville, Esq., has the following
beautiful lines inscribed on it.
While faithful earth doth thy oold relics keep,
And soft as was thy nature is thy sleep,
Let here the pious, humble, placed above,
Witness an husband’s grief, an husband’s love;
Grief that no rolling years can e’er efface,
And love, that only with himself must cease;
And let it bear for thee this heartfelt boast—
’Twas he that knew thee best, that loved thee most.
In the south aisle is a low ornamented recess, said to have contained
the effigy of an abbot of the convent. Another recess is called the
Bishop’s throne; and among other relics of antiquity, is preserved a
curious carved oaken chair, supposed to have belonged to one of the
monks.—“A great part of the chauncell” of this church, as Carew relates,
“fell suddenly downe upon a Friday, very shortly after the publick
service was ended, which heavenly favour, of so little respite, saved
many persons’ lives, with whom immediately before it had been stuffed;
and the devout charges of the well-disposed parishioners quickly
repayred this ruine.”
_Cuddenbeck_ the antient seat of the Bishops, has long been occupied as
a farm, and now exhibits but little of its ancient episcopal grandeur.
Quitting St. Germains, at the distance of about a mile, is the direct
coach road from Tor Point, and within four miles of Liskeard is
_Catchfrench_, the seat of Francis Glanville, Esq., which being built on
an eminence, has a commanding effect; although it is a very comfortable
and spacious building, yet it does not possess much architectural
beauty. The west front is embattled and faced with slate, and at a
distance, with the surrounding scenery, has a pleasing effect.
The road from Tor Point to Liskeard is extremely hilly, and in many
places even dangerous.
_Coledrimick_, another spacious mansion like Catchfrench, is also in the
parish of St. Germains. It stands about a mile from the road, and within
three miles of Liskeard.
Near this also on the right, is the village of MENHENIOT, the _Church_
of which is a very large edifice with a lofty spire, visible at a
considerable distance. This building contains memorials for the families
of Carminow and Burell; J. Trelawney, of Coldrinnick, Dean of Exeter;
and Lady Charlotte, daughter of James, Earl of Errol, Lord High
Constable of Scotland, and wife of William Holwell Carr, B. D.,
incumbent of the parish, who died in 1801. The vicarage is one of the
most valuable benefices in Cornwall, being endowed with the great
tithes, subject only to an annual payment of £20 to Exeter College,
Oxford. The Dean and Chapter of Exeter are patrons, but pursuant to the
directions of Bishop Courtenay, must nominate a fellow of Exeter
College. William of Wykham was vicar of this parish: and Dr. Moreman, a
learned divine, who was instituted to the vicarage in the reign of Henry
VIII., is said to have been the first in these parts who taught and
catechised his parishioners in the English language.
The parish of Menheniot abounds with beautiful scenery; its numerous
vallies being pleasingly diversified with rock and wood.
Here is a very antient and curious building called _Pool_, now occupied
by the poor of the parish; but remarkable as having been the seat of the
ancestors of the present Sir Harry Trelawny; though Carew speaks of it
as being far beneath the worth and calling of its then possessor, Sir
Jonathan Trelawny. It is now fast mouldering to decay, but displays some
very interesting specimens of antient architecture. On the south front,
which was the principal entrance, (and exhibited in the accompanying
view) is a massive chimney, which age and other circumstances have
inclined three feet from its perpendicular; and at this time perhaps, it
is chiefly, if not wholly, supported by the ivy which grows about it.
LISKEARD is a large and populous market town, situated on rocky hills,
and partly in a bottom, about 16 miles from Plymouth, and 223 from
London. This place ranks as one of the oldest towns in the county; and
it had once a Castle, supposed to have been erected by one of the Earls
of Cornwall. It stood on the north side of the town, and its site is
still called the Castle Hill; but, even in Leland’s time, it was little
more than a heap of ruinous walls. The manor of Liskeard formed a part
of their ancient possessions; Liskeard having been made a free borough
in 1240, by Richard Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans, who
bestowed on the burgesses the same privileges which he had already
granted to those of Launceston and Helston. His son Edmund, in 1275,
granted them the fee of the borough, with the profits arising from the
markets, fairs, &c., subject to a rent of £18 per annum, which rent King
William III. granted to Lord Somers: it is now paid to Lord Eliot, who
purchased it of the late Lord Somers.
The _Church_ is a spacious edifice, standing on an eminence at the
eastern entrance to the town. It is composed of three aisles, with a low
embattled tower at the west end, on which are some curious grotesque
heads. The southern part of the building is the most handsome, and over
the porch are three Gothic niches. It contains but few monuments worthy
of notice.—In the south aisle, is a neat cenotaph to the memory of
Lieut. Joseph Hawkey, who was killed in action with some gun boats in
the Gulph of Finland, in July 1809, in the 23rd year of his age. There
is another for Joseph Wadham, who died in 1707, “being the last of that
family, whose ancestors were the founders of Wadham College in Oxford.”
Liskeard has returned members to Parliament, since the reign of Edward
the I.; the right of election being vested in the corporation and
freemen. The former, according to the charter of Elizabeth, consists of
a Mayor, Recorder, eight capital Burgesses, and 15 Assistants.[40] In
the list of representatives for this borough, we find the name of Lord
Chief Justice Coke.
Leland speaks of the _Market_ at Liskeard as “the best in Cornwall,
savyng Bodmyn.” In his time the market was held on Monday, and there are
still three great markets on that day; Shrove-Monday, the Monday after
Palm Sunday, and the Monday after St. Nicholas’s Day. Browne Willis
tells us that this market much exceeded that of Bodmin: it was then
held, as it now is, on Saturday. It is most amply supplied with all
sorts of provisions; a great portion of which is purchased for the
supply of the market at Plymouth Dock. There are three large
cattle-fairs; upon Holy Thursday, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and
St. Matthew’s Day. Liskeard is one of the four towns for the coinage of
tin; but there has been no coinage held there of late years.
The _Town Hall_ was erected about the year 1707, at the expense of Mr.
Dolben, one of the representatives for the borough. It is a curious
structure supported by granite columns; and the meat market is held in
the space between them.
A new _Market House_ is about to be erected on a very commodious plan.
The trade of the town is not of any particular description; but such as
most country towns enjoy, where the neighbouring agriculturists carry on
the farming business to a great extent. There is, however, a _Paper
Mill_ in the neighbourhood, which perhaps does not so particularly
affect the place.
The population of the town, according to the late census, amounts to
1896, being an increase of but 101 persons, since the year 1811. Browne
Willis speaks of Liskeard as the largest town in Cornwall, containing as
he was informed, 1000 houses. He must have been much misinformed; as the
population appears, by the parish-register, to have been considerably
increased within the last century, and in 1801 there were but 323
houses, and 1860 inhabitants.
The town consists of several streets very irregularly built; still the
houses are in general substantial, and slate-roofed. It has two good
Inns, called the Bell, and the King’s Arms.
Here was formerly a Nunnery of _Poor Clares_, founded and endowed by
Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans, but of which we have
not been able to obtain any further account. A great part of the
conventual buildings, known by the name of the _Great Place_, yet
remains, converted into dwelling-houses; and the Chapel is now a
bake-house.
A battle was fought near Liskeard on the 19th of January, 1643, between
Sir Ralph Hopton, and the Parliamentary forces, in which the latter were
defeated; Sir Ralph marching into the town with his army that night.
King Charles, on his entrance into Cornwall in 1644, halted at Liskeard
on the 2nd of August, and stayed there till the 7th.
A survey of the year 1337, in the Treasurer’s Remembrancer’s Office,
speaks of a new _Park_ at this place, in which were then 200 deer: it
was disparked by Henry VIII., and the land which it comprised (still
called the Park) is now held on lease by Lord Eliot. There was formerly
a chapel in this park, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to which there was
a great resort of pilgrims.—There are three _Meeting-houses_ in the
town, belonging to the Independents, Quakers, and Methodists: the former
was originally built by the Johnson family, for the Presbyterians.
Defoe, in his Tour through Great Britain in the early part of the last
century, speaks of it as a large new-built meeting-house; and observes,
that there were only three more in Cornwall. A volume of Poems by the
Rev. Henry Moore, some time minister of this Meeting, was published
after his death, under the superintendance of Dr. Aikin.—The
_Grammar-School_ here is supported by the corporation, with a salary of
_£_30 per annum: Dean Prideaux, and Walter Moyle, were educated at this
school. A CHARITY-SCHOOL for poor children, in which 10 girls are now
taught, was founded by the trustees of the charitable donation of the
Rev. St. John Eliot, who died in 1760, and endowed by them with _£_5 per
annum.
The _Church_ of ST. CLEER, a village three miles north-west of the town,
is an interesting fabric, with a lofty tower, surmounted with pinnacles
at the angles, and the buttresses which support it are embellished with
purfled fineals. The antient _Well_ of St. Cleer, about a mile from the
church, is a pleasing subject for the pencil, the top being richly
overgrown with ivy. Near it is a _Stone Cross_, ornamented at the top
with some rude sculpture.
In this neighbourhood are several other objects highly interesting to
the antiquary. The _Hurlers_, when perfect, consisted of three circles
of upright stones from three to five feet high, but several of them have
been removed. According to historians, these monuments of antiquity are
said to have been of Druidical origin; but the name of hurlers is most
probably derived from an opinion among the common people, that the
stones were once men, who were transformed for _Hurling_ (a favorite
game among the antient Cornish people) on the sabbath day.
The _Cheese-Wring_ is a natural pile of rocks 32 feet high, of eight
stones, or layers, apparently placed one above another, the largest at
the top: considering its perilous form and exposed situation, how this
pile has withstood the rage of storms for so many ages, is a matter of
just astonishment.
The _Cromlech_, or _Trewethy Stone_, as it is generally called, standing
on an eminence some distance from the Cheese-Wring, may be ranked as one
of the greatest antiquities in the county. It consists of six upright
stones, and one large slab, covering them in an inclined position. This
impext measures 16 feet in length, and 10 broad, and is, at a medium,
about 14 inches thick. It rests on five of the uprights only, and at its
upper end it is perforated by a small circular hole. No tradition exists
as to the time of its erection; but, its name at once designates its
being a work of the Britons, and sepulchral.[41]
The village of St. NEOT’S, four miles from Liskeard, has long been
celebrated for possessing a church, embellished with some of the finest
painted glass windows in the kingdom. They amount to 17, and display
various subjects connected with the legend of _St. Neot_, Portraits of
Saints, the History of the Creation, &c., but some of them have
unfortunately been defaced by ignorant or malicious depredators.
The _Church_ is a handsome fabric, built of granite, and from the style
of architecture is supposed not to be older than the reign of Henry VI.
It stands on a rising ground at the head of the village, and has a
dignified appearance, especially when contrasted with the humble
dwellings near it.
A correspondent has favoured us with the following additional
particulars relative to St. Neot’s:—
This village is about four miles west of Liskeard. Until the close of
the ninth century, it was called HAM-STOKE; from that period till the
Conquest, or later, it had the name of NEOT-STOKE; it received its
present name soon after. About the middle of the ninth century, St. Neot
(a pious hermit, who had been Sacristan at Glastonbury Abbey) retired
here. His pool is still shown; respecting which there are some curious
traditions.[42] The Saint erected a College of Priests, and a church
here, (on the site of the more antient Chapel of St. Guerir,) in which
he was buried in 877: the edifice was rebuilt in 884. The present Church
was erected in 1480.[43] It is an elegant building, consisting of a nave
and two side aisles. Its greatest ornament is its beautifully stained
glass; of which a considerable portion remains in a mutilated state.
Many of the legends of these richly “storied windows,” have perished:
Mr. Gorham[44] has preserved 85: in 1786, Mr. Forster published a coarse
outlined engraving of the windows, containing the legends of St. Neot,
and of St. George.
On the north side of the Chancel (where was doubtless the Saxon Chapel)
is a small recess, from which projected one end of a stone casket, 18
inches by 14. Here were preserved some remains of Neot; the founders of
St. Neot’s Priory in Huntingdonshire, having left “one arm”[45] of the
Saint for the Cornish Church, when they stole the greater part of the
treasure about 974! In October, 1795, this little cemetery was broken
open by some intoxicated workmen, whose curiosity had been excited by a
visit of Mr. Whitaker. The casket above-mentioned, was found to be a
shallow cenotaph: behind it was a stone, closing the mouth of an
aperture rudely formed in the solid wall; in this inner recess was
discovered “about a quart of mould-earth, very fine in itself, yet
adhering in clots, and dark in colour.”[46] By the side of this cavity
is a wooden tablet; on which are inscribed some quaint and puerile
verses, supposed to have been written just before the Reformation: the
narrative which they detail, is extremely inaccurate.
Returning from St. Neots to the high road, within four miles of Bodmin
is _Glynn House_, the residence of E. J. Glynn, Esq., which has lately
been rebuilt on the site of an elegant mansion, unfortunately destroyed
by fire, about three years ago. This misfortune not only was a great
loss to its worthy owner, but the literary world has suffered an
irreparable one; for it contained one of the finest libraries in the
county. The family also narrowly escaped, being all in their beds at the
time, but were luckily apprized of their dangerous situation by a female
domestic.—The present mansion is built at the bottom of a gentle
declivity, in a very pleasing valley, and is therefore sheltered from
the violence of the north-east winds. It is certainly a low structure,
but contains a number of commodious apartments. The grounds round the
house have been greatly improved, and now have a very pleasing aspect
from the road.
After crossing an antient bridge over one part of the river Fowey, at
Resprin, the antient mansion of _Lanhydrock_, situated at the head of a
noble avenue of trees, nearly a mile in length, has a very striking
effect. It is an embattled structure of granite, occupying three sides
of a quadrangle, and the windows are divided by stone mullions. On the
north side is a gallery 116 feet long, covered with a profusion of
uncouth and ill-executed plastered figures. There are, however, a few
family portraits, but none remarkable. In front of the house, is a large
irregular building, with a fine circular arch, once a porter’s lodge;
but as the owner of it, the Hon. Mr. Bagnal Agar, has not resided here
for some years, the whole building is getting much out of repair, though
as interesting a spot, perhaps, as any in the county.
The _Church_ of Lanhydrock, almost adjoining the house, is a beautiful
small edifice, with an embattled tower, finely mantled with ivy. The
whole fabric has recently undergone a complete repair, and at the same
time the antient character of the building has been judiciously
preserved as much as possible.
The plantations in the grounds near the grand entrance lodge, are daily
improving; and in a few years time will tend materially to the beauty of
the domain.
About three miles from hence, is BODMIN, a large town, situated on the
high western road, 243 miles from London, 30 from Plymouth, 21 from
Launceston, and about 12 from the two channels on the north and south
sides of the county. The late learned Mr. Whitaker, in his History of
the Cathedral of Cornwall, has with much ability, proved the fallacy of
the grounds upon which it was supposed to have been a bishop’s see; an
error into which Dr. Borlase, Browne Willis, and other eminent
antiquaries, had fallen; and has shewn very satisfactorily, that it was
not the monastery at Bodmin, but another religious house dedicated to
St. Petroc, near the sea-side, at Padstow, that was burnt by the Danes.
In early times, however, Bodmin possessed a Priory, a Convent of Grey
Friars, and several other religious structures, of which there are now
but few remains.