[67] According to Dr. Borlase, 'the sheep in Cornwall in ancient times
were remarkably small, and their fleeces so coarse that their wool
bare no better title than that of _Cornish hair_, and under that name
the cloth made of that wool was allowed to be exported without being
subject to the customary duty paid for woollen cloth. When cultivation
began to take place, and the cattle to improve in size and goodness,
the Cornish had the same privilege confirmed to them by grant from
Edward the Black Prince (first Duke of Cornwall after the Norman
Conquest), in consideration of their paying four shillings for every
hundredweight of white tin coined. The same privilege of exporting
cloth of Cornish manufacture, duty-free, was confirmed to them by the
twenty-first of Elizabeth.'
[68] Dame Thomasine Percival's chantry and college at Week St. Mary
were, according to the Church Commissioners, in 1545, a great comfort
to all the county, from children being sent there to board and to be
taught; but two years after the schoolhouse was in ruins, owing (so it
was stated) to its being in a desolate place; and removal to Launceston
was suggested.
_HENRY BONE, R.A._,