Dumnonia was a Keltic kingdom that existed in Britain from the late 4th to the late 8th centuries . It covered the regions of Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Somerset and Dorset. Its name came from the Dumnonii, a tribe that lived in the area before the Roman invasion. Dumnonia was one of the last bastions of Keltic culture and resistance against the Anglo-Saxon expansion. Its rulers claimed descent from King Arthur and maintained ties with Brittany, where many Dumnonian refugees settled. Dumnonia's history is shrouded in legend and mystery, but it remains a fascinating part of Britain's heritage . Dumnonia was a fascinating kingdom that existed in Britain from the 4th to the 9th centuries. It was ruled by the Dumnonii, a Keltic people who resisted the Roman invasion and maintained their independence for centuries. Dumnonia was rich in culture, religion, and trade, evidence of history and mythology .The origins of christianity christmas and the shortest day and the northern european customs ! The landscape has changed since bodecias' time in Britain !
Pytheas of Massalia (Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης; Latin: Pitheas Massiliae; fl. 4th century BC), was a Greek geographer and explorer from the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille). He made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe in
TIN. COPPER. was not, as some writers imagine, limited by the western parts of Somersetshire. It is not to be imagined, that they could neglect a corner of our island, productive of a metal so useful in mechanics as tin, and which it yielded in such plenty, as to receive from that circumstance the name.
So great was the intercourse that foreign nations had with the inhabitants bordering on Belerium,
as to give them a greater scavoir vivre, and more extensive hospitality, than was to be found in other parts of the island. They were equally expert in working the mines, and preparing the ore, which
lay in earthy veins within the rocky strata. They melted and purified it, then cast it into rows of cubes, and carried it to let is, the modern Mount St. Michael: from thence it was transported into Gaul; conveyed from the place it was landed at, on horses’ backs, a journey of thirty days, to the mouth of the Rhone, and also to the Massylians, and the town of Narbonne".
Copper.
Did not Caesar and Strabo agree in their account, I should never have believed it possible
that the Britons could have neglected their rich mines of copper, and have been obliged at first to import that metal. Perhaps the ore was less
accessible, and the art of fusion unknown; for islands, from their very situation, must remain
Then again towards the North of Europe , there is evidently a quantity of gold by far larger than in any other land:
as to how it is got , here again I am not able to say for certain , but it is said to be carried off from the griffins by Arimaspians, a one-eyed race of men.But I do not believe this tale either, that nature produces one-eyed men which in all other respects are like other men. However it would seem that the extremities which bound the rest of the world on every side and enclose it in the midst possess the things which by us are thought to be the most beautiful and the most rare. This is a point in which all "Devonians” and,indeed ,dwellers in the three western counties of Somerset , Devon and Cornwall may be especially interested.“ Dumnonia, ” like “ Demetia ” and “ Demetica regio", is a very ancient geographical term and the Dumnonii certainly go back to Roman times and were noted for their sea fairing qualities.
In King Alfred’s time “ Dumnonia” was used by the King’s Biographer, Bishop Asser, and would certainly mean a good deal more than we now mean by the County of Devon which meets Somerset at Countisbury Gate and Exmoor.
But until we are sure of the exact meaning of say, " Dumnonia ” and “ Demetica regio how can we follow King Alfred’s great Danish campaign of 878 Historical problems wait for their real solution upon the proper explanation of geographical terms.
Many disputes have turned and still turn upon the exact site of Cynuit and Ethandune, two very momentous fights in our island history........There is an Edington Dumnonia !
Discovery of Great Britain by the Romans.
The mercantile Phoenicians traded to the Scilly islands, the Cassiterides , or land of tin , from the port of Cadiz , four hundred years before Christ. The Romans, for a considerable time, could not discover the place from whence the former procured the precious metal. They attempted to detect the trade, by following the course of a Phoenician vessel; but the master, faithful to the interest of his country, voluntarily run his ship ashore in another place; preferring the loss of all, rather than sillier n. foreign nation to become partakers of so profitable a secret.
The public immediately compensated Iris loss out of its treasury . This did but make the Romans more eager for the discovery; and after many trials they succeeded. Publius Crassus (father of Marcus Crassus the Triumvir) who was praetor, and governed Spain for several years, landed in the Cassiterides, and found the report of their riches verified.
As soon as the Romans made a conquest of the country, they formed in the tin province camps and roads, still visible; and left behind vases, urns, sepulchres, and money, that exhibit daily proofs of their having been a stationary people in those parts” ; and that Dunmonium extended even to the Belerian promontory, or the Land’s-end
TIN COPPER
And was not, as some writers imagine, limited by the western parts of Somersetshire.
It is not to be imagined, that they could neglect a corner of our island, productive of a metal so useful in mechanics as tin, and which it yielded in such plenty, as to receive from that circumstance the name.
So great was the intercourse that foreign nations had with the inhabitants bordering on Belerium, as to give them a greater scavoir vivre, and more extensive hospitality, than was to be found in other parts of the island.
They were equally expert in working the mines, and preparing the ore, which lay in earthy veins within the rocky strata.
They melted and purified it, then cast it into rows of cubes, and carried it to let is, the modern Mount St. Michael: from thence it was transported into Gaul; conveyed from the place it was landed at, on horses’ backs, a journey of thirty days, to the mouth of the Rhone, and also to the Massylians, and the town of Narbonne".
Copper. Did not Caesar and Strabo agree in their account, I should never have believed it possible that the Britons could have neglected their rich mines of copper, and have beenobliged at first to import that metal. Perhaps the ore was less accessible, and the art of fusion unknown; for islands, from their very situation, must remainlonger ignorant of arts than continents; especially ours, which lay far to the west of the origin of all science.
Strabo says, that the Britons imported works of brass; but it is as certain, that they afterwards did themselves fabricate that metal into instruments.
The Celts, a British, instrument, was made in this island.
Numbers have been found in Yorkshire, and Essex", together with cinders, and lumps of melted metal; which evince the place of a forge. The Romans had then founderies of copper in our island; and cast the metal into regular forms.
A mass was found at Caer hen, the antient Conovium, four miles above Conway,which probably was smelted from the ore of the Snowdon hills; where of late years much has been raised.
This mass is in shape of a cake of beeswax; and on the upper part is a deep concave impression, with the words Socio Romae; across these is impressed obliquely, in lesser letters, Natsol.
I cannot explain it, unless Nat. stands for Natio, the people who paid this species of tribute; and sol. for solvit, that being the stamp-master’s mark. These cakes might be bought up hy a merchant resident in Britain, and consigned Socio RomaE, to his partner at Rome.
The weight of this antiquity is forty-two pounds;
ANCIENT ROADS AND TRACKS.
The road system of Constantine is not merely medieval, it is prehistoric. This is not intended to be a criticism of those who have charge of the roads but merely a statement of fact. There are no
roads in the parish worth mentioning that have been made in modern times .We have seen that the principal roads leading northwards from the Helford River are ridgeways. The most westerly is still in use as the main road from Gweek to the Helston-Truro road ( itself a ridgeway ) at Buttres Gate. Beyond that it once continued by Stythians, Bissoe and Baidu till it joined the principal ridgeway running along the watershed from one end of Cornwall to the other. This road brought the tin bearing region of Stythians into communication with the port of Gweek. It enters Constantine parish at a place called Ponstreath or Ponstrays , which is possibly a corruption of Penstrase , i.e., Street-end, the word strase or strad being used for a paved way, a relic of the Roman strata . At Carloggas a fortification adjoined it . At Tolvan it was crossed by the principal track leading across the parish, and the meeting place of the roads was doubtless suggested by the presence of the Tolvan
Quoit2.
The second ridgeway from Gweek runs up to Carwythenack Chase, where an earthwork lies on its left hand3. Then it went straight up over the top of Brill hill, to Trevease, passing the stone cross at the ford, and so out to join the other ridgeway at Buttres Gate. This road is only used in its lower part, but it can be traced through the crofts on Brill hill by a double line of hedges.
Ancient Roads and Tracks 17
The third ancient ridgeway is that coming from the Quay at Merthen Hole, up through the woods, across the old deer park, where it passes through the ditch of the earthworks, so out over the Downs, across the fields to Brill. Then to Trewardreva and over the ford (Ret) which gave name to Retallack. So up the hill along past the site of Maen Rock, skirting Treworvac, across the fields to the “ Dead lane” , where it proves its antiquity by being a part of the parish boundary, then into the Lestraines lane and out to the Turnpike from Helston to Truro at Rame. The “ Dead lane ” is a strip of this ridgeway which has not been used for over a century, and is so called because It is now a cul-de-sac. On either side of it is a tumulus, for barrows, like ancient roads, are found on ridges. It is remarkable that this lane, about three-quarters of a mile in length, is the only piece of road which forms part of the Constantine parish boundary. All the rest of the boundary is formed by creeks, streams, or, for a very small distance, by hedges. At Merthen Hole it is a typical pack-horse track cut out of the rock. Its paving stones remain beneath the fields and make ploughing Impossible.The fourth main ridgeway is the present main road from Penryn, entering the parish near Bossawsack and continuing past High Cross down to the river atCalamansack. There are two principal tracks across the parish from east to west, 2nd as the lower has to traverse six deep valleys, it affords a good example of the precipitous nature of old roads.
This enters the parish from Mawnan at Tregarne Mill, passes the steep hill to Treworval , by what is now a rough lane, continues across the fields to Driff and Treviades, then down past Gwealllin to the creek-head at Polwheveral. This part bore the name Clodgy lane in 1649, a common name in Cornwall, derived, in all zbability, from Clud, a carriage, or perhaps from Clodding, meaning trenched ” or “ embanked5.” At the bottom stood two grist mills, d • Tucking or Fulling Mill. The bridge over the stream was built as appears from the contract between the parish and Roger Urd, a mason, of Tregoney, entered into the old Vestry Book . It appears to continue on the other side of the river through Tremayne and Henforth ( =Old road ) to St. Martins. ‘, Clodgy lane at Helston. Mr. Henderson later changed his mind, and Came to the conclusion that Clodgy meant a Lazar-house. a copy of this interesting document in the present writer’s Old Cornish Bridges,
CHAPTER IX.
THE MANOR, TITHING & BARTON OF MERTHEN
The Barton of Merthen has belonged to the Vyvyans of
Trelowarren for three hundred years. It occupies a promontory
that runs out into a long tail-like point, known as the Groyne, between
the two principal arms of the Helford River. From the Barton
House, and still more from the ancient earthworks 350 yards northwest of it, one obtains a view that commands the mouth of the Haven,
and it is easy to understand why the Lords of Merthen have always
had such extensive rights over the river.
The meaning of the name Merthen is obscure. It has however nothing whatever to do with the place-name Merther implying a Chapel in honour of a martyr. The earliest spelling of the name,
Meredin, suggests that it is called after a Din or fortress, and the remarkable earthworks in the old Deer-park bear this out. These
earthworks (which have been described on p. 13) consist of two
rectangular enclosures, each of about one acre in area, which join each
other at right angles. The site which they occupy is more
commanding than the site of the farm house, and the line of a very
ancient ridgeway (see p. 17) coming from Merthen Quay northwards
passes through the western ditch of one of them.
There are places called Merthen in St. Austell and Buryan.
Both lie on the coast, the former on a long promontory not unlike
the Groyne, though the creek on one side of it has been filled up.
The word Din, a fortress, latinized into Dunum, was used for a
chief’s residence or capital town. Moridunum (i.e. the sea-city) is
named in the Roman Itineraries as a port on the Roman road east
of Exeter and is generally identified with Sidmouth. Merthen, the
Meridin of the 12th century, may well have been another Moridunum,
a fortress embraced by arms of the sea, which afforded a haven
protected from storms and hostile attack.
Although Merthen has been a farm on the Trelowarren estate for
just three centuries, it has usually been occupied by well-to-do tenants
such as members of the Vyvyan family itself, the Tyackes etc. and it
has preserved much of its former dignity. In the Middle Ages,
HISTORY
Polpenrith , alias Polpere , and Polwevorel Creeks , running up towards Constantine Church ; and a mile fartherdown , Chielow , aliasCalmansake Creek , This haven, within a mile of its mouth, is secure enough for ships of 200 ton ; and at its passage into the sea, is abouta mile wide.This River rises in the highest Northern part of Wendron parish , whence, in about five miles, it reaches the borough ofHelston about a mile below which it forms a Lake , called the Lo Pool; the River giving rise to the Lake , and the Lake , as the mostremarkable part of the Water , giving name to the River. Four brooks give rise to this River ; and uniting at Relubbas from a Western Course, turn to the North , and in three miles reach St. Erth , alias St. Ercy Bridge, of three stone Arches, and a raised Gaucey well walledon each side, reaching cross the valley . The Bridge has been built somewhat more than 400 years, before which time there was a ferryhere, and ships of great burden came up to it. The valley, above bridge, has been much raised by the sands and earth, washed down from the hills and mines ; and the haven below has suffered the same misfortune, from the sands of the Northern lea ; lb that lighters only come within a bow -lh ot oi the bridge ; and that with the tide of fiood, which at fpring tides
flows near a mile above the bridge.
Here the land of Cornwall, is at it’s narroweft dimenfion ; fo that from the full fca mark o f Hcyl on the North Sea, to the full Sea-mark at Marazion in Mount's
Bay on the South Sea, the diftance is but three miles.
From St. Erth the H c y l b ean d ircflly N o rth , fpreading an area of fand, of half a mile wide at a medium , and two miles long, but navigable
only in the chancl of the River, which admits fm all ships a mile inwards from the fca under the village of Lannant.
Nea r it’s mouth the Hcyl is joined by a brook from the Enft, which , under the Parochial Church of Philac, makes a branch of this haven for fhips o f 100 tons.
The Sea has not only alm oft filled this fm all harbour w ith fand, bur form s a bar alio at it's mouth, over which fhips of 80 and 100 ton only can come in at the height of a fpring
tide ; and the bed o f the whole is lo railed, that it admits the tide in it only fix hours in twelve ; fo that whereas, in harbours openn to
the fca, the tide flow s fix hours, and ebbs fix hours : here ’tis
• KilmJiuch, the Monti
other wife ;
in which King Arthur received his mortal wound : thus recorded by the Poet Naturam Cambela fontis Mutatam stupet este fui, transcendit in undas Sanguineus torrens ripas, et ducit in aequor Corpora caesorum ; plures natare videres, Et petere auxilium quos undis vita reliquit.”
The other, a bloody battle, fought betwixt the Cornish , and the West Saxons of Devonshire , in the year 824 ’, in which many thousands fell on each side, and the victory remained uncertain. Hence, after a run of about 12 miles, it becomes navigable for sand barges at Parbrok ; and at Eglofhel , receives a plentiful addition to it’s stream, from the River Laine A mile farther down, this River reaches the greatest bridge in this county, called Wadebridge : about the year 1460 there was a ferry here whilst the tide was in, and a very dangerous ford when the tide was retired , which moved the then Vicar of Egloshel, one Mr. Lovebon, with great industry and public spirit, to undertake this bridge ; a great and useful, but tedious work. Besides the expence, fo disproportioned to his circumftances, in the course of the work, there arose fuch difficulties, as might have baffled a more mechanical age than that in which he lived : the ground, for the foundation of some of the piers, proved so swampy, that after repeated efforts another way, they were forced at last to build on wool-packs ; however, it fhould never be forgotten, that by his follicitations, and the liberal contributions of others, but chiefly by his own perfeverance, and the blessings of providence, he lived to accomplish the bridge as it now stands, with seventeen fair and uniform arches, reaching quite cross the valley, to the great safety of travellers, and the credit of his country. Hither come up small barks of 40 and 60 ton, and supply the country with coal from Wales, with flat, which rifes about ten miles off, lime, timber, and groceries from Bristol.A mile farther down the Alan makes two small Creeks on the East, in return for a brook or two which it receives; then keeping to the North-Weft, and supplying two Creeks on the Western bank which run up into St. Illy, and little Petrock pariflies, in a mile more it reaches the ancient town of Petrockstow, alias Padstow, where there is a pier, and some
In Camden, page 23. and the Elaine, (Hinnulus) in Radnorshire, and
1 See Saxon chronicle. Montgomery Ihife, &c. probably this River Lain,
m That is, the Church on the River. had the name of Elaine from the fwiftnefs of
" Some Rivers among the British, says Lhuyd it’s course. in Baxter’s glossary, page 273, take their names 0 Leland, Vol. II. page 82. ; as the Caru (Cervus) in Shropfhire,
NATURAL HISTORY
Polpenrith, alias Polpere, and Polwevorel Creeks, running up towards Constantine Church ; and a mile fartherdown , Chielow , alias Calmanfake Creek
This haven, within a mile of it s mouth, is fccurc enough for fhips of 200 ton ; and at its paflage into the lea, is about a mile wide.
This River riles in the higheft Northern part of Wendron parifh , whence, in about five miles, it reaches the borough of IIlfton about a mile below which it forms a Lake , called the Lo Pool; the River giving rise to the Lake , and the Lake , as the moft remarkable part of the Water, giving name to the River *. Four brooks give rise to this River ; and uniting at Relubbas from a Westerly Course, turn to the North , and in three miles reach St. Erth , alias St. Ercy Bridge, of three ftonc Arches, and a raifed Giulcywell walled on each fide, reaching crossthe valley. The Bridge has been built fom cw hat more than 400 years , beforce which time there was a ferry here, and Ships of great burden came up to it. The valley, above bridge, has been much raised by the sand and earth, washed down from the hills and mines ; and the haven below has fullered the fame misfortune, from the sands of the Northern lea ; so that lighters only come within a bow-lhotoi the bridge ; and that with the tide of fiood, which at spring tides flows near a mile above the bridge.
Here the land of Cornwall, is at it’s narrowest dimension ;so that from the full fca mark of Hcylon the North Sea, to the full Sea-mark at Marazion in Mount's
Bay on the South Sea, the distance is but three miles.
From St. Erth the Heyl bean dircflly North , spreading an area of sand, of half a mile wide at a medium , and two miles long, but navigable only in the chancl of the River, which admits fm all Ships a mile inwards from the fca under the village of Lannant.Near it’s mouth the Hcyl is joined by a brook from the East, which , under the Parochial Church of Philac, makes a branch of this haven for ships o f 100 tons.
The Sea has not only alm oft filled this small harbour withsand, bur forms a bar alio at it's mouth, over which fhips of 80 and 100 ton only can come in at the height of a spring
tide ; and the bed o f the whole is lo railed, that it adm its the tide in it only six hours in twelve ; so that whereas, in harbours open to the sea, the tide flows six hours, and ebbs six hours :
for the field inwhich stands Castle Dore was called Carhurles meaning 'Gorlas's fortress'.
It therefore seems that the chieftain could have preceded King Mark of the Tristan saga at this earthwork which is known to have been re-occupied in Gorlas's time having been abandoned during the Roman period.
Assuming that the traditional link between
the Arthurian and Tristan sagas could be factual and that King Mark DID succeed GORLAS and hold this southern territory by the sixth century,
St Winnow was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as San Winnuc. In 1644-45, some ninety people from the parish died of the plague: only four were soldiers but a campaign of the Civil War was going on at the time.
Andrew Langdon (1996) records three stone crosses in the parish. A cross found at Higher Coombe in 1903 was afterwards erected at St Nectan's chapel. A cross from Lanlivery was made into the upper section of "The Monument" on Druids Hill. It was brought from Lanlivery in 1846; this monument commemorates the loss of life in the Battle of Braddock Down in 1643. A third cross called Waterlake Cross stands in a private garden near Respryn.The third cross had already been recorded by Arthur G. Langdon in 1896; at Waterlake, a hamlet near Bodmin Road station, there is a Cornish cross.
Churches and chapels Parish church
This is of Norman foundation but the present building is almost entirely of the 15th century. The rood screen survives and there is some interesting stained glass.
The church is at the riverside, next to a quay at the limit of navigation of the River Fowey. It is probably on the site of the 7th century oratory of St Winnoc. A stone church was built in the 12th century, probably cruciform in plan, and there are traces of the Norman stonework on the north side. The transept arch was reconstructed in the 13th century. About 1465 the south wall was demolished and the south aisle, arcade and roofs built. The chancel was restored by J. H. Seddon in the 19th century, retaining the 16th century east window. The west tower is of standard Cornish Perpendicular style. There is stained glass of c. 1500 in the east windows of the chancel and S aisle. The 16th century rood screen, carved with leaves and flowers, was restored by Violet Pinwell in 1907 . The loft, rood and some of the south aisle screen were newly made in the restoration. The granite font, carved with angels bearing shields, is 14th century. The pulpit is of c.1600 and richly carved. There are also carved bench ends of various dates from 1485 to 1630. The monuments include one in slate to William Sawle, d. 1651.
Saint Winwaloe
Portrait of a silver bust of Saint Guénolé , Died 3 March 532 Landévennec Abbey Veneratedin Eastern Orthodox Church , Catholic Church Feast 3 March Patronage Fertility
Winwaloe (Breton:Gwenole; French: Guénolé; Latin:Winwallus or Winwalœus; c.460– 3 March 532) was the founder and first abbot ofLandévennec Abbey(literally "Lann of Venec"), also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of Brest in Brittany, now part of France.
Life St Winwaloe's Church, Gunwalloe
Winwaloe was the son of Fragan (or Fracan), a prince of Dumnonia, and his wife Gwen the Three-Breasted, who had fled to Brittany to avoid the plague.
Winwaloe was born about 460, apparently at Plouguin, near Saint-Pabu, where his supposed place of birth, a feudal hillock, can still be seen. Winwaloe grew up in Ploufragan near Saint-Brieuc with his brother Wethenoc, and his brother Jacut. They were later joined by a sister, Creirwy, and still later by half-brother Cadfan. He was educated by Budoc of Dolon Lavret island in the Bréhat archipelago near Paimpol.
As a young man Winwaloe conceived a wish to visit Ireland to see the remains of Saint Patrick, who had just died. However, the saint appeared to him in a dream to say that it would be better to remain in Brittany and found an abbey. So, with eleven of Budoc's other disciples, he set up a small monasteryon the Île de Tibidy, at the mouth of the Faou. However it was so inhospitable that after three years, he miraculously opened a passage through the sea to found another abbeyon the opposite bank of the Landévennec estuary.
Winwaloe died at his monastery on 3 March 532.
Veneration
Winwaloe was venerated as a saint at Landévennec until Viking invasions in 914 forced the monks to flee, with his body, to Château-du-Loir and then Montreuil-sur-Mer. His relics were often taken on procession through the town.
Winwaloe's shrine was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1793.
He apparently acquired a priapic reputation through confusion of his name with the word gignere (Frenchengendrer, "to beget") and was thus a patron of fertility as one of the phallic saints.He is also the patron of Saint-Guénolé in Penmarch, Finistère.
In Cornwall, Winwaloe is the patron of the churches at Tremaine, St Wynwallow's Church, Landewednack, Gunwalloe and Poundstock as well as East Portlemouth in Devon and two lost chapels in Wales. His feast day is 28 April and Gunwalloe feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of April. The churches of St Twynnells, near Pembroke, Pembrokeshire and Wonastow, Monmouthshire may have been originally dedicated to him. They were probably founded by his successor at Landévennec ,Gwenhael, who certainly made trips to Great Britain. Exeter Cathedral, Glastonbury Abbey, Abingdon Abbey and Waltham Abbey Church held small relics. He was also popular in East Anglia where the abbey at Montreuil had a daughter house; St Winwaloe Priory in Norfolk was dedicated to him.
Roman general Vespasian captures the Dorset hill forts c. Summer AD 44 Roman general Vespasian captures the Dorset hill fortsIn the second phase of the conquest of Britain, Roman general Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus – a future emperor) led his II Augusta Legion into Dorset. He fought numerous small-scale battles and captured a string of hill forts, including Maiden Castle and Hod Hill. By 48 AD, the Romans had effectively subdued all territory south of a line from the mouth of the Humber river to the Severn Estuary.
The Ravenna Cosmography identifies a major regional Roman-era settlement as Nemetostatio in central Dumnonia identified with North Tawton , Devon , which would translate from Latin as * The Outpost of the Sacred Grove *
The first section of the Ravenna Cosmography to deal with Britain, covering , is obscure but nevertheless generally recognised as dealing with south-western England . Why it should have been separated out by the Cosmographer is not at all clear. Rivet and Smith (1979, 197) see it as evidence for a special source covering this area in greater detail than the rest of Britain.
This does not seem a necessary hypothesis for reasons to be given. Indeed, the words that introduce the next section, ‘Again, next to the aforementioned civitas Isca Dumnoniorum’ iterum iuxta superscriptam ciuitatem scadumnamorum , strongly hint that the Cosmographer is looking at the same map as he used as a source for this section. We will see many instances of the Cosmographer duplicating names throughout his text, the most startling being *Moridunum* , Sidford, which is repeated no less than four times. However, they are not noticeably more common in this section than in those that follow. Had he employed a special and separate source for the south-west, it is difficult to see how he would have integrated the information he derived from it with that he derived from his main source without making many more such duplications. We would on this hypothesis also expect the following long section which covers the province or diocese of Britannia to contain a few names relating to the south-western peninsula which the Cosmographer had not noticed as duplications: we do not find them. Arguments e silentio are never strong; more telling are the duplications within this section that cannot be the result of taking names from two different sources. For instance, the name *Antiuesteum* appears twice, in both cases with virtually the same truncation.This truncation may well have occurred if the first three or four letters of the name were written ‘in the sea’ on the Cosmographer’s postulated map source . The same error of reading is extremely unlikely to have occurred as a result of using two separate source documents.
There are thus no compelling reasons to believe that the Cosmographer was using a separate and fuller source for the south-west of Britain than for the remainder of the island. True enough, the density of names in the peninsula is high, but it is also high in Cumbria and between the Roman walls . The contrast is not so much with a low density in the remainder of the province, but with specific areas, such as Wales and East Anglia, very poorly represented. This does not solve the problem of why the Cosmographer should have seen Isca Dumnoniorum, Exeter, as a point at which to insert a break in his listing. The Peutinger Table may offer a clue: although Britain is severely truncated, with only East Anglia and Kent appearing on the surviving copy, Moridunum and Isca Dumnoniorum are also shown without any intervening south-coast places. It is possible that Isca Dumnoniorum was depicted as prominent in some way, perhaps isolated on a promontory or, as seems more likely, as the gateway to .
In this way the Cosmographer might have decided to break his text at a point which appeared dictated by the geography of the region. He does so further north, where his listing of the Antonine Wall forts occurs ‘where that same Britain is seen to be narrowest from sea to sea’ ubi et ipsa britania plus angustissima de oceano in oceanum esse dinoscitur . Although this was not the primary reason for inserting a break at this latter point, the Cosmographer was clearly sensitive to the depicted shape of the island.
On the other hand, we should perhaps take into account the curious fact that the Civitas Dumnoniorum , basically the Cornish peninsula west of Exeter appears to have been a part of Britain virtually unaffected by those changes to élite behaviour usually termed ‘romanisation’. Is it possible that much of it lay outside provincial or diocesan control and that some kind of border was depicted on the Cosmographer’s map source as separating the south-western peninsula from the rest of Britain? In that case, Isca Dumnoniorum may have been prominent as a point of contact between the wilds of the far south-west and the more ‘civilised’ Durotriges (or Durotrages, following RIB 1673: the form of the name is very uncertain according to Rivet & Smith 1979, 352) to the east. Group 1: the Cornish Peninsula V ¶31 in qua britania plurimas fuisse ciuitates et castra legimus ex quibus aliquantas designare uolumus id est:
Giano Barnstaple 10546
Eltabo River Taw 10546
Elconio River Torridge ? 10547
Nemestotatio North Tawton 10547
Tamaris Launceston ?
Puro coronauis ? 10548
Pilais ? 10549
Vernilis Liskeard ? 10549
Ardua rauenatone River Dart 10550
Deuionisso Statio ? 10551
deuentia steno Buckfastleigh / Totnes ? 10551/10552
Vxelis Barnstaple ? 1061
Verteuia Land’s End 1061 = 1069
This group appears to take us on a general perambulation of the Cornish Peninsula and adjacent area
* Taua, the second name, is clearly the River Taw .
*Nemetostatio is probably the fort at North Tawton, which is in an area where a group of modern names containing the elements Nymet and Nemet are found .
The identification of *Conio* with Ptolemy’s must therefore be questioned as the general progression seems to be from north-east to southwest.
It may refer the River Torridge, although this is a Celtic name, derived from a Brittonic *Torric-, ‘violent, rough’.
*Glano* should therefore be somewhere in north Devon, perhaps in the vicinity of Barnstaple.
Tamaris, this a site on the River Tamar , perhaps at the crossing at Launceston , not the river itself , as the name recurs in the list of river-names . *Durocornouio* and *Pilais*
Britannia in the Ravenna Cosmography: a reassessment K J Fitzpatrick-Matthews cannot now be identified. Charles Thomas (1966a, 87) originally identified the former with The Rumps, a pre-Roman defended enclosure.
More recently, he suggested that it might be Tintagel, the site of an important sub-Roman trading settlement, although its Romano-British status is not clear . *Vernilis* may be the , perhaps near Liskeard ; the correct RomanoBritish form may have been *Verleua.
The Cosmographer’s form would have arisen by way of a transposition of -l- and -u-, the latter being miscopied as -n-. The next name must be for * Deruentione, the River Dart, so the Cosmographer’s eye may have moved from travelling along the spine of Cornwall, following the poorly known road along the centre of the peninsula, and he has possibly now turned his attention to the road south from Exeter, closer to the south Devon coast. Deuionisso Statio and *Deruentio Statio (which are wrongly divided in the text) are probably unlocated Roman government establishments, perhaps tax offices. The latter may have lain in the Dart valley (Dart being Brittonic *Deruentiu: Ekwall 1928, 114), perhaps at Buckfastleigh or Totnes, and the former perhaps near Newton Abbot or elsewhere on the River Teign. The next name, Duriarno, is probably not the same as Durnouaria (Dorchester), as suggested by Rivet & Smith (1979, 345) following Horsley (1732, 490), since it is probably not corrupt (compare the Arnodurum quoted by Williams (Richmond & Crawford 1949, 32), which shows the more usual ‘continental’ ordering of elements). Instead, it may be the name of a site in the vicinity of Plymouth where the inhumation cemetery at Mount Batten and a sequence of coins attest a settlement of some importance (Thomas 1966a, 86). Uxelis is too far west to be the same as Ptolemy’s Οὔξελλα (II.3, 13), which must be on the River Parrett, his Οὐεξάλλα εἴσχυσις (II.3,2), and may be a site or river in Cornwall, perhaps the Fowey or the Fal, unless it is an example of a name written to the west of its symbol on the map source. If this is the case, then it may have been near Barnstaple (Strang 1997, 30). Group 2: the south Devon and Cornish coast Melamoni Sidford ? 1062 = 1064/1069/10613 Scadumnamorum Exeter , Termonin Mesteuia - Land’s End
The mention of Moridunum, Sidford , for the first time indicates a change of direction, and there are now hints of an ordering of names with a general progression from east to west. The -l- for -r- in Moridunum is also found in the next section; it may be that the name was very difficult to read in the Cosmographer’s source. It is unlikely to have occurred as a result of misreading two separate documents, further evidence for the essential unity of the Cosmographer’s sources. The unlocated *Terminum would have been somewhere between Exeter and Land’s End, an admittedly imprecise location. The River Gowy in Cheshire was formerly known as the aqua de Tervin (‘water of Tarvin’) in 1209, the name deriving from the Latin terminus, ‘boundary’, via Welsh Terfyn (Dodgson 1970, 26), which has been retained by a large parish and village. Although the origin of the latter name is generally sought in the post-Roman politics of the region (Bu’Lock 1972, 24), it is probable that the River Gowy was the eastern boundary of the prata legionis of the fortress at Chester. Could a similar origin be suggested for this name, at the western boundary of the prata legionis of the early fortress at Exeter or the territorium of the later capital of the CivitasDumnoniorum?
Somerset Milidunum Sidford
Apaunaris Bath
Masona Camerton? 1065
Alouergium Shepton Mallett 1065
The Cosmographer returns to Moridunum, with the same peculiar -l- for -r- as in the previous group, and a similarly logical ordering of names this time jumping north-eastward and then working back to the starting-point identify Apaunaris with Aquae Sulis, Bath, perhaps correctly, so the two remaining names may relate to sites between Bath and Sidford.
<Masona> suggests a name derived from that of a river, although which cannot now be ascertained; it perhaps refers to the small town at Camerton. The name is corrupt. *Alobergium should be in a hilly location, probably near the Mendip Hills at Shepton Mallett, where parts of a Romano-British small town have recently been identified.
Monday 7 May 2018
BELSTONE
Derivation of the name—Phœnicians—Taw Marsh—Artillery practice on the moors—Encroachments—The East Okement—Pounds and hut circles—Stone rows on Cosdon—Cranmere Pool—Sticklepath—Christian inscribed stones—South Zeal—West Wyke—North Wyke—The wicked Richard Weekes—South Tawton church—The West Okement—Yes Tor—Camp and Roman road—Throwleigh.
AGOOD deal of pseudo-antiquarianism has been expressed relative to the name of a little moorland parish two and a half miles uphill from Okehampton. It is now called Belstone, and it has been surmised that here stood a stone dedicated to Baal, whose worship had been introduced by the Phœnicians.
I must really quote one of the finest specimens of "exquisite fooling" I have ever come across. It appeared as a sub-article in theWestern Morning Newsin 1890.
It was headed: —
"PHŒNICIANS IN DART VALE.
[SPECIAL.]
"Much interest, not only local but world-wide, was aroused a few months back by the announcement of a Phœnician survival atIpplepen, in the person of Mr. Thomas Ballhatchet, descendant of the priest of the SunTemple there, and until lately owner of the plot of land called Baalford, under Baal Tor, a priestly patrimony, which had come down to him through some eighteen or twenty centuries, together with his name and his marked Levantine features and characteristics.
"Such survivals are not infrequent among Orientals, as, for instance, the Cohens, Aaron's family, the Bengal Brahmins, the Rechabites, etc. Ballhatchet's sole peculiarity is his holding on to the land, in which, however, he is kept in countenance in England by the Purkises, who drew the body of Rufus to its grave in Winchester Cathedral on 2nd August, 1100.
"Further quiet research makes it clear beyond all manner of doubt that the Phœnician tin colony, domiciled at Totnes, and whose Sun Temple was located on their eastern sky-line at Ipplepen, have left extensive traces of their presence all the way down the Dart in the identical andunaltered names of places, a test of which the Palestine Exploration Committee record the priceless value. To give but one instance. The beautiful light-refracting diadem which makes Belliver[1]the most striking of all her sister tors, received from the Semite its consecration as 'Baallivyah,' Baal, crown of beauty or glory. The word itself occurs in Proverbs i. 9 and iv. 9, and as both Septuagint and Vulgate so render it, it must have borne that meaning in the third century B C., and in the third century A.D., and, of course, in the interval. There are many other instances quite as close, and any student of the new and fascinating science of Assyriology will continually add to them. A portrait of Ballhatchet, with some notes by an eminent and well-known Semitic scholar, may probably appear in theGraphic; in the meantime it may be pointed out that hisname is typically Babylonian. Not only is there at Pantellaria the gravestone of one Baal-yachi (Baal's beloved), but no less than three clay tablets from the Sun Temple ofSippara(the Bible Sepharvaim) bear the names of Baal-achi-iddin, Baal-achi-utsur, and Baal-achi-irriba. This last, which bears date 22 Sivan (in the eleventh year ofNabonidus, B.C. 540), just two years before the catastrophe which followed on Belshazzar's feast, is in the possession of Mr. W. G. Thorpe,F.S.A.It is in beautiful condition, and records a loan by one Dinkiva to Baal-achi-irriba (Baal will protect his brother), on the security of some slaves."
One really wonders in reading such nonsense as this whether modern education is worth much, when a man could write such trash and an editor could admit it into his paper.
Ballhatchet means the hatchet or gate to a ball,i.e. a mine.
As it happens, there is not a particle of trustworthy evidence that the Phœnicians ever traded directly with Cornwall and Devon. The intermediary traders were theVenetiof what is now Vannes, and the tin trade was carried throughGaultoMarseilles, as is shown by traces left on the old trade route. In the next place, there is no evidence that our British orIvernianancestors ever heard the name of Baal. And finally,Belstoneis not named after a stone at all, to return to the point whence we started. InDomesdayit is Bellestham, or theham, meadow of Belles or Bioll, a Saxon name that remains among us as Beale.
Belstone is situated at the lip of Taw Marsh, once a fine lake, with Steeperton Tor rising above it atthe head. Partly because the river has fretted a way through the joints of the granite, forming Belstone Cleave, and partly on account of the silting up of the lake-bed with rubble brought down by the several streams that here unite, the lake-bed is now filled up with sand and gravel and swamp.
The military authorities coveted this tract for artillery practice. They set up butts, but woman intervened. A very determined lady marched up to them, although the warning red flags fluttered, and planted herself in front of a target, took out of her reticule a packet of ham sandwiches and a flask of cold tea, and declared her intention of spending the day there. In vain did the military protest, entreat, remonstrate; she proceeded to nibble at her sandwiches and defied them to fire.
She carried the day.
Since then Taw Marsh has been the playfield of many children, and has been rambled over by visitors, but the artillery have abstained from practising on it.
The fact is that the military have made the moors aboutOkehamptonimpossible for the visitor, and those who desire to rove over it in pursuit of health have been driven from Okehampton to Belstone, and object to be moved on further.
What with the camp at Okehampton and the prisons atPrincetownand encroachments on every side, the amount of moorland left open to the rambler is greatly curtailed.
The privation is not only felt by the visitor but also by the farmer, who has a right to send outhis sheep and cattle upon the moor in summer, and in times of drought looks to this upland as his salvation.
A comparison between what the Forest of Dartmoor was at the beginning of this century and its condition to-day shows how inclosures have crept on—nay, not crept, increased by leaps; and what is true of the forest is true also of the commons that surround it. Add to the inclosed land the large tract swept by the guns at Okehampton, and the case becomes more grave still. The public have been robbed of their rights wholesale. Not a word can now be raised against the military. TheTransvaal Warhas brought home to us the need we have to become expert marksmen, and theForest of Dartmoorseems to offer itself for the purpose of a practising-ground. Nevertheless, one accepts the situation with a sigh.
There is a charming excursion up theEast Okementfrom the railway bridge to Cullever Steps, passing on the way a little fall of the river, not remarkable for height but for picturesqueness. There is no path, and the excursion demands exertion.
On Belstone Common is a stone circle and near it a fallen menhir. The circle is merely one of stones that formed a hut, which had upright slabs lining it within as well as girdling without.
Under Belstone Tor, among the "old men's workings" by the Taw, an experienced eye will detect ablowing-house, but it is much dilapidated.
TheTawand an affluent pour down from the central bog, one on each side of Steeperton Tor,and from the east the small brook dances into Taw Marsh. Beside the latter, on the slopes, are numerouspoundsandhut circles, and near its source is astone circle, of which the best uprights have been carried off for gateposts. South of it is amenhir, the Whitmoor Stone, leaning, as the ground about it is marshy. Cosdon, or, as it is incorrectly called occasionally, Cawsand, is a huge rounded hill ascending to 1,785 feet, crowned with dilapidatedcairnsand ruinedkistvaens. East of the summit, near the turf track from South Zeal, is a cairn that contained three kistvaens. One is perfect, one wrecked, and of the third only the space remained and indications whence the slabs had been torn. From these three kistvaens in one mound start three stone rows that are broken through by the track, but can be traced beyond it for some way; they have been robbed, as the householders of South Zeal have been of late freely inclosing large tracts of their common, and have taken the stones for the construction of walls about their fields.
By ascending the Taw, Cranmere Pool may be reached, but is only so far worth the visit that the walk to and from it gives a good insight into the nature of the central bogs. The pool is hardly more than a puddle. Belstone church is not interesting; it was rebuilt, all but the tower, in 1881. Under Cosdon nestles Sticklepath. "Stickle" is the Devonshire for steep. Here is a holy well near an inscribed stone. A second inscribed stone is by the roadside to Okehampton. At Belstone are two more, but none of these bear names. They areChristian monuments of the sixth, or at latest seventh, century. At Sticklepath was a curious old cob thatched chapel, but this has been unnecessarily destroyed, and a modern erection of no interest or
Inscribed Stone, Sticklepath
beauty has taken its place. South Zeal is an interesting little village, through which ran the old high-road, but which is now left on one side. For long it was a treasury of interesting old houses; many have disappeared recently, but the "Oxenham Arms," the seat of the Burgoyne family, remains, the fine old village cross, and the chapel, of granite.Above South Zeal, on West Wyke Moor, is the house that belonged to the Battishill family, with a ruined cross near it. The house has been much spoiled of late; the stone mullions have been removed from the hall window, but the ancient gateway, surmounted by the Battishill arms, and with the date 1656, remains untouched. It is curious, because one would hardly have expected a country gentleman to have erected an embattled gateway during the Commonwealth, and in the style of the early Tudor kings. In the hall window are the arms of Battishill, impaled with a coat that cannot be determined as belonging to any known family. In the same parish of South Tawton is another old house, North Wyke, that belonged to the Wyke or Weekes family. The ancient gatehouse and chapel are interesting; they belong, in my opinion, to the sixteenth century, and to the latter part of the same. The chapel has a corbel, the arms of Wykes and Gifford; and John Wyke of North Wyke, who was buried in 1591, married the daughter of Sir Roger Gifford. The gateway can hardly be earlier. The house was built by the same man, but underwent great alteration in the fashion introduced from France by Charles II., when the rooms were raised and the windows altered intocroisées.
Touching this house a tale is told.
About the year 1660 there was a John Weekes of North Wyke, who was a bachelor, and lived in the old mansion along with his sister Katherine, who was unmarried, and his mother. He was a manof weak intellect, and was consumptive. John came of age in 1658. In the event of his death without will his heir would be his uncle John, his father's brother, who died in 1680. This latter John had a son Roger.
Now it happened that there was a great scamp of the name of Richard Weekes, born at Hatherleigh, son of Francis Weekes of Honeychurch, possibly a remote connection, but not demonstrably so.
He was a gentleman pensioner of Charles II., but spent most of his leisure time in the Fleet Prison. One day this rascal came down from London, it is probable at the suggestion of consumptive John's mother and sister, who could not be sure what he, with his feeble mind, might do with the estate.
Richard ingratiated himself into the favour of John, and urged him not to risk his health in so bleak and exposed a spot as South Tawton, but to seek a warmer climate, and he invited him to Plymouth. The unsuspicious John assented.
When John was cajoled to Plymouth, Richard surrounded him with creatures of his own, a doctor and two lawyers, who, with Richard's assistance, coaxed, bullied, and persuaded the sickly John into making a deed of settlement of all his estate in favour of Richard. The unhappy man did this, but with a curious proviso enabling him to revoke his act by word as well as by deed. Richard had now completely outwitted John's mother and sister, who had been conspirators with him, on the understanding that they were to share the spoils.
After a while, when it was clear that John was
North Wyke Gate House
dying, Richard hurried him back to North Wyke, where he expired on Saturday, September 2ist,
1661, but not till he had been induced by his mother and sister to revoke his will verbally, for they had now learned how that the wily Richard had got the better of them.
Next day, Sunday, Richard Weekes arrived, booted and spurred, at the head of a party of men he had collected. With sword drawn he burst into the house, and when Katherine Weekes attempted to bar the way he knocked her down. Then he drove the widow mother into a closet and locked the door on her. He now cleared the house of the servants, and proceeded to take possession of all the documents and valuables that the mansion contained. Poor John's body lay upstairs: no regard was paid to that, and, saying "I am come to do the devil's work and my own," he drove Katherine out of the house, and she was constrained to take refuge for the night in a neighbouring farm. The widow, Mary Weekes, was then liberated and also turned out of doors.
The heir-at-law was the uncle John, against whom Mary and Katherine Weekes had conspired with the scoundrel Richard. This latter now sought Uncle John, made him drunk, and got him to sign a deed, when tipsy, conveying all his rights to the said Richard for the sum of fifty pounds paid down. Richard was now in possession. The widow thereupon brought an action in Chancery against Richard. The lawyers saw the opportunity. Here was a noble estate that might be sucked dry, and they descended on it with this end in view.
The lawsuit was protracted for forty years, from 1661 to 1701, when the heirs of the wicked Richard retained the property, but it had been so exhausted and burdened, that the suit was abandoned undecided. Richard Weekes died in 1670.
The plan resorted to in order to keep possession after the forcible entry was this. The son of Richard Weekes had married a Northmore of Well, in South Tawton, and the Northmores bought up all the debts on the estate and got possession of the mortgages, and worked them persistently and successfully against the rightful claimants till, worried and wearied out, and with empty purses, they were unable further to pursue the claim. In 1713 the estate was sold by John Weekes, the grandson of Richard, who had also married a Northmore, and North Wyke passed away from the family after having been in its possession since the reign of Henry III.
It was broken up into two farms, and the house divided into two. Recently it has, however, been repurchased by a descendant of the original possessors, in a female line, the Rev. W. Wykes Finch, and the house is being restored in excellent taste.
In South Tawton church is a fine monument of the common ancestor, John Wyke, 1591. The church has been renovated, monumental slabs sawn in half and used to line the drain round the church externally. With the exception of the sun-dial, bearing the motto from Juvenal, "Obrepet non intellecta senectus"and a Burgoyne monument and that of "Warrior Wyke," the church does not present muchof interest at present, whatever it may have done before it fell into the hands of spoilers.
The West Okement comes down from the central bogs through a fine "Valley of Rocks," dividing and forming an islet overgrown with wild rose and whortleberry. Above it stands Shilstone Tor, telling by its name that on it at one time stood a cromlech, which has been destroyed. This valley furnishes many studies for the artist.
Hence Yes Tor may be ascended, for long held to be the highest elevation on Dartmoor. The highest peak it is, rising to 2,030 feet, but it is over-topped by the rounded High Willhayes, 2,039 feet. Between Yes Tor and Mill Tor is a rather nasty bog. Mill Tor consists of a peculiar granite; the feldspar is so pure that speculators have been induced to attempt to make soda-water bottles out of it, by fusing without the adjunct of other materials.
On the extreme edge of a ridge above the East Okement, opposite Belstone Tor, is a camp, much injured by the plough. Apparently from it leads a paved raised causeway or road, presumed to be Roman; but why such a road should have been made from a precipitous headland above the Okement, and whither it led, are shrouded in mystery. Near this road, in 1897, was found a hoard of the smallest Roman coins, probably the store of some beggar, which he concealed under a rock, and died without being able to recover it. All pertained to the years between A.D. 320 and 330.
Of Okehampton I will say nothing here, as the place has had a chapter devoted to it in myBook ofthe West—too much space, some might say, for in itself it is devoid of interest. Its charm is in the scenery round, and its great attraction during the summer is the artillery camp on the down above Okehampton Park. On the other side of Belstone, Throwleigh may be visited, where there are numerous prehistoric relics. There were many others, but they have been destroyed, amongst others a fine inclosure like Grimspound, but more perfect, as the inclosing wall was not ruinous throughout, and the stones were laid in courses. The pulpit of Throwleigh church is made up of old bench-ends.
Rivers and navigable creeks, p. 36. Tamar, Lynher, p. 38. Tide, or Tidi, p. 40. Seaton, ib.
Loo, or Eaft-Loo, ibid. ProfpoCt of Loo Bridge," ib. Duloo, or Weft Loo river, p. 41. fawy, ib.
Fal, 42, and it’s harbour. Hel, or Heyl river in Kerricr, p. 43. Lo or Low river in Kerrier, p 44.
A1
Heyl in Penwith, ibid. Ganal creek, p. 45. River Alan, al Lamel, ibid. Wade navigable rivers in
may be made notbeneficial, p. 47. Subject: to obftrudtions, p. 49.
