Fardel Manor Transcribed ogham inscriptions, which lack a letter for p , show Primitive Irish to be similar in morphology and inflections to Gaulish, Latin, Classical Greek and Sanskrit.Many of the characteristics of modern and medieval Irish,
SVAQQUCI
Ancient Inscription ; In the mid-nineteenth century a large stone, which had been used as part of a footbridge over a stream at Fardel , was recognised as bearing an Ogham inscription.
The inscription, in Goidelic (Primitive Irish), reads "SVAQQUCI MAQI QICI", meaning The stone of Safaqqucus , son of Qicus . In 1861 the stone was presented to the British Museum, where it remains .
Fardel Manor Transcribed ogham inscriptions, which lack a letter for p , show Primitive Irish to be similar in morphology and inflections to Gaulish, Latin, Classical Greek and Sanskrit.
Many of the characteristics of modern and medieval Irish, such as initial mutations, distinct "broad" and "slender" consonants and consonant clusters, are not yet apparent. More than 300 ogham inscriptions are known in Ireland, including 121 in County Kerry and 81 in County Cork, and more than 75 found outside Ireland in western Britain and the Isle of Man, including more than 40 in Wales, where Irish colonists settled in the 3rd century, and about 30 in Scotland, although some of these are in Pictish. Many of the British inscriptions are bilingual in Irish and Latin, but none show any sign of the influence of Christianity or Christian epigraphic tradition, suggesting they date before 391, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire; only about a dozen of the Irish inscriptions show any such sign. The majority of ogham inscriptions are memorials, consisting of the name of the deceased in the genitive case, followed by maqi, maqqi, "of the son" (Modern Irish m), and the name of his father, or avi, avvi, "of the grandson", (Modern Irish uí) and the name of his grandfather: for example dalagni maqi dali, " the stone of Dalagnos son of Dalos".Sometimes the phrase maqqi mucoi, "of the son of the tribe", is used to show tribal affiliation. Some inscriptions appear to be border markers. Old Irish, written from the 6th century on, has most of the distinctive characteristics of Irish, including "broad" and "slender" consonants, initial mutations, loss of inflectional endings, and consonant clusters created by the loss of unstressed syllables, along with a number of significant vowel and consonant changes including the presence of the letter p. As an example, a 5th-century king of Leinster, whose name is recorded in Old Irish king-lists and annals as Mac Caírthinn Uí Enechglaiss , is memorialised on an ogham stone near where he died. This gives the late Primitive Irish version of his name (in the genitive case), as maqi cairatini avi inequaglas.[4] Similarly, the Corcu Duibne, a people of County Kerry known from Old Irish sources, are memorialised on a number of stones in their territory as dovinias. Old Irish filed, "poet (gen.)", appears in ogham as velitas. In each case the development of Primitive to Old Irish shows the loss of unstressed syllables and certain consonant changes .These changes, traced by historical linguistics, are not unusual in the development of languages but appear to have taken place unusually quickly in Irish. According to one theory given by John T. Koch, these changes coincide with the conversion to Christianity and the introduction of Latin learning. All languages have various registers or levels of formality, the most formal of which, usually that of learning and religion, changes slowly while the most informal registers change much more quickly, but in most cases are prevented from developing into mutually unintelligible dialects by the existence of the more formal register. Koch argues that in pre-Christian Ireland the most formal register of the language would have been that used by the learned and religious class, the druids, for their ceremonies and teaching. After the conversion to Christianity the druids lost their influence, and formal Primitive Irish was replaced by the then Upper Class Irish of the nobility and Latin, the language of the new learned class, the Christian monks. The vernacular forms of Irish, i.e. the ordinary Irish spoken by the upper classes (formerly 'hidden' by the conservative influence of the formal register) came to the surface, giving the impression of having changed rapidly; a new written standard, Old Irish, established itself.
Ancient Inscription In the mid-nineteenth century a large stone, which had been used as part of a footbridge over a stream at Fardel , was recognised as bearing an Ogham inscription. The inscription, in Goidelic (Primitive Irish), reads " SVAQQUCI MAQI QICI " , meaning " " The stone of Safaqqucus , son of Qicus" or read below grandson . In 1861 the stone was presented to the British Museum, where it remains ! It is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ferdendelle, the 67th of the 79 Devonshire holdings of Robert, Count of Mortain,
half-brother of King William the Conqueror and one of that king's Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief. Ferdendelle possibly signifies "fourth part", that is a quarter of some larger estate.
The Count's tenant was Reginald I de Vautort (died about 1123), of Trematon Castle in Cornwall, the first feudal baron of Trematon, who held 57 manors from the Count. The Anglo-Saxon tenant before the Norman Conquest of 1066 was a certain Dunn, as recorded in the Domesday Book. Ferthedel is the form in which it is later listed in the Book of Fees (c.1302), held from the feudal barony of Trematon FitzJoell ! It subsequently descended to the FitzJoell family . In 1245 it was the dwelling of Waren FitzJoell, the last in the male line, who left a daughter and heiress Ellen FitzJoell, who married William Newton, to whose descendants the manor passed . Newton William Newton , having inherited Fardel on his marriage to the heiress Ellen FitzJoell, lived at Fardel during the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307), but died without male issue, leaving a daughter and sole heiress Jone Newton, who in 1303 married Sir John Raleigh of Smalerigge in the parish of Axminster, Devon , whose descendants made Fardel their seat . Raleigh ! Sir John Raleigh, who married the heiress Jone Newton , was the son and heir of Sir Hugh Raleigh of Smalerigge. This branch of the Raleigh family was more anciently seated at Nettlecombe Raleigh in Somerset , but was probably originally a junior branch of the de Raleigh family , lords of the manor of Raleigh in the parish of Pilton in North Devon . Later members of the family resident there included Members of Parliament Adam Ralegh {c.1480–1545 or later) and Carew Raleigh (circa. 1550 – circa. 1625) . Hele ; Carew Raleigh (circa.1550 -1625) sold the manor of Fardel to Walter Hele , father of Elize Hele (1560–1635) of Parke in the parish of Bovey Tracey, Devon, a lawyer and philanthropist (whose monument with recumbent effigy survives in Bovey Tracey Church), in whose family it remained until 1740 . Later owners After 1740 there were several owners, one of whom was Sir Robert Palk (1717–1798) of Haldon House in the parish of Kenn , in Devon . In 1850 it was in use as a farmhouse, occupied by Arthur Trowbridge Horton.
Fardel Stone . In the mid-nineteenth century a large stone , which had been used as part of a footbridge over a stream at Fardel, was recognised as bearing an Ogham inscription. The inscription, in Goidelic (Primitive Irish) , reads "SVAQQUCI MAQI QICI", meaning " The stone of Safaqqucus, son of Qicus ". In 1861 the stone was presented to the British Museum, where it remains.
Transcribed ogham inscriptions,
The majority of ogham inscriptions are memorials, consisting of the name of the deceased in the genitive case, followed by maqi, maqqi, "of the son" (Modern Irish mic), and the name of his father, or avi, avvi, "of the grandson", (Modern Irish uí) and the name of his grandfather: for example dalagni maqi dali, "[the stone] of Dalagnos son of Dalos". Sometimes the phrase maqqi mucoi, "of the son of the tribe", is used to show tribal affiliation. Some inscriptions appear to be border markers . Old Irish, written from the 6th century on, has most of the distinctive characteristics of Irish, including "broad" and "slender" consonants, initial mutations, loss of inflectional endings, and consonant clusters created by the loss of unstressed syllables, along with a number of significant vowel and consonant changes including the presence of the letter p . As an example, a 5th-century king of Leinster, whose name is recorded in Old Irish king-lists and annals as Mac Caírthinn Uí Enechglaiss, is memorialised on an ogham stone near where he died. This gives the late Primitive Irish version of his name (in the genitive case), as maqi cairatini avi inequaglas . Similarly, the Corcu Duibne, a people of County Kerry known from Old Irish sources, are memorialised on a number of stones in their territory as dovinian . Old Irish filed, "poet (gen.)", appears in ogham as velitas . In each case the development of Primitive to Old Irish shows the loss of unstressed syllables and certain consonant changes.which lack a letter for /p/, show Primitive Irish to be similar in morphology and inflections to Gaulish, Latin, Classical Greek and Sanskrit. Many of the characteristics of modern (and medieval) Irish, such as initial mutations, distinct "broad" and "slender" consonants and consonant clusters, are not yet apparent . More than 300 ogham inscriptions are known in Ireland, including 121 in County Kerry and 81 in County Cork, and more than 75 found outside Ireland in western Britain and the Isle of Man, including more than 40 in Wales, where Irish colonists settled in the 3rd century, and about 30 in Scotland, although some of these are in Pictish. Many of the British inscriptions are bilingual in Irish and Latin, but none show any sign of the influence of Christianity or Christian epigraphic tradition, suggesting they date before 391, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire; only about a dozen of the Irish inscriptions show any such sign.The majority of ogham inscriptions are memorials, consisting of the name of the deceased in the genitive case, followed by maqi, maqqi, "of the son" (Modern Irish mic), and the name of his father, or avi, avvi, "of the grandson", (Modern Irish uí) and the name of his grandfather: for example dalagni maqi dali, "[the stone] of Dalagnos son of Dalos". Sometimes the phrase maqqi mucoi, "of the son of the tribe", is used to show tribal affiliation . Some inscriptions appear to be border markers . Old Irish, written from the 6th century on, has most of the distinctive characteristics of Irish, including "broad" and "slender" consonants, initial mutations, loss of inflectional endings, and consonant clusters created by the loss of unstressed syllables, along with a number of significant vowel and consonant changes including the presence of the letter p. As an example, a 5th-century king of Leinster, whose name is recorded in Old Irish king-lists and annals as Mac Caírthinn Uí Enechglaiss, is memorialised on an ogham stone near where he died. This gives the late Primitive Irish version of his name (in the genitive case), as maqi cairatini avi inequaglas. Similarly, the Corcu Duibne, a people of County Kerry known from Old Irish sources, are memorialised on a number of stones in their territory as dovinias . Old Irish filed , "poet (gen.)", appears in ogham as velitas . In each case the development of Primitive to Old Irish shows the loss of unstressed syllables and certain consonant changes. These changes, traced by historical linguistics, are not unusual in the development of languages but appear to have taken place unusually quickly in Irish. According to one theory given by John T. Koch, these changes coincide with the conversion to Christianity and the introduction of Latin learning. All languages have various registers or levels of formality, the most formal of which, usually that of learning and religion, changes slowly while the most informal registers change much more quickly, but in most cases are prevented from developing into mutually unintelligible dialects by the existence of the more formal register. Koch argues that in pre-Christian Ireland the most formal register of the language would have been that used by the learned and religious class, the druids, for their ceremonies and teaching. After the conversion to Christianity the druids lost their influence, and formal Primitive Irish was replaced by the then Upper Class Irish of the nobility and Latin, the language of the new learned class, the Christian monks. The vernacular forms of Irish, i.e. the ordinary Irish spoken by the upper classes (formerly 'hidden' by the conservative influence of the formal register) came to the surface, giving the impression of having changed rapidly; a new written standard, Old Irish, established itself.
Bat's Castle may once have been known as the legendary fortress Din Draithou , a place also associated with a fortress built or used by the legendary Irish king and raider Crimthann mac Fidaig.B,bats Castle is an Iron Age hill fort at the top of a 213 metres (699 ft) high hill in the parish of Carhampton south south west of Dunster in Somerset, England. The site was identified in 1983 after some schoolboys found eight silver-plated coins dating from 102BC to AD350. It is on the highest point of Gallox Hill. Previously it was known as Caesar's Camp and is possibly associated with Black Ball Camp. Bat's Castle has two stone ramparts and two ditches. The ramparts are damaged in places and the hill fort is partly covered in scrub. Bat's Castle may once have been known as the legendary fortress Din Draithou , a place also associated with a fortress built or used by the legendary Irish king and raider
Crimthann mac Fidaig.
Accept Druids’ power over other iron age people and Roman writers may not have told the truth about them .
Did they fight all the time !
Iron Age people did fight . Their warriors had iron swords and shields. However, they may not have fought very often and probably spent most of the time peacefully being farmers. If not, they could attack other tribes and capture people from them and make them into their slaves . We do not know if the Dumnonii did this. Some tribes had chariots and horses which archaeologists have found . None have been found in Devon or Exeter , except , perhaps, a tiny fragment called a linch-pin that was found very recently at Loddiswell . Iron age linch- pin replica . Linch-pins were made of iron and were used to secure the wheels of chariots or carts.
The wheels were placed on the vehicle’s axle against an axle-block , followed by a washer or ring . The pin shaft would then have been inserted through the axle, keeping the wheel in place much like a modern split pin would today. The linch-pin is an important find as it is the only example known so far in Devon of a piece of equipment which could almost certainly been part of a prehistoric
chariot or cart. Iron Age people did build defences against their enemies. They dug ditches and built ramparts around the tops of hills . We call them hillforts. They made your tribe look very powerful.
When other tribes looked like attacking your tribe, you went into the hill fort and threw spears, arrows and slingshot (small stones) down on them from above. Iron Age people must have been very well organised to have built them. They take a lot of work to make. At first they built more smaller ones which were just for defence or possibly for keeping cattle in. Then they built fewer larger ones and started to live in them. Hembury is a large hillfort near Honiton. Smaller hillforts are at Milber Down , near Newton Abbot and Clovelly Dykes in North Devon. Special artefacts , Some iron age artefacts are beautiful and made from very expensive materials. But they would not be any good for everyday use because they would break. For example, some iron age shields are made of shiny bronze and decorated with enamel and glass beads. These may have been for impressive ceremonies rather than for fighting with. Iron Age people were very clever at making and designing things. Sometimes they copied ideas from other tribes they met , but they also made their own designs. We think some of the richer people fastened their clothes with brooches which were like beautiful safety pins and wore solid gold necklaces called torcs. We think that the gold may sometimes have been melted down from gold coins from the Roman Empire, as not much gold was found in Britain at the time. Some had bead necklaces. Some of them had luxury items like bronze mirrors. One has been found at Holcombe near Lyme Regis. It has a little cat’s face on the handle and may have
been hung on a round house wall because it has a loop on the end of its handle. bronze mirror , some of them made human figures out of wood**. There is one in the museum that was found at Kingsteignton.
We do not know what he is for. He may be a god to worship or he may be a toy.
wooden figure
Making money or swapping things
People trade things when they have something that someone else wants and
someone else has something they want.
It’s like swapping things.
Most Iron Age tribes had their own land for animals, trees for fuel and building materials and water for drinking. Some had metal in the ground they controlled and could make tools and other artefacts from it. Some lived near the sea and could take salt from the water.
Some had fought other tribes and taken some of them to be slaves. They could trade slaves, metal and salt for things they did not have.
The Dumnonii may have used iron bars as valuable objects to trade.
Julius Caesar called them currency bars**. One of the best hoards of currency bars was found in Devon.
The iron bars could have been raw materials for tools or weapons, or perhaps they were offerings to their gods.
They may have been fortrading iron to places where they did not have any.
We do not know.
Some tribes had coins. The Dumnonii did not – we think they used coins that their neighbours the Durotriges used. These coins have blobby shapes on them but no writing. We think this is because the Durotriges did not read or write.
The coins were copied from other coins which had proper pictures of chariots and horses. The copies were not exactly the same and as they became copied in turn, the pictures kept getting less and less like chariots and horses and more like blobs.
Durotrigian coins
The Romans thought that the Iron Age people in Britain were ‘barbarians’ – a rude name for people who did not speak Latin . They often wrote only about the things they found funny or odd about the tribes they met.
Today we can see from the beautiful shields, jewellery and even everyday pottery that Iron Age people were clever and hardworking people and no more ‘ barbarian ’ than the Romans.
Polpenrith, alias Polpcre, and PolwtfOrcl Creeks, running up towards Conftantine Church ; and a mile farther down , Chiciow , alias Calmanfake Creek
This haven ,
within a mile of it 's mouth, is fecure enoughf or ships of 200 ton ; and at its paflage into the sea, is about a mile wide. This River rises in the highest Northern part o f Wendron parilh, whence, in about five miles, it reaches the borough oi I I cl ft on j * about a mile below which it forms a Lake, called the Lo Pool; the River giving rile to the Lake , and the Lake, as the moft remarkable part of the Water, giving name to the R iver *.
Four brooks give rise to this River 4; 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 stone Arches, and a raifed Giulcy well walled on eachside, reaching crofi the valley.
The Bridge has been built fomcwhat more than 400 years 4, bclorc which time there was a ferry here, and fhips of great burden came up to it.
The valley, above bridge, has been much raifed by the fand and earth, walhcd down from the hills and mines; and the haven below has fullered the fame misfortune, from the fands o f the Northern lea ; lb that lighters only come within a bow-lhot oi the bridge ; and that with the tide o f fiood, which at fpring tides flows near a mile above the bridge.
Here the land of Cornw all, is at it’s narroweft dim enfion; fo that from the full fca mark of H cyl on the North Sea, to the full Sea-mark at Mara/ion in Mount's Bay on the South Sea, the diftance is but three miles.
From St. Erth the H cyl bean dircflly North, 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 R iver, which admits fmall ships a mile inwards from the fca under the village o f Lannant.
Near it’s mouth the H cyl is joined by a brook from the East, which, under the Parochial Church of Philac, makes a branch o f this haven for ships of 100 tons.
The Sea has not only almost filled thissmall harbour with sand, butforms a bar aliong it's mouth, over which ships o f 80 and 100 ton only can come in at the height of a spring tide; and the bed of the whole is lo railed, that it admits the tide in it only fix hours in twelve ;
so that whereas, in harbours ojx:n to the sea, the tide flows six hours, and ebbs six hours : here ’tis • Kilm Jiuch, the Mon ,
7 4
NATURAL HISTORY
M et li , n p a n r r v l c i ; otherwisc; the tide lias flowed three hours before it can enter Hey , and it ebbs three hours in the open Sea after the tide has quite difappearcd in H e y l: ’tis therefore but a half-tide haven: yet, notwithftanding this, ’tis a place o f conlidcrablc trade few iron, Bristol wares, but more cfpecially Welfh coal, for which at prcfent there is fuch a demand for fire-engines, mcldng-houfcs, and the homecon fumption o f a populous neighbourhood, that ufually there arc above five hundred, oftentimes a thoufand horfcs, which come to carry oft’ coals, for fome purpofc or otlier, fix days in the week. The fire-engines, which take oft" the greateft quantity of coal from this harbour, are still increasing in number, and the trade here must proport ionably advance.
Ganal Creek • rum up into the land from the North or Severn Sea, as it is fometimcs called, about two miles, where it meets the River, which rifcs in the parifh o f Ncwlan, near Trcricc, the paternal feat o f Lord Arundel o f Trcricc.
This water was more confulerablc formerly, but, like our other little Invent on the North Sea, has fuftercd much from the plenty oi' Sca-fand, with which the North Channel fo much abounds, that every ftorm from the West and North throws it in more or lefs upon the creeks and havens, and in many places upon die hills.
At the mouth o f the Ganal ftandi a little village, called Carantoc, from the Saint to whom the narifli Church is dedicated. Tradition fays, that it was anciently a large town, and very probably it was so, the religious housc here being the rcfidencc of a Dean and nine Prebends.
Sloops of thirty tons only can frequent this Creek.
We proceed next to the great River on the North of Cornwall, allen. at prefent commonly called the Camel (that is, tlsc crooked Rim ) ,
from the many turnings in its courfe, cfpccially from die sharp angle it makes near Bodman, where, from a South South Weft course of twelve miles or more, it bears for the Sea North North W eft. It was alfo called in Lcland’s tim e ' D unm crc; diat is, die Water o f the I (ills; and the bridge over it, near Hodman, is ftill called D un mere Bridge.
It was alfo called Cablan in fomc hiftorics1 ; ” but this is only a contraction o f CabmAlan, that is, die crooked Alan ; (not Camblan, as in Camden •,) the b being infested before the m by the Coniifti idiom 1 ; for Alan is indeed the proper name *
. This River rises about two miles North of the borough o f Camelford , where its banks arc famous for two confidcrablc battles; the first in||w C om ilk the *ord Stunol fa, CmmL in which Kin g Arthur received his mortal w ou n d : thus recorded by the Poet * : ----------------“ Naturam Cam bcla fontis Mutatam ftupct eflc fui, tranfccndit in undas Sanguineus torrens ripas, ct ducit in axjuor Corpora cxlbrum ; plurcs natare videres, Et pctere auxilium quos undis vita reliquit.
” The other, a bloody battle, fought betwixt the Cornifh, and tlje Weft Saxons o f Dcvonlhirc, in the year 824 ', in which many thoufuids fell on each fide, and the vid ory remained uncertain. H ence, after a run o f about 12 miles, it becomes navigable for fand barges at Parbrok ; and at Eglofticl", receives a plentiful addition to it’s ft ream, from the River Lainc \ A mile farther down, this River reaches the grcatcft bridge in this county, called W adebridge: about the year 14 6 0 *, there was a ferry here whilft the tide was in, and a very dangerous ford when the tide was retired, which moved the then Vicar o f EgloftuM, one Mr. Lovebon, with great induftry and public fpirit, to undertake this bridge ; a great and ufeful, but tedious w ork. Rcfidcs the expence, fo difproportioncd to his circumftanccs, in the courfc o f the w ork, there arofc fuch difficulties, as might have hafficd a more mechanical age than that in which he lived : the ground, for the foundation o f lomc o f the piers, proved fo fwnmpy, that after repeated efforts another way, they were forced at laft to build on w ool-packs; however, it ffiould never be forgotten, that by his follicitations, anti the liberal contributions o f others, but chiefly by his own j>crfcveranee, and the bleffmgs o f providence, lie Iiveil to accoinplifh the bridge as it now (lands, with fcvcntccn fair and uniform arches, reaching quite croft the valley, to the great fafety o f travellers, and the credit o f his country.
A mile farther down the A lan makes two fmall Creeks on the Eaft, in return for a brook or two which it receives; then keeping to the North-W eft, and fupplying two Creeks on the W cftcra bank which run up into St. I l l y , and little Pctrock pariihcs, in a mile more it reaches the antient town of Petrockftow, alias Padftow, where there is a pier, and fomc * In CurUm, page it* >nd the Bsine, (Hmnnlu*) in R-dnurflwre, and 1 S« StUBti etiienaclc. Mcnt*omrTyfhin\ fee. probably (hi, R iv et Loin. * That i*. the UMrth on the Rim . KaJ the name of Elaine froni the fwiftixw of * Some Rhen mung the h n Lhord k't o w t . in Baater't gloffinr, page ijj , take their n a n i • I-cUnJ, Vol. II. poje Si. from animal' . as the Cam (C m « ) m Sbtopfeer, trade
46 NATURAL HISTORY walls.
Here is a ftone bridge of 15 arches : below this bridge is the Creek , which, thro’ a narrow gut , admits the tide, and with it fmall barks. One mile below Sand-place, the Loo is joined by another ftrcam Uuto, or from the Weft, called Dulo ; that is, the Black Loo, or Water . Lo° T h e diftricft through which it moftlv runs, is called Dulo, or Duloo pariill , as ‘tis rcafonablc to oonje&urc, from Ibmc apparent darknefs in colour fufticicnt to diftinguifti it from the adjoining ftream o f Eaft Loo, whole whole courfe is at a medium not two miles diftant.
This water rifes in the parifh of St. Pinok, and coafting nearly South, becomes navigable at Trelaun wear, about two miles from the S ea ; a mile after it joins the Eaft L o o , and they both pafs the ftonc bridge above-mentioned into Loo C re e k ;
its whole courfc being about fevcn miles. FAwy * rifes in Faw y moor at a place called Fawy Well, in the F.wy R«*«- parifti o f Altamun, not far from Brownwilly, one of the higheft mountains in Cornwall .
T h e higher part o f this River is al(b called Draincs, and the tirft bridge upon it is by Iceland * called Draincs Bridge; after which periling three other bridges and having taken into its ftream the Rivulets o f St. Ncoe's, Warlegan, and Cardinhain pcuiihcs, it comes to Rcfprin, aliAs Laprin * Bridge, whence, in about three miles, it reaches the borough of I .oftwythycl, where it paftcs a fair ftonc bridge o f nine arches, o f which the water at prefent only ufcth three. In former ages the fca ebbed and flowed above this town ‘, anti Canulcn lays brought up vcflcls o f good burthen : at prefent loadcn barges fcarcc com e within a m ile o f it. In three miles more the FAwy, having taken Fcllyn Hfook from the W eft, receives the water o f Leryn River and Creek from the Enft, and becomes thence a deep and wide Haven : in two miles more it reaches the town and borough o f Faw y on the weftem bunk ; and a little below, being joined by Polnian creek and brook from the Eaft, opens into the Sea, after a run o f twenty* fix miles, betwixt two old towers (built in the rrign o f Edward IV *.) from which there formerly ftretchcd a chain for the defence o f the harbour. T h is is thought the largcft body o f frefh water, except the T lm a r, in all this county. OF CORNWALL . 41 * Iiid<xlin^ two Sv-infr far thr "tort aHiimoJiouflt paJSng Hcn*« lak n with nmol. * W i t r n o ftrw im n rakr fb n r m tm n
The cholas Iiland, in Plymouth Sound, for the eaftcrn boundary.
This River, bv the appointment o f King Athelftan, the Saxon, (A . D. 938.) was to be the general boundary of the Comifh Britans; but when the Normans came in, and the Kingdom became fubdivided into Lordihips and Manors , (thofe little Kingdoms within a Kingdom) Barons , jealous o f the extent, rights, and honours of their Manors, procured their lands on the borders, to be appropriated to the county in which their domains and chief places o f rcfidcnce were fixed \ Hence it happens that this Saxon law o f Athclftan in four inftanccs has given way to the fuccccding regulations o f the Normans, and though the River is reckoned in Cornwall ’, yet Devonshire intrudes for feven miles in length and three in breadth at Wcrington, and claims the two parifhes there of Wcrington and North Pedherwyn, as it does alfo the manfion, domain, and park of Mount Edgcumbe, at the Tamar's mouth.
This laft incroachment upon the general boundary was owing probably to the powerful intercft of the Valtorts (a noble family o f large revenues in Cornwall, but ufually rcfidcnt in Devon) anticntly proprietors oi the place now called Mount Edgcumbe; and, as I imagine, the former was owing to the like intereft and application o f the Abbye of Tavyftock in Devon, which had the property of Werington, and (as Lcland fays, vol. III. page 1 1 5.) “ had fair landcs thereabout.” But though thefe places were, by the interpofition o f their Lords, fubjedted to the civil authority o f Devon, yet care was taken to prcferve the rights o f the Clergy inviolate: they are taxed as belonging to tire Hundreds of Cornwall in the Lincoln taxation, made in the 16th o f Edward I. A . D. 12 8 8 , and they ftill continue fubjedt to the jurifdicfion o f the Archdeacon o f Cornwall. On the other hand, Cornwall alfo exceeds its anticnt limits near North Tamarton, having a fin all flip oi land o f about two miles iquare on the caftcrn bank, but why, I am not informed: again, over againft Saltafh, it claims a finall portion o f land not a mile fquare, owing, as I imagine, to the application of the Lords o f Saltalh, and the Caftlc of Trcmaton adjoining. The next confiderable River is the Lynhcr, called fo from the Lake it makes before it joins the Tamar at Hamozc It rifes on the hills o f Altarnun parilh, about eight miles Weft o f Lancefton, coafts down to the South South Eaft through the parifhes o f North - hill, Linkinhorn, and South-hill; and palling about a mile from the * Three are lome iUUncci of thi* klsxl in tbcnfo:c be daimed a pvr of ths* County.** «h tr couiV.ics icd indeed in forekro couMlin, Carcw, pjsr 99. which n (onfirntcd alt> h) ilo pu u u b riy in Gcnniny, where all M pertain to the hi*tow ycaily, rwcle, lot <h»m lw within wfc*C Otbtr circle footer. and the smchoMgc and fudigc of all (liauj'-.cr Clips i Plot. Otfordrtiire, chap vi. fodf. Ix m t . all bekuuang to the Uxoogh of Saluxhcin Cotc- • “ ThejuritoUliono f the Water duh wholly w a i f N uiJtn, pigecK. ajjperuin to the Dutchv o f Cornwall, and may • Sco Lcliad itui. vol. V . p. 79. borough 38 N A T U R A L HISTORY borough o! Calinton, divides the park at Ncwton-fcrrcrs, formerly the Scat o f the late Sir John Coryton, Bart, and by Pillatou and Lanrake comes to Natter (alias Noddetor) B rid g e w h e re it is navigable, and, by the help o f the Sea, begins Lynhcr Creek : hence continuing its courfe four miles farther, between the parishes of Chcviock and St. Stephens, it then turns to the Eaft, and, agreeably to its name Lynher *, making a fair liavcn betwixt Eaft Anthony and St. Stephen’s, joins the Tim or, after a comic o f about twenty-four miles.
In tire fummer this Bream is final!, but in the winter rapid, overflowing, one! dangerous, o f which alternate extremes Mr. Carew (page h i .) in quaint, but not unharmonious ftrain, thus cxprcflcs himfelf according to the manner o f his time*.
I. When fun the earth leaft fhadow fpares, And higheft Balls in heaven his feat, Then Lyner’s peebly bones he bares, Who like a lamb doth lowly bleat, And faintly Aiding, every rock Plucks from his foamy fleece a lock. II. Before a River, now a Rill, Before a fence, now fcarcc a bound, • Children him o’crlcap at will, Small bcafts his dccpcft bottom found, 'I he heavens with brafs enarch his head, And earth o f iron makes his bed. m . But when the mildcr-moodcd fkic I lis face in mourning weeds doth wrap, For abfcncc of his clcarcft die, And drops tears in his center’s lap, Lyncr gynncs lion-like to roare, And looms old bankes fhould bound him more. IV . 1 lien, fccond Sea, he rolles, and bears Rocks in his wombc, rickes on his backe, Downe-borne bridges, up-torne wears, Witncflc and wayle his force, their wracke I nr. pi£C j S , call* it Natter \ extraordinary (prod c f water d t t fmake in fome ^ lre'v» 1* 8* S *. particular plan-: thus we have in th'u County R iw « c * W I * . fn.m their n,*k,„B , Ipkr i ft Lake, it their mouth: hfrfiraif: Scoji Lynher, tagujbeus. hewg wt mfoi (ria> U)C . Ra.a u- EjSi,*.
Into O F C O R N W A L L . 39 depofit o f this W ater might give fufficicnt rcafon for the aflertion. Petrifying Waters ; fuch, I mean, as w ill incruft bodies put into them with ftonc, I have not yet heard o f any in Cornwall, except the W ater at H oly W ell, in Cuthbert, before-mentioned (pag. 32.) m ay be called Io. Our R iver, Lake, or Sea W ater, have not any taftc, colour, or property, more than common, but m uft however . be here treated o f as to their rife, courfes, extent, and illuc, harbours, and tides; their prcfent ufcfulncfs, and their capacity o f being render’d ftill more ufeful. 36 NATURAL HISTORY CHAP. IV . O f the R ivers and navigable Creeks in Cornwall. I N the middle o f this County, betwixt the North and South Sea, the land is mountainous, (as has been obferved before, chap. i.) and the mountains m ake a kind o f broken chain the whole length o f C orn w all; the links o f this chain arc much more large and maftivc, if I may fo fey, in the Eaft where the land is widcft, but they contrad and narrow themfelvcs as they tend to the W eftward, conforming their fizc, as well as lhaping their courfc according to the land. On each fide this high ridge the land fpreads into a plainer furfacc, rather more hilly on the North than on the South, but on both fidcs declining to the fca. T h is general difpofition o f the land is far from being difedvantagcous; lor the ridge o f hills running nearly Eaft and W eft, by intercepting the rain, fogs, and dews, diftributcs them again in plentiful and frequent ftrcams, on either fide watering the Sea Coaft, the Northern Coaft well, but the Southern much better ; an cffcA entirely owing to the rains being more frcoucnt on the Southern fide o f our hills, than thofc which com e from the North. Upon the whole, it may fefdy he alfcrtcd, that few fpots o f land o f equal extent in England arc fo well watered as • Cornwall. Tamar. T am ar • is the Eaftcm moft River in C o rn w a ll; it rifcs in Morw inftow, the moft Northern parilh o f this County, about three miles from the Sea C o aft: in Ju n e 1757 fb inconfidcrablc at its (burcc, that it was with fomc difficulty we found where it rifcs, • “ A (r e x ir imkcr of c m Urge* l t « n begin t*T > GfaCar. p a x j 6 j . “ M ir . M ir , and M«V, with th* ntird T a v m i T n r, or, »» m tm idy 6g n £ rd w k n d / W x e r x %.dl at Sea," M i. written, T a m or T a n . Hence T l x * or T h x o « , axgt »6 6 . T i m * thrrriurr fir nil** the brae l av, I'a u v , See. T V . T a m • in >0 p r o b * W R o v r-w x rr. m i DumU be wnttrn T x n a c , q u * the fame with the (irrek T a n a * in lU k » n * • in Tao-tnat Ckeck b a n f in M prryc(m.< " L W r d n Bax which which was on the fummic o f a moor, from whence the ground, declining to the N orth, makes w ay for part o f the water to run northerly,which is the head o f the R iver Turndgc, navigable a lirtic above the town o f Bidcford, and the ground (helving away on the other lidc at the fame time to the South, drains away the begs o f the fame moor to the Southward from the lame fountain, and forms the beginning o f T am ar, which, at the diftance o f ten miles, becomes coniidcrablc enough to give name to the fmall parifh and village o f North Tam arton *, where leaving a bridge ot ft one, it continues 011 to the South till it enters the parilh ofSt. Stephen**', at the comer o f which parifh it receives a very plentiful ftrcam, called Wcrington River. About a m ile and h alf farther down it receives the Atcrey “ River (which runs under the w alh o f Lanccfton), and becomes foon after, at Polftun bridge ’, a confidcrablc, wide, and rapid ftrcam. Hence it coafts on nearly South, receiving the brooks from each fide, till it has palled Graiftun * bridge *, a mile below which, it receives the Low icy River, and foon after a more plentiful ftrcam from A ltam un, Lcw anic, and Lczant pariihcs, called die l ay, and the place where it joins the T am ar, called lim y-foot \ T h e Tam ar incrcafing ftill, has a high, ftrong, ftonc bridge, in Stokdym lland, called commonly Horfe Bridge, but by L d a n d 9 I law teb rig; that is, H igh Bridge. T h e l.ift bridge on this River is in the parifh o f G ilftok, begun, lays Ld and ', by Sir Pcrfe Edgcumbc *. T h e tide almoft reached this bridge in the time o f Henry V III *. but it was navigable 110 further than M orldum , about two miles below, to which fmall Ixirks ftill come.
Five miles farther down, the Tamar receives the T a v y on the Eaft, and, having nude a Creek into the parilhes o f Botsflcming and Landulph on the Weft, becomes a fpacious harbour, and walhing the loot o f the anticnt borough o f Saltalh within h alf a mile, is joined by the Lynhcr Creek and River, then palling ftrnight forward forms the noble harbour of Hamaoze called formerly Tamarworth • ; where making two large Creeks, one called St. Jo h n ’s, the other M illbrook, at the Weft, and Stonehoufe Creek at the Eaft, (after a courfc of about forty miles, nearly South) the Tamar pallet into the Sea, having Mount Edgcumbe lor its weft cm , and the Linds o f Sionchoufc and St. Ni- * The Tam an or P iA - y . aa . f a f p U , u . «hc « « t. - p jg f , 5 . • T V fane R ircr g i» « name alfe lo a wood ' hi
that is the wrt o o iy cholas OF CORNWALL . 37 ( J » I-Hand, ih. for A h- hf, mirk || m U tirrn o i ncaM*., (fcttMdrf k l.tfc rtU * tt Vink ktw orn the w alb, ual tm n tj-fc k n high Into men’s houfcs fierce lie breakes, And on each ftop his rage he wrcakcs. V. Slicphcard adieus h» fwymming flockc, The hindc his whelmed harveft hope, The ftrongeft rampirc fears his fhockc, Plaines fcarcc can fcrvc to give him febpe, Nor hills a barre, whcrefo he ftray’th Enfuc lofs, tcrrour, ruinc, death. Ri’™ Ti* ’ The Lynher Creek, about lour miles below Natter bridge, joins cr lxt' St. German's Creek, made by the River Tidi, which has its rile on die South fide o f Giradon Hid, near Lilkcrd, where there is a place called Tidicomb, another Tidcwcll; and after,dividing Qucthiok pariih from Minhcncth, it enters the pariih o f St. German near Molinic, and about two miles lower becomes navigable at a place called Tidiford, (or the firft ford on die Tidi) about two miles lower, it walhes the fidcs o f the anticnt borough and formerly Epifcopal See o f St. German, w Ik iic c the Creek below is called St. German’s Creek; and joining the Lynhcr, dicy both together proceed into the Tamar. ScuonRJxr. Seaton is the next River: it rifcs in St. Clare, about four miles to the North-Iiaft o f Lilkcrd; and palling within a mile of that borough to a place thence called Lanfcaton, goes through Minheneth parilli, and dividing St. German’s on the liaft from Morval, and St. Martin’s on the Weftcrn lank, falls into the Sea at Seaton, after a court: o f about twelve miles. The anticnt town, which probably gave name to this water, mud have lain at its mouth, or opening into the Sea; but there arc no remains to lie feen : the town there - forc has probably Ixxn fwallowcd up by the encroachments of the Sea, which in this place have been very confidcrablc, ii we may regard the tradition o f the neighbourhood. Loo. <* Eaft Loo, or liaft Loo ‘,has its rife alio in the highlands o f St. Clare; LooR.vc.*. an(j pa{]*uig undcr Lilkcrd park, divides Kcync jwrilh from Lilkcrd, then Morvai from Dulo; and becoming navigable at Sand-placc, empties itfelf, about three miles after, between two little boroughs, which have their names, liaft Loo and Weft Loo, from the River, as the River has its name from the large Pool, which it makes every full tide, between the two towns. Its whole courfe is about ten miles. Here is a ftonc bridge o f fifteen arches*, one hundred and forty-one yards long, and fix feet three inches wide betwixt the Alfo I m v mil I v v w , Inland, vol. V II. I r .i j i . Soy. I.och. Anglicc, l.ihc, 1' o.l.orPo- \ page 1 13. via Ixiw , ib. p»gc 1 14. sixl >>.l. III. iivh»&n£ („*, kjuarc- iv v ti-iv -. made for The page -;6. W iiijte Lhuch, O xiw -briu If. more on iirn o io u flyp afl.ifjb ai:,! i-icn wkH walls.
4o NATURAL HISTORY T h e next navigable ftrcam is the Fa! which rifes at a place called Fenton V a l, (that is, the fource o f Fal) about two miles W eft o f R oche H ills, and running about eight miles to the South, may be called a plentiful ftrcam at the borough o f Granpont, where it pafles under a ftonc bridge that gave the prefent name to this borough, but has nothing clfe remarkable. About a mile below this bridge the River was formerly navigable, at leaft for boats ; but is now deprived o f that great advantage; in three miles farther, it reaches the borough and bridge o f Trcgeny.
T o this place in the laft century the dcfign o f making the River Fal navigable by fluices up to Granpont was nearly completed by one Colonel T revanion; but this attempt, fo much for the benefit o f the adjacent country, had no co n fere n ce but what fbould be mentioned with concern ; I mean, that o f exhaufting the private purfc o f this publicfpiritcd Gentleman.
A mile below Trcgeny Bridge the waters begin to spread, and afliflcd by the tide, and many little brooks on cither hand, forms a Creek, about three miles long, called Lamoran * Creek.
Here, having wafhed theSou-hcm fide o f the lands and park o f Trcgothnan, feat o f the Right Honourable Lord Vifcount Falmouth, it is joined by T ru ro C reek, a noble body o f water to which the Rivers o f Kem vyn and St. Allen give the fuft rife, and meeting at the borough of Truro, make with the tide a navigable chancl for (hips of io o ton burthen to come up to the town Kaye. From Truro , after making a fniall Creek to the W eft, in two miles it joins St. Clement’s Creek, which is navigable for barges, three miles to the Eaft, as far as Trefilicn Bridge. Truro Creek and St. Clement’s at their meeting make M orpas» R ode, and proceeding about a mile farther, meet the Fal at the mouth o f Lam oran C reek, whence they all together, under the name o f F al, in two miles more reach the principal branch o f Falmouth harbour, called Cnrrcg R ode ; hither flows from the Weft ward Trcthcag River, and with fomc other Brooks from the North farm Rcflrongct Creek \ Mclor, or Milor Creek is n e x t; finall, but fhdtcrcd ’ : then comes the great Creek, or rather Harbour, called K ing's-R od c, which has Flufhing to the Eaft, and the populous town o f Falmouth to the Weft, and is navigablc two miles up to the borough and port of Pcnryn, whither mips o f io o ton and fomcwhat more may come up. A little below this laft-mcntioncd town, on each fide o f the Creek, there was a jutty head, and, to guard the gap between, * In l-cland, V o l. 5. page 1 7 , F a U . u n it fed : u-hcrt thr R iv rr and Sea wcrt. C oit F a l l ; that is Fala-vnoodj the amimt a u w r f » T h a t b , the po&agr over the S i a , in Inland. Granpont, motr n u n , or M edium j that o , t
Survey o f Cornwall, p. 47 there
42 NATURAL HISTORY there was a chain in the time of Lcland ; but fuch unwieldy defences are become in a manner neediefs, fmcc the improvements of naval architecture have fo much advanced the Royal Navy. The Creeks on the Eaftem bank of this harbour are the little Creek of St. Juft, and the irregularly wandenng one o f St. Maudit’s ; and all thefe branches being united in G irrcg Rode, as the Item and trunk, (four miles long, above a mile wide, and fourteen fathom deep) die Fal runs into the Sea betwixt Pendinas Caftlc on die Weftem bank, and St. Maudit’s and Anthony Point on the Eaft: the opening here into the Ocean is near a mile wide, deep chancl, but near the middle a large rock , 1110 ft dangerous when the water is raoft deep ; for then it is hid.
T o remedy in fomc mcafurc this danger, the heirs of Killigrcw , Lords o f Pendinas Caftlc, (which guards this entrance) are obliged to keep a tall pole fixed on the higheft part of tlic rock. Notwithftanding this inconveniency, the harbour o f Falmouth m ull be reckoned among the mod fccurc and capacious harbours belonging to the crown o f Great Britain. Lcland * calls it “ a very' notable and famous, and in a manner the {wincipal haven of all Britain.” Camden equals it to Brundufium, in Italy ; and Carcw , Camden, and Speed, agree, that a hundred fail of fliips may anchor in ir, and 110 one fee the other’s top Hamozc Harbour, at the mouth of Tamar, is reckoned to be better fct oft* with profpe&s of feats, towns, and gently declining ftiorcs, and has a greater fpacc of deep water for the Royal Navy ; but Falmouth lus a bolder fKorc, is better fccured with hills ami winding creeks for trading vcftcls, and its fituatiou more convenient for getting clear o f the ch an cl: in lliort, yielding only to Milford Haven on the coaft o f Wales, it is generally reckoned the ftcond harbour o f Great Britain.
This River is called Hcl, and the firft ford over it Halford •. im or lUyt The head of it lies upon the hills o f Wendron parifh, near Pcnh.il Guy (i. c. water coming from the head of the hill) whence it runs, in about three miles, to a village called Guyk ’, whither, by help of the tide, barks come up. A mile farther down the H l is joined by Maugan Creek on the South, and three miles farther by K cftel or Hellord C reek, where there is a pafiing boat, and at its mouth, three miles farther, by Gillan Creek. On the North it has firft •
vii OF CORNWALL . 43 r ln o n m ,A n g lk * . S o l . I vr (-.hap . (mm C arry, rock, and grdn nr W olRrv ;r » n n . a ridge o f bnd bi'fw«vn two furrow. (Richard'. D klinniry) ; Cor fu c h mdml thi. 1, : but It it,uft Ik owned, that k ■ i ufual wnh W fc*, tall rncks altar the nam e o f -he -..m ala | . . the W olf R ack, the Co - and C atf, o i * . — ---------------- via v** *ni**Mnr rtW^aocr. m VI- • C a m e , i j o . Camden, 16 . Speed, lib. i. Polpcnrith,
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.