The Parochial History of Cornwall/Volume 1/St Anthony in Kerrier
ST. ANTHONY IN KERRIER.
HALS.
St. Anthony in Kerrier is situate in the hundred of Helston and Kerrier, West Louer or Consort, and hath upon the east the harbour of Helfon, north Manackan, west St. Kevorne, south the British Channel. This parish, as those before of this name, are not mentioned in the Domesday tax, neither do I know under what title it then passed. In the Pope's Inquisition, as to the value of its first fruits, 20 Edward I. 1294, Eccles' de S'cto Antony in Decanatu de Kerryar, is rated iiiil. xiiis. iiud. the vicar thereof xiiis. iiiid. In Wolsey's Inquisition, 1541, £4. 15s. 11d. The patronage in the Bishop of Exon for the time being, whose predecessors endowed it; the incumbent Edwards; the Rectory or Sheaf in possession of . . . .; and the parish rated to the 4s. per pound land tax, 1696, £66. 12s. And the tutelar guardian of this Church is St. Anthony before-mentioned.
Tre-woth-ike in this parish, "the town of the known or familiar cove, creek, or bosom of waters" (Tre-werh-ike or ick, is evidently the town, on the water, or cree,—Editor;) alias Tre-wood-ike, "the town of the wood creek or bosom of waters," was formerly the lands of Tre-gow (id est, "the wood town," in or about those parts) gentlemen that flourished here for several generations in good fame and credit till about the middle of the reign of King Charles II. when Mr. Tregoze sold this lordship to John Vaughan, of Ottery, in Devon, Esq. who married Drew, his father Hals of Efford, sister to Sir Nich. Hals, Knt., his grandfather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., and giveth for his arms, in a field, . . . . . . three boars heads erased. The arms of Tregose were, Azure, two bars gemelles, in chief a lion passant Or, langued Gules, which name and tribe I think is now quite extinct.
Roscruge or Rossereige Burough, in this parish (id. est, the valley and promontory or highland, tumulus or burying place) gave name and original to a family of gentlemen now or lately in possession thereof, who gave for their arms . . . . . . . . . . . . Otherwise Roscrugh, may be interpreted as the valley or covered tumulus for or of music.
In this parish are the two camps or treble intrenchments of our ancestors the Britains, called Denis and Great Denis or Dunes, words of two import, signifying the great castle and the little castle, fort, fortress, or fortified place, wherein the inhabitants heretofore posted themselves for their safety against foreign invaders. See St. Colomb Major.
TONKIN.
By this church is a small promontory of land running out into the sea, which, from its resemblance to Pendinas, is called the Little Dinas. It was formerly fortified, and had some guns planted upon it to secure the entrance of Hailford harbour, which not being very broad it well may command. And in time of wars, it were very convenient there should be still some guns there, for the safety of the ships that trade to and again in this harbour, which, as the case now stands, may be easily carried off by privateers. Thus much may be said for the honour of this place—it was the last which held out for King Charles in Cornwall;[1] for, after the taking of Pendinas, it sustained a siege of several weeks, and at last was forced to surrender for want of ammunition.
THE EDITOR.
The measurement of this parish is 1265 statute acres.
| Annual value of the Real Property as returned to Parliament in 1815 | £. 2095 |
s. 3 |
d. 0 |
| Amount of Poor Rate in 1831 | 186 | 0 | 0 |
| Population, | in 1801, 261 |
in 1811, 224 |
in 1821, 230 |
in 1831, 300. |
Increase on an hundred in 30 years 14.9, or very nearly 15 per cent.
On an estate near the churchyard, celled Lantenny, foundations of buildings and remains of human bodies have been found; the presumed relics of a cell of black monks of Angiers, belonging to the priory of Tywardreth, which existed at this place as early as the reign of Richard I. Lysons.
Dr. Boase remarks that the rocks of this parish are precisely similar to the rocks of St. Anthony in Powder, on the other side of Falmouth Harbour; and that it is a very carious circumstance that three parishes of the same name should be all based on the same kind of rocks, notwithstanding their being situated at a considerable distance from each other, and respectively belonging to distinct groups of granite.
- ↑ Except, says Lysons, the Mount and Pendennis Castle. Little Dinas was surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax in March 1646.