The Parochial History of Cornwall/Volume 1/St Clements
ST. CLEMENT'S.
HALS.
St. Clement's is situate in the hundred of Powder, and hath upon the north St. Herme and St. Allen; on the west Kenwyn; east the creek of Trevilian River; south and west Truro River, or arm of the sea.
In Domesday Roll, 20 Wm. I. A.D. 1087, it was taxed under the Great Earl of Cornwall's manor (now Duchy) of Mor-is or Mor-es, id est, the manor or parish of the sea, or a manor situated on the sea, according to the natural circumstances of the place. And I doubt not that before the Norman Conquest this church or chapel was extant; since, at the time of the Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester (1294), it was valued to the first fruits vil., vicar ejusdem xiiis. iiiid., by no other name than Ecclesia de Mores, which was endowed or founded undoubtedly by the Lords of the Manor of Mores, that is the Earl of Cornwall, whose successors, the Dukes, still possess the lands, and are patrons of the church. In Wolsey's Inquisition 1525, and Valor Beneficiorum, this church is called Clemens, and valued to first fruits £9.
In this church town is the well-known place of Conor, Condura, id est, the King or Prince's Water (viz. Cornwall), whose royalty is still over the same, and whose lands cover comparatively the whole parish; from which place in all probability was denominated Cundor or Condor, in Latin Condorus, i.e. Condura, Earl of Cornwall at the time of the Norman Conquest, who perhaps lived, or was born here. And moreover, the inhabitants of this church town and its neighbourhood will tell you, by tradition from age to age, that here once dwelt a great lord and lady called Condura.
This Condurus, as our historians tell us, in 1016 submitted to the Conqueror's jurisdiction, paid homage for his earldom, and made an oath of his fealty to him; but this report doth not look like a true one, for most certain it is, in the 3rd year of the Conqueror's reign, he was deprived of his earldom, the same being given to the Conqueror's half-brother, Robert Earl of Morton in Normandy, whose son William for along time succeeded him in that dignity after his death. Is it not, therefore, more probable that this Earl Condurus confederated with his countrymen at Exeter, in that insurrection of the people against the Conqueror in the 3rd year of his reign, and for that reason was deprived of his earldom? Be it as it was, certain it is he married and had issue Cad-dock (id est, bear or carry-war), his son and heir, whom some authors call Condor the Second, who is by them taken for and celebrated as Earl of Cornwall.
But what part of the lands or estate thereof he enjoyed (whilst Robert and William, Earls of Morton aforesaid, his contemporaries, for thirty years were alive, and doubtless possessed thereof, as well as his title and dignity) hath not yet appeared to me. His chief dwelling and place of residence was at Jutsworth, near Saltash and Trematon, where he married and had issue one only daughter named Agnes, as some say, others Beatrix, who was married to Reginald Fitz-Harry, base son of King Henry I., by his concubine Anne Corbett, in whose right he was made Earl of Cornwall, after William Earl of Cornwall aforesaid had forfeited the same, by attainder of treason against the Conqueror and his sons, and was deprived thereof.
This Earl Caddock, or Condor the 2nd, departed this life 1120, and lies buried in the chancel of St. Stephen's Church, by Saltash, and gave for his arms, in a field Sable, 15 bezants palewise, 4, 4, 4, 2, 1. (See St. Stephen's.)
Lambesso, Lambedo, Lambessa, in this parish, parcel of the Duchy manor of Moris aforesaid, where heretofore was kept the prison, or place of durance and correction, for the prisoners and offenders thereof; which barton for several generations was the dwelling-place of the family surnamed King, duchy tenants, till my kind friend Henry King, gent. temp. Charles II., for want of issue, by his last will and testament settled the same upon John Foote, gent, attorney-at-law, now in possession thereof; who married Avery, daughter-in-law to Mr. King, by his wife, the widow of Avery, and daughter of Lampeer, as I take it.
Query, whether Oliver King, Chaplain in ordinary to King Henry VII., Dean of Winchester, Register of the Noble Order of the Garter, and one of the principal Secretaries of State to that King, created Bishop of Exeter the 9th of February 1492, and from thence translated to Wells 1499, and died 1505, (since Isaac, in his Memorials of Exeter, saith he was a Cornish man), were not of this family? who gave for his arms, in a field Argent, on a chevron Sable, three escallops of the First.
Mr. Foote, as I said, married Avery, and was descended from the Footes of Tregony; and giveth for his arms, Vert, a chevron between three pigeons or doves Argent. His son Henry Foote, attorney-at-law, married Gregor of Cornelly, and is, at the writing hereof, in possession of Lambesso.[1]
Pen-are, alias Pen-ar, in this parish, parcel of the Duchy manor of Moris aforesaid, was heretofore the dwelling of my kind friend James Lance, Esq. a Commissioner of the Peace and Surveyor of the Duchy of Lancaster during the Interregnum, or usurpation of Cromwell. He married ——— Blackston of London.
This gentleman sold this barton to Hugh Boscawen, of Tregothnan, Esq. who settled it in marriage with his daughter Bridget, on Hugh Fortescue, of Filley, in Devon, Esq. now in possession thereof.
Since writing the above, Mr. Fortescue departed with those lands to Grenvill Hals, of Truro, gent., who dying without issue, and his unthrift elder brother, James Hals of Merthyr succeeding as his heir to those lands, he hath sold the same to one Mr. Cregoe, for about twelve hundred pounds.[2]
Tre-simple, in this parish, was the lands of I have forgot whom, who sold it to Henry Vincent, gent, attorney-at-law, descended, as Mr. Foote informed me, from the Vincents of St. Allen, who married Kendall of Pelyn; his father, Lampen; and gave for his arms, in a field three cinquefoils.
By Kendall he had issue Walter Vincent, Esq. barrister-at-law, who married ——— Nosworthy, and a daughter named Jane, married to Harris, of Park; after by his second wife, daughter of Richard Lance, gent, he had issue Peter Vincent, to whom he gave this Tresimple, who sold it to his brother Walter Vincent aforesaid, and Shadrack Vincent; Edward Vincent, killed by a fall from his horse 1700; and Mary, married to Joseph Halsey, clerk, some time rector of St. Michael, Penkwell.
Park, in this parish (id est, a field, or a park for beasts), is the dwelling of Covin, gent.
Pol-wheele, or Polwhele, in this parish (id est, the head or top), is situate at the top of a hill; from whence was denominated an ancient family of gentlemen surnamed Polwhele, who gave for their arms as underneath: in a field Sable, a saltire engrailed Ermine; and from that time discontinued the arms of Trewoolla (viz. three owls), the Cornish motto of which Polwhele's arms was, Karenza whelas Karenza, id est, Love or affection seeks, searches, begets, or works love. The present possessor, John Polwhele, esq. barrister-at-law, who married Redinge, of Northamptonshire, his father Baskewill of Dorset, his grandfather one of the daughters of Judge Glanvill in Devon, his great-great-grandfather one of the coheirs of Ten-Creek of Treworgan, which place afterwards he made his dwelling.
Lastly, let the reader observe, that if the true name of this church be St. Clement's, then its tutelar guardian and patron, to whom it was dedicated, was St. Clement, Pope and martyr of Rome; whose name is derived from Clemens, mild, meek, merciful, gracious. He was born in the region of Calimontana in Italy; his father's name Faustine. He was contemporary with St. Paul, and was his coadjutor or assistant in preaching the Gospel, as is testified by himself in his epistle to Timothy, wherein he saith, "Help those persons that labour with me in the Gospel, whose names are written in the Book of Life." He appointed that in the seven regions of Rome should be the notaries, to write the deeds and martyrdoms of the Christians, and commanded that such as were baptized and had learnt the principles of the Christian religion, should receive the sacrament of confirmation, and as some write, he made the Canon of the Apostles and the Apostolic Constitutions now extant. Finally, for preaching the Gospel of Christ in derogation of the Roman religion, he was by command of the Emperor Trajan, with a rope about his neck, and an anchor fastened thereto, cast into the main sea and drowned, uttering those last words, "Eternal Father, receive my soul!" after he had been Pope of Rome nine years, two months, and ten days, the 23rd of November Anno Dom. 102. He gave orders twice in December, and ordered fifteen bishops, ten priests, and twenty-one deacons, as Baronius saith.
TONKIN.
The Polwheles of this place are of great antiquity. They flourished before the Conquest, at which time they were so eminent that Drew de Polwhele was chamberlain to the Conqueror's queen; and the late John Polwhele, Esq. had not long since in his possession, a grant from her to the said Drew of several lands in this county, which deed he having sent to a gentleman to peruse, he could never get it back again. From the time of this Drew or Drogo de Polwhele, the family have lived with much esteem in this their habitation, till the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, when Degory Polwhele, on his marriage with Catherine the eldest daughter and coheir of Robert Trencreek, Esq. removed to her seat of Treworgan in St. Erme, where the family resided till the sale of that place to Mr. Collins, when they returned to their old dwelling.
The present possessor, Richard Polwhele, Esq. was sheriff of Cornwall 9 George I. 1723.
The family suffered greatly in the civil wars.
Penhellick was once a considerable seat, although now it is divided into several premises, in one of which lately resided Mr. Robert Polwhele, younger brother to John Polwhele, Esq. and in another Captain Thomas Gregor, of Truro.
Trewhythenick formerly belonged to a family of the same name, who gave for their arms, Argent, a chevron within a border engrailed Sable. This manor came afterwards to the diamonds.
Park also belonged to a family of the same name.
Lambesso belonged to the Tredenhams, but for some time past to the Footes.
THE EDITOR.
Polwhele has descended from the gentleman who served the office of sheriff in 1723, to his grandson, the Rev. Richard Polwhele, author of a history of Cornwall, and so distinguished by his works in every department of literature; by his early poetical effusions, when
"He lisp'd in numbers for the numbers came;"
by those of his maturer age; by sermons equally sound in learning and in diction, and persuasive by their eloquence; that no Cornishman of the present day can presume to place himself, I will not say in competition, but in the same class of literary excellence with Mr. Polwhele.
At Penhellick, about seventy years ago, the Rev. John Collins, rector of Redruth, built a house for his own residence after removing to the village; he is reported to have selected this spot in consequence of several persons residing in it having attained great ages. On his decease, the house and lands were sold to a Colonel Macarmicke, originally a wine merchant at Truro, who much enlarged the house, and endeavoured to affix some fanciful new name on the place. The property has since passed through various hands, and the house has generally been unoccupied.
This parish contains 3156 statute acres.
| The annual value of the Real Property, as returned to Parliament in 1815 | £. 7027 |
s. 0 |
d. 0 |
| The Poor Rate in 1831 | 1100 | 3 | 0 |
| Population, | in 1801, 1342 |
in 1811, 1692 |
in 1821, 2306 |
in 1831, 2885; |
giving an increase of 115 per cent. in 30 years.
GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.
The rocks are not much exposed in this parish.
In the southern part they consist of glossy slates, which break into thick lameller leaves, and they appear to belong to the calcareous series.
- ↑ Their son Henry married Jane, the only daughter of Jacob Jackson, of Truro; and their son and heir, John Foote, married a daughter of Sir Edward Goodere, member for the county of Hereford, and sister of the unfortunate Sir John Dineley Goodere, and Captain Goodere. Their son was the celebrated Samuel Foote, called in his time the English Aristophanes.
- ↑ Admiral Carthew Reynolds built a good house here in the latter part of the last century. He was considered to he an excellent officer and a skilful seaman; yet he lost his life when a ninety-gun ship, under his command, was first injured by some other vessel, and then driven on the flat sands near the entrance of the Baltic in the winter 1811-12.