The Grampound Times
Easter 2007 (Edition 44)
Our community in Cornwall
Life in our Parish, 1753
My sincere thanks to MS. D. MADDEN who has provided me with the following article.
GRAMPOUND as it was over 250 years ago! Yes in 1753 our resident Curate at the time was the Revd. Anthony Moore and he wrote the following account. I was intending to edit his work due to space but that would be quite improper I now feel. I see this as a treasure which with Ms. Madden’s permission could be retained in the planned Grampound Archive. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have………..
Creed, situate in the Hundred of Powder, is bounded on the east by St. Mewan, on the west by Probus, on the north by St. Stephens and on the south by Cuby. In former times it went by the name of St. Creed or Sancta Creda, to which saint the church is dedicated, the patron whereof is the Prince of Wales, if there be no Prince the King presents.
An idle story prevails among the vulgar that this St. Creda had another virgin sister who disputed with her where the church should be built. They agree at last to be determined by the cast of a stone from the hand of the giants that were supposed to live in those days. Accordingly the stone is thrown and with such surprising force that it had likely to have rolled out of the parish; and this as the vulgar tradition tells us was the occasion of the church being built in a corner of the parish.
Upon the north side of this parish are the ruins of a Romish chapel formerly dedicated to St. Ounter or St. Nuns and endowed with lands thereunto belonging; but at present very little of the ruins is to be seen, the rubbish not many years since being carried out to manure the ground adjoining. The profits issuing out of these lands are in old records said to belong to the church of Creed; m by what means the church came to be deprived of them is uncertain.
In the Borough of Grampound there is also another chapel very antique, which was very ruinous until it was repaired a few years since, by Thomas Hawkins Esq. present Member of Parliament for the Borough. It is endowed with no lands or benefactions but is a chapel of ease only, much used since it has been ornamented.
Within this parish are to be seen five Romish crosses, viz. Fair Cross, Trevellack Cross, Treguensea Cross, Creed Hill Cross, and Grampound Cross which stands in the middle of the street. Two of these crosses are very fair, and have received little injury from time that decays all things.
At a small distance from the church runs a little rivulet by name Sherock’s Water, so denominated from one Sherock that lived there about two centuries ago, the remains of whose mansion house are still very plainly to be seen. It is reported that this gentleman formerly possessed almost all of the lands of the parish, but these lands are now lapsed into several hands and the very name of the family is extinct.
Eastward upon the extremities of this parish lies Pennans the country seat of the late Rev. Dr. Hawkins, which was built about thirty years since, and not long ago was in a very flourishing condition ornamented with very beautiful gardens, vistas, fishponds and a variety of images of very curious workmanship, but since the demise of the aforesaid gentleman, it has gone gradually to decay, and is now become almost nomen sine re. Just by an eminence stands the remains of an obelisk of very singular contrivance; a few years since it was a notable piece of architecture, but now falling into ruins, which by travellers are to be seen at a great distance. Here is also another country seat known by the name of Nancor belonging to the ancient family of the Quarmes; in the Histories of England we find frequent and honourable mention made of this family, which was very numerous in William the Norman’s time and several centuries before, but at present the family is almost extinct in England. In Brittany France, it is said their posterity is very numerous, where many of the family were obliged to fly during the wars with the Danes and Normans about the year 455. Hereunto almost adjoining is a large field belonging to the Manor of Tybesta, called the Castle Field, which took its name from a castle or fortification formerly built there.
At what time, by whom, or upon what occasion, it was made is uncertain, but the plan of it is fairly to be seen at this present day; it is round or rather oblong form, and contains in circumference about two acres of land or more, round which is thrown a vast high mound and underneath is a deep trench or circumvallation; by its lofty situation and form one might be apt to think it a Roman encampment, but the tradition of the country is, that it was a place of retirement during the long wars between the West Saxons, Danes etc., which is the most probable opinion.
The Lands of this parish for the most part belong to the Duchy Manor of Tybesta. The air is reckoned tolerably healthy in general, though the western parts lying low are subject to frequent fogs and mists. The land is very rich, and good either for corn or pasturage. The manure used to improve it is a compost of sand and dung, of late years the inhabitants have experienced much benefit from salt and broken pilchards, which are now much sought after.
Here is a parish feast held always upon Advent Sunday, but there are no diversions as wrestling etc. If there were any formerly, they have been long discontinued.
Upon the north situate at a small distance from the church lies the town of Grandpond, a Borough of great antiquity. It has eight Capital Burgesses, a Mayor and Recorder and sends two Members to Parliament. It has a good market on Saturdays and two fairs in the year, viz. one the 18 th of January and the other the 11 th June. Within this Borough is a Charity School, endowed with £15 per annum which is paid by the family of the Bullers of Morval for the teaching of poor children to read and write, who are distinguished by the name of Blue Boys, so called from the blue caps and liveries they have given them. Another charity was given to the Borough by the late Mr. Teage one of the Aldermen, which is the interest of a sum of money paid into the poor in bread upon every Good Friday.
On the western end of the Borough runs the River Vale or Fale, over which is a bridge of great antiquity. Some think that from this bridge vulgarly called Grand-pont bridge (which is a composition of the Latin words grandis and pons) the town first took its name, and the arms of the Borough, which are two ports open a lyon rampant and a bridge crowned with ivy, seem to favour this opinion.
About a century and half ago one Colonel Trevanion (related to the present family) set a scheme on foot for bringing the salt water up as far as the bridge aforesaid, by sluices from Ruan Lanihorne, which were brought within a mile of the place. These sluices were navigable far up as Tregony, and as some report a mile further up to a place known by the name of Holeburt Rock, which is a stone of immense bigness, out of which, not many years ago, some rings or cramps were taken, which were used, as is supposed, to fasten the boats or barges to, that came up with sand. But the confluence of waters, after rains, being so exceeding great, and the expenses in carrying on the work so immense, as to impoverish the publick-spirited undertaker, the project was discontinued, and never revived.
This River Fale which rises at a place called Pentifale (thence called Fale) in the parish of Roach runs about m40 miles if allowance be made for its several windings, and then disembogues itself into the mouth of Falmouth harbour, thence called Valemouth or Falmouth. It was in time past a very considerable river, wherein was plenty of salmon, salmon-peal and fine trout, but of late years mundics issuing from the stream works have destroyed the fish. Such quantities of sand have likewise been washed down with the current from these works, that the river is choked up, which, by overflowing its banks, has laid waste many hundreds of acres of the best lands for pasture, and is at present very likely, if the stream works continue any long time, to ruin the harbour at Falmouth, the depth of which is nothing near so much as it was but a few years past.
© 2006 Grampound with Creed Parish Council