Nooks and Corners of Cornwall Part 10

"_Shall we all die, We shall die all, All die shall we, Die all we shall._"

which quaint lines are also found on a tombstone at Gunwalloe and elsewhere. Trelowarren itself has some interesting pictures, in particular the Vand.y.k.e of Charles I. presented by Charles II. in acknowledgment of Sir Rd. Vyvyan's services to his father. This family also possesses the pearl necklace of Queen Henrietta Maria, in which she sat for the painting now at Hampden Court.

But of all the charming spots up these rocky and wooded creeks commend me to Condora, for there in 1735 were found twenty-four gallons of Roman bra.s.s coin. Think of it, dream of it, penniless man. Not a few coppers, but twenty-four gallons!

What a beautiful sound have some of these Cornish names! Rosemullion Head juts out over the Helford River on the north, and above it we have Rosemerrin and the Swan Pool, and not far off St. Anthony in Roseland.

It is true that Rhos only means a heath, and that we are on the borders of the gorse-grown districts, known as Roseland; but the word has different a.s.sociations for the "foreigner," and whatever the true meaning, the lovely name brings to memory the thought and the scent and the colour of the lovelier flowers.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] Dinsul. There is good reason to think Sul = the Sul of Bath "Aquae Sulis," and this again the "Sally, Sally Waters" of our nursery game.

Many of her attributes have been taken over by St. Keyne.

[4] Appendix B. See pp. 201-2.

[5] Mary Mowes, _i.e._ the Virgin.

CHAPTER VII

NOOKS AND CORNERS FROM FALMOUTH TO TRURO

_The Rise of Pendennis Castle: Sir John Arundel: The Killigrews: Sir Walter Raleigh: The General Post Office and Falmouth: Penryn: The Fal: The Stannary Courts: Old Truro: Foote and Lowry._

THE RISE OF PENDENNIS CASTLE

When Henry VIII. took thought for the coast defences of his semi-island, Falmouth was one of the places that benefited. At St. Mawes and Pendennis batteries were erected and in Budock Church is the bra.s.s of John Killigrew, with this pertinent inscription: "Heere lyeth John Killigrew Esquier of Arwenack ... he was the first Captaine of Pendennis Castle, made by King Henry the eight and so continued untill the nynth of Queene Elizabeth, at which time G.o.d tooke him to his mercye, being the yeare of our lord 1567. Sr. John Killigrew knight his sonne succeeded him in the same place by the gift of Queene Elizabeth." Henry VIII.'s batteries were not the first fortifications erected on this high point of land, which is literally the "headland fortress." There were formerly three lines of entrenchment, due to an older architect than the Mr. Treffry, of Fowey, who was responsible for this and other of the Cornish defences. Indeed from its position--it is almost surrounded by water--it was marked out both as a refuge and a point of vantage, and was probably fortified before history was more than stories handed down from father to child, or sung by wandering bards who had been given an honoured place by the hearth-fire.

SIR JOHN ARUNDEL

When the war broke out between Charles I. and his Parliament, Henry Killigrew was a member of the House. "I shall provide a good horse, a good buff coat, a good brace of pistols, and I doubt not I shall find a good cause," quoth he when Ess.e.x was appointed General and one and another were saying what troops they could raise; and so went out and rode post to Falmouth and plunged devotedly into the gallant struggle.

He would not take any command, though he was in every action and always where there was the most danger. But it was an Arundell, not a Killigrew, who held Pendennis for the King, old John Arundell of Trerice, who as a young man had been at Tilbury when Queen Elizabeth reviewed the troops; and who was known as "Game to the Toes," "John for the King," and "Old Tilbury." To him came the unhappy Queen, Henrietta Maria, rested at Pendennis for a moment, and then winged her way back to France. A couple of years later her son, Charles, embarked here for the Scilly Isles; and shortly after, the news reached Arundell that after the conference on Tresillian Bridge the King's forces had been disbanded, and that the long struggle was over. Across the water Sir John grimly watched the surrender of St. Mawes, and when he found there were malcontents among his men, gave them a safe conduct and let them go. For himself, had he not fought at Edgehill, Lansdowne, and Bradock Down? Summoned to surrender he said he had but a few more days to live and he would not stain them with dishonour. To Fairfax he replied:

"Col. John Arundell to Sir Thomas Fairfax.

"Sir,--The castle was committed to my Government by his Majesty, who by our laws hath command of the castles and forts of this kingdom; and my age of seventy summons me hence shortly. Yet I shall desire no other testimony to follow my departure than my conscience to G.o.d and loyalty to his Majesty, whereto I am bound by all the obligations of nature, duty, and oath. I wonder you demand the castle without authority from his Majesty; which if I should render, I brand myself and my posterity with the indelible character of treason. And having taken less than two minutes resolution, I resolve that I will here bury myself before I deliver up this castle to such as fight against his Majesty, and that nothing you can threaten is formidable to me in respect of the loss of loyalty and conscience.

"Your servant, "JOHN ARUNDELL, "of Trerice.

"_18th March, 1646._"

Stout words from a stout heart; but though the castle, closely invested by land and sea, held out for five lean months and only surrendered on honourable terms, yet surrender it did; being the last place in England, with the one exception of Raglan, so to do. And on August 17, 1646, the garrison marched out "with their horses, complete arms, and other equipages, according to their present or past commands or qualities, with flying colours, trumpets sounding, drums beating, matches lighted at both ends, and bullets in their mouths." So great a stir had Sir John's defence made that not only did the House of Commons vote large sums to the messengers who brought the news that he had yielded, but September 22, 1646, was by their order set apart as a day of public thanksgiving for the surrender "of the garrisons of Pendennis and four other castles."

THE KILLIGREWS: SIR WALTER RALEIGH

Meanwhile Henry Killigrew, after the yielding of Pendennis, had been accidentally wounded in the head by the bursting of a carbine, while his kinsman's house in the neighbourhood had suffered from the exigencies of war. They were a stirring and a striving family, the Killigrews. The name Falmouth, in those days merely meant the land at the mouth of the Fal; and on this land, when Sir Walter Raleigh, just home from an expedition, stayed with the Killigrews at their house of Arwenack, there was only one other building large enough to accommodate his men. The Killigrews wished to develop their property. They said it was absurd that vessels had not a nearer port than Penryn or Truro; and Sir Walter having just put in to this fine natural harbour, saw the golden side of their suggestion; and cared not a jot about the loss of trade to those other towns. But Truro, Penryn, and Helston, alive to their own interests, had long thrown their weight into the opposition scale; and London was some seven days' journey to the east. Therefore the building operations of the st.u.r.dy Killigrews had been brought to a standstill.

It is easy to picture the scene. Sir Walter, after a good dinner, washed down by wines that had paid no duty, sitting at his ease before the windows of the great house, the panorama of hills and land-locked harbour stretching to the horizon, and the Killigrews pointing out its capabilities as a trading-centre and naval base! The great man listened, was convinced, and, presently moving on to London, laid the matter before his Sovereign.

It was the days of interest and influence--those days which, of course, are past and over, so that even kissing no longer goes by favour!--and the Killigrews found Sir Walter's advocacy gave them all they wanted, leave to build their big nest in their own way. From that date the opposition that had been so industriously fostered by the loyal burgesses of Truro, Penryn, and Helston ceased. Why Helston should have taken part is somewhat puzzling, but she may have been willing to help a pair of old friends against that "grove of eagles." At any rate the three towns were unable to accomplish anything further, and could only look on with glum faces while Falmouth went ahead. Greatly to their indignation Charles II., who remembered what good friends the Killigrews had been to him and his father, granted it a charter in 1661. As soon as they thought it would be safe, the Mayor of Truro a.s.serted his claim to jurisdiction over the port and harbour of Falmouth, by sailing round the harbour to the Black Rock.

According to local rhyme, however, the settlers in their new town were not lacking in st.u.r.diness:

"_Old Penrynners up in a tree Looking as wisht as wisht can be, Falmouth boys as strong as oak Knocked 'em down at every poke._"

So the burgesses of Falmouth took the matter before the courts and succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng the claim of their town to a free control over the waters of its harbour.

THE GENERAL POST OFFICE AND FALMOUTH

In spite of the Killigrews, however, Falmouth remained small and insignificant until the General Post Office chose the port in 1688 as a station for its newly established mail boats. The next few years was the time of its greatest prosperity, and Flus.h.i.+ng--the other side of Penryn Creek, and said to be so named from a colony of Dutch merchants--became its fas.h.i.+onable suburb. Travellers came from all parts of England to embark at this port, wars.h.i.+ps were stationed here, and the wives of naval officers and others made it their home. The stir and bustle of life has, however, departed with the service that created it; and the fine harbour now only rocks on its broad bosom some little cargo steamers and a fleet of fis.h.i.+ng-boats. Arwenack House, said by some to have been burnt by Sir Peter Killigrew in order that it should not enable the Parliamentarians under cover of its walls to attack Pendennis, was never rebuilt in its former splendour, and the ground that once const.i.tuted its park is now laid out in town plots. Portions of the old building are, however, still to be seen in Arwenack Street.

PENRYN

At the head of the creek is Falmouth's ancient rival, the town of Penryn. A Killigrew and his wife--strong men are sometimes gey ill to live with--fell out and the dame, being divorced, sought refuge in Penryn. The Mayor of this place still has in his possession a silver cup and cover given to the borough by this lady. On it is the inscription: "1633.--From Maior to Maior, to the Towne of Penmarin, when they received mee that was in great misery.--Jane Killygrew."

Penryn, still busy at its wharves with the exporting of granite, is the site of Glasney College, where most of the old miracle plays performed at the various plan-an-guares throughout the county were written. But the main industry of the Roseland towns and villages is connected with mines and quarries, the acme of arid desolation and dreariness being reached at Gwennap. The mines there are of great depth, have been worked for centuries, have produced in tin and copper during the last hundred years at least ten million pounds sterling, and are now all abandoned.

Imagine the grey wilderness of stone and rubble, of old workings and knacked bals. It rivals the sterility of the Black Country, but that is teeming, while here in very truth is nothing but a littered and abandoned waste.

THE FAL

Between Falmouth, which, as Byron said, "contains many quakers and salt fish," and Truro lies the lovely wooded estuary of the Fal. Once navigable to Tregony, large boats can now only go as far as Ruan Lanihorne. At the latter place the river meets the tide. After pa.s.sing Tregothnan (Lord Falmouth's seat) it joins the St. Clement and Truro Creeks, and finally, after forming by its twists and turns a series of land-locked lakes of surpa.s.sing beauty, it broadens into that fine sheet of water which is known as Carrick Roads. The way to see it properly is to hire a suitable row-boat, stock it with provisions, and go up the silent reaches till you discover some flat brown rock. There boil a kettle gipsy-fas.h.i.+on and linger or go on, as the fancy takes you, up this creek or that--they are equally beautiful--and so winding in and out come at last to the capital city.

Queen Victoria, whose footsteps along the south of Cornwall can be traced by various bra.s.s plates, was delighted with it. "We went up the Truro, which is beautiful, winding between banks entirely wooded with stunted oak, and full of numberless creeks. The prettiest are King Harry's Ferry and a spot near Tregothnan (_i.e._, Feock), where there is a beautiful little boat-house."

THE STANNARY COURTS

When Richard, King of the Romans, was created Earl of Cornwall, he, to encourage the working of the mines--which brought him revenue--granted the tinners a charter. By this, except in cases that might affect lands, life, or limb, they were exempt from all jurisdiction but that of the Stannary Courts. No laws were to be enacted but by the twenty-four stannators chosen from the four stannary districts; and there was no appeal from the Stannary Court, generally held at Truro, except to the Duke or Sovereign in Council. These laws were concerned with maintaining the purity of the tin, which was tested by cutting off a coign (corner) and stamping the freshly exposed surface. The towns privileged to perform this and collect the dues payable to the earldom (later duchy) were called "coinage towns." It is said that some of their laws were sufficiently grim, as for instance that which compelled an adulterator of tin to swallow three spoonfuls of the molten metal. The last Stannary Parliament was held at Truro in 1752, the courts being finally abolished in 1897.

OLD TRURO

Truro was the town in which many of the local gentry spent the winter.

This custom of the counties, if it made for insularity rather than a cosmopolitan culture, has given many of our old market-places, round the square of which the commodious homes were built, an air of quiet dignity. The gentry themselves, old people at their cards and supper-parties, young people at their routs and b.a.l.l.s, must have found it more enjoyable--all friends and neighbours and very often connections--than the present-day fas.h.i.+on of a dip into the whirlpool of London.

Truro is a cathedral city, with a brand new cathedral, which some have been found able to admire, but about which the note struck is generally apologetic. The old houses are empty, simplicity has become complexity, and the local gentry, those that are left, go up to town "for the season." Yet these changes have taken place within the memory of man, and there are those who can talk of the old state of affairs. Life was even more a matter of compromise then than now. People lived simply and did not exact a high standard of comfort. Not even in Boscawen Street was gas or water laid on, but in the midst thereof was a pump, and thither came the pretty serving la.s.ses to fill their red earthenware pitchers. Monday then, as now, was was.h.i.+ng day, and in one G.o.dly household of which I wot the maids went early to bed on a Sunday night that as soon as midnight struck they might go forth and bring in enough of the precious fluid to fill tubs and coppers against the morn. It was believed that otherwise what with the compet.i.tion of all the other maids in Boscawen Street, they would not be able to obtain a sufficiency. In those days sanitary arrangements were of the simplest and healthiest description, and as for baths--well, there was the wooden tub, big, round, and two-handled, the wooden tub and Sat.u.r.day night!

FOOTE AND LOWRY

In households such as this were born Foote, the comedian, in 1721, and Lowry, Cornwall's greatest poet, in 1867. Of the former we have the story that when a wealthy man gave him a very small gla.s.s of wine, at the same time boasting of its age and quality, he, glancing at it, remarked, "My lord, surely it is very little for its age?" Of Lowry we have no humorous stories. Cornwall has not produced many great men--some gallant soldiers; in Sir Humphrey Davy a man of science; the painter Opie; and in Lowry, as every one must acknowledge who has read "The Hundred Windows," a poet! It will be a distinct loss to the nation if, in the hurly-burly of modern life, the clear true note of this Cornish singer should be lost.