Part 3

The discovery of the _Copper Mines_ in Cornwall is of a much later date than those of tin, being about the year 1690. Although the propriety of searching was strongly recommended by _Norden_ to King James, many years expired before the real value of the copper mines was discovered. Subsequent improvements and perseverance have rendered the copper mines one of the most important branches of commerce in this county; and the quantity of that valuable ore, now annually raised, is said to be worth, upon a moderate calculation, the sum of £350,000, or £90,000 greater than the value of tin. Copper ores are found in Cornwall, in great abundance and variety. Native copper is sometimes found on the sides of fissures in thin films, deposited by the impregnated water that runs from the lodes. Veins of copper are also frequently discovered in cliffs that are left bare by the sea, but the most certain sign of a rich ore is an earthy ocherous stone, called _Gossan_, of a ruddy colour, and crumbles like the rust of iron. Another sign of the presence of copper is, when the ground is inclinable to an easy free working blue _Killas_, intermixed with white clay. A white crystaline stone is also found to contain a great quantity of yellow copper. The lodes of copper ore generally lie deeper than those of tin, and its ores are mostly of the pyritous and sulphurated kinds, with more or less arsenic. “The lodes, both of tin and copper, appear most frequently to have granite for their country, and to make an angle from 60° to 76° with the horizon.” The _matrices_ of copper ore are very numerous. Among the blue ores, there is one of an extremely fine blue earth. The grey ore is frequently spotted with yellow and purple, but is deemed richest when of an uniform colour throughout.

The copper ore is cleansed and dressed by the same process as that adopted for tin, but as it generally rises in large masses, requires less washing. Owing to the expense of importing coal, the ore is disposed of after it is prepared for the smelting houses, and owing to the expense of importing coal, the _Smelting Houses_ at _Hayle_ have ceased working for a considerable time past. “Nothing,” says Dr. Maton, “were so deleterious as the fumes of arsenic constantly impregnating the air of these places, and so profuse is the perspiration occasioned by the heat of the furnaces, that those who have been employed at them a few months, became most emaciated figures, and in the course of a few years are generally laid in their graves.”

The principal copper mines now working, are mostly in the neighbourhood of Redruth, of which the Gwennass, United, Poldice, Huel Unity, Cook’s Kitchen, and Dolcooth Mines, have yielded an abundant source of gain to their numerous adventurers.

A very accurate and well executed geological map of the mining districts, by Mr. Richard Thomas, was published in the year 1819.

_Lead_ is found in several parts of Cornwall, but not in any great abundance. The ores are very dissimilar, but the sort most frequently discovered is _galena_, or pure sulphuret of lead, which is found both crystallized and in masses. Its colour is most of a bluish grey, and the form of its crystals is generally the cube. The most common varieties are the cube, truncated at the angles and corners, and the octahedron of two four-sided pyramids, applied base to base. The principal mines are Huel Pool and Huel Rooe, near Helston. There are also a few others on the north coast, in the neighbourhood of Endellion and St. Minver, but of little consequence. The oxides of lead are valuable for painting and dying, and also for medicinal uses.

Among the numerous mineral productions of Cornwall, _Gold and Silver_ ought not to be omitted; the former has been frequently found in extremely small granules, generally intermixed with the tin ore, in the stream works. The largest piece ever found, is mentioned by _Borlase_ to have weighed 15 pennyweights and 16 grains. The latter has been found at different periods in considerable quantities, particularly in a mine called _Huel Mexico_, some years ago, near St. Agnes; also in the Herland Copper Mine, in the parish of Gwinear.—A particular account of the discovery of silver in the Herland Mine, was furnished by the Rev. Malachy Hitchins, and printed in the transactions of the Royal Society for 1801. But it appears that after the mine was sunk to a considerable depth, the works were abandoned, the expenses of the mine having considerably exceeded the receipts.

Within the last three years, a considerable quantity of silver has been discovered in a mine belonging to Sir Christopher Hawkins.

_Iron_, in rich lodes of red and brown ore, has been found in great abundance, in many parts of the county, but there are not any iron mines which have been much worked.—_Iron Pyrites_, or sulphuret of iron, occur in most of the veins of copper, as well as some magnetical iron ore at Penzance, and specular iron ore at Tin Croft Mine, in Illogan, Botallack Mine, near the Land’s End, and other places.

A variety of other semi-metals are found in Cornwall; the most remarkable of these are _Bismuth_, _Zinc_, _Antimony_, _Cobalt_, _Arsenic_, _Wolfram_, _Menachanite_, and _Molybdena_, or _Sulphuret of Molybdenum_; but a description of the places where they are found, or of their several properties, has already been published in most of the works relating to this county.

Notwithstanding the early part of the _History of Cornwall_ is enveloped in obscurity, there is little reason to doubt that (particularly from the writings of Leland) a _battle_ was fought between the renowned _King Arthur_ and his nephew Mordred, in the neighbourhood of Camelford, in which the former was slain; and that on the spot where the battle is said to have taken place, several warlike antiquities have been found.

That during the incursions of the Saxons, several engagements took place between them and the Cornish Britons, particularly in the time of Athelstan, who in the year 926, is said to have completely defeated this county and subdued the Scilly Isles, when considerable havoc and depredations were committed. At subsequent periods, the Danish pirates frequently landed, and committed great mischief in many parts of the county, particularly in plundering the monasteries.

During the captivity of Richard I., several commotions took place in Cornwall, and St. Michael’s Mount was seized upon, but afterwards given up, and Henry de lu Pomeroy died through fear of the King’s anger.

In the year 1322, many of the Cornish people were smitten with an enthusiasm of conquering the Holy Land, and left the county; but some were executed, and others returned and repented of their folly.

When Queen Margaret landed at Weymouth in the year 1471, the people of Cornwall and Devonshire, under the persuasions of Sir Hugh Courtenay, of Boconnoe, and Sir John Arundell, of Langhorne, marched to Exeter and accompanied her to Tewkesbury, when her troops were completely defeated, and the Queen, after being ransomed, died a few years after in France. At the latter end of the same year, John Vere, Earl of Oxford, took possession of St. Michael’s Mount, and retained possession of it till the February following, when (on his life being spared by the King) it was surrendered to Sir John Fortescue.

In 1497, the people in Cornwall rose in rebellion, and marched to Blackheath, in Kent, where they were defeated by Lord Dauberry, and their ringleaders executed. Lord Bacon, says, “on this occasion, they were armed with a strong and mighty bow, and had arrows the length of a tailor’s yard.” Shortly after another rebellion broke out in Cornwall, and no less than 3000 men joined the notorious Perkin Warbeck, and marched to Exeter; but his wife, Lady Catherine Gordon, was taken a prisoner from St. Michael’s Mount. A subsequent rebellion broke out in the year 1548, under Humphry Arundell, who was defeated and executed, together with many of his supporters.

During the civil wars in the 17th century, the inhabitants of Cornwall greatly distinguished themselves by their bravery and loyalty; but during the severe contests which took place, many valuable lives were lost on both sides; especially as the insurgents had taken possession of some of the antient fortifications in the county. Cornwall now furnishes a regiment of militia, a corps of miners, and several troops of yeomanry. During the late war with France, many volunteer corps were raised, but fortunately their services were not required.

EXCURSION I.

_From Plymouth to the Land’s End; through Looe, Fowey, Lostwithiel, St. Austell, Mevagissey, Tregony, Grampound, Truro, Penryn, Falmouth, Helston, Marazion, and Penzance._

The great importance attached of late years to the towns of Plymouth, Stonehouse, and Dock, in a commercial and nautical respect, has not only tended to render those places of great consequence in the West of England, but as travellers proceeding into Cornwall, generally take this direction in preference to the one which enters the county near Launceston, the following Excursion has been considered the most likely to interest, and display the beauties of the southern part of the county. The scenery of Plymouth and its vicinity are highly pleasing and picturesque, particularly the views of Mount Edgecumbe and those on the banks of the Tamar, which contrasted with the majestic appearance of the numerous fine ships of war riding at anchor, form a picture truly sublime. Previous to quitting this neighbourhood, however, the admirers of the fine arts will derive much pleasure from visiting _Saltram_, the magnificent seat of the Earl of Morley, which abounds with a great variety of valuable paintings, the most eminent of which are the following:

_St. Faith_, by Guido—In her right hand she holds her emblem of a white flag, which forms the back ground of the head.

_Peasants playing at cards_, by John Lingleback; with a view of the neighbourhood of the Forum at Rome, in the back ground.

_Galatea surrounded by Nymphs_—Domenichino; copied from the exquisite Fresco, by Raphael, in the Farnesine Palace at Rome.

_Virgin and Child_, by Sassoferrato—This picture recalls the idea of the celebrated Madonna Della sedia of Raphael, of whom the painter was a close imitator.

_Landscape and Figures_—Karel du Sardin.

_Storm at Sea_, by Vandervelde.

_View near Tivoli_—Gasper Poussin.

_Group of Soldiers, or Banditti_—Salvator Rosa.

_Interior of a Cottage, with group of Peasants_—D. Teniers.

_A Conversation Piece_—A. Palamedes.

_Landscape, with ruins and antient sculpture_—Francesco Milo.

_Landscape and Figures_—Disk Dalens.

_Ditto_—Both.

_Daphne pursued by Apollo_—Francesco Albano.

_Landscape with Travellers, halting at a blacksmith’s shop_—P. Wouverman.

_The incredulity of St. Thomas_—Gerard Hoel.

_St. Anthony and Christ_—Antonio Caracci.

_View of the Doge’s Palace at Venice_—Canaletti.

_A Negro’s Head_—Rubens.

_St. John and Christ_—Antonio Raffaelle Mengs.

_A Holy Family_-Frederic Baroccio.

_Two Views in Venice_—Canaletti.

_Three Female Figures, as Huntresses_, by Rubens; supposed to be his three wives.

_Bolingbroke Family_—Vandyck.

_Seige of Maestricht_—Anthony Francis Vander-Meulen.

_A group of six Figures_, size of life—P. Veronesse.

_Adoration of the Shepherds_—Carlo Dolce.

_Figures with Goats and Sheep_—Berghem.

_Group of Sheep_—Albert Cuyp.

_Ulysses discovering Achilles_—Angelica Kauffman.

_Hector taking leave of Andromache_—ditto.

_Assumption of the Virgin, with glory of Angels_—Lorenzo Sabbatini.

_Portrait of Oliver Cromwell_—David Beck.

_Mercury_—Weenix. There are also near 20 fine productions by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

A catalogue of the pictures has been printed at the expense of their noble owner, for the use of strangers, who are at all times allowed to have access to them. The situation of the house is one of the most enchanting spots in England, and commands a number of diversified prospects.

_Mount Edgecumbe_, the seat of the Right Hon. the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, is another beautiful spot embellished with fine promenades, gardens, and shrubberies, perhaps equal to any in England. The house is a very low building, erected about the year 1550, with battlements and an octagonal tower at each angle. It contains a few fine family portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The beauty of this spot has often awakened the ideas of the poet; and who can quit it without enjoying the same feelings which inspired the following lines?

“Farewell Mount Edgecumbe, all thy calm retreats, Thy lovely prospects, and thy mossy seats; Farewell the coolness of thy dark deep woods, Farewell the grandeur of thy circling floods.

Where’er futurity may lead the way, Where in this vale of life, I chance to stray— Imagination to thy scenes shall turn, Dwell on thy charms, and for thy beauties burn.”

After crossing the harbour to Tor Point, on the right, is _Thankes_, a seat of the noble family of Graves, which commands a pleasing view of the Harmoaze and surrounding country.

_Antoney House_, the seat of the Right Hon. Reginald Pole Carew, is an elegant mansion beautifully situated on a branch of the Lynher Creek. It contains a great variety of family portraits, and a few other fine paintings, by Holbein, Vandyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other artists.

The village of ANTONEY is about three miles from Plymouth, and has a very picturesque appearance from the road.—The _Church_ is a small fabric situated on an eminence, and contains several handsome memorials of the Carew family; one of which to the memory of Richard Carew, the author of the Survey of Cornwall, has a long Latin inscription and the following curious verses:

Full thirteen fives of yeares I toiling have o’erpast, And in the fourteenth, weary, enter’d am at last. While rocks, sands, storms, and leakes to take my bark away, By grief, troubles, sorrows, sikness did essay; And yet arriv’d I am not at the port of death, The port to everlasting life that openeth. My time uncertain, Lord, long certain cannot be, What’s best to me’s unknown and only known to thee, O by repentance and amendment grant that I May still live in thy fear and in thy favor dye.

The prospects from the church-yard are extremely pleasing, and justly merit the eulogium of one of our modern poets:

“The raptur’d eye now wanders round The circling stretch of distant ground, Where fading mountains crown the scene, With many a fertile vale between— Where sporting with the solar beams, Famed Tamar winds her wanton streams, And deck’d with villas, forts, and towns, With woods and pastures, hills and downs, With docks and navies—England’s pride— And lighter barks that swiftly glide.”

About four miles from Antoney, to the right of the road after passing Craft Hole, is _Sheriock Church_, an antient building containing some curious tombs of the Dawnay’s, and a superb monument to the memory of Sir Edward Courtenay and his Lady. The following beautiful lines are also engraved on a memorial for one of the Duckworth Family, who died at an early age:

Dear lost Penelope, and must this tomb, Quench the sweet promise of thy opening bloom, Crush the sweet harvest of a mind so fair, Its early piety, its filial care.

No there are seeds that angry tempests brave, These cannot perish in a timeless grave, Sprung from the Tree of Life, to them ’tis given, Though sown on earth, to germinate in heaven.

Passing from hence through the hamlet of Hessingford, at a short distance is _Bake_, the seat of Sir J. S. Copley, Bart., His Majesty’s Solicitor General, which is a handsome modern edifice, built on the site of an antient mansion noted in former times as the residence of the Moyle’s, and which was destroyed by fire a few years ago.

On approaching the towns of EAST AND WEST LOOE, the scenery becomes highly romantic. These towns derive their appellation from the river, on the banks of which they are built, and over which is a low narrow stone bridge of 12 arches. Both places return members to Parliament, but in themselves contain little to interest the traveller. Several delightful modern residences have been built on the banks of the Looe river; among the most prominent, is Col. Lemon’s, near Polvellan. The population of both towns amounts to about 1300, and the inhabitants are mostly engaged in maritime employments.

About three miles west of Looe, is _Trelawny House_, the seat of the Rev. Sir Harry Trelawny, Bart., a venerable mansion, but built at different periods. It contains a few good family portraits, particularly one by Sir Godfrey Kneller, of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bishop of Winchester.

In _Pelynt Church_, which is not far distant from the house, there is a very curious monument to the memory of Francis Buller, Esq., who died in l6l5.

About five miles from hence, is FOWEY,[5] an antient Borough and market town, situated in one of the most delightful and romantic parts of the county, on the western bank of the river, from which its name is derived. It is distant 24 miles from Plymouth, and 244 from London. The houses are very irregularly built, with foundations composed of a hard bluish slate, (termed by Mineralogists, _Fat-quatz_, from its greasiness to the touch,) and the principal street extends nearly a mile in length.

Fowey has returned members to Parliament since the 13th year of the reign of Elizabeth, and the right of election is now chiefly vested in the inhabitants paying scot and lot. The Corporation consists of a Mayor, eight Aldermen, a Recorder, and Town Clerk. The number of inhabitants, by the late census, amounts to 1455.

The _Church_, a handsome fabric, is composed of three aisles, with a lofty pinnacled tower at the west end. In the north aisle is a noble altar-tomb of marble, with a full-length figure of the deceased, in alabaster, richly carved, and inscribed to the memory of John Rashleigh, Esq., who died Aug. 11, 1582, with the following curious inscription:

┌──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┐ │JOHN RASHLEIGH LIVED YEARS │THE DEVONSHIRE HOUSE YET │ │ THREESCORE THREE │ RASHLEIGH’S HEIGHT │ │ AND THEN DID YIELD TO DIE, │ WELL SHOWETH FROM WHENCE │ │ HE DID BEQUEATH HIS SOUL TO │ HE CAME, │ │ GOD │ HIS VIRTUOUS LIFE IN FOWEY │ │ HIS CORPSE HEREIN TO LIE. │ TOWN │ │ │ DESERVETH ENDLESS FAME. │ └──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘

LANYON HE DID TAKE TO WIFE, BY HER HAD CHILDREN STORE, YET AT HIS DEATH BUT DAUGHTERS SIX, ONE SON, HE HAD NO MORE: ALL THEM TO PARTAKE UNDER HERE, BECAUSE FIT SPACE WAS NONE, THE SON WHOSE ONLY CHARGE THIS WAS, IS THEREFORE SET ALONE.

There are also several other memorials of the Rashleigh and the Trespy families in this church.

On an eminence near the church, is _Place_ or _Trespy House_, a very antient building, and which is said to have been partly rebuilt in the reign of Henry VI., by one of the Trespy family. It is an interesting building and displays some rich Gothic work on the southern front; yet has been greatly altered by modern improvements. The owner, J. T. Austen, Esq., is a gentleman of considerable ability, and has furnished Mr. Lysons with much information respecting this county.

The _Harbour_ of Fowey is spacious and well secured from the destructive effects of storms, by the hills encircling it; and on rising ground near the sea, are the remains of two _Towers_, said to have been erected in the reign of Edward IV. There are also two other embattled square _Towers_ on each side the harbour, now fast mouldering to decay, and which in former times supported a chain across its entrance.

Fowey, like many other sea-port towns in early times, has suffered much during the wars: at present its chief dependance is on the pilchard fisheries. Other kinds of fish are also to be purchased in season, at very reasonable rates, and the river abounds with fine salmon.

On the opposite side of the river, is POLRUAN, said by Leland, to have been in former times, a place of considerable note; but now it consists only of a few picturesque cottages. The ruins of an antient _Chapel_ and an _old well_, surmounted by a stone cross.

_Menabilly_, about three miles west of Fowey, the seat of William Rashleigh, Esq. late M.P. and Sheriff for the county, in the year 1820, is a neat edifice of moor stone. The southern or principal front, commands a view of the sea, but it is chiefly remarkable as containing a very valuable cabinet of minerals,[6] and said to be the finest in England. There are also many other curiosities in the house, and a few fine drawings and portraits.

About a mile from this place, in a very sequestered spot, called _Polredmouth_, stands an octagonal _Grotto_ of curious workmanship, close to the sea, composed of an immense number of minerals, fossils, &c. In the centre of it stands a very handsome table of 32 species of polished granite.

As the parish church of Tyarwardeth is more than two miles distant from Menabilly, a neat _Chapel_ has been built at the expense of Mr. Rashleigh, adjoining his grounds.

The road from hence to Lostwithiel, is extremely dreary; the _Church Tower_ of Lanlivery, a small village to the left, forms a pleasing object.

LOSTWITHIEL is a very ancient Borough and market town, situated on the high road to Falmouth from Plymouth, and 28 miles west of Tor Point. The Corporation, consisting of a Mayor, six Aldermen, and 17 Burgesses, have the right of electing the members to serve in Parliament.

The _Church_ is rather a handsome edifice, with one very lofty aisle and two small ones; the tower at the western end is surmounted by a singularly beautiful Gothic spire. The chief attraction of the interior is a very curious and antient octagonal _Font_. It is supported by five clustered columns, and charged with a representation of a huntsman riding an ass, accoutred in a short jacket with a sword by his side, a horn in his mouth, a hawk on his finger; a dog seizing a rabbit; an ape’s head entwined with a snake; a representation of the crucifixion, with a female figure on each side; and the arms of the Earl of Cornwall: but the whole has been much obliterated and disfigured by a thick coat of whitewash. The accompanying engraving, it is presumed, will be found an accurate representation of this interesting relic of antiquity.

Lostwithiel is at present a town of little trade, although barges are navigable to the quay, every tide, from Fowey. The houses are chiefly built of stone with slated roofs, and amount to about 150 in number, and the parish contains, according to the late census, 933 inhabitants.

At a short distance south of the church, are some considerable remains of an antient _Exchequer_ or _Shire Hall_. It was no doubt formerly a magnificent building; the walls are of great thickness, supported by massy buttresses, and the interior contains a number of gloomy apartments, ill calculated for the purpose for which it is now converted into a Stannary Prison. On the exterior are the arms of the Duchy of Cornwall with supporters, surmounted with the Prince’s plume well carved. There is also here a neat _Town Hall_, erected in 1740, at the expense of Richard Edgecumbe, Esq., in which the Summer Quarter Sessions for the county are held.