The Parochial History of Cornwall/Volume 1/Colan
COLAN, OR LITTLE COLAN.
HALS.
Is situate in the hundred of Pider, and hath upon the north, Maugan; east, St. Colomb Major; south, St. Enedor; west, Lower St. Columb.
It is so called from the barton of Little Colon or Golon, contiguous with the church, on part of which ground perhaps the same was founded, and endowed with part of the lands thereof. At the time of the Norman Conquest this district passed in tax under the names of Carneton, or Ryalton; and the church being built and endowed by Walter Brounscomb, Bishop of Exeter, 1250, it was by him appropriated to the canons Augustine of his college of Glasnith, by him founded. For that we read in the Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester into the value of benefices for the Pope's Annats in Cornwall, 1294, Ecclesia Sancti Colani, appropriata Canonicis de Penryn, 4l.; Vicar ejusdem 6s. 8d. In Wolsey's Inquisition, 1521, and Valor Beneficiorum, 6l. 14s. 8d.; the patronage in the Bishop of Exeter for the time being; the sheaf or rectory in possession of Vyvyan; the incumbent, Bagwell; and the parish rated to the 4s. per pound Land Tax 1696, 63l. s.
From this barton of Colon was denominated an old family of gentlemen, from thence surnamed De Colon; of which family Roger de Colon was seised of a knight's fee of land 25th Edward III., which he held by the tenure of knight-service. Carew's Survey Corn. p. 52. Roger Colon, grandson of the said Roger, having issue only two daughters, Jane and Margaret, the which Jane was married to John Blewet, a younger branch of the Blewets of Holcomb Rogus in Devon, who afterwards was made sheriff of Cornwall the 26th Henry VI. (when Richard Yeard, Esq. was sheriff of Devon); which Jane's estate was no small advance of the wealth of his house, from whom all the Blewets of Cornwall are since descended, some of whom have erected a monument in this church in memory of those De Colons; and several of them have made Colon a font name in their family to this day, of which I may not in justice forget my late kind friend Major Colon Blewet, a valiant commander under King Charles I. against the Parliament army, who married Elizabeth daughter of Sir William Wrey, Knight, but died without issue; whose brother Robert, that married Arundell, a base son, succeeded to this his estate, who had issue another Robert that married Wood, as I remember, and sold the moiety of this barton of Colon to Robert Hoblyn, of Nanswiddon, clerk, rector of Ludgnan, now in possession thereof; the arms of Blewet were, Or, a chevron between three eagles Vert. The Hampshire Blewets, as Camden saith, gave Or, an eagle displayed with two necks and heads Gules.
Coswarth, also Cosowarth, synonymous words, the far off, or remote wood, which place, as Mr. Carew tells us, at the time of the Norman Conquest, transnominated the French family or name of Escudifer, i.e. shield-bearer or Esquire, to that of Coswarth; in which place those gentlemen flourished in great wealth and tranquillity, till John Cosowarth, Esq. lord of this place, tempore Henry VIII. having issue, by Williams, one only daughter named Katherine, married first to Allen Hill, and afterwards to Arundell of Trerice, suffered the greatest part of his lands and estate to go with his daughter's children, and then entailed this manor and barton of Coswarth on the heirs male of his family, by virtue of which settlement his uncle, John Cosowarth, succeeded to those lands, who had issue by Sir William Lock's daughter, Thomas Cosowarth, Esq. that married Seyntaubyn, sheriff of Cornwall 26th Elizabeth, who by her had issue John and Dorothy; and Dorothy was married to Kendall. After the death of John, Edward Cosowarth his uncle succeeded to this inheritance of Cosowarth, and married Arundell of Trerice, who had issue by her Samuel Cosowarth, Esq. afterwards knighted by Charles I. He married Heale of Fleet, and had issue Edward, Samuel, and John, that died before their father; Robert and Nicholas succeeded to this estate successively, but died both without issue. The which Robert, upon some distasteful words given him by his cousin John Coswarth, one of the heirs male in remainder, did by fine and proclamation bar the estate tail, and made it fee simple in himself and his heirs. So that after his decease his brother Nicholas succeeded to the estate, who by an accidental fall from his horse (coming home from St. Colomb, as was reported, somewhat intoxicated with liquor), instantly died, without issue; after whose decease Bridget Cosowarth, his only sister, daughter of Sir Samuel aforesaid, succeeded to his inheritance, who married Henry Minors of St. Enedor, her cousin-german, by whom she had issue one only daughter named Anne, who was married to Captain Francis Vivian of Truan, by whom he had issue one only daughter named Mary, since become wife and lady of Sir Richard Vyvyan, of Trelowarren, Bart, now in possession of Coswarth and Vivian's estates.
The arms of Cosowarth are, Argent, on a chevron between three falcons' wings Azure, five Bezants.
This place I suppose is that manor of land in the Domesday roll taxed by the name of Chor, also Chore, and now vulgarly called Cud-chore, or Cud-jore, viz. the wood-play, interlude, show, or diversion; pageants, sights, pastimes, to delight the people. Now choariou in Cornish, hoariou in the Armorican tongue, is as ludi in Latin, and ludo and ludus. And further memorable it is that Sir Samuel Coswarth of this place frequently styled himself Sir Samuel Cudjore for Cudchoariou, for such was the name of the place before the woods about were destroyed. Then it assumed the name of Cosowarth, i. e. the further-off wood, when the woods on the south-west part of it were destroyed.
Tonkin has not any thing of the least importance different from Mr. Hals.
THE EDITOR.
This parish contains 1481 statute acres.
| Annual value of the Real Property, as returned to Parliament in 1815 | £. 1685 |
s. 0 |
d. 0 |
| Poor Rates in 1831 | 94 | 14 | 0 |
| Population, | in 1801, 191 |
in 1811, 221 |
in 1821, 259 |
in 1831, 261; |
giving an increase of nearly 37 per cent. in 30 years.
GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.
The geological structure in this parish is not very evident; but where the rocks are exposed they very much resemble some varieties of the calcareous series.