The Parochial History of Cornwall/Volume 1/St Colomb Minor
St. COLUMB MINOR
HALS.
Is situate in the hundred of Pedyr, and hath upon the north the Irish sea and St. Mawgan; east, Little Golan; west, Crantock; south, Newland. For the name see St. Columb Major. This church's revenues being wholly impropriated, or appropriated to the prior of Bodmin before the Inquisitions of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester, 1294, or Wolsey's afterwards, is not named therein; the prior by ancient composition paying the vicar or curate here only six pounds per annum; by which bargain he was a great gainer, at least 250l. per annum, and I take it the present patron and impropriator, Mr. Buller, paya the curate not above 25l. per annum. This parish was rated to the 4s. per pound Land Tax, 1696, 207l. 9s.
This church, according to its bigness, is the finest, best-kept, pewed, or seated, that I know of in Cornwall; the rood-loft, (yet standing, though without a rood on it,) a most curious and costly piece of workmanship, carved and painted with gold, silver, vermillion and bice, is the masterpiece of art in those parts of tha kind. The pews or seats are uniform, all msde of blackt oak; and to prove their antiquity, there is yet extant an inscription on one of them, containing these words; "These seats were built by the poor's stock in the year 1525."
At Tre-loye in this parish (the flowing or abounding town) is still extant a famous chapel, dedicated to St. Pedyr, perhaps of public use before this church of St. Colomb was erected.
This district in Domesday Roll passed under the name and jurisdiction of the great lordship and manor of Ryalton, heretofore pertaining to the prior of Bodmin, which lands are held of the Bishop of Exeter's manor of Penryn, and pay yearly 10l. high rent to the same; from whence I gather that formerly both pertained to the bishopric of Cornwall, afterwards converted into Kirton and Exeter; and that afterwards, by compact between the said bishop and prior of Bodmin, it was dismembered from that bishopric, and restored to that priory, as parcel of the ancient bishop of Bodmin's revenues, of which that priory consisted, and was endowed with at its first foundation by the bequests of the ancient earls of Cornwall.
For the name of Rial-ton or Ryal-ton (if it consists of those particles), it signifies the royal, kingly, or princely town, as pertaining heretofore to the king of England or earls of Cornwall; and suitable to this etymology it claimeth the jurisdiction and royalty over the whole hundred of Pider. So that whosoever is now farmer thereof, is by custom its head bailiff, as the prior of St. Pedyr at Bodmin was; from whose font-name the same is still denominated Pider (id est, Peter, as formerly said), the which farmer or bailiff is steward of the Court Baron of the said hundred or decima, and also of the Court Leet held within the jurisdiction or precincts of the manor aforesaid, and his substitutes constantly attend the service of both. To remove an action-at-law depending in the Court Leet of this manor, the writ must thus be directed: Senescallo et Ballivo manerii nostri de Rialton in comitatu de Cornubiae salutem. To remove an action out of hundred court, whereof as I said the farmer of this manor is lord, the writ must be thus directed: "Senescallo et Ballivo hundredi et libertatis vie Peder, in comitatu Cornubiæ, salutem."
When the priory of St. Peder at Bodmin was dissolved, 26 Henry VIII. and those lands vested in the crown, one John Mundy, barrister-at-law, (son of John Mundy, sheriff of London 6 Henry VIII. afterwards Sir John Mundy, Knight, Lord Mayor of London 14 Henry VIII.) was sent down from London to be seneschal or steward of this manor of Ryalton and hundred of Pider. In which capacity he demeaned himself so well, temp. Elizabeth, that when the set-off of the last prior for ninety-nine years expired, and Mr. Mundy's son succeeded in the same office as his father, was in this place, at such time as James I. by statute prohibited the granting of church lands at lease for longer than twenty-one years under the old rent, Mr. Mundy took a lease thereof from the Crown for that term, viz. of 60l. per annum, and his posterity renewing or retaking the same as those leases expired, thereby this estate, worth about 1000l. per annum, continued in this family till some time after the restoration of Charles the Second, when Sir Francis Goilolphin, Knight, by favour of that King, took a reversion or new set thereof, before Mr. Mundy's expired, on condition of doubling the rent from 60l. to 120l. per annum, so that Sir William Godolphin, Bart. is now in possession thereof; and the Right Hon. Sidney Lord Godolphin was created Baron Godolphin of Ryalton, 33 Charles II. whereby this family of Mundy are comparatively undone, notwithstanding they were stout Cavaliers and opposers of Cromwell and the Parliament army to their utmost power and strength. Well therefore doth the royal Psalmist advise all men not to put their trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom is no help.
The arms of Mundy are, in a field, three lozenges, on a chief three eagle's legs erased.
The mansion-house at Ryalton wherein Mr. Mundy dwelt, was much beautified and augmented by prior Thomas Vivian, to which belongs a strong prison and dungeon for putting debtors in durance. Query, whether this barton of Ryalton payeth tithes to the impropriator? All priories, monasteries, religious houses, &c. above the yearly value of 200l. per annum, being exempted from it by the statute 31 Henry VIII. chiefly because the same were given for and applied to charitable uses and the maintenance of the poor; and verily, if the name Ryalton be compounded of those syllables ry-all-ton, it signifies give or bestow all town, or a town that gave or bestowed all its revenues to the poor, and pious uses. And that the reader may know in what manner poor men were sent to such religious houses to be fed and maintained during life, as penitentiaries or otherwise, by their superiors, or such as had power to visit the same, I will set down an instance or example, out of Fox's Acts and Monuments, page 53, temp. Henry VIII. contained in a letter from John Langland, Bishop of Lincoln, 1524, to the Abbot of Ensham, viz.
"My loving brother, I recommend me hearty unto you, arid whereas I have according to law sent this bearer T. R. to perpetual penance within your monastery of Ensham, there to live as a penitent and not otherwise; I pray you nevertheless, and according to the law command you, to receive him, and see you order him there according to his injunctions, which he will show you if you require the same. As for his lodging, he will bring it with him, and his meat and drink he must have as you give of your alms; and if he can so order himself by his labour within your house in your business, whereby he may deserve meat and drink, so may you order him as you see convenient to his deserts, so that he pass not the precinct of your monastery. And thus, fare you heartily well. From my place, &c." This injunction of penance was, 1. To fast every Friday during life, taking no other sustenance than bread and ale after it; and every even of Corpus Christi's day to fast during life, and after fasting to take no other sustenance than bread and water that day, unless prevented by sickness; also in part to say our lady's Psalter every Sunday during life; he is marked in the cheek, as other penetentiaries, with the letter P. (See Egleshayle and Penuans in Creed.)
At Towan in this parish, is that well-known place called Newquay, a pretty safe road and anchorage place for such ships as trade in St. George's Channel, and also a convenient place for a fishing trade, were the inhabitants disposed to adventure therein.
At Hendra, also Hendre, in this parish, synonymous words, old, ancient town, is the dwelling of John Tonkyn, Gent, that married Keen of Roach; his father the heir of Cock, by whom he had this place; his grandfather Tregian, originally descended from the Tonkyns of St. Agnes.
Trevedick, also Trevithick, words of one signification, id est, rustic or farmers' town, is the dwelling of Nicholas Polamonter, Gent, (so called from Polla-monter in Newland.)
TONKIN
has not, again, any thing of the least importance different from Mr. Hals.
THE EDITOR.
Rialton is the object of highest importance in this parish. Its antiquities are not much known; but when Mr. Sidney Godolphin was created Earl of Godolphin, his son, who had married Henrietta Churchill, eldest daughter of the Duke of Marlborough, assumed the appellation of Lord Rialton, and Lady Rialton was one of the ladies of the bedchamber to Queen Anne.
A small print is given of the south entrance gate still remaining, in C. S. Gilbert's History of Cornwall, vol. ii. p. 673.
The properly belonged to the late Mr. Thomas Rawlings of Padstow, having probably been acquired when lands were sold by the duchy to redeem the land-tax, but it was alienated on his decease.
New Quay, mentioned by Mr. Hals as a pretty safe road and anchorage for vessels, and also as a convenient place for establishing a fishery, is become a successful station for sea nets. In Lord Dunstanville's edition of Carew, p. 357, it is stated, "The place was called New Quay, because in former times the neighbours attempted to supply the defects of nature by art, in making there a quay for the road of shipping, which conceit they still retain, although want of means in themselves or in the plan have left the effect in nubibus. The quay has now been many years constructed, but I apprehend it is not capable of receiving any other than small vessels.
This parish measures 4759 statute acres.
| Annual value of the Real Property, as returned to Parliament in 1815 | £. 6238 |
s. 0 |
d. 0 |
| The Poor Rate in 1831 | 783 | 3 | 0 |
| Population, | in 1801, 999 |
in 1811, 1126 |
in 1821, 1297 |
in 1831, 1406; |
giving an increase of about 4034 per cent. in 30 years.
The parish feast, like that of St. Columb Major, is on the Sunday nearest to the 17th of November.
GEOLOGY, BY DR. BOASE.
On the eastern side adjoining to the Downs, the rocks are quartzose, but the greater part of this parish is composed of slates belonging to the calcareous series, which extend to the sea shore. At Tremper Bridge, and in the islands lying at the entrances of St. Columb Porth, beds of black limestone occur, associated with talc, schist, and blue slates.
The most interesting feature, however, of this parish is the testaceous sandstone at New Quay, and on the shores of Fistral Bay. The land adjacent to the sea at those places is covered with sand, which above high-water mark is lapidified, as is also a bed of pebbles on which the sand sometimes rests. For the particulars of this phenomenon the first and the fourth volumes of the Cornwall Geological Transactions may be consulted.