341 



NOTES ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BROWN WILLY. 

 By the Rev. A. H. MALAN, M.A. 



To tla.6 east of Rough. Tor and Brown Willy there are 

 various objects of interest within the radius of a few miles, 

 which merit a visit from the Eoyal Institution of Cornwall ; and 

 prevented as we are on this occasion by the exigencies of a one- 

 day's excursion from penetrating beyond this point, ''^ I wiU 

 draw attention to a few of them, in the hopes that even a 

 fragmentary description may be of some use to any of our party 

 who happen hereafter to be in the neighbourhood. 



The Church of Altarnon is itself a veritable museum of 

 antiquarian curiosities, with its wealth of carved bench-ends, 

 Norman font, 15th-century Rood Screen 50 feet long, its quaint 

 pictures, Grreat Bible, private Account book of " Parson Ruddle," 

 who exorcised the ghost of Botathen, and other remarkable 

 things ; but a museum practically closed to the public, inasmuch 

 as it lies off the present-day coach-roads, and is out of the track 

 of tourists. In the parish of Altarnon are some 16th century 

 dismantled manor houses, portions of which are utilised as farm- 

 houses ; — Trerithick, formerly the house of the Treruddick family : 

 Trebant, with the stones of its dated and traceried doorway now 

 forming the garden entrance : Polgray, where the late Mr. 

 "Whale, a Cornish artist, was born, and where some of his paint- 

 ings may be seen ; — and where, by the way, a curious stone ladle 

 was recently dug up : Trelawny, the ancient seat of the Trelawny 

 family, who left it about the time of Henry 5th, but of this 

 nothing save the site remains : and West Carne. At the latter 

 place there is a good carved granite fire-place, liberally covered 

 with whitewash, and blackened with peat smoke ; the bedroom 

 above the "kitchen" being approached by a newel staircase. 

 Beneath the hood-mould of a granite window of superior mould- 



* Partly read at Brown Willy, August 30, 1887. 



