466 GODOLPHIN AND THE GODOLPHINS. 



after, says that Carn Q-odolean is on the '' top of a Hille wheris 

 a Diche, and there was a pile and principal Habitation of the 

 Grodolcans. The Diche yet apperith, and many stones of late 

 time hath been fetchid thens." 



The older portion of the present house appears to have been 

 built early in the reign of Henry VIII., as it is shewn in a 

 chart of that date now in the British Museum (Fig. 2). It was 

 added to in Jacobean times, whilst a new front and colonade was 

 built about the middle of the eighteenth century by the second 

 Earl of Godolphin. The special features of the architecture and 

 design of the mansion will be alluded to further on. 



It would be tedious to trace in detail the history of this noble 

 family, and space will only allow me to dwell on some of the 

 most noteworthy incidents connected with it. 



Sir William Grodolphin, who lived in the reign of Henry 

 VIII., was a person of great note in Cornwall. He was warden 

 and chief steward of the Stannaries, and was several times 

 chosen Knight of the Shire for our county. 



His nephew, Sir Francis, was the friend and colleague of 

 Carew, whom be assisted in his survey of Cornwall. He was 

 renowned for his " plentiful housekeeping " and skill in mining, 

 employing as many as 300 persons in his tin works, which 

 industry he also benefitted by his invention of mine- stamps. 

 But the most noteworthy episode in his life is the part he took 

 in the defence of Penzance when it was fired by the Spaniards 

 in 1595. 



On the 23rd of July in this year, at break of day, when a 

 fog lifted, four galleys landed a party of Spaniards who burnt 

 Mousehole, Paul Church, and Newlyn. The inhabitants, but 

 meanly armed, fled before the enemy, but were met and rallied 

 by Sir Francis on the Western Green, who at once, so Carew tells 

 us, sent by post to Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins at 

 Plymouth for aid and succour. This letter is still extant in the 

 Public Eecord Ofiice, and is so full of life and vigour and so 

 vividly descriptive of the scene, that I cannot refrain from giving 

 it in full. 



