240 



CORNWALL. 



Antiqui- 

 ties. 



Cornwall . dren in the west part of the county, made mats of a 



**~^T~~~ small and fine kind of bents, " which for their warmth 

 and well-wearing are carried by sea to London and 

 other parts of the realm, and serve to cover floors and 

 walls." The principal places of trade are Padstow, 

 Boscastle, and the river Hayle, on the north coast ; 

 Penzance, Falmouth, Truro, Fowey, and Looe, on the 

 south. The exports are tin, copper, moor-stone, china- 

 stone, fish, barley, oats, potatoes, and some wheat. The 

 imports are goods and groceries from London, Bristol, 

 and Manchester: considerable quantities of coals are 

 also imported. A great number of cattle and pigs, and 

 some sheep, are driven annually out of the county. 



Cornwall abounds with antiquities of very ancient 

 date, and generally supposed to be Druidical ; of these 

 the most remarkable, as well as the most common, are 

 cairns, circles, cromlechs, and Logan stones. The cairns 

 are similar to those found in Scotland, and consist of a 

 large heap of stones, piled up, generally on some moun- 

 tain or eminence : cromlech, in the Cornish language, 

 signifies a crooked stone. Near Castle Chun is a large 

 one called the giants coit, which consists of four stones, 

 the upper one, which is very large and heavy, resting 

 on the other three, which are not placed erect, but in- 

 clined considerably. Dr Borlase is at a loss for the mean- 

 ing of the word logan, but the word log, from which it 

 is evidently derived, is veiy usually applied, both in 

 Devonshire and Cornwall, to any thing moving to and 

 fro. The most singular logan stone is near Castle 

 Treryn: it is an immense mass of granite, probably 

 more than 90 tons weight, poised in such a delicate and 

 exact manner, on the top of one of the highest rocks, 

 that a child might move it. The logan stones are ge- 

 nerally supposed to be the works of art, or rather of 

 human strength ; but it is impossible to conceive how 

 this one could be placed, where it is, by any human 

 exertion. This consideration, and an attentive view of 

 its structure, has induced Dr Berger to offer a much 

 more plausible conjecture : in his Essay on the physi- 

 cal structure of Devonshire and Cornwall, he says, " I 

 am satisfied that the logan stones formed at one time 

 only one complete mass of granite, which, by the ac- 

 tion of the atmosphere and other external agents, has 

 split into irregular blocks ; the greater part of these, 

 though separated on all sides from each other, have re- 

 mained in their original position, but now appear, as 

 if they had been placed one above another." (Trans- 

 actions of the Geological Society, p. 1 19.) 



Views. There are some grand and impressive sea views in 



this county, particularly the view of St Michael's Mount, 

 and of the Land's-end. The latter can scarcely be re- 

 garded without admiration, awe, and terror. There is 

 a fine view of a very different character, afforded by 

 the scenery round Loo-pool, about two miles from 

 I -'elston : there is a picturesque richness and variety in 

 this scenery not often afforded in Cornwall. 



Pastimes. The people of Cornwall are celebrated for their fond- 

 ness for athletic sports, in which they are very expert : 

 the principal of these are wrestling and hunting. They 

 are usually practised on holidays, particularly on the 

 Monday and Tuesday after the Sunday which is kept 

 annually in memory of the dedication of the parochial 

 church. The tinners have holidays peculiar to them- 

 selves, particularly the Thursday before Christmas day, 

 in commemoration of block tin being first melted into 

 white ; for formerly the tin ore was exported unmelted. 

 The inhabitants of this county are in general of a large 

 and strong make : this, joined to their skill in wrests 



&c. 



ling, has given rise to the proverbial expression, a Cor- Cornwall. 

 niik lu/g. The miners are not long lived ; few of them """ ""V"" * 

 reaching beyond 55. 



There are more parliamentary boroughs in this than Parliamen. 

 in any other county in the kingdom ; it returns to the tar y . bo 

 House of Commons 4-1 members. This seems to have rou S * 

 risen, in a great degree, from the large hereditary reve- 

 nue yielded by the duchy to the crown, and is not of 

 very ancient date. Cornwall is in the diocese of Exe- 

 ter, and in the western circuit: it sends 640 men to the 

 militia, and pays eight parts to the land tax. The as- 

 sizes are held alternately at Bodmin and Launceston. 

 Till about three centuries ago, a peculiar language was 

 spoken in Cornwall,, which was evidently Celtic, end al- 

 lied to the Welsh and language of Bretagne. When 

 Mr Barrington visited Cornwall in 1 76'8, he found <m\y 

 one woman who could scold in it. 



On the invasion of the Romans, this county was in- Ancient hi 

 habited by the Danmonii, who a short time before that habitants; 

 event had subdued the Cari/ahii, in the Cornish lan- 

 guage Gwyr Cernyn, or the men of the promontory. The 

 Romans included it in Brittannia Prima. When they 

 withdrew from this island, Vortigern, earl of Cornwall, 

 was chosen by the British chiefs as their head ; but he, 

 instead of trusting to their bravery, called in the Sax- 

 ons. In consequence of the cruelties and oppressions 

 of these new settlers, many people emigrated from 

 Cornwall to the opposite coast of France, which thence 

 took the name of Bretagne. Cornwall was not finally 

 subdued by the Saxon kings of England till the year 

 9'.'8, in the reign of Athelstan ; and some historians are 

 even of opinion that he did not take possession of it, 

 but merely obliged the inhabitants to confine them- 

 selves within the river Tamar. However this may be, 

 William the Conqueror made Robert de Merton earl of 

 Cornwall, with 79'"> warriors. His son talcing part with 

 Robert, duke of Normandy, was deprived of the earl- 

 dom by Henry, who gave it to Reginald de Dunstan- 

 ville. Henry II. took it on his death, into his own 

 hands, and gave it to his youngest son John, who held 

 it till he was king, at which time he granted it, first to 

 Henry Fitzcount, and afterwards to his own son Rich- 

 ard, who was distinguished for his power and riches, 

 and for his expeditions to the Holy Land. He was 

 succeeded by his son Edward, on whose death, with- 

 out issue, King Edward I. seized it, and gave it to his 

 son, who, on mounting the throne, bestowed the title 

 and honours on his favourite Gaveston. On the execu- 

 tion of Gaveston, Edward III. conferred it on his brother 

 John de Eltham ; and, on his death, the title was raised 

 to a dukedom, and Edward, surnamed the Black Prince, 

 was invested with it. Ever since that time the oldest 

 son of the king is duke of Cornwall, sometimes by birth, 

 and sometimes by patent Of the immense hereditary 

 revenues formerly belonging to Cornwall, only the in- 

 come derived from the Duchy lands and from the duty 

 on the coinage of tin are unalienated. 



The following statistical abstract is taken from the 

 population return for 1811;— 



Inhabited houses ■ . . 37,971 



Families occupying them 44,189 



Houses building 441 



uninhabited 1,400 



Families employed in agriculture ....... 17,465 



in trade, manufactures, &c; ...... 10,954 



- not included in these classes 15,770 



Males -, ■ 103,310 







