t A U 
angle was a very ftrong round tower, whence a terrace 
extended to the keep or citadel at the fouth-eaft angle of 
the court. This confifted of an immenfe artificial hill, 
nearly ninety feet in perpendicular height, about three 
hundred feet diameter at its bafe, and ninety-three at its 
fumtnit. The afcent ro this keep originally commenced 
at a femi-circular tower, and continued to the top through 
a covered way, feven feet wide, now in ruins. The keep 
eonfifts of three wards, and is furrounded by a circular 
wall. The thicknefs of the outer wall, or parapet, is about 
three feet; the fecond wail is fix feet from the former, 
nearly four times the thicknefs, and confiderably higher. 
About eight feet within this wall is another, ten feet 
thick, and thirty-two feet high from the floor of the in- 
clof'ed area, the diameter of which is about eighteen feet. 
In the bafe court formerly flood the county gaol, a fpa- 
cious affife-court, a chapel, and other buildings; but thefe 
have all been taken down, except the gaol, which retains 
its fituation near the bottom of the hill. The building^of 
the cafile has been generally attributed to William earl 
of Moreton and Cornwall, in the time of William the Con- 
ueror; but this opinion is probably erroneous, as the 
yle of workmanfhip exhibited in feveral parts of the re¬ 
mains is apparently of a much earlier date. The walls of 
the keep, in particular, have every appearance of being 
confiderably more ancient; and, from a retrofpeftive view 
of events that have occurred in this county, the conjec¬ 
ture appears to be fully warranted that the foundation of 
the caftle is as remote as the time of the Britons. The 
era in which tiie town was founded, or, at leaft, began to 
afl'ume a regular form, is better determined ; this was 
about the year coo. No remains of the original buildings 
are now extant. On the north fide of the town was a 
priory of Auguftine monks, faid to have been eftablilhed 
by Warlewalt, bifhop of Exeter. 
As this town was a principal refidence of the earls of 
Cornwall for many years after its foundation, its confe- 
quence continually increafed, and many liberties and pri¬ 
vileges were granted to its inhabitants. Soon after the 
conqueft, a weekly market was eftablilhed on Sunday ; in 
the reign of king John, the townfmen paid five marks for 
the removal of the market to Tlnirfday ; but it has fince 
been changed to Saturday. In the reign of Henry III. 
Launcefton was made a free borough by the king’s bro¬ 
ther, Richard, earl of Poicliers and Cornwall; he alfo 
granted the inhabitants fome additional immunities, which 
were confirmed by feveral fubfequent charters ; and in 
the reign of Richard II. the afiifes were ordered to be held 
at Launcefton, and “no where elfe.” This regulation was 
obferved till the flrft year of George I. when an aft was 
palled empowering the lord chancellor to appoint any 
other place in the county. Since that period the winter 
afiifes only have been held here ; thofe of the fummer hav¬ 
ing been removed to Bodmin. By a charter of Philip 
and Mary, granted in 1555, which enumerates and con¬ 
firms the various prior charters, the government is veiled 
in a mayor, recorder, and eight aldermen, who, with the 
tree burgefles, have the right of elefting the parliamentary 
reprefentatives. The whole number of voters is about 
twenty. This borough made its firft return in the twen¬ 
ty-third of Edward I. and had a mayor as early as the 
time of Edward IV. Near the centre of the town is the 
church of St. Mary Magdalen, a handfome fabric, built 
with fquare blocks of granite, molt of which are enriched 
with carved ornaments, executed in a very fingular man¬ 
ner. At the well end is a lofty tower j and a figure of 
the Magdalen, in a recumbent polture, is placed in a 
niche at the eall end. This church was originally only a 
chantry-chapel; in the reign of Henry IV. it was re- 
edified and Confiderably enlarged ; in Henry the Vlth’s 
reign it was conftituted a parifli-church ; and was again 
rebuilt in the time of Henry VIII. The town was for¬ 
merly furrounded by a wall, of which fome parts Hill re¬ 
main. The llreets are narrow; but the houfes are well 
built; on the fcuth fide is a fortified gateway, containing 
L A 17 m 
an apartment ufed as the town gaol. The children of 
the poor are educated in two charity-fchools maintained 
by voluntary fubfeription ; and a free-fehoo! founded and 
endowed by queen Elizabeth. Launcelton is cl i It a n t from 
London 313 miles; has a weekly market on Wednefday, 
befules that on Saturday already mentioned, and fix an¬ 
nual fairs. 
Hengfton-hill, near Launcellon, had formerly rich veins 
of tin ; and the tinners, both of Cornwall ar.d Devon, 
ufed to meet here in great numbers every feventh or eighth 
year, to confult for their common intereil. Here the Cor- 
nifh-Britons joined the Danes, to drive out the Saxons from 
D evonfiiire; but were totally defeated by Egbert in 831. 
Newport is a little village adjoining, and was formerly 
part of Launcefton; and yet fends two members to par¬ 
liament ; and indeed there are no lefs than forty-four for 
this county; and the number of eleftors is fo fmall, in 
many places, that the minifters for the time being have 
ufually a great reliance on the elections in this county 
every new parliament, in order to obtain a majority in the 
houfe of commons; forty-four members from Cornwall, 
and forty-ftye from Scotland, who generally go one way,, 
make no fmall figure in a queftion. And', in this cafe, it 
may not be improperly obferved, that the two extremi¬ 
ties of the ifland, let the other parts go as they will, are 
generally united in the fame way of thinking, or at lead 
of afting, in all political debates; and are likely to be fo 
in all times to come. This place was never incorporated, 
or fo rriuch as anciently to be ftyled a borough ; and 
the whole is the property of the duke of Northumber¬ 
land, who is lord of the manor, and appoints, at his court- 
leet, both the returning officers and the members. This 
place firft returned members in Edward Vlth’s lalt par¬ 
liament. The two vianders, and all the reft of the inha¬ 
bitants paying fcot and lot, choofe the members. The 
number of voters is at prefent only twenty-four; the vi¬ 
anders are the returning officers. 
Before we quit Launcefton and Newport, we muft not 
forget to mention Werrington, formerly the feat of fir 
William Morris, fecretary to king Charles II. in whole 
family it continued till 1773, when it was purchafed, to¬ 
gether with the adjoining eltate, by the late duke of Nor¬ 
thumberland, in whofe family it Hill remains. The houfe 
is not undefervitig attention, and the park is one of the 
fined in England, ditlinguifhed for its noble woods and 
fine flopes^ and being full of red and fallow deer. The 
beautiful river that runs through the park is the boundary 
that here divides the counties of Cornwall and Devon. 
This place is believed to have been the ancient refidence 
of Orgar earl of Devonlhire, whither king Edgar fent his 
favourite earl Athelwold, to demand for him the beauti¬ 
ful Elfrida, whom that unfaithful emiflary (feduced by 
her beauty) obtained for himfelf; and here, it is believed, 
was afted the fubfequent tragedy of that earl’s death. 
Certain it is, that in the houfe is preferved a part of the 
ancient caftle, ftili called Edgar’s Tower ; and in the park 
are fhown the remains of a crofs, which, according to tra¬ 
dition, was erefted by Elfrida, on the very fpot where 
Athelwold was flain by the hand of his enraged mailer. 
Britifh DireElory. Beauties of Eng/and. 
To LAUNCH, v. n. [It is derived by Skinner from lance> 
becaufe a fhip is pulhed into water with great force.] To 
force a veil'd into the fea.—For general hiftory, Raleigh 
and Howel are to be had. He who would launch farther 
into the ocean, may confult Whear. Locke. 
So ftiort a ftay prevails; 
He foon equips the Ihip, fupplies the fails. 
And gives the word to launch. Dryden. 
To rove at large; to expatiate; to make excurfions.— 
Whoever purfues his. own thoughts, will find them launch■ 
out beyond the extent of body into the infinity of Ipace. 
Locke.— Spenfer has not contented himfelf w ith fubmiftjve 
imitation : he launches out into very flowery paths, which 
ftili conduft him into one great road. Prio>\ 
From. 
