Heraldic Church Notes from Cornwall : Containing All the Heraldry And
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/ \^ 3ieraltiic €\fnvt\) J^otes FROM CORN^WALL; CONTAINING ALT, THK HERALDRY AND GENEALOGICAL PARTICULARS ON EVERY MEMORIAL h\ Cpn (JTijUvri^fS in tijr Bpanrrji) of iPagt, WITH COPIOUS EXTRACTS FROM THE PARISH REGISTERS. Annotated with Notes from Wills, etc. EDITED BY ARTHUR J. JEWERS, F.S.A. LONDON : ^. MITCHELL AND HUGHES, 140, WARDOUR STREET, W. i PLYMOUTH: W. BREXDON AND SON, GEORGE STREET. ZZQ PREFACE. niHE Hist forty pages, dealing with the chuiclies of liame, -*- St. Johns, .Sheviock, and iSaltash, were originally read before the nienihers of the Plymouth Institution, in their lecture-hall at the Athengeuni, in Decenil^r, 1886. It being thought that they were of sufficient interest to reprint, additions were made, and the subse<{uent one hundred and sixty odd pages of other churches grafted on, bringing the work to much larger proportions than were at all when first in hand and the contemplated put ; author of this result submits it to the kindly forbearance of those interested in genealogical mattei-s, though it is with considerable trepidation that he does so. He would claim for it to be nothing more than the result of spare hours snatched from professional engagements, where the object has been to gather as many facts for future use as could be obtained in the short time with due for given, regard accuracy ; this must be his excuse for the want of more extended re- searches. The want of more copious references to wills is especially to be regretted. At the Probate Court at Bodmin the courteous Registrar (Mr. Basset Collins) gave every facility and assistance for his followed his clerks research, example being by ; while at Exeter the Registrar (Mr. Bayly) and his clerks threw every obstacle in the way of literary search, causing such delay and annoyance, that the attempt had to be given up. Con- sequently St, Germans, which ought to have had a large number of notes from wills, has none, it being one of the "Peculiars," and all the wills relating thereto going to Exeter in.stead of to Bodmin. IV PREFACE. The [Ami of giving only tlie substance of the insciiptiuns will doubtless be to and the of such objected by many ; validity objection is admitted up to a certain point. If circumstances permitted an ecpial amount of ground to be covered, the same number of facts rendered accessible and safe from loss, then by all means print the inscriptions in full. But will this be found practicable 1 It means a large . expenditure of time, or a con- siderable additional outlay, to have them transcribed; further the matter to be printed would be very greatly increased, neces- sarily increasing the bulk and cost. Then the questions come, Is the value of the gain equal to the increased outlay] and are there sufHcient persons interested to ensure any one county being gone through iu that way, witliout pecuniary loss to the editor or printer 1 The oljject in this attempt has been to give as much information as sources to down possible from original ; bring it, when possible, to the time and to avoid what been present ; has already printed. The plan adopted has been to take the mural monuments first, and then the floor-slabs, in each church. Where a series of memorials of one family are found, they follow consecutively. Extracts from the Registers relating to families commemorated have generally been given with each monument or series. To these have been added niorc general extracts from the Registei's of entries as most to of interest unusUal such aj»peared likely be ; entries from a as the name of the ; persons distance, appears by place from which they came; also those designated "Mr." or "gent." Want of time has necessarily curtailed these extracts, and made the selection A'ery difficult. Hundreds of entries of well-known names from the Heralds' Visitations crop up. What shall be taken, and what left? And the case must be judged and settled in less time than it takes to write the briefest entry, or each debated entry may as well be copied. The only really satis- factory course is for every Register to be printed, the entries abbreviated as in the . being following pages. It has been endeavoured to keep extracts from other Register?, notes from wills, &c., dLstinct from the actual notes from the monuments and Re<'isters in each church. PREFACE. V The pleasant duty only remains of acknowledging the kind reception and assistance received from the various clergymen whose churches have been visited of searched and Registers ; the of J. viz., Kev. W. Comwallis Evans, Rame ; Rev. H. Kirwan, of St. Johns Rev. J. F. of Rev. M.A., ; Kitson, m.a., Antony ; of St. Rev. H. Can-w- W. Fraser, m.a., Stephcns-by-Saltash ; of of St. Glanvillc, m.a., Sheviock ; Rev. W. A. Fenwick, m.a., Germans of St. Rev. A. F. ; Rev. Canon Buck, u.d., Dominick ; Hardy, m.a., of Maker (some notes and register extracts from this church were nuidc in the time of the Kev. Frederic T. Wintle, M.A., of and E. of Botus now Beer Ferrers) ; Rev. W. Vigor, m.a., Fleming. Col. J. L. Vivian's work. The Visitations of Cormrall, ha.<5 been frequently referred to, and its assistance generally mentioned at the time and he will out ; readily forgive having pointed omissions or errors, for those most closely acquainted with genealogical pursuits best know its difficulties, and the tiresome- ness of information turning up when considered hopeless. Any additional information relating to families mentioned, or continuing the descent to the present time, will be very acceptable for future use, as doubtless many have been overlooked. Our thanks are also due to Mr. R. X. Worth, f.g.s,, and Mr. J. "Whitmarsh, for assistance rendered. The index is the work of the editor's son, Francis Eure Jewers. LIST OF CHURCHES. RAME ...... itxnWxt fxam Cnrnixiall ChtrtJT6 Motts^—^ The collection of Notes of the Arms and Inscriptions on Monu- ments in parish churches is no new idea. A list of such, printed and in MS., in the College of Arms, British Museum, Bodleian, and Ashmolean Libraries will be found in Sims's Manual. Beside these Richard Simonds's Dia^-y contains numerous church notes, some relating to Devon and Cornwall; and a Mr. Incledon also made a collection relating to these counties. The monuments in a church must always have an interest apart from their genealogical value. Like architecture and dress, they have their different periods—from the simple coffin-shaped stone, on which later we find a cross cut, and at the top of which after a time appears a head, or larger portion of the human figure, which developes into the recumbent effigy. These reached their richest state in tlie Tudor period, and with that age died out. Mural monuments of large size—generally with arched canopies, and often with semi-recumbent or kneeling figures—date from the time of Elizabeth, and disappear with the House of Stuart. Brasses, either on the floor or on table or altar tombs, were in use from the beginning of the thirteenth century, but fell into disuse about the first quarter of the seventeenth. There is in the church of St. Columb Major a brass for John Arundell, Esq., who died July 22nd, 1633; but memorials of this kind are seldom met with so late. About the middle of the eighteenth century was introduced the style—if it can be called one—of angular slabs of cold Avhite marble, still much afi'ected. We have said nothing of coloured glass, which, prior to the Reformation, Avas much used for the display of commemorative shields, and sometimes the portraiture of the deceased, with the pious injunction, "Pro animo," preceding the name, which led to their general destruction by the Puritans and others in the seventeenth century. B 2 HERALDIC CHURCH NOTES FROM CORNWALL. It does not, however, come within our limits to deal with monuments and the same generally; remark applies to Parish Registers. It will be sufficient for our purpose to say that after the suppression of the religious houses, a mandate was issued by Thomas Cromwell, Vicar -General, in 1538, for the keeping of Registers of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials. In the reign of Elizabeth it was ordered that every clergyman on his institution should sign a declaration to keep the Registers as required. But this not being done regularly, in 1597 it was ordained that parchment register books should be purchased at the expense of the parish, and such Registers as existed transcribed into them and it was further ordered that ; copies of the Registers to were be taken to the registrar of the diocese every year, within one month of Easter. Unfortunately these orders were seldom observed. Since then various acts have been passed relating to registration, but no adequate measure has been introduced for the preservation of the Registers themselves; and they have, to a considerable extent, perished from carelessness and neglect, and often from wilful destruction. Many are fast dropping to pieces from damp and age, and nothing but a speedy transcript can save them. These records are simply priceless; they afford the richest mines of information to the genealogist. Who is to say what will or will not be. of value? What one passes over will be what another seeks. We mourn aloud the loss of such large numbers of these records, and yet as a country we neglect to take the necessary steps to secure what is left of them, which might be done at a very small cost annually, spread over a number of years.