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CORNWALL

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 183 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CORNWALL , the See also:

south-westernmost See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. and N.W. by the See also:Atlantic Ocean, E. by See also:Devonshire, and S. and S.W. by the See also:English Channel. The See also:area is 1356.6 sq. m. The most southerly See also:extension is See also:Lizard Point, and the most See also:westerly point of the mainland See also:Land's End, but the county also includes the Scilly Isles (q.v.), lying 25 M. W. by S. of Land's End. No county in England has a stronger individuality than Cornwall, whether in economic or social conditions, in See also:history, nomenclature, tradition, or even in the See also:physical characteristics of the land. Such individuality is hardly to be compassed within See also:political boundaries, and in some respects it is shared by the neighbouring county of See also:Devon, yet the traveller hardly feels its See also:influence before passing See also:west of the Tamar. Physically, Cornwall is a See also:great promontory with a See also:direct length of 75 M. from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and an extreme breadth, at the junction with Devonshire, of 45 M. The See also:river Tamar here forms the greater See also:part of the boundary, and its valley divides the high See also:moors of Devonshire and the See also:succession of similar broad-topped hills which See also:form the backbone of the Cornish promontory. The scenery is full of contrast. To the west of See also:Launceston the See also:principal See also:mass of high land rises to 1375 ft. in See also:Brown Willy, the highest point in the county. This See also:district is broken and picturesque, with rough tors or hills and boulders. A remarkable See also:pile of rocks called the See also:Cheese-wring, somewhat resembling an inverted See also:pyramid in form, is seen on the See also:moor See also:north of See also:Liskeard.

This district is for the most part a region of See also:

furze and heather; but after passing See also:Bodmin, the true Cornish moorland asserts itself, See also:bare, desolate and impracticable, broken and dug into hillocks, which are sometimes due to See also:early See also:mining See also:works, sometimes to more See also:modern See also:search for metals. The seventy See also:miles from Launceston to See also:Mount's See also:Bay have been called not untruly " the dreariest See also:strip of See also:earth traversed by any English high road." There is hardly more cultivation on the higher ground west of Mount's Bay, or in the Meneage or " rocky See also:country," the old Cornish name for the promontory which ends in the Lizard. See also:Long See also:combes and valleys, however, descend from this upper moorland towards the See also:coast on both sides. These are in See also:general well wooded, and, in the luxuriance of their vegetation, strongly characteristic. The small See also:rivers traversing them in several cases enter See also:fine estuaries, which ramify deeply into the land. Such are, on the south coast, the great See also:estuary of the Tamar, and other streams, on which the See also:port of See also:Plymouth is situated (but only the western See also:shore is Cornish), the See also:Looe and See also:Fowey rivers, See also:Falmouth See also:Harbour, the most important of the purely Cornish inlets and accessible for the largest vessels, and the Helford river. On the north are the estuaries of the See also:Camel and the Hayle, debouching into See also:Padstow Bay and St Ives Bay respectively. The Fowey and Camel valleys almost completely break the continuation of the central high ground, and the up-lands west of Mount's Bay are similarly parted from the See also:main mass by the See also:low See also:tract between Hayle and See also:Marazion. Except at the mouth of a stream or estuary the coast is almost wholly See also:rock-See also:bound, and the cliff scenery is unsurpassed in England. Three different types are found. On the north coast, from See also:Tintagel See also:Head and See also:Boscastle northward to Hartland Point in Devonshire, the dark See also:slate cliffs, with their narrow and distorted strata, are remarkably rugged of outline, owing to the ease with which the waves See also:fret the loosely-bound rock. On the south, in the beautiful little bays in the neighbourhood of the Lizard Point, the See also:serpentine rock is noted for its exquisite colouring.

Between Treryn and Land's End, at the south-west, a majestic barrier of See also:

granite is presented to the See also:sea. The beautiful Scilly Isles continue the See also:line of the granite, and the intervening sea is said to have submerged a tract of land named Lyonesse, containing, according to tradition, 140 See also:parish churches, and intimately connected with the Arthurian romances. See also:Geology.—One of the most striking features of Cornwall is the presence of the four great masses of granite which rise up and form as many elevated areas out of a See also:lower-lying region occupied by rocks almost entirely slaty in See also:character, generally known as " Killas." The granite is not the See also:oldest of the Cornish rocks; these are found in the Lizard See also:peninsula and are represented by serpentine, See also:gabbro and metamorphic See also:schists. With the exception of a small tract about Veryan and Gorran, of Ordovician See also:age, all the sedimentary rocks, as far as a line joining Boscastle and South Petherwin, were formerly classed as Devonian; to the north of the line are the See also:Culm See also:measures —slates, grits and limestones—of Carboniferous age. The extensive spread of Killas is not, however, entirely Devonian, as it is shown on most maps. In the See also:northern portion, Lower, See also:Middle and Upper Devonian can be distinguished; the lower beds at Polperro, Looe and Watergate, the higher beds along the line indicated above. Farther south it has been shown that an older set of Palaeozoic rocks constitutes at least a part of the Killas; the Veryan See also:series, with Caradoc fossils, is succeeded in descending See also:order by the Portscatho series, the Falmouth series and the Mylor series ; the lowest Devonian beds represented here by the Menaccan series, See also:rest unconformably upon these Ordovician beds. Upper See also:Silurian fossils have been found near Veryan. All these rocks have been subjected to severe thrusting from the south, consequently they are much contorted and folded. After this thrusting and folding had taken See also:place, intrusions of See also:diabase, &c., penetrated the sedimentary strata in numerous places, but it was not until See also:post-Carboniferous times that the granite masses were intruded. The principal granite masses are those of St Just and Land's End, See also:Penryn, St Austell and Bodmin Moor. To the granite Cornwall owes much of its prosperity; it has altered the Killas for some distance around each mass, and the See also:veins of See also:tin and See also:copper ore, though richest in the Killas, are evidently genetically related to the granite.

The principal metalliferous districts, See also:

Camborne, See also:Redruth, St Just, &c., all See also:lie near the granite margins. The See also:china See also:clay and china See also:stone See also:industry is dependent on the fact that the granite was itself altered in patches during the later phases of eruptive activity by the agency of boric and fluoric vapours which kaolinized the See also:felspar of the granite. Later eruptions produced dykes of See also:quartz-See also:porphyry and other varieties, all locally called " elvans," which penetrate both the granite and the Killas. Small patches of See also:Pliocene strata are found at St Erth and St See also:Agnes See also:Beacon. Blown See also:sand is an important feature at St Pirran, Lelant, Gwythian and elsewhere, and raised beaches are frequent See also:round the coast. A characteristic Cornish See also:deposit is the " Head," an old consolidated scree or See also:talus. Many rare minerals have been obtained from the mines and much tin ore has been taken from the river gravels. The river See also:gravel at Carnon has yielded native See also:gold. See also:Climate.—The climate of Cornwall is See also:peculiar. See also:Snow seldom lies for more than a few days, and the winters are less severe than in any other part of England, the See also:average temperature for See also:January being 34° F. at See also:Bude and 43.7° at Falmouth. The sea-winds, except in a few sheltered places, prevent See also:timber trees from attaining to any great See also:size, but the See also:air is mild, and the lower vegetation, especially in the See also:Penzance district, is almost See also:southern in its luxuriance. Geraniums, fuchsias, myrtles, hydrangeas and camellias grow to a considerable size, and flourish through the See also:winter at Penzance and round Falmouth; and in the Scilly Isles a great variety of exotics may be seen flourishing in the open air.

Stone See also:

fruit, and even apples and See also:pears, do not attain the same full flavour as in the neighbouring county, owing to the want of dry See also:heat. The pinaster, the Pinusaustriaca, Pinus insignis and other firs succeed well in the western part of the county. All native See also:plants display a perfection of beauty hardly to be seen elsewhere, and the furze, including the See also:double-blossomed variety, and the heaths, among which Erica vegans and ciliaris are characteristic, See also:cover the moorland and the cliff summits with a See also:blaze of the richest See also:colour. On the whole the climate is healthy, though the prevalent westerly and south-westerly winds, bringing with them great bodies of See also:cloud from the Atlantic, render it See also:damp; the mean See also:annual rainfall, though only 32.85 in. at Bude, reaches 44.41 at Falmouth, and 50.57 at Bodmin. See also:Agriculture.—About seven-tenths of the See also:total area is under cultivation, but oats form the only important See also:grain-See also:crop. Turnips, swedes and mangolds make up the bulk of the See also:green crops. The number of See also:cattle (chiefly of the Devonshire breed) is large, and many See also:sheep are kept; nearly 6o,000 acres of See also:hill pasture being recorded. As regards agricultural produce, however, Cornwall is chiefly famous for the See also:market-gardening carried on in the neighbourhood of Penzance, where the climate is specially suitable for the growth of early.potatoes, broccoli and See also:asparagus. These are despatched in large quantities to the See also:London market; the Scilly Isles sharing in the industry. Fruit and See also:flowers are also grown for the market. In the valleys the See also:soil is frequently See also:rich and deep; there are See also:good arable and pasture farms, and the natural See also:oak-See also:wood of these coombes has been preserved and increased by See also:plantation. Mining.—The See also:wealth of Cornwall, however, lies not so much in the soil, as underground and in the surrounding seas.

Hence the favourite Cornish See also:

toast, " See also:fish, tin and copper." The tin of Cornwall has been known and worked from a See also:period anterior to certain history. There is no direct See also:proof that the Phoenician traders came to Cornwall for tin; though it has been sought to identify the See also:Cassiterides (q.v.) or Tin Islands with the county or the Scilly Isles. By See also:ancient charters the " tinners " were exempt from all See also:jurisdiction (See also:save in cases affecting land, See also:life and See also:limb) other than that of the Stannary Courts, and peculiar See also:laws were enacted in the Stannary parliaments (see See also:STANNARIES). For many centuries a tax on the tin, after smelting, was paid to the earls and See also:dukes of Cornwall. The smelted blocks were carried to certain towns to be coined, that is, stamped with the duchy See also:seal before they could be sold. By an See also:act of 1838 the dues payable on the coinage of tin were abolished, and a See also:compensation was awarded to the duchy instead of them. The Cornish miners are an intelligent and See also:independent See also:body, and the assistance of a Cornishman has been found necessary to the successful development of mining in many parts of the See also:world, while many miners have emigratedfrom Cornwall to more remunerative See also:fields abroad. The industry has suffered from periods of depression, as before the See also:accession of See also:Queen See also:Elizabeth, who introduced miners from See also:Germany to resuscitate it; and in modern times the shallow workings, from which tin could be easily " streamed," have become practically exhausted. The deeper workings to which the miners must needs have recourse naturally render See also:production more costly, and the competition of See also:foreign mines has been detrimental. The result is that the industry is comparatively less prosperous than formerly, and employs far fewer of the inhabitants. However, in the district of Camborne, Carn Brea, Illogan and Redruth, and near St Just in the extreme west, the mines are still active, while there are others of less importance elsewhere, as near Callington in the south-See also:east. And when, as in 16o6, circumstances affecting the production of foreign mines cause a rise in the See also:price of tin, the Cornish mines enjoy a period of greater prosperity; the result being the See also:recent reopening of many of the mines which had been closed for twenty years.

The largest tin-mine is that of Dolcoath near Camborne. Copper is extracted at St Just and at Carn Brea; but the output has decreased much further than that of tin. As it lies deeper in the earth, and consequently could not be " streamed " for, it was almost unnoticed in the county until the end of the 15th See also:

century, and little See also:attention was paid to it until the last years of the 17th. No mine seems to have been worked exclusively for copper before the See also:year 1770; and up to that See also:time the casual produce had been bought by See also:Bristol merchants, to their great gain, at rates from £2:1os. to £4 per ton. In 1718 See also:John Coster gave a great impulse to the See also:trade by draining some of the deeper mines, and instructing the men in an improved method of dressing the ore. The trade thereafter progressively increased, and in 1851 the mines of Devon and Cornwall together were estimated to furnish one-third of the copper raised throughout See also:Europe, including the See also:British Isles. See also:Antimony ores and See also:manganese are found, and some See also:lead occurs, being worked without great result. See also:Iron in lodes, as brown See also:haematite, has been worked near See also:Lostwithiel and elsewhere. In the St Austell district the place of tin and copper mining has been taken by that of the raising and preparation of china clay. Granite is largely quarried in various districts, as at Luxulian (between St Austell and Lostwithiel), and in the neighbourhood of Penryn. This is the material of London and See also:Waterloo See also:Bridges, the See also:Chatham docks, and many other great works. It is for the most part coarse-grained, though differing greatly in different places in this respect.

Fine slate is quarried and largely exported, as from the Delabole quarries near Tintagel. These slates were in great repute in the 16th century and earlier. Serpentine is quarried in the Lizard district, and is worked there into small ornamental See also:

objects for See also:sale to visitors; it is in favour as a decorative stone. See also:Pitchblende also occurs, and is See also:mined for the extraction of See also:radium. See also:Fisheries.—The fisheries of Cornwall and Devon are the most important on the south-west coasts. The See also:pilchard is in great measure confined to Cornwall, living habitually in deep See also:water not far west of the Scilly Isles, and visiting the coast in great shoals, —one of which is described as having extended from Mevagissey to the Land's End, a distance, including the windings of the coast, of nearly See also:loo m. In summer and autumn pilchards are caught by See also:drift nets; later in the year they are taken off the northern coast by See also:seine nets. See also:Forty thousand hogsheads, or 120 million fish, have been taken in the course of a single See also:season, requiring 20,000 tons of See also:salt to cure them. Twelve millions have been taken in a single See also:day; and the sight of this great See also:army of fish passing the Land's End, and pursued by hordes of See also:dog-fish, See also:hake, and See also:cod, besides vast flocks of sea-birds, is most striking. The principal fishing stations are on Mount's Bay and at St Ives, but boats are employed all along the coast. When brought to shore the pilchards are carried to the cellars to be cured. They are then packed in hogsheads, each containing about 2400 fish.

These casks are largely exported to See also:

Naples and other See also:Italian ports —whence the fisherman's toast, "Long life to the See also:pope, and See also:death to thousands." Besides pilchards, See also:mackerel and See also:herring are taken in great See also:numbers, and conger eels of great size; See also:mullet and John See also:Dory may be mentioned. There is also a trade in " sardines," See also:young pilchards taking the place of the real Mediterranean fish. Communications.—The principal ports are Falmouth and Penzance, but that of Hayle is of some importance, and there are large See also:engineering works here. It lies on the estuary of the Hayle river, which opens into St Ives Bay, the township of Phillack adjoining on the north-east. A brisk See also:coasting trade is maintained at many small ports along the coast. Communications are provided chiefly by the Great Western railway, the main line of which passes through the county and terminates at Penzance. Fowey, Penryn and Falmouth, and See also:Helston on the south, and Bodmin and See also:Wadebridge, See also:Newquay and St Ives, are served by See also:branch lines. A See also:light railway runs from Liskeard to Looe. The north-eastern parts of the county (Launceston, Bude, Wadebridge) are served by the London & South-Western railway. Coaches are run in several districts during the summer, and in some parts, as in the neighbourhood of Penzance, and between Helston and the Lizard, the Great Western See also:company provides a motor-See also:car service to places beyond the reach of the railway. Many of the small seaside towns have become favourite See also:holiday resorts, such as Bude, Newquay and St Ives, and the south-coast ports. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 868,22o acres, with a population in 1891 of 322,571, and in 1901 of 322,334.

In 1861 the population was 369,390, and had shown an increase up to that See also:

census. The area of the adminis-trative county is 886,384 acres. The county contains 9 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Bodmin (pop. 5353), the county See also:town; Falmouth (11,789), Helston (3088), Launceston (4053), Liskeard (4010), Lostwithiel (1331), Penryn (3190), Penzance (13,136), St Ives (6699), See also:Saltash (3357), See also:Truro (11,562), an episcopal See also:city. The other See also:urban districts are Callington (1714), Camborne (14,726), Hayle (1084), Looe (2548), Ludgvan (2274), Madron (3486), Newquay (3115), Padstow (1566), See also:Paul (6332), Phillack (3881), Redruth (10,451), St Austell (3340), St Just (5646), Stratton and Bude (2308), Torpoint (4200), Wadebridge (2186). Small market and other towns, beyond those in the above lists, are numerous. Such are Calstock in the east, St Germans in the south-east near Saltash, St Blazey near St Austell, See also:Camelford, St Columb See also:Major, and Perranzabuloe in the north, with the mining towns of Gwennap and Illogan in the Redruth district and Wendron near Helston, all inland towns; while on the south coast may be mentioned Fowey and Mevagissey, on either See also:side of St Austell Bay, and Marazion on Mount's Bay, See also:close by St See also:Michael's Mount. Cornwall is in the western See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Bodmin. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions, and is divided into 17 See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bodmin, Falmouth, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, Penryn, Penzance, St Ives and Truro have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace, and Penzance has a separate court of quarter sessions. The Scilly Isles are administered by a separate See also:council, and form one of the petty sessional divisions.

There are 239 See also:

civil parishes, of which 5 are in the Scilly Isles. Cornwall is in the See also:diocese of Truro, and there are 227 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the county. The See also:parliamentary divisions are the North-Eastern or Launceston, South-Eastern or Bodmin, See also:Mid or St Austell, Truro, North-Western or Camborne, and Western or St Ives, each returning one member; while the parliamentary See also:borough of Penryn and Falmouth returns one member. See also:Language.—The old Cornish language survives in a few words still in use in the fishing and mining communities, as well as in the names of persons and places, but the last persons who spoke it died towards the end of the 18th century. It belonged to the Cymric See also:division of See also:Celtic, in which Welsh and Armorican are also included. The most important See also:relics of the language known to exist are three dramas or See also:miracle plays, edited and translated by See also:Edwin See also:Norris, See also:Oxford, 1859. A See also:sketch of Cornish See also:grammar is added, and a Cornish vocabulary from a MS. of the 13th century (See also:Cotton See also:MSS. See also:Vespasian A. 14, p. 7a). (See See also:CELT: Language and Literature.) It may be mentioned that the great numbers of See also:saints whose names survive in the See also:topography of the county are largely accounted for by the fact that here, as in See also:Wales, it was the practice to canonize the founder of a See also:church. The natives have many traits in See also:common with the Welsh, such as their love of See also:oratory and their strong tribal See also:attachment to the county.

History.—Cornwall was the last portion of British territory in the south to submit to the Saxon invader. Viewed from its eastern boundary it doubtless appeared less attractive than the rich, well-wooded lands of Wessex, while it unquestionably afforded greater obstacles in the way of See also:

conquest. In 815 See also:Ecgbert directed his efforts towards the subjugation of the West-Welsh of Cornwall, and after eight years' fighting compelled the whole of Dyvnaint to acknowledge his supremacy. Assisted by the Danes the Cornish revolted but were again defeated, probably in 836, at the See also:battle of Hengestesdun, Hingston Down in Stoke-Climsland. Ninety years later Aethelstan banished the West-Welsh from See also:Exeter and made the Tamar the boundary of their territory. The thoroughness of the Saxon conquest is evident from the fact that in the days of the See also:Confessor nearly the whole of the land in Cornwall was held by men bearing English names. As the result of the See also:Norman conquest less than one-twelfth of the land (exclusive of that held by the Church) remained in English hands. Six-sevenths of the manors were assigned to See also:Robert, See also:count of See also:Mortain, and became the See also:foundation of the territorial possessions and revenues of the earldom which was held until 1337, usually by See also:special See also:grant, by the sons or near relatives of the See also:kings of England. On the death of John of Eltham the last See also:earl, in 1337, See also:Edward the See also:Black See also:Prince was created See also:duke of Cornwall. By the terms of the See also:statute under which the dukedom was created the succession was restricted to the eldest son of the See also:king, but in 1613, on the death of Prince See also:Henry, an extended See also:interpretation, given by the king's advisers, enabled his See also:brother See also:Charles (afterwards Charles I.) to succeed as son of the king and next See also:heir to the See also:realm of England. Traces of jurisdictional differentiation anterior to Domesday survive in the names of at least five of the hundreds, although these names do not appear in the Survey itself. The hundreds into which the ccunty was divided at the time of the Inquisitio Geldi were as follows: Straton, which embraced the See also:present hundreds of Stratton, Lesnewth and Trigg; Fawiton, approximately conterminous with West; Panton, now included in Pydasr, Tibeste, Wineton, Conarditon and Rileston, very nearly identical with See also:Powder, Kerrier, Penwith and East.

The See also:

shire court was held at Launceston except from about 126o to 1386, when it was held at Lostwithiel. In 1716 the summer See also:assize was transferred to Bodmin. Since 1836 both assizes have been held at Bodmin. The jurisdiction of the See also:hundred courts became early attached to various manors, and their bailiwicks and bedellaries descended with the real See also:estate of their owners. There is much obscurity concerning the early ecclesiastical organization. It is certain, however, that Cornwall had its own bishops from the middle of the 9th century until the year 1or8, when the see was removed to See also:Crediton. During the See also:interval the see had been placed sometimes at Bodmin and sometimes at St Germans. In 1049 the see of the See also:united dioceses of Devon and Cornwall was fixed at Exeter. Cornwall was formed into an archdeaconry soon after, and, as such, continued until 1876, when it was re-constituted a diocese with its see at Truro. The parishes of St See also:Giles-on-the-See also:Heath, North Petherwin and Werrington, wholly in Devon, and Boyton, partly in Devon and partly in Cornwall, which were portions of the ancient archdeaconry, and also the parishes of Broadwoodwidger and Virginstowe, both in Devon, which had been added to it in 1875, thus came to be included in the Truro diocese. The present archdeaconries of Bodmin embracing the eastern, and of Cornwall embracing the western portion of the newly constituted diocese were formed, by order in council, in 1878. Aethelstan's enactment had doubtless roughly determined the civil boundary of the Celtic-speaking county.

In 1386 disputes having arisen, a See also:

commission was appointed to determine the Cornish border between North Tamerton and Hornacot. For the first four centuries after the Norman conquest the part played by Cornwall in England's political history was comparatively unimportant. In her final See also:attempt in 1471 to restore the fortunes of the See also:house of See also:Lancaster, Queen See also:Margaret received the active support of the Cornish, who, under See also:Sir See also:Hugh See also:Courtenay and Sir John Arundell, accompanied her to the fatal See also:field of See also:Tewkesbury, and in 1473 John de See also:Vere, earl of Oxford, held St Michael's Mount in her behalf until the following See also:February, when he surrendered to John See also:Fortescue. A rising of considerable magnitude in 1497 at the instigation of See also:Thomas Flamank, occasioned by the See also:levy of a tax for the Scottish See also:war, was only repelled after the arrival of the insurgents at See also:Blackheath in See also:Kent. See also:Perkin See also:Warbeck, who landed at Whitsand Bay in the parish of Sennen, obtained general support in the same year. The See also:imposition of the See also:Book of Common See also:Prayer and the See also:abrogation of various religious ceremonies led to a See also:rebellion in 1549 under Sir See also:Humphry Arundell of Lanherne, the rebels, who knew little English, demanding the restoration of the Latin service, but a fatal delay under the walls of Exeter led to their early defeat and the See also:execution of their leaders. During the Civil War of the 17th century Cornwall won much See also:glory in the royal cause. In 1643 Sir See also:Ralph See also:Hopton, who commanded the king's Cornish troops, defeated General Ruthen on Bradoc Down, while General Chudleigh, another parliamentary general, was repulsed near Launceston, and the earl of See also:Stamford at Stratton. The whole county was thereby secured to the king. Led by Sir Beville See also:Grenville of See also:Stow the Cornish troops now marched into See also:Somerset-shire, where in the indecisive battle of See also:Lansdowne they greatly distinguished themselves, but lost their brave See also:leader. In See also:July 1644 the earl of See also:Essex marched into Cornwall and was followed soon afterwards by the king's troops in pursuit. Numerous engagements were fought, in which the latter were uniformly successful.

The troops of Essex were surrounded and their leader escaped in a See also:

boat from Fowey to Plymouth. In 1646, owing to dissensions amongst the king's See also:officers, and in particular to the refusal of Sir See also:Richard Grenville to serve under See also:Lord Hopton, and to the defection of See also:Colonel Edgcumbe, the royal cause declined and became desperate. On the 16th of See also:August 1646 articles of See also:capitulation were signed by the defenders of Pendennis See also:Castle. Two members for the county were summoned by Edward I. to the See also:parliament of 1295, and two continued to be the number of county members until 1832. Six boroughs—Launceston, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Bodmin, Truro and Helston—were granted the like See also:privilege by the same See also:sovereign. To strengthen and See also:augment the See also:power of the See also:crown as against theHouseof See also:Commons, between 1547 and 1584, fifteen additional towns and villages received the See also:franchise, with the result that, between the latter date and 1821, Cornwall sent no less than forty-four members to parliament. In 1821 See also:Grampound lost both its members, and by the Reform Act in 1832 fourteen other Cornish boroughs shared the same See also:fate. Cornwall was, in fact, notorious for the number of its rotten boroughs. In the vicinity of Liskeard " within an area, which since 1885 . . . is represented by only one member, there were until 1832 nine parliamentary boroughs returning eighteen members. In this area, on the See also:eve of the Reform Act, there was a population of only 14,224 " (Porrit, Unreformed House of Commons, vol. i. p. 92).

Bossiney, a See also:

village near Camelford, Camelford itself, Lostwithiel, East Looe, West Looe, Fowey and several others were disfranchised in 1832, but even until the act of 1885 Bodmin, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard and St Ives were separately represented, whereas Penzance was not. Until this act was passed Truro, and Penryn with Falmouth, returned two members each. Antiquities.—No part of England is so rich as Cornwall in prehistoric antiquities. These chiefly abound in the district between Penzance and the Land's End, but they occur in all the wilder parts of the county. They may be classed as follows. (1) Cromlechs. These in the west of Cornwall are called " See also:quoits," with reference to their broad and See also:flat covering stones. The largest and most important are those known as Lanyon, Mulfra, Chun and Zennor quoits, all in the Land's End district. Of these Chun is the only one which has not been thrown down. Zen nor is said to be the largest in Europe, while Lanyon, when perfect, was of sufficient height for a See also:man on horseback to ride under. Of those in the eastern part of Cornwall, Trevethy near Liskeard and Pawton in the parish of St Breock are the finest. (2) See also:Rude uninscribed monoliths are common to all parts of Cornwall.

Those at Boleigh or Boleit, in the parish of St Buryan, S.W. of Penzance, called the Pipers, are the most important. (3) Circles, none of which is of great dimensions. The principal are the Hurlers, near Liskeard; the Boskednan, See also:

Boscawen-un, and Tregeseal circles; and that called the Dawns-An, or Merry Maidens, at Boleigh. All of these, except the Hurlers, are in the Land's End district. Other circles that may be mentioned are the Trippet Stones, in the parish of Blisland, near Bodmin, and one at Duloe, near Liskeard. (4) Long alignments or avenues of stones, resembling those on See also:Dartmoor, but not so perfect, are to be found on the moors near Rough Tor and Brown Willy. A very remarkable See also:monument of this See also:kind exists in the neighbourhood of St Columb Major, called the Nine Maidens. It consists of nine rude pillars placed in a line, but now imperfect, while near them is a single stone known as the Old Man. (5) Hut dwellings. Of these there are at least two kinds, those in the eastern part of the county resembling the beehive structures and enclosures of Dartmoor, and those in the west comprising " hut-clusters," having a central court, and a surrounding See also:wall sometimes of considerable height and thickness. The beehive See also:masonry is also found in connexion with these, as are also (6) Caves, or subterraneous structures, resembling those of See also:Scotland and See also:Ireland. (7) Cliff castles are a characteristic feature of the Cornish coast, especially in the west, such as Treryn, Men, Kenedjack, Bosigran and others.

These are all fortified on the landward side. At Treryn Castle is the See also:

Logan Stone, a mass of granite so balanced as to rock upon its support. (8) Hill castles, or camps, are very numerous. Castelan-Dinas, near St Columb, is the best example of the earthwork See also:camp, and Chun Castle, near Penzance, of the stone. Early See also:Christian remains in Cornwall include crosses, which occur all over the country and are of various See also:dates from the 6th century onward; inscribed sepulchral stones, generally of the 7th and 8th centuries; and oratories. These last have their See also:parallels in Ireland, which is natural, since from that country and Wales Cornwall was christianized. The buildings (also called baptisteries) are very small and rude, a See also:simple parallelogram in form, always 'placed near a See also:spring. The best example is St Piran's near Perranzabuloe, which long See also:lay buried in sand See also:dunes. St Piran was one of the missionaries sent from Ireland by St See also:Patrick in the 5th century, and became the See also:patron See also:saint of the tin-miners. The individuality of Cornwall is reflected in its ecclesiastical See also:architecture. The churches are generally massive, See also:plain structures of granite, built as it were to resist the storms which sweep up from the sea, low in the body, but with high unadorned towers. Within, a common feature is the See also:absence of a See also:chancel See also:arch.

In a few cases, of which Gwennap church is an See also:

illustration, where the body of the church lies low in a valley, there is a detached campanile at a higher level. The prevalent See also:style is Perpendicular, much rebuilding having taken place in this period, but there are fine examples of the earlier styles. The west front and part of the towers of the church of St Germanus of See also:Auxerre at St Germans form the best survival of Norman See also:work in the county; there are good Norman doorways at Manaccan and Kilkhampton churches, and the church of Morwenstow, near the coast north of Bude, is a remarkable illustration of the same style. This church has the further See also:interest of having had as its See also:rector the Cornish poet Robert See also:Stephen See also:Hawker (1803-1875). The Early English style is not commonly seen, but the small church of St See also:Anthony in Roseland, near the east shore of Falmouth harbour (with an ornate Norman See also:door), and portions of the churches of Camelford and IVlanaccan, are instances of this period. Decorated work is similarly scanty, but the churches of Sheviock, in the south-east, and St Columb Major have much that is good, and that of St See also:Bartholomew, Lostwithiel, has a beautiful and rich See also:lantern and See also:spire in this style surmounting an Early English See also:tower, while the body of the church is also largely Decorated. Perpendicular churches are so numerous that it is only needful to mention those possessing some peculiar characteristic. Thus, the high ornamentation of Launceston and St Austell churches is unusual in Cornwall, as is the rich and graceful tower of See also:Probus church. St Neot's church, near Liskeard, has magnificent stained See also:glass of the 15th and 16th centuries. The ruined castles of Launceston, Trematon near Saltash, Restormel near Lostwithiel, and Tintagel, date, at least in part, from Norman times. St Michael's Mount was at once a fortress and an ecclesiastical foundation. Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, is of the time of Henry VIII.

The mansions of Cornwall are generally remarkable rather for their position than for architectural interest, but Trelawne, partly of the 15th century, near Looe, and Place House, a Tudor See also:

building, at Fowey, may be noted.

End of Article: CORNWALL

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