Ertach Kernow - Dr Pocock in eighteenth century western Cornwall
This week is a continuation of Dr Richard Pocock’s travels around Cornwall in 1750. A great traveller he recorded his journeys, his thoughts and observations providing us with an idea of life in Cornwall some 250 years ago. The previous week’s article mentioned the camera obscura relating to the ongoing development of the camera. Dr Pocock also had the opportunity of using one on Lord Edgcumbe’s estate during his visit to Mount Edgcumbe. I once had the unexpected pleasure of using the revolving camera obscura at the Observatory in Clifton Bristol, overlooking Brunel’s suspension bridge. I can quite understand Dr Pocock’s delight in using and seeing how this historic equipment worked.
Following on from his visit to Truro and St Mary’s Church Reverend Pocock had time spent investigating aspects of the Cornish tin industry in some detail. He then entered Redruth describing it; ‘Red Ruth a small tin town, where they have a great market of provision once a week, and a great sale of shoes from all parts round for near thirty miles; and there are at the market 4,000 or 5,000 people.’ Celia Fiennes had visited Redruth during her travels around Cornwall in 1698 and noted its importance as a market town. It was the discovery of copper in the surrounding area from around 1730 combined with the development of the early steam engines allowing deeper mines that propelled Redruth to industrial significance. Copper had been used from ancient times during the Copper Age swiftly followed by later alloying with tin allowing the emergence of a harder metal bronze and the ensuing Bronze Age. Brass an alloy of copper and zinc although used for thousands of years became increasingly important during the Industrial Revolution for machinery parts. This increased demand following the discovery of Redruth’s copper deposits helped propel a small market town into a Cornish industrial centre. Richard Pocock’s visit in 1750 was early in Redruth’s expansion and still obviously benefiting from its historic market.
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Carn Brea Castle is almost always a point of interest for travellers to the area and Dr Pocock was no different. After describing the stones and mass of Carne Brea he goes on to discuss the castle building there. ‘The castle is very curious: ‘tis a very small building on three or four of these stones; at one end there are four or five of them one over another, in other parts two or three, and lying loose in such a manner that one sees between then under the foundation of the castle.’ This was some time before it was altered by the Basset family into a hunting lodge.
Of what we now know as Tehidy, Dr Pocock wrote, ‘We passed by Trechiedy, a very grand new house, offices and improvements of Mr Basset’s but in a sad situation.’ From the final comment perhaps he didn’t consider the area very attractive, but the house was. Samuel Drew later wrote of Tehidy ‘when surveyed from the summit of Carn Brea Hill, from which it is conspicuous, it appears like a well cultivated garden blooming in the midst of a barren desert.’ The Tehidy estate had been owned by the Basset family for several hundred years back to the 12th century when it was gained through the marriage of heiress Adeliza de Dunstanville to Thomas Basset. Later Francis Basset who rebuilt Tehidy was made a baronet in 1779 and in 1796 when raised to the peerage took the title of Baron De Dunstanville, of Tehidy. It’s his monument often known as the De Dunstanville Memorial that crowns the summit of Carn Brea.
We digress, back to Richard Pocock who was then travelling towards Hayle noting a smelting house in the village of Angarick. Passing Philack Dr Pocock mentions the great bank of sand which although taken for manure in large quantities was increasingly added to by the sea into which the River Hele flowed. This was a period when sea sand, also known as manure, was in great demand to improve the soil. Arriving opposite Lelant the party turned south and passed by Hele ‘a small port with warehouses’. Later in the 19th century Hayle would become an important place of manufacturing and as a port. Travelling onward to St Erth ‘a poor village’ Pocock noted that there had been an idea to connect the River Hayle to the south Cornish coast thus avoiding Land’s End and the dangers around the Isles of Scilly.
Onward to St Ives and once again he took an interest in various tin workings. Of St Ives Dr Pocock mentions a chapel and a platform of seven guns. At that time St Ives was also a major harbour for seine fishing. the fact that the pilchard fishing trade was considerable was not lost on Dr Pocock when he mentions that the fish are barrelled and sent to Portugal and Spain.
This is an area which has a large number of standing stones and remains of stone circles, many long lost but recorded by early travellers. Richard Pocock wrote of travelling over disagreeable heaths towards Morva and noting a small granite constructed enclosure with stones set in a winding form extending from the four corners. Perhaps having a vivid imagination relating to this ancient site he suggested this was one dedicated to serpent worship. He noted a stone circle which it seems no longer exists but may have been relating to the Tregiffian Iron Age Romano British round sadly destroyed in 1965. One hundred yards to the north they came across the Merry Maidens stone circle, which he names the Nine Maidens, consisting of twenty stones and twenty-three yards in diameter. Observations by travellers when added to the works of Cornish antiquarians further our archaeological knowledge of what has been destroyed or removed in the intervening years.
Dr Pocock was evidently interested in tin workings and likely had many discussions with the tin workers. Moving into St Just parish he tells his readers ‘I here observed that they put up poles on their works, which is to show that they are working in those places, for anciently the Dukes of Cornwall gave leave to all people to work for ore, provided they marked out their bounds, and these are called bounders; if they met, they were to give over and put up a bound mark at the place: they had a property as long as they worked, which was signified by putting up the poles, but in length of time the bounders came to make this privilege a perpetual chattel, which they can now dispose of as they please and remains their property, tho' they do not work; but they have no property in the surface.’ Later larger groups of ‘adventurers’ and investors would control the mine workings as investment was needed for machinery to allow far deeper mining, such as at the Levanr Mine workings.
Moving along the coast to Sennan and Land’s End he clambered out along the rocks as far as was safe to go. Making observations regarding the Long Ship’s rocks he then climbed down a sea cliff to see a vein of tin that was being worked. Interestingly he noted that they find a great variety of shells. This was long before they understood geological time and science behind the creation of the world. The shell in the cliff face would have been on the ocean floor eons previously. Visiting St Buryan he shares the story that a church was built by King Æthelstan following his return from the Isles of Scilly with it later becoming a collegiate church. Sadly for the travellers they did not find out about the stone circle at Boscawen-un until they had left the area.
The south coast and what seemed to stir him was Mounts Bay and the settlements around it. The small port of Newlyn has a historic harbour or quay. It was a community to which Edmund Bishop of Exeter provided an indulgence in 1435 for the repair of their quay. Pocock notes what is called Gwavas Lake, an area of relatively calm water situated outside the existing Newlyn harbour. Mousehole was described as a small fishing town. He mentions Market Jew which was the historic name for Marazion and that it had no harbour. The trade for Market Jew was as Pocock writes, fish and deals the later being a term used for softwood timber primarily from Norway at that time.
On several occasions the Reverend Pocock mentions coastal defences. In the case of Penzance he tells readers that there is a mole, a breakwater which is likely the medieval south pier. This had a nearby platform for a gun battery established in 1740 due to fear of a Spanish attack. Penzance was first mentioned in the 13th century and as the small settlement grew it was given a charter allowing a weekly market and an annual seven-day fair. It became a busy port and extended its markets to twice a week with three annual fairs. Henry VIII’s antiquarian John Leland visited about 1540 writing ‘Penzance about two miles from Mousehole, standing fast on the shore of Mounts Bay is the most western market town of all Cornwall and has no haven for boats of ships except a man-made pier or quay.’ Facilities grew and in 1663 Charles II made Penzance a Stannary town. By the time of Dr Pocock’s visit Penzance was becoming an important port and tin centre.
Richard Pocock’s continuing tour of Cornwall via St Michael’s Mount, of which he has much to say, and onward towards Helston will have to wait for a later edition.
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