Ertach Kernow - Foreshore right income for Cornwall’s earls and dukes
Cornwall’s long coastline interspersed with inlets and coves and surrounded by rich fishing grounds led to the development of small ports and harbours from the earliest of times. Most would remain small fishing harbours with maybe a jetty, some not even that, but others would have their brief day in the sun during Cornwall’s industrial mining age. The Duchy of Cornwall owned some sixty percent of the Cornish foreshore rights including rights and prerogatives to all wrecks and what are termed royal fish, whales, porpoises, and sturgeon.
Many of the benefits and authorities relating to the Duchy of Cornwall even predate its creation in 1337. The earldom of Cornwall which ended with the death of John of Eltham in 1336 had many powers and had grown in authority. Certainly during the times of Reginald de Dunstanville (1141-1175) and later Richard (1225-1272) and Richard’s son Edmund (1272-1300) those rights and prerogatives had become established. These in turn transferred to the duchy when Edward III created it for his eldest son Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince.
Although now unknown to most people it was Richard Earl of Cornwall who created much of the wealth and breadth of lands still held by the duchy. A shrewd negotiator and what we might term today businessman he became the wealthiest man in England, enough even to buy votes establishing himself as King of the Romans a Germanic title. Even though it is far better known now that Richard Earl of Cornwall built and owned Tintagel Castle, most people still believe it was the place the mythical King Arthur was born. Much of Richard’s wealth was accumulated through taxes raised within Cornwall including through his ports and foreshore rights.
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The financial records for the earldom of Cornwall back to the period of Richard and Edmund through to John of Eltham are poor and much information has had to be garnered from other sources. On the creation of the duchy there was a survey undertaken known as the Caption of Seisin. ‘The purpose of the Caption was for seisen (the possession of land or chattels) to be taken of the Cornish lands, knights’ fees, jurisdiction, grant of feudal dues etc., with which the duchy was endowed by charters of 17th and 18th March 1337.’ Here we consider the interests which benefited the earldom and later duchy from the coastal areas of Cornwall rather than the wider inland Cornish manors. So what were these sources of income during the period of the earldom prior to creation of the duchy in 1337. Income from what was termed ‘Port Farms’ were the rents paid by some 17 fishing ports around the Cornish coast. From the period of the earldom income had fallen by 1337 and still further by the mid-14th century due to war and no doubt the death of fishermen due to the Black Death, which reached Cornwall in 1349. There were later outbreaks of the plague and continuing wars although there is no evidence that there was any loss of income due to issues with fish stocks. These rents were based on tolls on fishing boats and fishermen so reduced numbers meant lower income. It would seem that although there are no records for the establishment of these tolls on men and boats that these taxes began at the time of Richard Earl of Cornwall replacing earlier rights to a share of the catch. Further Port Farm income came from tolls levied for drying fish onshore and also on boats arriving with fish to sell from other places. There were a number of major fishing ports not included with in the Port Farm list as they were part of manors not controlled by the earldom or later duchy.
As mentioned wrecks were a source of income and of course Cornwall with its long coastline saw more than its fair share of vessels lost on its rocky shores. The sums received from this source depended entirely on the weather conditions prevailing. Some years the income was higher than others and the Caption of Seisen stated ‘Regarding the annual value of wreck of the sea, nothing can be estimated because the profit arising from it fortuitously by chance, sometimes more, sometimes less.’ Large ships such as one wrecked off the Lizard around 1320 was said to be worth £400, a huge sum for that time. Sometimes payment was avoided as in the case of Golant fishermen who refused to hand over 11 tuns (a tun being a large barrel of around 252 gallons) of wine claiming they were found at sea not on the foreshore. Wrecking or salvage by ordinary folk took place from the earliest of times and there were fines for those caught, not much has changed even in more recent years. Royal fish as they were termed were highly valued for their meat, blubber and bones, specially whales and those other cetaceans found stranded on the Cornish foreshores. Of course like wrecks it was a case of getting to them before the local populace got there first, although cases where a local lord had taken the creature the duchy saw them fined, perhaps shopped by his own peasants.
Waif was a strange and infrequent form of income devolved to the earls and dukes from the crown. This was abandoned goods and therefore forfeit, often the result of criminals fleeing justice. A further source of income which originated with Earl Richard in Cornwall was the prisage of wine, this being a type of customs duty. Larger vessels were required to hand over two tuns of wine, those ships carrying less than 20 tuns just one and small vessels of 9 tuns or less were usually excused. In recompense the king or in the case of Cornwall the earl or duke would make a payment of 20 shillings per tun, well below the market price. Further tolls were extended to alien merchants in 1303 at the sum of two shillings per tun. Around this period the major wine exporter was Gascony then part of the wider lands controlled by the English crown as part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Cornwall a rather sparsely populated poor region would not be consuming much in the way of wine, but being well situated for shipping from Gascony its ports were well used, and it was at the first port of call that duty was paid and therefore a very profitable tax. Later under the duchy the taxes on wine became more complex and the havener, the person appointed to administer the management of the ports, would have their work cut out. The early days of the duchy it was Fowey followed by the Fal ports including Truro and Penryn which were the most used and profitable.
Trade through the ports also raised funds for the earldom and duchy and the ports were taxed according to their exports. The earliest records from 1203/1204 mention just two ports, chief amongst these were Fowey followed some distance behind by Saltash. English exports at that time were mainly wool, hides and other agricultural produce, however Cornish exports differed from England with tin and to a lesser degree fish being the most profitable. Cornwall’s export of wool and hides was negligible compared to those of English regions, but with Cornwall and part of Devon being the only medieval tin producing areas of Europe the value of tin was immense and consequently the taxes levied.
With mercantile trade there were numerous disputes between the merchants and the mariners who transported the goods. These disputes were resolved through maritime laws developed through local traditions then codified during the 1300’s into a wider body of law known as The Laws of Oleron. The earls and later the dukes of Cornwall enjoyed the benefits from these court cases mainly held at Newlyn, Mousehole, Lostwithiel and Sutton Water, which grew in later centuries becoming Plymouth. Other courts were held at Padstow, Port Isaac, St Ives and Looe. Income to the earls and dukes of Cornwall through fishing was not just through the local Cornish fisher folk, but also merchants and fish dealers. It seems again that Earl Richard had somehow managed to increase income by gradually introducing tolls on virtually every aspect of the fishing industry. Certainly Cornwall’s first duke recognised the benefits and had his steward send to London virtually the whole range of fish available off the Cornish coast.
With the rivers and their foreshores under control of the earldom from earliest times there was the opportunity to raise money from ferries crossing Cornish rivers. The best known and most important was that crossing the River Tamar at Saltash. This came under the control of the de Vautort family who held the barony of Trematon, until 1270 when the honour of Trematon was purchased by Richard Earl of Cornwall. It seems that this was very heavily used in transporting people and horses across the Tamar and maintenance of the ferry was an ongoing issue. Other ferries for which charges were made were at Cremyll, further down the river and also at places like Calstock, Padstow and Looe. Sand was used for centuries to add to Cornish soil to improve crop production, as the earldom owned the foreshore rights there was of course a cost.
Records relating to the earldom and early Duchy of Cornwall give a valuable insight into the medieval Cornish economy. A look at individual places and how they fared will form the basis of later articles.
