Volume VII
3. Autumn 1968
- p130 Boundaries, Parish of Phillack
- p142 Book Reviews
Two important papers by John Higgans are his 'Boundaries of the Parish of Phillack' (p. 130), with an intensive use of early documents and intimate local knowledge, and 'A Study of the Population of the Parish of Phillack' (p. 223), which tackles the difficulties of the pre-census era with much skill and good sense.
Local History
851 HIGGANS, J. The boundaries of the parish of Phillack. OC 7.3 (1968), 130-138
852 HIGGANS, J. A study of the population of the parish of Phillack . OC 7.5 (1969), 198-206 (851)
https://cornisharchaeology.org.uk/journals/No.8_1969.pdf
THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PARISH OF
PHILLACK
by John HIGGANS
THE old custom of perambulating the parish boundaries is often
revived these days to form a part of the ceremonies held to com-
memorate some particular anniversary in the parish's calendar.
The original purpose of 'beating the bounds' was to preserve their
memory, particularly among those boys who were beaten at special
points on the boundary, so that they should ever be mindful of their
precise position. Since the introduction of the Ordnance Survey Map
with the evidence it provides, these methods are no longer necessary to
furnish proof if need be that the parish boundary passes any particular
spot.
The modern beater of the bounds, though he might suffer as
much discomfort from his arduous cross country walk as his counterpart
of old from his beatings, is much more likely to be interested in the
reason why his parish boundaries are where they are and what they are.
It is the writer's purpose to attempt to answer these questions in regard
to the boundaries which divide the parish of Phillack from its neighbours
Gwithian and Gwinear on the east and south and St. Erth on the west.
ORIGINS OF THE PARISH
The system by which the entire English countryside is divided
out into parishes was a long time maturing. It cannot be said that any
particular ecclesiastic was the founder of the parochial organisation of
the English Church. Neither can it be dated even approximately to any
single generation or century. All that can be said with certainty is that
by the 12th century the system was an accomplished fact.[1]
The eleventh century marked the beginning of an age of growing
piety in England. Great landowners felt it to be due to their position as
weli as to the religious welfare of their people to have one or more
churches of their own on their estates. So followed an era of intensive
church building and the formation of parishes from the manorial lands
to support and in turn be served by those churches.
130
In the far west the sequence of events was reversed. There were
many churches of Celtic foundation already in existence in the eleventh
century, primitive though they must have been at that time. The
problem of the landowners was to decide from the many chapels there
were which to select and enlarge to serve their estates. The selection
was probably dictated by (a) topographical convenience or (b) an
association with the patron saint. The original church at Phillack was
dedicated to God in the name of St. Piala who, according to tradition,
reached Heul (Hayle) from Ireland in the company of her brother
Fingar, the patron saint of the neighbouring parish of Gwinear, in about
500 A.D.[2] There is evidence that the present church at Phillack developed
from a Norman structure, itself probably built on one of Celtic origin
enclosed within a consecrated cemetery-known as a 'lan' in Cornwall.
In this, St. Piala might have been buried and subsequently re-enshrined.
To this the church at Phillack would seem to owe its posítion which has
little if any, topographical significance such as is possessed by the church
of the neighbouring parish of St. Erth situated near the main ford and
later a bridge across a stream.
Before the Norman Conquest in 1066 the Church of Phillack lay
within the great Saxon estate of Conarditone-later the Norman manor
of Conerton. In some parts of England it was not unusual for the manor
and the parish to coincide in extent. It is logical that this should be so
when the owner of the manor built his church and a parish had to be
formed for it. The manor of Conerton, however, was a very large one
and, although its precise boundaries are not known, it covered most of
the land that became the parishes of Phillack and Gwithian and parts of
St. Erth and Gwinear as well.
THE BOUNDARIES:
Having decided that there should be a parish for the Church of
Phillack the next step was to determine what area it should embrace
having regard to the productivity of the surrounding land. This appears
to have been superior to most, as Phillack is smaller in area than the
average parish acreage of the Penwith Hundred.
The place names of many of the farms in Phillack indicate Celtic
origins and therefore the fact that they were land units long before the
establishment of the parochial system. In his Provincial England
(Macmillan, 1963), p. 15, Dr. W. G. Hoskins shows that the number of
Villeins or freemen on a Domesday Manor tend to correspond with the
number of the present day farms within the compass of the Manor if
that be known. In the case of Conerton as has been said this is not known
for certain though we have a general idea of its extent. Domesday
records that Conerton supported thirty villeins some of whom would
have inhabited the areas which have been farmland from time im-
memorial. It seems likely then that the parish of Phillack was formed by
the grouping of a number of already well defined land units and that their
131
Illustration
outer boundaries became those of the parish. As will be seen from the
accompanying map these estates are Penpol, Trewoone, Trethingey,
Kayle, Treglisson, Nanspusker, Carwin, Pulsack and Treeve, and what
are now Bandowers, Mellenoweth and Carthew.
It was the practice to make use of trackways and such natural
features as rivers and streams as the boundaries between landed estates
and, as we have seen in the case of Phillack, these boundaries also
separate it from its neighbouring parishes. The south western limits of
Phillack are formed by the Penpol Stream along its course through the
harbour and along its valley to a point near its source in the vicinity of
Kayle Farm. The boundary then turns sharply south and runs as far as
the highway from Hayle to Helston which it follows to No Man's Land
where it takes a northerly course and by so doing continues to coincide
with the limits of the estate of Kayle.
By including Kayle in the parish of Phillack the straight forward
south easterly course of its boundary was interrupted. This would not
have happened had Kayle been included in the neighbouring parish
St. Erth and it may be wondered why it was not. Although it is not
certain whether the land west of Kayle was in the manor of Conerton,
Kayle certainly was up to 1154, when the services of Philip de Chane
were excluded from the grant of the Manor to Richard Pincerna by
Robert, son of the Earl of Gloucester.[3] It would therefore have been
included with Phillack when the Lord of the Manor was making provision
for his church there.
After leaving the limits of Kayle the parish boundary takes a
north easterly course almost in a straight line but again makes use of a
natural feature by running along the bottom of a valley until Angarrack
stream is reached. It follows this water course to a point near Trungle
Mill and then follows the boundary of the Mellenoweth estate. After
crossing the ancient roadway from Angarrack to Connor Downs, an old
trackway is followed to Treeve. Here the old parish bounds take a very
irregular course to embrace the estate of Treeve. Why this should be is
not clear, as Gwithian is logically the parish in which it should lie, and
perhaps it did at one time. It is not unknown for persons of sufficient
influence, with their dwelling house in one parish and land in another,
to get the parish boundaries changed so that all their property fell
within the one or the other. Treeve house is very near the line of the
Phillack boundary and if this is the site of the ancient homestead just
within the border then it seems possible that a boundary revision was
arranged at some time to take in the land attached to it. "The original
Connection of Treeve with the Manor of Conerton may have been severed
at an early date. It is recorded as Trerufle Crase and forming part of the
Manor of Hornwell in 1546. This Manor included other properties in
the parishes of Zennor and Morvah and elsewhere.[4]
133
After skirting Treeve the parish boundary takes a westerly course
to the edge of Loggans Moor and then turns north and runs across the
Towans to the sea.
From time to time priests were required to record the boundaries
of their parishes. One such record in the year 1613[5] is as follows:
'The Bounds. South east three white stones standing in a platt
called Conner Downe where Phillack, Gwithian and Gwinear meet.
The south parte of our parish is bounded by one white stone adjoining
a river which parteth Gwinear and Phillacke and the westward to a stone
placed on a burrow which is also a bound between three lords. The
west part bounded by a Poole called Penpol Poole between us and
St. Erth. On the north the sea.'
This description is not very enlightening but it is clear that the
"three stones standing in a platt called Connor Downe" were some
100 yards south of the point marked on the Ordnance Survey Map as
a site of a Tumulus and where a track to Connor Downs leads off
northwards from the old main road passing through Angarrack.
Penpol Poole" was situated where the White Hart Hotel and the
premises behind it now stand.
A terrier of 1628 describes the parish boundaries in more detail
as follows:
'From Penpolle by the water to Hale Goth and thence to Pounce
Mine in the said more and then to a place, called Meene and Caunce in
the highway and thence to None man's land and there it doth join with
Gwinear and hence to a well called the Castell Well and then to the
great water and to a stone in the more of the New Downes and hence
by the water to Coulde Harbour and thence to three stones in Connor
Downes and thence to Pulsack and by the highway to Trerefe and so to
three stones in the more and so to the sea.'
"From Penpolle by the water to Hale Goth'" indicates that the
parish boundary follows the course of the Penpol stream as far as a
feature referred to as "Hale Goth". In the Cornish language hale=
marsh, moor and goth=stream. The upper reaches of the Penpol
stream are in places bordered by moor and marsh land and we are
reminded of it in the name of Halenkene (hal=marsh, en=of the,
keyn=back or ridge) which lies on rising ground to the north of the
stream. Still in the same kind of countryside a trackway leading to
Trethingey farm passes over the stream near its source in the neighbour-
hood of Kayle by a means of a simple stone bridge. This must be the
Pounce Mine of 1628-pons=bridge and mēn, (mine)=stone.
boundary then takes a course which takes it to the Hayle to Helston
highway at a point which must be that called Meene and Caunce in the
1628 terrier-mēn=stone, cauns=paved or cobbled way. The boundary
then follows the highway to No Man's Land which must be the "None
man's land" of 1628. The well called ""Castell Well" would be at
134
Castle Kayle where a spring is noted on the Ordnance Survey. The
next stage is the"great water" which possibly refers to the strcam which
runs past Drannack and through Angarrack, "the stone in the more of
the New Downes" being on the edge of the Mellanoweth estate.
In 1613 the bounds of the neighbouring parish of Gwinear are
described at this point as taking a course by ""a stream to Vellen Vrane
Bridge[6]. Mellenvrane or Vellenvrane estate (although the name has
long since been disused) lies across the stream from Mellanoweth.
From the bridge joining them the boundary follows a water course to
"Coulde Harbour" the present Cold Harbour and from thence "to three
stones in Connor Downes" near the tumulus already mentioned. The
bounds proceed via Pulsack by the road "'to Trerefe" the modern
Treeve, "to three stones in the more°-Loggans Moor and thence to
the sea. A terrier[7] of Gwithian of 1613 describes this length of the
boundary of the parish with Phillack in more detail and as being from
three stones in a little bank on the south west of Coner Downe then to
Bounder Hebwootham where Gwythan boundeth with Phillacke which
bound is in the sands called Reene-an-Bush Ithen on the west."
A further version c.1605 describes the final stage as "Another Bound
is in the sands called by the name of Reene-an-bushe Ithon situate in
the west." Bounder is the Cornish for lane and 'Heb' may be for
'Hal'=moor or marsh. 'Wootham' provides grounds for speculation
but is probably a misreading or miscopying of 'Woothian' from which
'Gwithian' could have originated. Hence, we would get Lane of the
moor or marsh of Gwithian-the moor possibly being what is now
known as Loggans Moor or the marsh some wet place in the towans.
As for 'Reene-an-Bush Ithen', 'Bush' is English and "Reene'=ryn=
slope, 'Ithen'=furze. Thus, Slope of the furze bush.
THE ORDNANCE SURVEY
So far we have had to be content with early descriptions of the
course of the parish boundaries but these may be followed on an
Ordnance Survey map on which they are officially recorded. On the
map the boundaries have been marked in and the points mentioned in
the terrier of 1628 have been indicated.
The Ordnance Survey Act of 1841 provided for the ascertaining
and recording of public boundaries and the County Justices were
required to appoint 'Meresmen' described in the Act as "fit and proper
persons", local men reputed to be well acquainted with the boundaries
of their respective parishes, who were to point out the boundaries to the
Ordnance Surveyors.
The information was variously recorded but the usual method
was to fix the boundaries by a series of sketches and measurements based
on Old Tithe maps, in what was termed a "Boundary Remark Book',
each book being verified by the meresmen.
135
The resultant information after settlement of disputed and
doubtful sections was incorporated in what is now known as an Original
Boundary Sketch Map, which was cxhibited locally together with an
Exhibition Journal in which persons interested were invited to express
their views, the boundaries finally adopted being those which accorded
With the best evidence available. The Exhibition Journal was exhibited
to the public at the Guildhall, Penzance on the 7th, 8th and 14th
January 1875; the boundaries of the parish of Phillack were found to be
correct and the Journal was signed to this effect by the Reverend
Frederick Hockin on the 8th January 1875.
The first Ordnance Survey map for the district was then
prepared and since then there have been a number of revised editions
because the whole country is being continually re-surveyed and the
maps brought up to date.
BOUNDARY DISPUTES
There have been at least three disputes over the centuries
concerning the precise position of certain stretches of the boundaries of
Phillack with its neighbouring parishes. Of these disputes one involves
the parish bounds directly and two relate to the dividing lines between
adjacent estates in Phillack and St. Erth and thus between the parishes
themselves.
The earliest of the disputes arose because the Vicar of Gwinear
alleged that in 1338 the Rector of Phillack improperly appropriated
tithes on land which the former maintained lay in his parish. The
records of the case,[8] which dragged on for years and was lost by the
Rector of Phillack, set out the boundaries between the parishes based
on the evidence of witnesses from both. Certain points on the boundaries
are named but it is probably impossible to identify them now, though
the reference to the "Pons of Melenbran" is obvious enough being the
Vellen Vrane Bridge noted in the 1613 bounds of Gwinear. From the
bridge "to the will of Polidhou als Polhou" seems clear as near Cold
Harbour there was a tenement known as Pellews in the 18th century.
The bounds are then described as ""by the old dyke to Turverwyn Cras
als Treverwyn Cras and so to Pollanwythan and so to a stone called
Mayncordvan and then to Nanspian and then by the small stream to the
great water of Rodewiri." Of these bounds only Rodewiri as Rose-
worthy can be identified, though Turverwyn Cras suggests the "Trerufe
Cras' of 1546.
The second dispute settled in 1752 concerned the limits and
boundaries of the estate of Penpol in Phillack and Trelissick in St. Erth
at Penpol Pool which was situated where the White Hart Hotel now
stands. The arbitrators appointed by the owners of the two estates
adjudged that the river as it did anciently run between Penpol and
Trelissick was the boundary between them and thus between the
136
parishes in which they lay. It was decided[9] that the bed of the river
through the Pool and beyond followed a zig-zag course passing under
Penpol Bridge and from thence into the channel. This is illustrated in
the insert on the map from which it will be seen that one part of
Foundry Square is in the Phillack Parish and the other in St. Erth.
The third dispute[10] also involved the course of the Penpol River
but on this occasion as it divided the estates of Penpol in Phillack and
Carnsew in St. Erth. In the early 19th century there was intense and
bitter rivalry between Harvey and Company of Foundry on the one hand
and the Cornish Copper Company of Copperhouse on the other. The
latter concern was the older of the two and tried by fair means and foul
to dominate and suppress its younger competitor. In 1818 the Copper
Company built a quay on their land at Penpol and Harveys were later
to contend that part of it had been built on the Carnsew estate in which
they had by then acquired a leasehold interest. Their contention was
based on the theory that, long before the quay was built, the ancient
course of the Penpol River which separated Penpol from Carnsew and
the parishes of Phillack and St. Erth in which they stood, had been
altered. We have to go back to 1788 to find the basis for this argument.
In that year the Copper Company completed an embankment across the
creek leading to Copperhouse and by the installation of floodgates they
were able to impound the tidal waters and release them to sluice the
harbour and keep it free from silt. Harveys contended that the force of
the released water had displaced the ancient course of the Penpol River
and had pushed it and therefore the estate boundaries, north westward.
If this was so then the Cornish Copper Company was in a serious
position because the seaward length of their quay would be situated on
land which did not belong to them. Between such rivals this was a
matter which could only be settled in a court of law and in 1829 at the
Bodmin Assizes the dispute came to trial. A host of witnesses was called
by both sides. For the most part they were old inhabitants who were
supposed to know the harbour well and they were supported by
technical experts. The evidence of the plaintiff Harvey's witnesses was
intended to show that before the floodgates were built the course of the
Penpol River ran much nearer to the shore than it did thereafter. The
object of the Copper Company's witnesses was to prove to the contrary.
The case lasted many days and the judge found in favour of Harveys.
In the following year an arbitration was held to determine the
precise line of the old boundary and as a result one part of the quay is
in Phillack and the other in St. Erth. Harvey's called theirs East Quay
and the Cornish Copper Company continued to call what was left to
them Penpol Quay.
BOUNDARY CHANGES
Parishes as we have seen were originally ecclesiastical only but
were gradually adopted as units by the state for the purposes of local
137
government. In 1555 they were charged with the upkeep of their
highways and in 1601 with the maintenance of their own poor, a
responsibility of which they were relieved in 1834.
Then came the establishment of Local Boards and in 1866
Fhillack was divided into Phillack and Hayle and later in 1895 into
Phillack East and Phillack West which in 1934 together with St. Erth
Urban Parish were amalgamated to form Hayle Parısh.
Generally, the various re-arrangements under the Local
Government Acts did not disturb the original parish boundaries though
here and there changes were sometimes made as a matter of ad-
ministrative convenience.
It so happened that the Hayle Reservoir at Mellenear and the
Phillack Pumping Station at Nanspusker were in the parishes of
St. Erth and Gwinear respectively. In 1938 the old parish boundaries
were extended at the expense of St. Erth and Gwinear to bring into
Phillack these two installations. At the same time the opportunity was
taken to straighten the boundary at Treeve, that estate then coming
within the parish of Gwithian.[11]
NOTES
1 Godfrey, C. J., The Church in Anglo-Saxon England" (C.U.P. 1962)
Ch. XIX, p. 310.
2 Thomas, A. C., "Phillack Church" (The British Publishing Co. 1961), p. 24.
3 Bowles, C. A., "A Short Account of the Hundred of Penwith 1805", pp. 19-24.
4 Trevanion Survey-County Record Ofice.
5 Royal Institution of Cornwall, Henderson Collection, Vol. 105.
5 Royal Institution of Cornwall. Henderson Collection, Vol. 105.
6 R.I.C., Henderson Collection. Topography of Penwith, p. 56.
7 R.I.C., Henderson Collection. Topography of Penwith, p. 59.
8 R.I.C., Henderson Collection, Vol. X, p. 232 et seq and Topography of Penwith
PP. 65-66.
9 County Record Ofice. Harvey Collection.
10 County Record Ofice. Harvey Collection. St. Aubyn v Sandys 1829.
11 Ministry of Health Order 94995.
REDRUTH HAD A SHARE IN THE ABOLITION
OF SLAVERY
THE lucrative trade of shipping Africans to work the plantations of
America and the West Indies which began in the early 16th century,
gradually became less acceptable in the eyes of the civilised world;
but as late as 1772 when it was made illegal there were 14,000 slaves in
138
