Lanivet
At Lanivet Church the communion plate is kept in a rare antique pyx of "cuir bouilli," said to be of the fourteenth century. In the churchyard is a Saxon tomb and a yet older inscribed stone; also a remarkable wheel cross, a four-holed cross with interlaced and scroll work, and a curious stone slab. St. Benet's, once a seat of the Courtenays, is built on the site of a reputed Benedictine monastery, the greater part of the front having belonged to the original building. The walls are about 4 ft. thick. Unfortunately the stones of the cloisters, as well as the upper part of the tower, were used some years ago for building a farmhouse!
Mitchell
Near St. Enoder, not in itself interesting, is the old borough of Mitchell (formerly written Modeshole), which in the time of Edward I. was the property of Sir Walter de Raleigh. Though now an inconsiderable village it was said in Saxon days to have been a fair-sized town, and as a borough its reputation for corruption and quarrelling is black even compared with the other rotten boroughs of the county. Sir Walter Raleigh was member for Mitchell when he carried his motion for war against Spain; and in 1807 it was represented by Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington.
Cornish Names
Some of the Cornish saints have very curious names. On the Tamar is a church sacred to St. Dilp, but more remarkable is that of St. Erme, sacred to—Hermes. Saint Hermes, too! The god of thieves, that little old ancient run-about! 'Tis said the early Christians made good use of all existing material, such as the Venus month for the Virgin Mary and so forth, but—Saint Hermes! In this church is an interesting brass, with kneeling effigies and seven-quartered shield of arms, to Robert Trencreeke, "counseler at lawe," 1594.
Blackwater and Illogan
The long western road is approaching the busiest, greyest, and most populous part of the county—the mining district. Camborne and Redruth are the principal towns and in a sense rivals. Each has a school of mining, though Camborne's is now the school of the county and the great mine, the greatest and the oldest of all, Dolcoath—where, in lively contrast with his work of the moment, Raspe wrote "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen"—belongs to the former. Before the road reaches either of these towns, however, it passes Blackwater, the birthplace of Passmore Edwards (1823). Though he was a well-known journalist as well as the owner of the Echo newspaper, he is most likely to be remembered as the donor of a large number of philanthropic institutions, beginning with the reading room which he built for his native village in 1889.
Not far south-west of Blackwater is Illogan, where the engineer Trevithick made the first steam carriage, known locally as "Cap'n Dick's Puffer."