Trewan, the seat of Richard Vyvyan, Esq, the late Sheriff for the county, is situated on the brow of a hill facing the south, commanding a fine view of the town of St. Columb. It is an irregular building of granite, said to have been erected in the year 1633, and the interior contains several handsome apartments; but the drawing room being richly ornamented with sculpture, representing the principal events of the Book of Genesis, is highly deserving of notice.—There are also a few good portraits, and a fine picture of a Shipwreck, by Vandervelde.
St. Columb Major, as it is called, to distinguish it from a parish of the same name adjoining the village, but of less consequence, is a considerable market town; and although not situated on the high mail road to Truro, yet is a town of some importance on the northern side of the county. It is built on an eminence, and contains a few good houses; the Market-house has an antient appearance. It is situated 11 miles north-west of Bodmin, and 15 from Truro; but after leaving the regular high mail road, the other roads winding to the town are very bad and dirty.
The Church is a large antient fabric; but has, perhaps, been injudiciously altered from its original design. The interior contains a variety of memorials, one of which has a handsome bust of the deceased Robert Hoblyn, Esq. of Nanswhyden, who represented the City of Bristol in three Parliaments, and died in the year 1756. The living of St. Columb is the best in the county, and computed to be worth at least £2000 per annum, and in the gift of the Rev. George Moore, of Garlennick, near Grampound.
The population of the parish, according to the late returns, amounted to about 2,493. It has a market every Thursday, and two fairs annually.
About two miles from the town, to the left of the road leading to Bodmin, but in St. Columb parish, is Castle-an-Dinas, a noble entrenchment, originally fortified with three circular walls, and an immense ditch. It is generally supposed to have been constructed by the Danes, and was a permanent fortified residence of some Scandinavian Chief. The diameter of the space enclosed, is 400 feet; and the principal ditch is 60 feet wide. Castle-an-Dinas, Dr. Borlase says, consisted of two stone walls, built one within the another, in a circular form: the ruins he describes as fallen on each side the wall, shewing the work to have been of great height and thickness: he also mentions a third wall, built more than half way round, but left unfinished. This remain is seated on the highest hill in the hundred of Penwith.
From St. Columb to Padstow, the distance is eight miles, but the country between those places does not present any thing deserving particular observation.
Padstow has long been noted as the principal sea-port town on the north coast of Cornwall, and in a commercial point of view is of the greatest advantage to the county. Here also the first religious house was founded by St. Petreock, as early as the year 432. It is situated 11 miles from Bodmin, and about 243 from London, and is noted as one of the most antient places in England. The town is built on the western side of the harbour, sheltered by an immense hill, and at high water has a pleasing appearance.
A very considerable trade is carried on here in iron, coals, timber, groceries, and merchandize in general. Padstow has a market weekly, and two fairs annually. These are now little more than mere holiday fairs; though within these 60 years they were well supplied with cattle, cloth, hats, &c. Leland, speaking of this town, says—“There use many Britons with smaul shippes to resorte to Padestowe, with commodities of their countrey, and to by fische: the town of Padestowe is ful of Irisch men: there is a large exporte of corne.” Carew again says—“It hath lately purchased a corporation, and reapeth greatest thrift by traffiking with Ireland, for which it commodiously lieth.” We have not been able to learn any thing about the charter of corporation alluded to by Carew, and are assured that the town has no such charter. The principal import-trade, for iron, is from Cardiff; coals, from Wales; timber, from Norway; and groceries, and bale goods, from Bristol: and considerable quantities of corn are still exported; the other principal exports are malt and block-tin.
In the Church, an antique building, situated at the head of the town, are several handsome memorials: that of Sir Nicholas Prideaux, Knt., who was Carew’s contemporary, and died in 1627, commemorates also Sir William Morice, who married a daughter of Humphrey Prideaux: “he was knighted,” says his epitaph, “by King Charles II., on his landing at Dover, and afterwards made Secretary of State and a Privy Counsellor, in consequence of his great services in bringing about the Restoration, by his influence with General Monk. He died at Werrington, in 1676, aged 75.” The learned Dr. Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, was a grandson of Sir Nicholas above-mentioned, and was born at Padstow, in 1648. Dr. Prideaux, who was educated at Liskeard school, besides his well-known work on the connexion between the Old and New Testaments, published “The True Nature of Imposture fully displayed in the Life of Mahomet.”—The Font, in this antient building, is in itself a curious relic of antiquity, decorated with effigies of the twelve Apostles.
There are several antient Chapels in this parish. That of St. Saviour, of which the east wall remains, stood on the brink of the precipice which overlooks the town: near Place-house, at the top of the town, was St. Sampson’s chapel: at Trethyllic, near Place grounds, was a chapel with a cemetery: between St. Saviour’s, and Stepper-point, was another chapel, the name of which is not known: and about a mile and a half from the town, that of St. Cadock, which had a tower, the pinnacles of which were used in rebuilding that of Little Petherick church.