Trecarrel is the old house of Sir Henry, who erected Launceston Church. The hall is specially fine. He never completed the mansion. The chapel remains, and when I saw it a goose was sitting on her eggs on the site of the altar. But it was never consecrated. About the yard lie the richly-carved stones intended for the gateway to the court, but the gatehouse was not set up. There are several old houses which may be visited from Launceston. Bradstone, on the Devon side of the Tamar, has a most picturesque gatehouse. The venerable mansion formerly belonged to the Cloberry family, whose cognisance was bats; it is quite intact. Bradstone takes its name from a broad stone, in fact, a cromlech that has been thrown down, but the cap remains, and is used as a stile.
Kelly Church has some fine old glass. Sydenham is an untouched seventeenth-century mansion; so is Wortham, in Lifton parish. A magnificent relic is Penheale, with its granite entrance and panelled rooms. It is in Egloskerry parish, and formerly belonged to the Earl of Huntingdon. It passed by sale from one hand to another, and is now the property of Mr. Simcoe.
In Egloskerry Church is a remarkably good helmet. The church contains an alabaster figure of an Italian flower-girl. Treguddick, once a seat of a family of that name, has been so mutilated in alteration that it presents little of interest. The same may be said of Basil.
Botathen, once the seat of the Bligh family, has not in it anything of interest, but is associated with one of the best ghost stories on record, written by the Rev. John Ruddle, vicar of Launceston, who laid a ghost in a field that appeared to and tormented a boy of the name of Bligh.
Ruddle was parson of Launceston between 1663 and 1698. Defoe got hold of Ruddle's MS. account of the transaction, and published it in 1720. It has been often surmised that Defoe had touched up the original, or had invented the whole story; but Mr. A. Robins has carefully entered into an examination of the circumstances, and has proved that the account was by Ruddle, and all those persons mentioned in it actually lived at the period.
In 1665 John Ruddle was schoolmaster in Launceston as well as vicar, and one of his pupils died. He preached a sermon at the funeral on June 20th, and after leaving church he was addressed by an old gentleman, who informed him that his own son was sadly troubled by having several times met a ghost, or, at all events, the boy pretended that he had. The gentleman, Mr. Bligh, of Botathen, invited Ruddle to his house to see the lad.
After conferences with the boy Ruddle gained his confidence, and, says he, "he told me with all naked freedom and a flood of tears that his friends were unjust and unkind to him, neither to believe nor pity him, and that if any man would go with him to the place he might be convinced that the thing was real." The rest of the story shall be told from a MS. now in the possession of a lady in Launceston, copied by William Ruddle, the son, from his father's original MS.:--
"By ys time he found me able to comisrate his condition and to be attentive to his relation of it, therefore he went on in ys manner. This woman wch appears to me (saith he) Lived a nighbour here to my father, and dyed about 8 years since. Her name Dorothy Dingle, of such a stature, such an age and complexion. She never speaks to me, but passeth by hastyly and always Leaves ye footpath to me, and she comonly meets me twice or thrice in ye breadth of ye field. It was abt 2 months before I took any notice of it, and tho' ye shape of ye face was in my memory yet I could not recal ye name of ye person, but without more thoughtfullnes I did suppose it was some woman who lived thereabout and had frequent occasion that way, nor did I imagine anything to ye contrary before she began to meet me constantly morning and evening, and always in ye same field, and sometimes twice or thrice in ye breadth of it. The first time I took notice of her was abt a year since and when I first began to suspect and beleive it to be a Ghost I had courage enough not to be affraid, but kept it to myself a good while and only pondered very much at it. I did often speak to it, but never had a word in answer. Then I changed my way and went to school ye Under Horse Road, and then she always met me in ye narrow Lane between ye Quarry Park and ye Nursery, which was worse. At Length I began to be terrifyd at it, and prayed continually that God would either free me from it, or Let me know ye meaning of it. Night and day, sleeping and wakeing ye shape was ever runing in my mind.
"Thus (said he) by degrees I grew very pensive, in so much that it was taken notice of by all our family, whereupon, being urg'd to it, I told my brother William of it, and he privately acquainted my father and mother wth it, and they kept it to themselves for sometime. Ye successe of this discovery was only that they sometimes Laugh at me, sometimes elude me, but still comanded me to keep my school and put such fageries out of my head. I did accordingly go often to school, but always met ye woman in ye way.
"This and much more to ye same purpose (yea as much as held a Dialogue of near 2 hours) was our conference in ye orchard, which ended wth my profer to him that (without makeing any privy to our intent) I would next day walk wth him to ye place abt 6 o'clock. He was even transported wth joy at ye mention of it, and replyed, 'but will ye sure Sr, will ye sure Sr? Thank God! now I hope I shall be beleived!' Upon this conclusion we retired to ye hous. The gent, his wife, and Mr. S. were impatient to know ye event, insomuch that they came out of ye parlour into ye hall to meet us, and seeing ye Lad Look chearfully ye first complement from ye old man was 'Come, Mr. Ruddle! ye have talked with S. I hope now he will have more wit, an idle boy, an idle boy.' At these words ye Lad ran up ye stairs to his chamber without replying, and I soon stopt ye curiosity of ye 3 expectants by telling them that I had promised silence, and was resolved to be as good as my word; but when things were riper they might know all, at prsent I desired them to rest in my faithfull pmise that I would do my utmost in their service and for ye good of their son. With this they were silenced, I cannot say satisfyed.