TONKIN.
The manor of Tregavethan.
This signifies the dwelling in the meadows, vethen being the same with bither, a meadow; and whoever sees the place will be soon convinced of the truth of this etymology.
Tregedick was lord of the manor and sometimes dwelt here, but having only one daughter and heir, the barton passed with her to —— Langhairne, Esq., but the father having
reserved the manor, he in consequence of some difference sold it. The Langhairnes, however, continued to reside on the barton in much esteem till the great Civil Wars, in which this family suffered so much as to be compelled to sell it; and it came at last into the possession of Henry Vincent, Gent., of Tresinsple, who let out the barton in leases to several tenants, so that it is now become a village, and little of the mansion or house left standing.
To the west of Tregavethan, or the high town, on the confines between this parish and those of St. Agnes and Perran in the Sands, are three great barrows, called the Three Barrows; and about a mile to the westward of these on very high ground are four barrows, one belonging to this manor and the other three to Lambourn in Perran. These barrows give name to the downs, and the great road from London to the Land’s End passes between them. They were doubtless the burying places of some principal commanders, and probably Danes. To the left of Tregavethan and within the manor, is Roseworth, the Green Valley. This was once a seat of the family of Cosens; and here lived Nicholas Cosens, Esq. who was Sheriff of Cornwall in the year 1660. He dying without issue left it to his widow, and after his death it became the property of Samuel Enys, Esq. by purchase.
THE EDITOR.
Kenwyn may be said to include the old part of Truro, which occupies the mere extremity of a point or tongue of land stretching from this parish and enclosed between two rivers. The land immediately round the town is fertile, in a high state of cultivation, and decorated by trees and villas; but towards the Four Barrow Down and Chasewater, nothing can be more desolate than the barren commons studded with heaps of rubbish from deserted mines.
In this parish are situate two of the earliest establishments for smelting tin by means of coal, and on the largest scale of any in the county, Calenick and Cavedras; but
of late years this business has taken an entirely new character; tin ores are sold, like those of copper, by public tender or ticketings, and smelting houses are constructed in some cases for the use of particular mines.