The chief place in this town is Plase, in British a palace, which is the dwelling of John Treffrye, Esq. so called from some of the many local places passing under that denomination in Cornwall, and compounded of treu or tref frye, synonymous words, signifying the free or manumitted town. He was the son of John Treffrye, of Rooke, Esq. that married Vivian of Truan; the which John Treffrye succeeded to the patrimony or lands of the Treffrys of this place, more for similitude of name than consanguinity or affinity of blood, by the will, devise, or entail of the last gentleman that died without issue in this house. The present possessor, as aforesaid, is John Treffrye, Esq. my very kind friend and kinsman, Member of Parliament for the town of Foy, whereof comparatively he is lord and high lord. He married Stephens. His predecessors in this place were gentlemen of great fame and estates, and have served their country in the several capacities of Parliament men for this town, justices of the peace, and sheriffs of Cornwall; particularly John Treffrye, Esq. was Sheriff of Cornwall 1st Richard III. 1482. He was a great benefactor towards building the present church of Foy, as appears from his arms being cut in divers places of the stones and tower thereof. Sir John Treffrye, Knt. (probably his son), was Sheriff of Cornwall 5th and 15th Henry VII.; William Treffrye, Esq. was Sheriff of Cornwall 16th Hen. VII. 1501, when Richard Whiteleigh, of Efford, was Sheriff of Devon. The arms of those gentlemen are, Sable, a chevron between three hawthorns Argent (i. e. summer thorn, hau, haw, in British is summer).
The chief inhabitants of this town, besides Mr. Treffrye, are Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Goodall, Mr. Major, Mr. Toller, Mr. Tyncombe, and others.
In this town Philip Rashleigh, Esq. temp. Charles I. built and endowed a hospital with the garb or tithe sheaf
of the parish of St. Wen for ever, towards the relief of six poor widow women, two of the said parish and four from another parish, who receive weekly 15d. in money, and suits of apparel yearly, with other privileges, but are prohibited from begging the country, or any parish stipend. [See Tywardreth.]
This gentleman got great riches by trade and merchandize, and sea adventures; more particularly by a small ship or frigate, of about eighty tons, bearing about sixteen cannons or demi-culverins, besides small arms, and 60 men, for defence thereof; the commander of which ship had a commission from Queen Elizabeth as a privateer, in her wars with the Spaniards, to take all Spanish ships it should meet with at sea, and make them prizes for him, his adventurers, and the Queen’s advantage, which said privateer, or man-of-war, was so successful and fortunate in its adventures at sea for some years, and in traffic, and merchandizes, and prizes, that those gentlemen accumulated and laid up great riches thereby; and in remembrance and memory of this ship, caused the figure in memory of it to be perpetuated in a small ship, about five feet long, made and formed by a ship carpenter, of timber, with masts, sails, ropes, guns, and anchors, and figures of men thereon; which is hanged up to the roof, or planking, with an iron chain, in their old house in this town, of which ship those gentlemen have often given me ocular observation, as well as told me the above history of the premises, in the time of Charles the Second.
TONKIN.
Mr. Tonkin has not any thing of the least importance but what is copied from Mr. Hals.
THE EDITOR.
I have retained the whole of what is stated by Mr. Hals respecting the proceedings at Fowey, in the periods of its
greatest prosperity and of its subsequent fall, given partly on the authority of Mr. Carew, (p. 313, &c. of Lord Dunstanville’s edition,) and in part from what he himself had heard. It must, however, be remembered that tradition always exaggerates facts, more especially such as bear unfavourably either on individuals or on communities, and that the times of Edward the Third were essentially different from those of order, protection, and impartial administration of justice, in which we have the happiness to live; nor can the license or excesses imputed to some adventurers at Fowey, be more abhorrent to our feelings than the mean artifice of a feeble government, practised to entice men from Fowey to Lostwithiel, under a pretence of enabling them to assist their country in the prosecution of a war, but really with the view of arresting them as criminals.