As for what Mr. Carew says, that the Cornish men called it Lesteeven, that is no other than an abbreviation of Lan Stephan.
But before I go on with the account of this town and parish, it will be necessary to observe, that, although Norden (whose authority is indeed of no great weight, even in the description of those things which he had seen himself, and gives draughts of, which for the most part are very erroneous) with many others, call this town, or rather castle, here Dunhevet; yet it is most certain that the ancient town of Dunhevet stood at about half a mile distance to the south-south-west of the present town of Lanceston, in a moorish piece of ground facing the west, at the bottom of
the hill on which Mr. Samuel Line has built his pleasure house and inclosed a bowling-green, (from whence is a very pretty prospect of the vale under it to the east, and the course of the river Tamar) being parcel of the commons belonging to the freemen of Lanceston. I went on purpose to view the ruins of the said town this present year 1731, having before this been led aside by the vulgar opinion, of which every boy I found in the town could satisfy me to the contrary. On the place where the said ruins appear are three wells, which I suppose are from the same spring, being pretty close together; and are, (as I take it) the head of that small river which runs by Tresmorrow, Lanleke, Landew, &c. below which it hath a handsome stone bridge, and soon after falls into the Tamar. So that the said town had, in this respect, the advantage of the new one, as being well supplied with water, which is much wanting in this last. By the ruins it doth not appear to have been of very considerable bigness; though indeed there be no judging well of it, by reason that all the stones of any value have been from time to time carried off to build the present town, and the rest employed to make small inclosures of meadows there.
This place fell to decay, I suppose, on William Earl of Morton building a castle, or rather repairing the old one and putting it in the present form, in the beginning of the Norman times; for, by tradition, this castle has been, from remote antiquity, a seat of the Princes of Cornwall. This William Earl of Morton being also Earl of Cornwall by descent from his father Robert, who was half-brother by his mother to William the Conqueror, drew over the inhabitants of Dunhevet to this place, by granting great privileges to this his chief seat in this county.
But before we go on with the history of this town, let us see what Leland, Camden, and Carew say of it.
Leland.—“After that I had passed over Aterey, I went up by the hill through the long suburbs until I came to the town wall and gate, and so passed through the town, ascending
the hill until I came to the very top of it, where be the market-place and the parish church of St. Stephan, lately re-edified. The large and ancient castle of Launceston standeth on the knappe of the hill by south, a little from the parish church. Much of this castle yet standeth; and the moles that the keep standeth on are large, and of a terrible height; and the arx of it having three several wards, is the strongest, but not the biggest, that ever I saw in any ancient work in England. There is a little pirle of water that serveth the high part of Launceston. The priory of Launceston standeth in the south-west part of the suburb of the town, under the root of the hill by a fair wood side; and through this wood runneth a pirle of water coming out of a hill thereby, and serveth all the offices of the place. In the church I marked two notable tombs, one of Prior Horton and another of Prior Stephan; one also told me that Mabilia, a countess, was buried there in the chapter house; one William Warwist, Bishop of Excester, erected this priory, and was afterwards buried at Plympton priory, that he also erected. Warwist, for the erection of Launceston priory, suppressed the collegiate church of St. Stephan, having Prebendaries; and gave the best part of the lands to Launceston priory, and took the residue himself. There yet standeth a church of St. Stephan, about half a mile from Launceston, on a hill, where the collegiate church was. Gawen Carew hath the custody of the priory. There is also a chapel by west-north-west, a little out of Launceston, dedicated to St. Catharine; it is now profaned.” So far Leland.
Mr. Carew is more particular (p. 274 Lord Dunstanville’s edition). “Those buildings, commonly known by the name of Launston, and written Lanceston, are by the Cornish men called Lesteevan (Lez in Cornish signifieth broad, and these are scatteringly erected) and were anciently termed Lanstaphadon, by interpretation Saint Stephan’s Church: they consist of two boroughs, Downevet
and Newport; that, perhaps, so called, of down-yielding, as having a steep hill; this, of its newer erection. With these, join the parishes of St. Thomas and St. Stephan. The parish church of Launceston itself fetches its title of dedication from Mary Magdalen, whose image is curiously hewed in a side wall, and the whole church fairly built.
“The town was first founded, saith Mr. Hooker, by Eadulphus, brother to Alpsius Duke of Devon and Cornwall; and by its being girded with a wall, argueth in times past to have carried some value.