The late Mr. John Price commenced the formation of a pretty retreat in a small declivity near the ridge of this parish, at a place called Chi-owne, the house in a croft. Trees were found to flourish there, and the whole promised so much that his son Mr. Rose Price began to lay the foundation of a handsome seat on an adjoining farm; and he went so far as to construct an immense mound to act as a shelter for trees, and also to give them an elevation on its slope, a work which the country people named “The Chinese Wall:” the whole was, however, discontinued for want of sufficient space, which was afterwards afforded in the adjacent parish of Maddern by the purchase of Trengwainton.
It is not easy to imagine a more beautiful view than the one obtained from the summit of the hill above Newlyn; the ascent is, however, extremely steep, and in consequence a new line of road has been projected; but the great value and subdivision of land will probably defeat the execution of a plan having more for its object the decoration of the country than any facility of communication, although that would be found important.
Not far from the top of this hill is erected a small stone monument by the late Mr. John Price, to commemorate a circumstance scarcely deserving of such attention, which was no more than the finding of a gold ring with the motto on it, “In hac spe vivo.” Mr. Price indeed conjectured that it had belonged to some gentleman engaged in the remote Plantagenet Civil Wars, and with much ingenuity contrived a series of adventures to suit the occasion and the sentiment.
Another curiosity, discovered much about the same time, is far more deserving of regard. Of this Mr. Lysons has given an engraved plate with the following description:
“In 1783, one of the ancient British ornaments of gold, in the form of a crescent, with a narrow zigzag pattern slightly engraven on it, and weighing two ounces, four penny weights, and six grains, was discovered near the remains of one of the circular earthworks in the neighbourhood of Penzance. This curious relic is now in the possession of Rose Price, esq.”
Gold ornaments, similar if not identical with this very curious remnant of remote antiquity, have been found in other parts of this island, and also in Ireland. One very like it in bronze, taken from a stream pool in 1802, is in the possession of Mr. William Rashleigh at Menabilly.
Objects so interesting have not failed of exciting investigation and conjecture; and they have been fancied to be a decoration of the chief priest among the Druids, worn round his head, and indicating by the crescent shape the exact age of the moon best adapted for ensuring the greatest possible virtues to the holy misletoe, which was then to be severed from its parent oak.
Paul measures 2,865 statute acres.
| £. | s. | d. | |
| Annual value of the Real Property, as returned to Parliament in 1815 | 7,464 | 0 | 0 |
| Poor Rate in 1831 | 785 | 7 | 0 |
| Population,— | |||
| in 1801, 2937 | in 1811, 3371 | in 1821, 3790 | in 1831, 4191 |