The vicarage house and glebe partake of the splendour of the scenery; and during the life of their late proprietor, the Reverend Robert Walker, were among the most attractive spots in Cornwall. Mr. Walker, possessed of strong abilities, had an ardent desire to discharge all the duties attached to him as a clergyman and as a country gentleman, in a manner the most beneficial to all with whom he had any concern; in the relations of private life he was equally estimable; and as a most decisive proof of his real merits and high deserts, it may be truly said, that, although he was induced on principle to take a strong part in politics, he had not a single personal enemy.
The chapel, dedicated to the Recluse of Hertland, has still divine service occasionally performed in it, although it does not form any practical division of the parish.
The history of Ethy has been brought down to the period immediately preceding its possession by the Edgecumbe family; the house has been occupied of late years by several gentlemen, and especially by one who has done honour to the nation by his naval and military services, and to Cornwall as a private man. Admiral Sir Charles Vinicombe Penrose distinguished himself on so many occasions, that to enumerate them all would be to write a life. Two, which do not relate immediately to the more obvious features of the military profession, may, however, be selected.
In the year 1797, when the navy of England underwent the greatest disgrace it has ever experienced, by the prevalence of a mutiny which threatened our safety as a country,
this excellent officer preserved his ship in due subordination.
In the year 1814, when the Duke of Wellington invaded France from the Pyrenees, and his passage was disputed across the Adour, Admiral Penrose, uniting to scientific acquirements the skill and the bravery of an English seaman, constructed a bridge of boats where it was thought impossible to place them, and thus greatly contributed to the success of this important part of the combined attack.
In the Parliamentary Edition of the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of Pope Nicholas IV. p. 145, the entries respecting St. Winnowe are as follow:
| £. | s. | d. | |
| Eccl’ia de S’c’o Winnico | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Vicar’ ejusdem | 1 | 0 | 0 |
This parish measures 5,501 statute acres.
| £. | s. | d. | |
| Annual value of the Real Property as returned to Parliament in 1815 | 4304 | 0 | 0 |
| Poor Rate in 1831 | 603 | 14 | 0 |