CORNISH ARCHAEOLOGY No.

25 (1986)

Medieval Cornwall
ANN PRESTON-JONES and PETER ROSE

For the purposes of this paper, which covers the period from the 5th to 16th centuries,
the following terminology has been followed: early medieval — 5th to 11th centuries; later
medieval — late 11th to mid 16th century. In some instances it has also proved useful to apply
post-Roman to the 5th to 7th centuries, and late medieval to the 15th to mid 16th centuries.
Though of course there are considerable changes over the period it is best treated as a
unity. The framework of the later medieval period, which underpins much of the organisation
of the Cornish countryside today, has its foundations very firmly in the early medieval
period. Early medieval society and settlement in turn had their roots in the Roman period,
but the 5th to 7th centuries does genuinely appear to be a time of changes. Firstly,
Christianity was adopted. Many of today's parish churches are on sites that have been in use
for Christian worship since this period; and most are on sites established at some date before
the Norman conquest. Second, there appears to have been a change in the form of settlement:
the rounds went out of use and unenclosed farms and hamlets, including the ubiquitous tre
settlements, became the norm, forming the pattern of dispersed settlement that is so much
a feature of Cornwall. Meanwhile, maritime contact between Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and
Brittany intensified with Welsh/Irish immigration from Wales and emigrations to Brittany.
The legendary peregrinations of saints are another aspect of this fluidity and Cornwall's later
medieval trading links with these countries could be seen as part of this same long tradition.

5/0

" MEDIEVAL SITES

30 .31 SS
24 32*

15 00
•16 • 22 26
25. • SX
4 Stannary
Stannary
2* Stannary • BODMINST of 90
of
3. of •6 Stannary of 27
Blackmore
Penwith Tywarnhaile 5‘
•i .8 •19 Fowey more
Stannary TRURO
of
Kerrier 12 • 14
9• •10 •11 •

70

SW SX 60
5/0 6,0 7,0 8,0 9,0 0/0 1,0 2, 0 3,0 40 5

Fig 1
Location map showing principal sites mentioned in the text. 1 St Buryan, 2 Chun Castle, 3 Lan von, 4 Chapel Jane,
5 Phillack, 6 Gwithian, 7 Crane Godrevy, 8 Fenton la, 9 Grambla, 10 Merther Euny, 11 Retallack, 12 Penryn,
13 Bolster Bank, 14 Sheepstall, 15 Mawgan Porth, 16 Carnanton, 17 Trewhiddle, 18 Trethurgy, 19 Treskilling,
20 Lostwithiel, 21 Giant's Hedge, 22 Killibury, 23 St Endellion, 24 tintagel, 25 Garrow, 26 Brown Willy, 27
Penkestle Moor, 28 Colliford, 29 Stuffle, 30 Tresmorn, 31 Penhallam, 32 Goscott, 33 Launceston.

135
 Cornwall in the 1 1 th to 14th centuries was in many ways typical of other parts of Britain.
Economic and population growth, leading to pressure on available resources, can be seen in
the colonisation of areas like Bodmin Moor, in the development of sub-divided arable, and
in the growth of a large number of small towns. The Norman Conquest marks a change in
direction in Cornwall's urban development. Earlier markets were mostly associated with
important ecclesiastical centres; later ones with seigneurial enterprise. Unlike other areas
Cornwall had wider scope for economic expansion. Trade, fishing, quarrying, the cloth
industry and especially the tin industry all expanded in this period, developing the diverse
economic and social base which was so characteristic of Cornwall's later medieval and subse-
quent history. Cornwall's Industrial Revolution merely represents an intensification of
processes that had been established for centuries.
Research into most aspects of medieval archaeology in Britain is largely a phenomenon
of the last thirty or so years. The development of the subject is reflected in the establishment
of the Society for Medieval Archaeology in 1957 and has been summarised by Clarke (1984).
Cornish research has contributed much to the national as well as the local picture. The late
1950s and 1960s saw pioneering work, with the investigation of a series of long-house settle-
ments by Dudley, Minter, and Beresford. This was paralleled by Thomas' continued
examination of the landscape of the Gwithian area, while his fundamental work on Early
Christianity in Cornwall led to excavations on three chapel sites (Fenton Ia, Mether Euny,
and Chapel Jane). Cornwall is also fortunate to have seen major excavations at two
contrasting 'high status' sites: the moated manor house at Berry Court, Penhallam, and
Launceston Castle, where the excavations were a regular fixture in the CAS diary from 1960
to 1982.
Further assessment has led to re-interpretation of some key sites and aspects of the period.
The post-Roman structures at Castle Dore — King Mark's Palace? (Radford, 1951) —
important in the development of the concept of re-occupied hillforts in western Britain, may
in fact be late Iron Age (Quinnell and Harris, 1985). Tintagel, long interpreted as an early
medieval monastery, is now generally seen as a 5th to 7th century seat of Cornwall's rulers.
Other questions of interpretation have arisen. The identification of turf-walled structures
thought to underlie some of the stone-built long-houses has been questioned by Austin (1985)
and is at present unresolved. An early medieval pottery sequence has been developed by
Thomas (eg 1968) but there are problems in its dating and interpretation which have been
highlighted by Hutchinson (1979). A continuing difficulty in studying the period is that most
of the excavations are still unpublished. Of the major excavations from the 1950s to 1980s
only five sites have had reports intended as the full publication (Garrow, Treworld,
Tresmorn, Berry Court, Chapel Jane).
Less conspicuous but no less important has been the continuing work of the Ordnance
Survey archaeological division (now part of the RCHME), and the Parochial Checklists of
Antiquities produced by CAS members. This has formed a basis for the development of the
county Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) since 1976. One problem with some of the
earlier work has been the lack of a clear context to it. A trend in recent years, developing
from the existence of an SMR, has been for broader-based, but nonetheless detailed, studies
and field surveys. These are essential in setting the context for sites of the medieval period
and in providing a framework for future work. In particular may be noted the survey of
Bodmin Moor by the CAU and RCHME (forthcoming); pioneering survey and research into
the medieval tin industry by S. Gerrard (fothcoming doctoral thesis); place-names survey by
0. Padel (Institute of Cornish Studies), now being utilised by the CAU to analyse the pattern
of medieval settlement (see below).

136
 In this paper each aspect of the period will receive a brief summary of work over the past
twenty-five years, but the main aim will be to provide a context for this and future work by
painting a broader picture of our present state of knowledge.

THE EARLY ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK

Post-Roman Cornwall was a part of the Kingdom of Dumnonia. Even then the sub-division
which is now Cornwall may have been in existence (Thomas, 1964, 74; 1986b, 64). The
Kingdom was probably divided into units equivalent to the modern hundred (Fig 2; Thomas,
1964; 1986b, 68), whose Cornish name, keverang, suggests that they were 'districts
operating as a unit for military service' (Padel, 1985, 56, 64). Each hundred consisted of
multiples of about 100 trefs, like the Welsh cantref (Padel, 1985, 226). Analogy with the
situation described in the Welsh laws suggests that for administrative and economic purposes,
the tref may have been grouped into larger units called 'multiple estates', each with its own
religious focus and administrative cente or llys (Jones, 1972, 299-302; 1976, 15-19;
Davies, 1982, 43-46).

STRATTON

LESNEWTH

Tintagel
*•

—,Helstone
0

Killibury
PYDAR
EAST
Castle an Dia, WIVELSHIRE

A Domellick /
PEN WITH St Dennis
••
Arrallas
Lanescot•

POWDER WEST
WIVELSHIRE

• Helston
• *l_ys names

KERRIER
eAk L stowder A 'traditional' sites
Lesneage
* excavated evidence

* ? "

Fig 2
The early administrative framework: the hundreds, and possible 'high status' sites.

137
 Davies' work on early Welsh charters has shown that the earliest land grants were of very
large tracts of land, perhaps the equivalent of the hypothetical multiple estate (Davies, 1978,
41-42; 1982, 42). By the 9th century, much smaller units — independent trefs — were being
granted and the large estates becoming fragmented. This picture agrees with the little which
is known for Cornwall, where the earliest Anglo-Saxon grants record transfers of large
estates, often with topographical names: Linig, Ros, Kelk, Macor, Caellwic, Landwithan,
Polltun (Finberg, 1963, 17). Grants of smaller estates named from settlements, like
Trematon, Bosowsa, Tregony, tend to be slightly later (Finberg, 1963, 18-20). Davies
suggests that the fragmentation of large estates was prompted by the desire of the non-royal
laity to make gifts of land to religious communities (Davies, 1978, 161 —63): once estab-
lished, the precedent was no doubt found to have more general application.
Despite these various hints of a correspondence, no serious attempts have been made to
seek in Cornwall a pattern of early historical organisation comparable to the Welsh. However,
hypothetical instances of large early estates have been traced with some success in Devon
(Pearce and Swanton, 1982; Pearce, 1985).
The seats of power themselves are notoriously difficult to locate, but sites may be
suggested by archaeological evidence, by tradition, folklore and documentary evidence and
by place-names, in particular *lys, 'court' (Padel, 1985, 150-51). Folklore and tradition
locate Cornish rulers in defended sites such as Castle-an-Dinas, Domellick (St Dennis),
Goodern (where there is a round) and Tintagel (Padel, 1981, 60 and n27; 1984, 10-12).
Some support for such traditions has come from excavations in many parts of West Britain,
where the post-Roman use or re-use of hill forts has been established, as at Dinas Powys
(Alcock, 1963), South Cadbury, Somerset (Alcock, 1972) and High Peak, Devon (Pollard,
1966). In the van of this trend was Radford's excavation of the Iron Age hillfort of Castle
Dore where he sought, and believed he had found, Lantien, one of the seats of the legendary
King Mark (Radford, 1951). However, a recent reappraisal argues convincingly that the
structures thought by Radford to be post-Roman are more probably late Iron Age (Quinnell
and Harris, 1985).
The problem is further illustrated by excavations at three sites where in each case the aim
was at least partly to identify early medieval activity; Castle-an-Dinas is traditionally
associated with the 'Dukes of Cornwall' (Padel, 1981a, 71); Castle Gotha was conceivably
to be equated with Gothabyrig, the site of a late Saxon mint (Saunders and Harris, 1982,
112); and at Arrallas, St Enoder, a cropmark enclosure was excavated by Dark as the
potential site of the *arghans-lys, 'silver court' (K. Dark, pers.comm.). None of these sites
produced evidence for early medieval occupation.
Archaeological evidence by itself can be ambiguous; two sherds of post-Roman Bi
amphora from the ploughsoil at Killibuty hillfort need not signify a re-fortification or re-
occupation (Miles, 1977, 115). Evidence for post-Roman re-use of Chilli Castle is stronger
(Thomas, 1956) but must be seen in the light of the quantities of Romano-British pottery now
identified from the site (H. Quinnell pers.comm ) If Chilli is a 'high status' site this function
need not be a purely post-Roman phenomenon.
Ironically Tintagel, originally interpreted as a monastic site (Radford, 1935), is now,
following doubts raised by Burrow (1973), generally accepted as a seat of the rulers of
Cornwall in the 5th to 7th centuries (Padel, 1981b, 28-29; Dark, 1985; Thomas 1981, 4;
1986, 14). This is suggested particularly by the folklore association (Padel, 1981a, 28-29;
1984, 11), by the huge quantities of post-Roman imported pottery (Thomas, 1981, 4), and
reinforced by the recent survey by Norman Quinnell and Martin Fletcher (RCHME, Thomas
and Fowler, 1985) showing the island to be covered with over 70 rectangular structures.

138
Recent minor excavations have shown that the post-Roman occupation extended onto the
mainland (Hartgroves and Walker, forthcoming).
Post-Roman, pre-English, administrative centres may also be represented by places with
a name in *lys, 'court' — excluding those with a topographical element (Padel, 1985, 150—i,
and Fig 2). Only two of the names — Lesingey and Helsbury — may refer to a hillfort.
However, it is striking that a very high proportion of the significant *lys names do refer to
manorial centres recorded in Domesday Book (Padel, 1985, 150). In particular, Helston,
Helstone and Liskeard were royal manors, indicating English take-over of the most important
pre-existing administrative centres. Domesday Book provides an invaluable and
comprehensive list of manorial centres of the 11th century, many of which could be of much
earlier origin. Some of these sites are now deserted and of considerable archaeological
potential, notably Winnianton (Jope and Threlfall, 1956; Thomas, 1963b) and Tybesta, both
of which gave their names to hundreds.
Cornwall has two major linear earthworks, the Bolster Bank and the Giant's Hedge. They
are usually assumed to be of early medieval date like examples elsewhere, but Johnson has
pointed out that linear earthworks also occur in Iron Age and Roman contexts (Johnson, 1981,
86). The two Cornish examples differ greatly. The Giant's Hedge cuts off a large block of
land, between two rivers, which contains many settlements (Fig 3) and may represent a
territorial boundary, whereas the Bolster Bank defends a much smaller area of heath-covered
upland, containing a single principal settlement and the richest tin-grounds in the parish of
St Agnes.

RURAL SETTLEMENT
Four areas of work have been particularly important in the last twenty-five years: the
excavation of a series of long-houses in the late 1950s and 1960s; continued work in the
1960s in the Gwithian area; excavation and major survey on Bodmin Moor from the late
1970s; and work on place-names by Oliver Padel. The last will be of particular value in the
study of early patterns of settlement.
Work at Gwithian continued with the identification of early medieval sites (Thomas,
1964c; 1967c); excavation of the important midden site of Sandy Lane (Thomas, 1964c;
1965; 1967c); survey and excavation of early medieval and later medieval fields (Fowler and
Thomas, 1962; Thomas, 1964c); excavation of a small manor house at Crane Godrevy
(Thomas, 1964c; 1969); and identification of six medieval settlements (Thomas, 1964c).
Investigation of long-house settlements begun by Dudley and Minter at Garrow and
Vendown (Dudley and Minter, 1962-3; Dudley, 1955 —56) continued at Treworld and
Lanyon (Dudley and Minter, 1966; Minter 1965; and in Wilson and Hurst, 1965) and at
Tresmorn (Beresford, 1971); the latter was particularly important in showing the potential
variety to be found in medieval settlement type. This work was complemented by excavation
of a major manor site, Berry Court, Penhallam (Beresford, 1974; see 'castles' section).
Early medieval settlements have proved more difficult to locate. Some sites are suggested
by chance finds (eg Hutchinson, 1979, 91 —101, lists); others have been identified because
they represent continued occupation of excavated Romano-British sites (Trethurgy, Grambla,
Carngoon Bank; Miles and Miles, 1973; Saunders, 1972; McAvoy et al, 1980). Otherwise,
only one early medieval rural settlement has been excavated in the last twenty-five years,
namely the partial excavation of a rectangular structure at Perran Sands (Penna, 1968).
Sand dunes form a major context for the preservation of deserted sites and landscapes,
including those of the early medieval period. Another is Bodmin Moor. Being an area of later
colonisation Bodmin Moor lacks the early medieval sites found in the sand dunes but it has

139
 • round • tie
0 possible round possible tre
0 hillfort, promontory
fort or multiple
enclosure

Giant's Hedge
land grades
4 B
A.13 elr refer to text

• tun
o Cornish element
plus tin

Fig 3
Prehistoric and medieval patterns of settlement in East Cornwall (see text for explanation).

140
the advantage that overall plans are more easily recoverable. Work since the late 1970s has
reflected an awareness of the increasing pace of change on the Moor and the recognition of
the importance of examining landscapes as well as single sites. A joint survey project by the
CAU and RCHME (forthcoming) (funded by English Heritage and RCHME) has provided
cover for the whole moor at 1:2500 and 1:1000 scales. Further detailed survey has been
undertaken on East Moor, Altarnun (incidental to the examination of prehistoric fields,
Brisbane and Clews, 1979, 44-46, 48); at Colliford and Stuffle, St Neot, the latter including
the excavation of a long-house settlement (Griffith, 1984, 117-123 and Gerrard,
pers.comm ); and most significantly at Brown Willy, where survey and analysis of the settle-
ment and fields has been used as a focus for a much broader assessment of rural settlement
in medieval Cornwall (Herring, 1986).
Medieval houses in Cornwall are perhaps best known from excavated remains rather than
from surviving buildings. These are rare, but useful summaries have been made by the
Cheshers (1968) and by Jope (1961).

Place-Name Evidence and the Pattern of Settlement

The present landscape of Cornwall is still, to a large extent, based on the pattern of
medieval settlement. Approximately 7,500 farms have their first record in the later medieval
period; some 340 are mentioned in Domesday Book, and a few feature in pre-Norman
charters. Moreover, the place-name evidence, particularly for names containing the elements
tre, *bod and lann suggests that many, if not the majority of settlements are of early medieval
origin (Padel, 1985, 24, 144, 223 —27).
Thus any reasonably detailed modern map of Cornwall is essentially a map of medieval
Cornwall, with later additions. This is particularly true of the Ordnance Survey's First
Edition One Inch Map of 1813, which pre-dates most agricultural and industrial
developments of the 19th and 20th centuries. It shows a pattern of small hamlets and farms
dispersed regularly throughout the landscape, linked by a cobweb of tracks and paths and
separated by stretches of unenclosed downland. Even away from the granite moors, this
downland, which would have provided valuable rough grazing land, is seen to have been very
extensive in places. For example, much of the area between Truro and St Agnes, now all
enclosed, is shown as open downland. This picture reflects Carew's description in the early
17th century ('the middle part of the shire. . . lieth waste and open'; Carew, 1602, 86) and
also the evidence of Domesday Book, which records large areas of pasture throughout the
county (Ravenhill, 1967, 333).
This pattern, in which most settlements would have had access to rough grazing, has been
almost completely obscured by the enclosures of the 19th century and earlier but may still
be seen in West Penwith, particularly in Zennor parish, where each of the hamlets scattered
along the coastal shelf sits within a long strip of land running from cliff edge grazing land,
through the arable and pasture fields that surround the settlement itself, and onto the common
grazing of the upland moor.
The work of Oliver Padel, as Place-Names Fellow of the Institute of Cornish Studies, is
crucial to the study of settlement patterns. Its importance lies first in documenting the settle-
ment pattern by providing earliest references and, therefore, 'medieval credentials' for
thousands of settlements, and second, through the interpretation of the place-name elements,
in providing a tool for the analysis of this pattern. Basic information from Padel's index of
place-names has been transferred to a 1:25,000 map base, by the Cornwall Archaeological
Unit, to provide a record of the layout and development of the medieval landscape.
Preliminary analysis is demonstrating the potential of this material, illustrated in the two
examples below (Figs 3-5).

141
 Fig 3 uses selected archaeological remains and place-name elements to examine the deve-
lopment of the medieval settlement pattern in East Cornwall. The topography in this area is
very varied; a rough guide to land capability as given, based on a simplification of the
Agricultural Land Classification Maps. (Grade 1 denotes the best land, Grade 5 the poorest.)
Figs 3.1 and 3.2 show the distribution of Iron Age and Romano-British hillforts and
rounds and the distribution of place-names containing the elements tre, *tref 'estate,
farmstead' which in this part of Cornwall are very probably of relatively early post-Roman
formation (Padel, 1985, 223-27). Fig 3.1 is undoubtedly incomplete, since many sites
remain to be discovered (Griffith, 1985) and we cannot assume furthermore that enclosed
sites are the only form of pre-medieval settlement type; nevertheless it should indicate the
main areas of pre-medieval settlement. The two distributions are broadly similar, no doubt
reflecting the process of gradual change that continuous land exploitation represents. Though
there may be changes both in detail and outline, the roots of the medieval pattern must belong
in their essentials to the Romano-British period. Fig 3.1 shows a comparatively even
distribution of enclosures, generally on Grade 3 land, but with notable gaps over the poorer
land of Bodmin Moor (A), the Greena Moor/Ogbeare Moor area (B) and the area of Hingston
Down (C), and more surprisingly on the richer ground of South Cornwall from the Tamar
(D) to Boconnoc (E).
Places with a name in tre are also sparse or absent in these areas, but the distribution does
suggest some early medieval colonisation of the fringes of the higher areas, penetrating up
the rivers Ottery and Kensey (A), the river Inney (B) and perhaps the river Tiddy to the St
Cleer area (C).
In contrast, tre is conspicuous by its absence from the far north-east (D): an area with
plenty of pre-medieval enclosures. This absence is partly explained by Fig 3.3, showing the
distribution of English tan, 'farm, manor', in Cornwall. Here, where over 90% of the place
names are English, and there is a particular concentration of tan, it is quite possible that
existing Cornish settlements, of the type elsewhere called tre, were simply re-named in
English.
Tans are also plentiful in south-east Cornwall, around Hingston Down (B) and between
the rivers Tamar and Lynher (C). Unlike the north-east, these are areas where evidence for
pre-medieval occupation is sparse — perhaps because the area was indeed thinly populated.
The English names may represent fresh colonisation of densely wooded estuaries and heath-
covered upland. Ine's grant of Linig (705 x 712) and the battle of Hengestes Dun (838) may
be associated with exploitation of the area by English settlers (Finberg, 1963, 17; Whitelock,
1961, 41).
However, most documented events of the English Conquest are not reflected in a concen-
tration of English place-names, and may not have involved large numbers of settlers. There
is no large body of English names around the estates of Lawhitton and Pawton, first granted
by King Egbert to Sherborne Abbey in 815 x 839: takeover must have been limited to the
administrative level. Only in north-east Cornwall do the English names present the kind of
problem faced elsewhere in the country. By how many people, and at what level of society
was the area colonised? What happened to the indigenous Celtic population: where were they
living when the English arrived and where did they go?
Finally, there is a thin spread of names in tan along the south side of Bodmin Moor and
particularly around Bodmin and Lostwithiel. The concentration south-west of Bodmin Moor
might be comparable to that in the north-east, an area of early English settlement in an area
already quite intensively occupied; this might be associated with English interest,
documented from the mid 9th century, in the monasterium called Dinuurrin, which has been

142
identified with Bodmin (Olson, 1980, 166-74). Alternatively the names in tim here may
represent intensified occupation by English speakers of another well wooded area, as seems
to be the case south-east of Bodmin Moor (Rose and Herring, in RCHME forthcoming).
There are many names in cos, 'wood' and kelli, 'copse', and Lostwithiel appears to mean
'the tail of the place abounding in trees' (Padel, 1985, 122, 138 —9).
The final map in this sequence, Fig 3.4, demonstrates a remarkable extension of English-
speaking settlers onto the higher, poorer ground of Hingston Down (A) and Greena/Ogbeare
Moors (B), as indicated by the distribution of the elements cote, 'cottages'; and wordig,
'enclosure'. Detailed examination of their distribution in North Petherwin parish (SX
281806) suggests that names in cote are earlier. As there are many examples in Domesday
Book of manors with these names it is clear that much of this internal colonisation had taken
place by the late 11th century. By contrast the colonisation of Bodmin Moor probably took
place from the 11th to early 14th centuries (Rose and Herring in RCHME, forthcoming).
Fig 3 gives only a generalised picture. Each parish deserves detailed study in its own right.
Two contrasting examples are given in Figs 4 and 5: Davidstow parish on the northern edge
of Bodmin Moor and Padstow and St Merryn on the north coast lowlands.
Both areas show the dispersed pattern of settlement which is typical of Cornwall, and in
both areas the pattern is dominated by the tre names, settlements very probably of early
medieval origin (Padel, 1985, 223-27). Settlements are spread very evenly through the
Padstow area but in Davidstow cling to the shelter of the Inney Valley, shunning the exposed
uplands. In both areas the tre settlements show a consistent distribution, set out along the
valley sides approximately half a mile apart, and often paired on opposite sides of the valleys.
The spacing is controlled to a certain extent by the local topography, but it is so regular that
it suggests a highly organised and carefully planned layout. Each tre seems almost to be
provided with a standard amount of arable land and with access to the valley bottom for
wood, fish and reeds, and to the interfluvial ridge-top for rough grazing. The settlement itself
is generally located on the valley slope, in the middle of the arable. The importance of rough
grazing land in Cornwall has been mentioned: here it can be seen that while it would be of
overwhelming significance in a moorland parish like Davidstow, even in Padstow each settle-
ment might have a strip of rough grazing on the more exposed ridge-top above the farm.
A system of similar regularity is implied for parts of Wales also, where the tref or villa
of 3 modii (approximately 120 acres) is a repeatedly occurring unit (Davies, 1978, 34, 1982,
42). Most farms in the Padstow area are between 100 and 200 acres.
Fig 4 also shows how the pre-Norman ecclesiastical sites in Padstow and St Merryn were
integral components in this standardised layout. Each was surrounded, like a tre, by an estate
of land. St Cadoc's (A) and St Merryn (B) have average sized units but Padstow (C) and St
Constantine (D) are at the centre of much larger estates. Padstow's importance is known.
This map may hint at the former significance of St Constantine, now entirely overwhelmed
by sand. In contrast, Davidstow Church (A) is squashed between two tre farms and seems
to intrude on the regular layout. Stow is an English place name element and there is no
evidence for an earlier name in lann, as at Padstow; this distribution may therefore suggest
a church site of relatively late foundation. Similarly, the pattern is intruded by the English-
named place, Tipperton (B) and by Lambrenny (C) with a topographical Cornish name. Other
examples of places with topographical names in the parish are Tresmarrow (C), Rose (D),
Penhale (E) and the deserted settlement of Lamlavery (F); and see Fig 7. All of these are
on higher, more marginal ground, where they surely represent post-tre colonisation. On the
other hand, it is clear that some places with topographical names in the Padstow area —
143
 Fig 4
Medieval settlement in the parishes of St Merryn (left) and Padstow (right).

Rosken (E) and Kerketh (F), for example — are units as fundamental to the system as the
tref Thus while some topographical names must be later, not all are.
A particular feature of the Davidstow area are the places with a name in *hendre, 'winter
homestead, home farm', thought to be the pair of *havos, `sheiling', as the lowland
component in a system of transhumance (Padel, 1985, 127, 129). The *hendre settlements
are on the periphery of the settled parts of the parish, suggesting that they may indeed be
linked to the grazing of Bodmin Moor, though their secondary positioning is more what might
be expected for the summer camps than the winter headquarters. There are no *hendres in
the more intensely settled and cultivated Padstow area. Survey on Bodmin Moor has
identified a number of single or grouped structures which may be herdsmen's huts or
transhumance huts of the medieval period and later. Two such huts on Davidstow Moor, built
of turf, were excavated in 1942 and may be 15th or 16th century (Fig 5; Andrew, 1942;
Christie, forthcoming).

144
 Fig 5
Medieval settlement in Davidstow parish.

Another contrast between the two areas is in the number of Domesday Manors; five in
Davidstow but only one (LanguethenocIPadstow) in Padstow and St Merryn. This is because
most of the land to the south of the Camel Estuary was part of the Bishop of Exeter's vast
manor of Pawton whose centre was in St Breock. Possibly the greater number of smaller
manors in Davidstow implies a freer social system in this moorland area of relatively late,
though still pre-Norman colonisation.
The Origins of the Early Medieval Settlement Pattern
A continuing problem is the apparent change in the character of settlement pattern and
form from the enclosed settlements or 'rounds' of the Romano-British period to the
unenclosed settlements of the medieval period. When and why does this change occur and
is it more apparent than real? The rounds and the medieval settlements occupy broadly the
same areas (above and Fig 3) and there is certainly some blurring of the distinctions between

145
the periods. First, although some rounds continue into the 5th to 7th centuries — and this
is consistent with the place-name evidence (Padel, 1985, 50-52) — none has been shown
to originate later than the 3rd century, suggesting that any changes in the pattern may date
from this time. Second, the rounds may be only one of a range of settlement types in which
unenclosed settlements were equally common, or even predominated (Rose and Johnson,
1983, 102-4). Thirdly, perhaps the most important attribute of the rounds as settlements is
as farming hamlets of varying size, rather than as defended sites; and lastly it is possible that
the apparent redundancy of rounds is misleading, most sites continuing in use to be obscured
by medieval and later developments.
However, the large number of deserted rounds — over 600 are known and many more
are likely to be discovered by air photography — suggests that the change is genuine, not
just in the redundancy of defences, which in itself implies political or social change, but in
the abandoning and shifting of settlements. The social, economic and environmental
background to these changes, which may have taken place over as long a period as the 3rd
to 7th centuries, has yet to be adequately explored. Analysis of the relationship beween the
medieval and pre-medieval settlements would be an obvious starting point.

Early Medieval Settlements

The evidence for the form of rural settlements in the 5th to 7th centuries comes almost
entirely from sites that continued in use from the Romano-British period, both rounds and
unenclosed sites (notably Trethurgy, Grambla and perhaps Carngoon Bank; Miles and Miles,
1973; Saunders, 1972; McAvoy et al, 1980, 48, 61). At Trethurgy the post-Roman structures
are identical to their predecessors, ie large elongated buildings with rounded ends (H.
Quinnell, pers.comm.).
At Tintagel where many or most of the structures are likely to be 5th to 7th centuries, the
buildings are sub-rectangular or rectangular (Thomas and Fowler, 1985): but this is not an
ordinary settlement and they may not be typical. In contrast the 6th to 8th century huts at
Gwithian (Fig 6a; Thomas, 1958, site GM/1, huts 2, 3 and 4) are tiny, and sub-circular, and
were perhaps workshops or only subsidiary structures to a larger, unlocated building
(Thomas, 1953-4, 66).
The later house here, perhaps 9th to 11th century, was sub-rectangular (Fig 6b; House 1,
GM/1, Thomas, 1958). The 12th century structures at Crane Godrevy were similar, but again
small (Thomas, 1969) and perhaps not representative of the main house at a typical rural
settlement. Fragments of larger rectangular buildings excavated at Hellesvean and Perran
Sands are probably of this later period (Guthrie, 1959-60; Penna, 1968).
Only at Mawgan Porth has a sufficient area been excavated for the form and context of
the buildings to be clear (Bruce-Mitford, 1956). The full extent was not uncovered but it
appears to have been a hamlet of the 10th and 11th centuries of at least two farms, each with
its rectangular buildings arranged around a courtyard. Of major importance is the identifica-
tion of one of the buildings as a long-house (Fig 6c). The typical Cornish medieval settlement
type, the hamlet of long-houses, can therefore be seen to have developed by this date but the
settlement form any earlier than this remains to be demonstrated.

The Medieval Long-House in Cornwall

Excavation has shown the long-house to be a standard house type in Cornwall and the South
West, part of a wider tradition throughout Britain. House plans and sometimes settlement
plans have been recovered from ten excavated sites and from over twenty extant sites on
Bodmin Moor.

146
 vi manger paving

s seat post-hole

a bed wooden partion

o drain "••• upright slab

hearth suggested wall-line

lOrn

open
hall

Fig 6
Medieval houses. a Gwithian: site GM/I, huts 2 and 3, 6th-8th century (Thomas, 1958). b Gwithian: site GM/1,
house 1, 9th— 11th century (Thomas, 1958). c Mawgan Porth: long-house, 10th or 11th century (Bruce-Mitford,
1956). A central row of posts supporting the roof-ridge explains the width of the house. d Tresmorn: stone-built,
house 1 (croft 2) (Beresford, 1971). e Garrow: long-house of simple form (Dudley and Minter, 1962-63). f
Treworld: long-house with inner room (phase 4, but with seat fittings of earlier phases). g Stele, St Neot: long-
house with inner room and additional room below the byre. The timber mangers were later replaced in stone (Plan
supplied by Sandy Gerrard). h Manor-house at Truthall, Sithney: extant 15th century hall-house. The service end
has a room over (Tonkin, 1965).

The form of the south-western long-houses has recently been discussed by Austin (1985)
and by Herring (1986, and in RCHME, forthcoming). Most of the houses are stone-built and
belong to the 13th, 14th and perhaps 12th centuries, with the usual arrangement of cross
passage separating, and giving access to, the living room or rooms above it and the byre or
shippon below. (Fig 6).
147
 Excavations have revealed much evidence for internal fittings: stone hearths and benches
in the living room, drains and managers in the byre. Treworld is a particularly good example
of this (Fig 6f; Dudley and Minter, 1966). Although there is variety in house size and the
number of rooms, the overriding impression is of uniformity of house type throughout
Cornwall.
The stone houses at Tresmorn are an exception, having no cross passage, and access to
the living room directly from the byre (Beresford, 1971). Here an earlier phase of cob is the
only excavated example of its use in medieval Cornwall (apart from a possible instance at
Launceston Castle; Saunders, 1977, 133). Cob was in general use for good quality late
medieval houses in Devon (Hulland, 1978, 1 —2; Beacham, 1980, 115), but doubt has been
expressed about its wider and earlier currency in humbler houses (Miles and Miles, 1975,
293 —94). However, the evidence from Tresmorn, together with Carew's description of the
former prevalence of earth-walled houses (1602) suggests that cob buildings could have been
very common, certainly in the late medieval period and perhaps from an early date.
More controversial is the evidence for turf-walled structures preceeding stone buildings
on some sites (Treworld, Tresmorn, Lanyon and Hound Tor in Devon). The evidence for
these, discussed most fully by Beresford (1979), consists primarily of lines of stake holes
thought to support a wattle and daub inner lining for the turf walls. The 'turf house'
interpretation has been questioned by Miles and Miles (1975, 292) and in more detail by
Austin (1985), particularly with reference to Hound Tor. At none of these sites do turf walls
actually survive. Austin suggests that the stake holes are predominantly contemporary with
the stone walled houses, as the bases for internal fittings around the wall, or defining pens
in the yards around the houses.
Evidence from the Cornish sites is inconclusive. At Treworld the stake holes relate so
closely to the line of the stone walls that there seems little doubt that they belong to con-
temporary fittings. At Tresmorn the stake holes, spatially apart from the cob and stone
houses, seem to define structures of similar form to them, and although no turf walling
survived its use cannot be ruled out. Lanyon is unpublished and, therefore, difficult to
comment upon. Thus, at present, the problem of the 'turf houses' must be regarded as
unresolved.
Turf walled buildings are known, however, as isolated moorland structures. A 'finner's
shelter' has been excavated at Colliford, St Neot (S. Gerrard, pers.comm.) and a 'turf hut'
at Davidstow Moor (Andrew, 1942; Christie, forthcoming). The latter had the appearance
of a low mound before excavation.
The long-house and hall-house tradition in Cornwall was probably dying out in the 16th
and 17th centuries, though the evidence is as yet slight. The excavated long-house at Garrow
was in use in the 16th century, if not later (compare the pottery, Dudley and Minter, 1962 —3,
Fig 91, to post-medieval wares illustrated by Allan, 1984); Carew (1602) refers to houses
with central hearths as old-fashioned, though presumably still common, and 17th century
inventories show that hall-houses continued in use (Chesher and Chesher, 1968, 44-45).
On Bodmin Moor there are several settlements of later medieval origin deserted in the
post-medieval period. At some the long-houses continued in use, but adapted by the insertion
of fireplaces and by the conversion of the byres to domestic use (Herring, 1986 and in
RCHME, forthcoming). This is important evidence for a process that may have been
occurring widely through the county but which is elsewhere difficult to trace.
In Devon many late medieval houses have continued in use to the present day, identified
as long-houses on Dartmoor and hall-houses in the lowlands (described in a succession of
articles in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association by N. Alcock, Jones, C. Hulland
and M. Laithwaite). But in Cornwall such survivals are very rare. This contrast seems

148
 Fig 7
Later medieval settlements. Above, Lamlavery, Davidstow, on Bodmin Moor (SX 156833): a deserted hamlet of
four or five long-houses and one or two smaller houses, with ancillary buildings and garden plots. The houses
open onto a shared farmyard and sit within an extensive field system (RCHME survey). Below, Goscott, Week St
Mary (SX 230962). The slight earthworks of the shrunken medieval settlement survive in pasture to the east of the
19th century farmhouse (CAU survey).

149
genuine and has yet to be adequately explained. Possible long-houses have been noted at
Trewitten and Treforda, Minster (Chesher and Chesher, 1968, 26), and a handful of hall-
houses are known (ibid, 27-37, Jope, 1961). The current county-wide resurvey of listed
buildings has added very few further examples (E. Berry, pers.comm.). There may be many
existing houses or outbuildings which originated as long-houses but which have lost any diag-
nostic features, as was suggested for outbuildings at Tresmorn (Beresford, 1971, 64-66).
This may partly account for the apparent rarity of late medieval buildings but it is probably
due mostly to the extensive rebuildings of firstly the late 16th and 17th centuries and then
the 19th century (Chesher and Chesher, 1968, 39-92).

The Excavated Later Medieval Settlements in their Context

Although the majority of medieval settlements in Cornwall are probably pre-Conquest in
origin, most of the excavated examples are probably 'secondary', in the sense that they result
from later medieval colonisation of marginal areas.
Four are on Bodmin Moor: Trewortha Marsh, Goosehill, Garrow and Stuffle (Baring-
Gould, 1891; 1892; Croft Andrew, 1942 and Christie, forthcoming; Dudley and Minter,
1962-3; Austin, Gerrard and Greeves, forthcoming). Each is above 244m (800 ft). The
Moor was probably colonised from approximately the 11th to early 14th centuries (Rose and
Herring, in RCHME, forthcoming).
On Bodmin Moor the deserted settlements are well preserved and so their layout can be
interpreted in detail. Some are single farms but most are hamlets of from two to six long-
houses, with ancillary buildings and garden plots (Fig 7). This may be typical of Cornwall
as a whole: Beresford's documentary analysis of early 14th century Duchy manors (1964;
Ravenhill, 1969, 105) suggests that hamlets of two to five messuages predominated, with
some hamlets being larger (7% had seven to nine messuages), and a few sites larger still (5%
had over ten messuages).
Vendown and Treworld, both in north-east Cornwall (Dudley, 1955-6, 147-8; Dudley
and Minter, 1966), are small hamlets at 244m and 213m above OD (800 ft and 700 ft). They
too are probably examples of medieval colonisation of moorland/marginal land. The sites
were identified from earthwork remains and belong to a handful of similar sites so far
identified in north-east Cornwall, mostly much less well preserved than the Bodmin Moor
sites.
Lanyon in West Penwith, a hamlet of two long-houses occupied from the 12th to 13th or
14th centuries (Thomas, 1968; Minter, 1965 and in Wilson and Hurst, 1965, 208-10), is
again likely to be a secondary settlement representing an intensification of land use at this
date. However, deserted medieval settlements are very rare in West Penwith, most of the
medieval farming pattern having been established in prehistory. This contrasts with the
history of medieval colonisation on Bodmin Moor.
Crane Godrevy in West Cornwall, though a lowland settlement (64m above OD, 210 ft)
was not established until the 11th century as it was probably a replacement for Gwithian Site
GM/1, overwhelmed by the sand (Thomas, 1964c, 41 —43; 1969). The original size and
character of the settlement are not clear, and although Thomas has stated that it was a small
manor by the 17th century, the documentary evidence for this status is not clear (0. Padel,
pers.comm.). The excavated remains are of a single farmstead.
Tresmorn (Beresford, 1971) is a larger settlement on relatively low ground (137m, 450
ft). From its context in the local pattern of settlement it is likely to be of pre-conquest origin,
though the first element of the place name is ros ('promontory, hill-spur, moor', Padel, 1985,
199) rather than tre. It is a shrunken settlement. Two post-medieval farmhouses survive at
either end of 0.8 ha (2 acres) of earthwork house-plots or tofts. Several other similar sites

150
are known in this area, eg at Goscott, Week St Mary (Fig 7). There may be many more in
north-east Cornwall in varying states of preservation, but there has been no systematic survey
to locate them.
Tresmorn is distinct from the other excavated sites in the large number of small tofts
(perhaps 15), their regular arrangement, and the small size and unusual form of the houses.
Small buildings, probably houses, are found in addition to the long-houses on some of the
settlements on Bodmin Moor (eg Fig 7), but as exceptions rather than the rule. Furthermore,
whereas on Bodmin Moor the garden plots adjoin the houses, here the houses sit within the
plots. Tresmorn could perhaps be seen as a village rather than a hamlet. The small size of
the excavated houses suggests a humble status for their occupants, perhaps reflecting social
distinctions of the type expressed in Domesday Book in terms of bordars and villeins. In this
context the organised layout may be an imposed one. Tresmorn is important in demonstrating
the potential variety to be found in settlement forms, but whether its attributes were limited
to the larger settlements is at present impossible to tell.
In summary, the excavated sites are predominantly in 'marginal' or 'secondary' locations
and most are in the east of the county, reflecting the distribution of the more shrunken and
deserted settlements. In the future, it is important that more emphasis should be placed on
examination of the typical lowland settlements, in particular on the identification and
excavation of sites with the place-name element tre, which are almost certainly of pre-
conquest origin. First, though, there is a need for systematic survey to locate and record the
deserted settlements. Field work would identify many shrunken and deserted sites, but much
of the search can be document-based. An estimate based on the Institute of Cornish Studies
place-name index would suggest that at least 750 places recorded in medieval documents are
now deserted. In many cases the desertion is post-medieval, and so the sites are relatively
easy to locate through cartographic evidence and through the persistence of a tenement name
as applied to a locality; settlements deserted in the medieval period can also be located in
this way. In the parish of Gwithian, Thomas has identified six such settlements (Thomas,
1967c, 51-53); this is probably a common pattern.

Medieval Fields
Just as important as the settlements are the fields that surrounded and supported them. In
addition to research noted earlier should be added Wood's discussion of the extant strip
system known as Forrabury Stitches (1963) and Hatcher's study of the particularly detailed
Duchy records which provides much useful information about agriculture, land use and the
changing demand for land in the 14th and 15th centuries (1970). He also shows how agricul-
tural productivity was stimulated by the need of large numbers of tinners, the many small
towns, and the re-victualling of ships in Cornish ports (Hatcher, 1970, 35-6).
It is now clear from both documentary and archaeological evidence that sub-divided arable
was as common in Cornwall as elsewhere. Its origins, organisation, local variations and
demise remain largely unexplored, though Fox's work, mostly on Devon, contains much of
relevance to Cornwall (1971, 1972, 1973). He concludes that the open fields in Cornwall
probably developed from the 11th to 13th centuries, and perhaps earlier, as increasing
population led to the division of existing holdings and the clearing of new land which was
then similarly divided amongst the colonisers (Fox, 1971). Relaxation of these population
pressures after the Black Death may have been a major factor in the subsequent enclosure
of the fields.
Carew, writing in 1602, described how the land 'lay all in common, or only divided by
stitchmeal . . . in times not past the remembrance of some yet living'. Documented medieval

151
and post-medieval examples of strip fields and open fields are given by Pounds (1947,
113-115) and Rowse (1941, 32-36) and late survivals of unenclosed strips are shown on
the Lanhydrock Atlas (1694; Pounds, 1945) and on the Tithe Maps (c. 1840, eg St Mawgan
in Pydar, Veryan, St Minver, St Eval, Gorran, Mullion and Gwithian; Flatres, 1957;
Chesher, 1974 for Mullion), generally as outfield (Fox, 1973). Often the form of the
adjoining enclosed fields is clearly related to that of the unenclosed strips and presumably
represents fossilisation of elements of the open fields (Fig 8). Strip-like field of this type are
found very extensively across the county (Flatres, 1957; Ravenhill, 1969, 107).
Whilst many hamlets and certainly the single farms may always have had enclosed fields,
at some point in the medieval period, particularly the 11th to early 14th centuries, perhaps
the majority of hamlets would have been surrounded by sub-divided arable.

Fig 8
Treskilling, Luxulyan. Strip fields on Treskilling downs, west of the hamlet, are defined by low stone banks 6m
to 20m apart, and contain traces of cultivation ridges (not shown). The surrounding field pattern, from the 1840
Tithe Map, appears to fossilise elements of a more extensive system of sub-divided arable. (CAU survey).

152
 Archaeological evidence for later medieval cultivation in Cornwall survives in areas of
moor or rough pasture where it is probably the result of outfield cultivation associated with
settlements still in use as farms today. Outfield cultivation was practised in many parts of
Britain with large areas of poor land, as in Cornwall (Baker and Butlin, 1973; and Fox, 1973,
for Devon and Cornwall). Strip fields have been identified in most of Cornwall's moorland
areas. The strips are normally defined by low stone banks running across the contour and
can range from 6m to over 30m wide and as much as 300m long, though 100m —
200m is more normal. Cultivation ridges, when visible, are typically 2m — 3m wide and
0.15m high. Strips are widely known in West Penwith (Russell, 1971; Cornwall
Archaeological Unit surveys; Johnson, 1980, Fig 10). Other examples can be seen on Tre-
gonning Hill, Breage (SW 601301, Johnson and Rose, 1982, Fig 12-10), Belowda Beacon,
Roche (SW 971623, CAU air photo), Rosenannon Downs, St Wenn (SW 955672), CAU air
photo), Treskilling Downs, Luxulyan (SX 035578, CAU survey; Fig 8), and on Kit Hill,
Stoke Climsland (SX 374708, CAU survey). The examples at Belowda, Rosennanon and
Treskilling are all in areas where the modern field pattern appears to fossilise elements of
sub-divided arable. This is also the case in the Tintagel area, where strip lynchets can be seen
at Willapark (SX 069893) and the tips of a few long narrow strips survive as lynchetted banks
on the cliff edge closer to Tintagel itself (SX 060892). Documentary evidence suggests that
outfields in Devon and Cornwall were primarily areas of grazing and were only very
occasionally cultivated, perhaps as a bonus crop when prices were favourable or demand high
(Fox, 1973).
Only on Bodmin Moor (and possibly beneath the dune systems of the north coast) do later
medieval field systems survive in their entirety. Some twenty deserted settlements have near-
complete survival of their fields (Rose and Herring, in RCHME, forthcoming). Commonly
a large area is enclosed around each settlement within which a smaller acreage is cultivated.
Brown Willy, St Breward (SX 153793), a hamlet of five or six long-houses, has 270 ha
associated with it of which only 53 ha were cultivated, the rest being enclosed rough pasture.
Survey and analysis by Herring (1986 and in RCHME, forthcoming) have shown that the
field system began with two fields divided into a total of seventeen strips. Each strip was 108
feet wide (33m) ie six Cornish rods of 18 feet. Subsequently the system expanded by creating
further blocks of strips. A feature of cultivation in stony areas is the large number of
clearance cairns heaped onto boulders; much of the ridging in the stoniest areas may have
been spade dug, but there was also plough cultivation, with the formation of headlands. Even
settlements of only two long-houses may have fields divided into strips (eg Brown Gelly, St
Neot, SX 199730; Rose and Herring, in RCHME, forthcoming); but although strip fields are
common they are not universal.
Bodmin Moor is particularly important because the pattern and form of settlement and
cultivation probably reflect quite closely the contemporary practice in lowland Cornwall up
to the 14th century, transplanted, with some necessary adaptations, to an upland granite
landscape.

THE CHURCH
Charles Thomas' contribution to the 25th Anniversary number of the Proceedings of the
West Cornwall Field Club shows that the concept of an 'Early Christian' archaeology
scarcely existed in 1957 (Thomas, 1957, 61). The 'monastic' site of Tintagel held sway:
inscribed stones and crosses are mentioned and little else: and the situation might have been
the same today, were it not for Thomas' work over the last 25 years. Publication in 1963
and 1964 of two of the best Cornish church guides — to Phillack and Gwithian — heralded

153
 Fig 9
Ecclesiastical enclosures. a Probus (Lanbrebois, 1086). b Lamorran (Lannmoren, 969). c Lewannick (Lanwennc,
c. 1120). d St Kew (Landocco, ?7th century). e Helland, Mabe. f St Winnow. g St Piran's Church,
Perranzabuloe (Lanpiran, 1086; CAU survey). h Crantock (Langoroch, 1086; CAU survey). i Jacobstow. j St
Buryan (Eglosberrie, 1086). k St Erme (Egloserm, 1344). 1 St Mabyn. m Merther (Eglosmerther, 1201). n
Merther Euny. o St Enoder (Heglosenuder, 1086). p Ludgvan. q Rame. All except g and h based on Ordnance
Survey and Tithe Award maps.

154
the new interest; they were followed in 1967 by the much fuller Christian Antiquities of
Cambome (Thomas, 1967a). Each of these demonstrates clearly the importance of con-
sidering all aspects of Christianity, from monuments to hagiography, in order to obtain the
fullest possible understanding of the period. A few years later, the Early Christian
Archaeology of North Britain contained a much more detailed statement of Thomas' views
of the development of Christian sites from the earliest unenclosed cemeteries to full parish
churches, and in particular described the significance of the curvilinear enclosure (Thomas,
1971).
Directly arising from this new interest in Christian sites and origins were excavations at
the well-chapel of Fenton-Ia (Thomas, 1967b, 74-85), Chapel Jane (Russell and Pool,
1968), Merther Euny (Thomas, 1968a) and Tan (Thomas, 1985, 183-85). Regretfully, of
these important excavations, only Chapel Jane has received full publication.
Since the early 1970s the pace has slowed down. Christianity in Roman Britain (Thomas,
1981a) and Exploration of a Drowned Landscape (Thomas, 1985) have much of relevance,
exploring particular aspects and places in more detail. Other work has tended to build on this
foundation of the 1960s. Pearce's Kingdom of Dumnonia (1978) contains many useful
summaries of (then) current views and sets Cornwall in its regional context. Olson's (1980)
thesis on documented early monasteries has shed much light on a few of the most important
Early Christian sites: this is soon to be published. Other contributions have included the re-
printing of parts of Doble's Cornish Saints Series (Doble, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1970),
notes by Adams in Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries on various chapels and saints and
two gazetteers to the holy wells of Cornwall (Lane-Davis, 1970; Meyrick, 1980). The
following account is based largely upon the author's (APJ's) research on curvilinear
churchyard enclosures.
Thus the last 25 years have been of radical importance for the 'Early Christian'
archaeology of Cornwall. In contrast, the later medieval period has been neglected, as will
be apparent in the following. It is to be hoped that this imbalance will be redressed over the
next 25 years.

The Introduction of Christianity

Thomas' maps (1981, Figs 14, 15, 16) demonstrate that there is no evidence for
Christianity in Romano-British Cornwall. Instead, the earliest dateable signs of Christianity —
the Chi-Rho at Phillack and the inscribed stones at Lewannick and Hayle (Macalister, 1945,
nos 466, 467, 479) — suggest that Christianity was introduced to Cornwall from two sources:
the Mediterranean and Gaul, and Wales. Of these, the latter was most influential, and it is
probable that the most important early Christian settlements in Cornwall originated in the late
5th or 6th centuries as daughter houses of Welsh monastic communities. The influence of
Irish settlers, from Wales, may also have been involved (Thomas, 1972, 264; 1973, 6; Olson,
1980, 146-47). This is evident from the distribution of inscribed stones, some with ogam,
dedications to Welsh saints and 'Children of Broccan' and the existence of Christianity at an
earlier date in Wales (Olson, 1980, 164-65; Davies, 1982, 169-71). St Kew, Crantock,
St Mawgan and Perranzabuloe are all sites along the north coast which may have been
founded in this way. A significant number of these foundations were made at pre-existing
(pagan) burial grounds — Crantock, (Olson, 1982, 179-82); Phillack, (Thomas, 1963a, 10);
Lelant, (Noall, 1964); Constantine and St Enodoc (Thomas, 1971, 53 —58). With Chris-
tianity came a whole package of ideas: not merely that of faith, but also the associated site-
types, place-names, monuments, and presumably also the method by which parts of large
estates could be alienated to provide support for the new religious communities.

155
 Early Christian Settlements and Enclosures
Evidence from Wales suggests that 'these foundations were settlements, rather than
isolated churches' (Davies 1982, 143). They therefore reflect the nature of contemporary
settlement. Like rounds, they were curvilinear or sub-rectangular enclosures, containing the
community's housing plus a cemetery and chapel. The enclosure also served to delimit the
sacred, consecrated area. This arrangement has only been proved in the South West by
excavation on St Helen's, Isles of Scilly (O'Neill, 1964), but has been demonstrated
elsewhere (eg Illauntannig Island, Kiltiernan and Ardpatrick in Ireland: Norman and St
Joseph, 1969, 94, 102-3, 107-8).
These enclosures were generally called lann, 'Christian enclosure, cemetery, monastery'
plus a topographical element or personal name (Padel, 1976-77 and 1985, 142 —45). The
personal name could be that of the secular founder, the first priest in charge, or the mother
house: not necessarily, as later tradition has it, a saint (Davies, 1978, 142 —46). Thus Lande-
wednack on the Lizard, dedicated to St Winwaloe, may be so-named because it was founded
by and belonged to monks from Landevennec in Brittany (Doble, 1940, 47) Similarly at Kew
near Wadebridge, originally Landocco, may have been a daughter house of Llandochau'r
Bontfaen or Llandochau Fach in Glamorganshire (Doble, 1936, 14). The name would then
be a proprietorial one.
The number of place-names in lann in Cornwall, both parochial and non-parochial,
suggests a rapid proliferation of sites. Where the form of the enclosure survives, in parish
churchyard boundaries, a considerable variety in both shape and size is apparent. They are
round, oval, sub-triangular, sub-rectangular, and range in size from 0.2 to 2.0 acres (Fig 9
a —h). This range probably reflects the size of the original community and its status: the
relationship between lanns of different size can be seen by comparing the enclosure at
Probus, whose community survived to be recorded in Domesday Book, with that at
Lamorran, its chapel (Fig 9a and b).
The distribution of lanns (Padel, 1976-77, 16; Preston-Jones, 1984, 173) shows that their
greatest multiplication was in the fertile, heavily settled areas of south Cornwall, particularly
around the estuaries. Here, dedications suggest that some of the impetus came from Brittany
(Landewednack, Cury, Mullion), from further east (Probus, Kea), only partly from Wales
(Mawgan in Meneage, St Gluvias), but was mostly indigenous (eg St Anthony in Meneage
and Roseland: Olson, 1975). In parts of Cornwall there must have been a very full provision
of lams, though many of those which never developed full parochial status, and survive
today as place-names only, may have been no more than small local cemeteries served by
a single priest. At Helland in Mabe is the only non-parochial lann to have survived: its
enclosure is smaller than the smallest parochial lann (Fig 9e).
In contrast with rounds and tre settlements, lanns are frequently located in sheltered valley
bottoms or valley heads, on estuaries or close to the coast. In this, they may be reflecting
the need for contact with parent houses overseas or along the coast. Places like St Mawes
(Lavousa), St Just in Roseland (Lansioch), Fowey (Langorthou), Mylor (Lawithick) and
Padstow (Lanwethenoc) are notable harbours even now. Hurley suggests that in Ireland, the
same may be due to intentional choice of the most isolated spot available in a well-settled
landscape, or to colonisation of the only space available for settlement (1982, 307, 310). Alter-
natively, as at Lanivet (Padel, 1985, 172), Crantock and numerous sites with holy wells, they
may be maintaining a pre-Christian focus. A combination of factors is perhaps most likely.
Many Cornish churchyards with a curvilinear enclosure and similar location but no lann
name have probably lost an original name in lann. St Winnow, St Anthony in Roseland,
Poundstock and Jacobstow are examples (Fig 9f and i).

156
Inscribed Stones
The early Christian inscriptions have received much attention in the past (Langdon, 1906;
Hencken, 1932, Chapter seven; Macalister, 1945 and 1949) and are currently the subject of
a new review (Okasha, forthcoming), but they are perhaps most exciting when considered
for their context and the information they convey. According to Jackson, the inscriptions can
be quite closely dated (1953, 160): if so, they provide a useful terminus ante quem for the
foundation of any church site at which they occur. Lewannick (Fig 9c), for example, would
have been in existence by the late 5th or early 6th century, on the basis of dates given to the
inscriptions by Jackson (1953, 141). Archaeological implications may exist in the formulae
employed: the word memoria on one of the Lewannick stones (Macalister, 1945, no. 466)
may imply the existence of a special grave (Thomas, 1978, 105-6). There are indications,
in the size and parochial status of the sites at which they occur, that inscribed stones tended
to be erected at the more important ecclesiastical centres like St KewILandocco, whose
religious community survived into post-Conquest times (Fig 9d). At St Mawgan in Meneage,
an inscribed stone is located at a short distance from the church, on a curving boundary which
encircles the entire churchtown. If in its original position, the stone may be marking an early
outer ecclesiastical boundary of the sort described in both Welsh and Irish medieval literature
(Hughes, 1966, 148-49; Wiliam, 1960, 23; Emanuel, 1967, 217; Thorpe, 1978, 254) and
possibly identified on the ground in Wales (Butler, 1979). Outer boundaries defined the
varying degrees of sanctity about a church and the limits to which ecclesiastical protection
extended (Pryce, 1984, especially p 5). Hypothetical survival of such an arrangement at St
Buryan, St Keverne and Padstow may explain the privileged, extended sanctuaries possessed
by these churches in the later medieval period (Olson, 1980, 207, 266).
By no means all inscribed stones were set up in lanns. Wendy Davies (1982, 185 —87)
has suggested that in the early days of Christianity, burial in a lann was a privilege reserved
for clerics (and important lay-persons?) only, while burial in wild, isolated places, or in the
homestead was preferred by most laymen. Approximately 50% of Cornish inscribed stones
are not associated with a church site, but are found by trackways or fords where they would
be both isolated, yet in spots frequented by travellers. A significant number are on, or close
to, parish boundaries. The stones at Rialton and Lancarffe (Macalister, 1945, nos. 476 and
457) are at places recorded as manors in Domesday Book. Tentatively, these could be
considered to represent burials in the homestead: if so, they provide interesting evidence for
the existence of those settlements at the date when the memorial was raised. Finally, Melville
Richards (1960, 145) has demonstrated that inscribed stones were the memorials of powerful
people. Thus these stones may record the names of some leading figures of 5th, 6th and 7th
century Cornish society.

Unenclosed Cemeteries, Cemeteries and Chapels

The combined distribution of lanns and inscribed stones is uneven and presents many
lacunae, particularly over inland parts of Cornwall. This leaves many areas with their
religious needs apparently uncatered for, but a variety of other sites exist which may have
filled the gaps.
Around St Endellion and Tintagel churches are extensive, unenclosed cemeteries of stone-
lined graves or long-cists (Trudgian, 1978, 135 and forthcoming; Canner, 1982, 106). They
are undated, but by analogy with similar cemeteries elsewhere in the British Isles, may be
early Christian burial grounds for lay populations (Thomas, 1978, 50; Davies, 1982,
188-89). These need not have been founded as religious settlements, but simply as
cemeteries, which acquired a church later, because of their funerary tradition. Away from
areas with a tradition of burial in long-cists, similar extensive lay cemeteries may have

157
existed but would not have survived, because of the speed with which organic remains decay
in the acid soils of Cornwall.
All the Cornish long-cist cemeteries known have recently been listed (Preston-Jones,
1984, 175-77). They include a wide range of site-type: many are associated with a chapel,
some with a settlement (eg Mawgan Porth), some are isolated finds. In Cornwall there are
also numerous traditional sites of burial grounds and many records of 'free chapels' — ie
chapels with an unlicensed cemetery, probably of pre-Norman origin (Adams, 1957,
49-50). The origin and function of most of these is obscure, but together with the non-
parochial lanns, they may suggest a very adequate provision of Christian sites in some areas
(cf Thomas, 1978b, especially 40-42). Fig 4, of the Padstow area, shows how the pre-
Norman chapels and cemeteries here seem regularly distributed so that each could have
served a small group of settlements. This pattern would compare with that described by
Marstrander for the Isle of Man where each treen, an administrative unit consisting of four
quarterland farms, had one keill or chapel site (Marstrander, 1937; and Megaw, 1978,
296-98 for a more recent view).

Pre-Norman Churches
Gaps in the distribution of lann may also have been filled by sites with a name in eglos
'church' (listed and discussed by Padel, 1976-77 and 1985, 91). In contrast with lanns,
these are generally located further inland, and like secular settlements, on well-drained valley
sides or spurs. They are almost never found on valley bottoms. Those on valley sides
generally have regular, rectangular yards (Fig 9c) while those in prominent, upland locations
or on spurs have curvilinear enclosures (Fig 9k, j). Excavations at St Buryan (Eglosberrie,
1086) and Merther Euny (Fig 9n) suggest that many of the latter may be re-used rounds
(Thomas, 1981a; Preston-Jones, forthcoming). As with lanns, there are many comparable
sites without the diagnostic place-name element but where similar characteristics imply a site
of similar origin (eg — Fig 91).
Dating this group is difficult. Were they founded at the same time as lanns, or do they
represent a later phase: an extension of Christian sites to meet the needs of secular popula-
tions? The few churches with a name in eglos plus topographical element (eg Egloshayle,
'the church on the estuary') share the same characteristics as lanns and are demonstrably
early. Some eglos church sites suspected of being re-used rounds may have originated as
burials in (former) homesteads and may be of relatively early origin. But on the other hand
excavation showed that the round at Merther Euny was not re-occupied until about the 10th
century (Thomas, 1968a), and there is no reason why most other, similar, sites should not
be similarly late foundations. The rectangular yards may have been so shaped because they
reflect the shape of the building they were designed to enclose. They were, in effect, true
churchyards, and may therefore represent a development whereby the church had superseded
the enclosure as the most important aspect of a Christian site. Use of the term eglos, 'church',
rather than lann, 'enclosure', may also suggest this. Welsh documentary evidence seems to
show the same tendency (Davies, 1978, 123).
The initiative for foundation may have come from established religious houses — the
manor of Ecglosenuder (Fig 9c) was owned by St Petroc in 1086 — or from laymen. Some,
like Ludgvan (Fig 9p), are clearly manorial churches or chapels. Moreover their rectangular
yards compare very closely with those of churches like Callington, Sheviock, Rame and
Boyton in East Cornwall whose rectangular yards reflect foundations of chapels at important
English manors, perhaps from the 8th or 9th centuries (Fig 9q).
A number of sites in East Cornwall have names containing the Old English place-name

158
element stow. This has recently been discussed by Gelling (1982). They stand apart from the
English foundations mentioned above as their characteristics suggest that some could be of
Celtic Christian origin (Fig 9i). An alternative name in lann is known for Padstow and
Martistow (St Martin by Looe: O.J. Padel, pers.comm.). Padstow, St Neot (Neotestou 1086)
and Morwenstow may represent an early and specialised use of stow, reflecting possession
of the patron saint's shrine (Gelling, 1982, 189-90). At Jacobstow, Michaelstow, David-
stow and Warbstow the element may simply mean 'church' and in this may compare to the
many instances in the Welsh borders where stow was used to translate original names in lann
(Gelling, 1982, 189-90).
The suggested meaning of the Cornish element merther as 'a place possessing the relics
of a saint or martyr' (Thomas, 1967, 47; 1971, 89), or more simply `saint's grave' (Padel,
1985, 164), should imply sites comparable to those with the earlier meaning of stow.
However, only one (Merthersithny = Sithney) had a shrine, while neither Merther Euny in
Redruth or Wendron claimed Euny's body, which was actually said to be at Lelant (Padel,
1985, 164). The element has a western distribution, suggesting a relatively late use, and the
excavation at Merther Euny, Wendron, indicated a 10th century foundation re-using a round
for its chapel-yard (Thomas, 1968a). All the *merthers have characteristics which would be
consistent, with a similar date and origin (except possibly for Redruth: compare Tangye, 1985)
and their modern parochial status suggests foundations of chapels, not churches (Fig 9m). The
meaning 'chapel dedicated to a saint/martyr' is therefore perhaps to be preferred.
At the same time, it is probable that other sites with sacred connotations, such as springs,
were being elaborated with chapels, well-houses and enclosures. Earthwork remains of the
well, chapel and enclosure at Chapel Porth, St Agnes, have been surveyed by Warner (1965).
At the similar site of Fenton-Ia near Camborne, none of the buildings was dated any earlier
than the 10th century (Thomas, 1967a; 1967b, 81-82). Most well-houses surviving today
are later medieval or post-medieval structures: only two, St Constantine's and St Levan's
wells, may belong to this early period.

Crosses
Ellis, Henderson, Baird and White have made the greatest contributions to the study of
crosses over the last 30 years, in locating, rediscovering, photographing and describing
many hundreds of crosses and fragments, including many not known to Langdon (1896).
Charles Thomas has recently stressed the need to look more closely at their contexts
(Thomas, 1978, 75).
The evidence suggests that cross-carving did not begin in Cornwall until the end of the
early medieval period. The finest ornamented crosses are probably the earliest and of late
9th century date (St Neot and the Doniert Stone; Langdon, 1896, 405, 377). Their location,
in the east of the county, and their similarity to the Copplestone cross in Devon (Langdon,
1896, 351, 407; Hoskins, 1960, 27-28; Hamlin, 1970, 246) suggests English influence in
their introduction, although they also have stylistic affinities with south Welsh crosses (cf
Nash-Williams, 1950, nos. 159, 222, 303, 360, 365). A context for the slightly later group
of West Penwith `Runhor crosses may have been Athelstan's charter to the community at
St Buryan (Thomas, 1978, 77-79).
Both ecclesiastical and lay patronage is evident in the crosses. Those at St Buryan and St
Neot are associated with Domesday religious houses, but the Doniert stone and the Penzance
market cross may commemorate Cornish kings (Langdon, 1896, 378; Pearce, 1978, 168).
The latter must have been erected at, or very close to, the Domesday manor of Alverton,
and the 10th century Lanherne cross (Langdon, 1896, 357) was originally at Roseworthy in
Gwinear, a royal manor in 1086.

159
 It rapidly became fashionable to erect a cross at parish church sites and the construction
of a new Norman church may often have been the occasion for the provision of a churchyard
cross (Thomas, 1978, 76). At some unrecorded point, small crosses marking the way to the
church began to be set up. These are for the most part virtually undateable because of their
absolute simplicity: but a few have features which suggest a post-Conquest date (for example,
Langdon, 1896, 135, 18-19, 214). Even as late as the 15th century the will of Sir Reginald
de Mertherderwa made provision for the erection of wayside crosses in the parish of
Camborne (Langdon, 1896, 7; Thomas, 1967, 91). At this time, a few churchyards acquired
additional adornment in the form of a lantern cross. These monuments, often skilfully carved,
depict a number of biblical scenes on their head. Unlike the wayside and churchyard crosses,
they are a sadly neglected field of study.

Sununary: Development of the Parochial System

The earliest Christian foundations, or lanns, were settlements of people dedicated to a
religious life. Like secular settlements, lanns were probably surrounded by an estate whose
produce supported the community. With time, some of the more powerful communities like
St Petroc's acquired very extensive lands. Foundations of churches were also made. The
difference between a lann and an eglos in the early period is unknown. Analogy with Wales
suggests that communal life was normal at both, but 'there is some suggestion . . . in the
later period that the church was there to serve the needs of a secular community at that time'
(Davies, 1978, 123). In addition, a myriad of lesser sites developed from a variety of origins
throughout the early medieval period, so that by the 10th or 1 1 th century every small group
of hamlets may have had its own burial ground.
But by 1086, most Celtic religious communities had disappeared from Cornwall, presum-
ably as their estates were appropriated by the land-hungry English and Normans. Domesday
Book actually bears witness to the demise of one community. Sanctus Goranus, mentioned
as a land-owner in the Inquisitio Geldi of 1084, failed to be recorded in Domesday Book in
1086, and was never heard of again (Taylor, 1924, 61). Gradually, therefore, the communi-
ties would have been replaced by a parish priest supported by payments of tithe, burial fees
and a small area of glebe. Such a process would inevitably have been linked with the firmer
definition of parochial boundaries and the demise of small local cemeteries. There is some
evidence to suggest that this may already have taken place, in a Cornish context, in some
areas (Olson and Padel, 1986). The process was completed in the Norman period, but it is
clear that the roots of the later medieval pattern of parishes and churches lie firmly in the
pre-Norman period.

Later Medieval Religious Houses

A handful of Cornish religious houses did survive the Norman Conquest, to be recorded
in Domesday Book (Thorn, 1979, 4). A significant proportion have names in lann, indicating
their early, post-Roman origin, while the generally large sizes of their modern churchyards
indicate that those which survived until 1086 may have been some of the most important from
the beginning (Fig 9a, d, g, h). Of these, one is the newly identified enclosure at Perran-
zabuloe (Lanpiran, 1086), barely discernible beneath the blown sand (Fig 9g). Another is
Crantock (Langorroch, 1086), where the many earthworks within the Old Graveyard hint at
the archaeological potential of the site (Fig 9h): a potential whose documentary aspects have
been discussed elsewhere (Olson, 1982).
Of the communities which survived some, like Crantock, Perranzabuloe and St Buryan,
continued to exist as collegiate churches. The communities at Launceston, Bodmin and St
Germans were re-founded as houses of Augustinian canons and entirely new communities

160
were established at Tywardreath, Penryn and St Michael Penkevil. The origin of the
collegiate churches at St Endellion and St Teath is not known. Friaries were founded in
Bodmin and Truro in the 13th century. At St Anthony in Roseland, Minster, St Carroc and
Lammana (Todd, 1983; Picken, 1985), sites of probable pre-Norman communities not
recorded in Domesday Book, small cells of alien priories were established and there were
further alien cells at St Michael's Mount and Tregony (Taylor, 1916, 104-21). From the
14th century it became common for wealthy laymen who would previously have endowed
a monastic community to found chantries. The remains of a 15th century chapel and house
at St Benet's, Lanivet, though poorly documented, are most likely to be of a chantry chapel
with attached almshouse.
The documentation and history of these establishments has been dealt with by Oliver
(1856), Taylor (1916) and Henderson (1925), while those with pre-Norman origins have been
the subject of a thesis of Olson (1980). But the archaeological aspects of the group as a whole
are largely unconsidered. Though few standing structures survive, every one of the places
mentioned must have had, to a greater or lesser extent, the conventual and farm buildings
typical of every later medieval religious house. Thus the archaeological potential of each
(including Launceston Priory which was excavated in advance of various industrial develop-
ments in the 19th century — Peter, 1894) must be considerable: survey at Penryn and
excavation at Bodmin Priory (Fig 10) have recently demonstrated this point (Wingfield,
1979; O'Hara, 1985). All the sites of later medieval religious houses in Cornwall are in need
of careful survey, to identify any remains and to take measures to protect them from ignorant
destruction like that which occurred at Bodmin.

Fig 10
Excavation at Bodmin Priory, 1985.

161
Chapels
Also in need of identification, survey and protection are the remains of chapels, of which
there may have been as many as seven hundred in later medieval Cornwall (Adams, 1957,
48). Canon Adams has demonstrated a bewildering variety of chapels, of which only a few
have above-ground remains Those at Cotehele, Trecarrell, Tintagel, Madron Well and
Shillingham are examples. The majority are known only from documentary references, their
sites often entirely lost. Some, like Fenton-Ia and Chapel Jane, were of pre-Norman origin
(Thomas, 1967; 81-82, Russell and Pool, 1968) but the majority were private chapels or
oratories at the mansions of the gentry. All went out of use at the Reformation. The manorial
chapel at Penhallam in Jacobstow was recently excavated by Beresford, as part of his
investigation of the moated manor house (Beresford, 1974, 97, 106-7, 114-16). It is signi-
ficant and typical that prior to excavation, nothing whatever was known of the chapel, beyond
a single documentary reference. Similarly little is known of another important medieval
institution: the lazar house or leper's hospital. Cornish lazar houses have recently been listed,
and their documentation discussed, by Somerscales (1965), but with the one exception of
Sheepstall they have received no archaeological attention (Somerscales, 1964).

Churches
The most abundant remains of medieval ecclesiastical architecture are to be found in the
parish churches of Cornwall, though many were almost entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.
These, more than anything else, exemplify the monumental industry of the Norman period.
Not only were changes taking place in religious houses, and castles being built: also, new
churches were gradually constructed all over the county. Almost 50% of Cornish churches
retain traces of 12th and 13th century architecture, despite subsequent phases of re-building.
In contrast, the fact that scarcely any remains are known of pre-Norman churches may
indicate how humble were the structures they replaced. St Gothian's, preserved in
exceptional circumstances beneath blown sand at Gwithian, may be typical (Thomas, 1964b,
6-8): it is smaller even than the tiny Norman chapel of St Enodoc (Sedding, 1909, plate
XLII). The 14th century is less well represented architecturally, but hardly any church was
not rebuilt to some extent in the 15th or early 16th centuries. The wealth of perpendicular
work which is so characteristic of Cornish churches is not typical of the country as a whole.
It must be linked to the fact that the tin industry, though not actually flourishing at that time,
did at least provide economic buoyancy for Cornwall in a period which elsewhere was one
of depression (Hatcher, 1970, 171-72). This is an aspect which would repay more detailed
study. So too would the architecture itself: it should be possible, for example, to identify the
products of different quarries, workshops and craftsmen from a detailed examination of the
abundant 15th century granite masonry of Cornwall.
In summary, it may be said that while significant advances have been made over the last
25 years in the study of the pre-Norman church, very little has been achieved for the post-
Conquest period. Here, much of the basic ground-work remains to be done.

TOWNS AND MARKETS

Elsewhere in Britain urban excavation in advance of redevelopment has been one of the
prominent features of Rescue Archaeology in the last 25 years, but virtually no such work
has been done in Cornwall. This is due partly to the absence of Roman towns and of major
pre-Conquest and later medieval towns, but may also reflect an emphasis on the recording
162
of extensive and vulnerable rural remains as the most urgent demand on limited resources.
Moreover, watching briefs by the CAU at Tregony, Truro and Bodmin have not been
productive — in most locations there has been very little build-up of archaeological deposits,
though the situation on riverside sites may be different. The character of the towns and their
archaeological potential have been usefully summarised by Sheppard (1980); Penryn has
received individual and more detailed study of similar type (Wingfield, 1979). Witherick
(1967) and Beresford (1971) have extended Henderson's discussion of urban origins in
Cornwall (Henderson, 1935, 19-25). Survey by local groups at Penryn and Fowey has
included the recording of a few late medieval buildings (E. Berry and V. Chesher
pers.comm.); at a grander level, the 'Duchy Palace' at Lostwithiel has been surveyed by the
RCHME and discussed by Pounds (1979).
Although, like the rest of Britain, Cornwall was overwhelmingly rural in character, by the
14th century it was quite as well served by a network of towns and rural markets as most
other areas (Fig 11). As elsewhere (Platt, 1976, 15-16), the towns were numerous but small
and though retaining many rural characteristics — for example the open fields that
surrounded them — these centres could be recognised as towns or boroughs by their relatively
large concentrations of population, by the ordered arrangement of the houses along one or
more streets (contrasting with the haphazard arrangement of a typical hamlet), by the craft
specialisations of the occupants, and by the grant of certain privileges, the most important
being the right to hold markets and fairs. Charters confirming borough status, and the
associated privileges that protected the townsfolk from feudal restrictions, became common
from the end of the 12th century.
Most of the towns have connections with the sea, as fishing ports, trading ports or both.
Early documentation is poor but in the 14th to 15th centuries, the vigour of Cornish trade
and the cosmopolitan character of some of the ports is apparent (Elliot-Binns, 1955, 184-87,
197; Rowse, 1941, 66-74; Hatcher, 1970, 32-35). In addition to coastal trade, Cornwall
exported tin, fish, slate and some cloth, and imported salt, linen and canvas from Brittany,
white fish, mantles and wood from Ireland, wine from France, wine and fruit from Spain.
Smuggling and piracy were the traditional supplements to trade. Of the inland towns, some
were important centres from an early date (Bodmin, Liskeard, Launceston), others developed
later along major roads, notably Mitchell, and Camelford, Wadebridge and Grampound. The
last three were at crossing points on rivers as their names suggest. Some towns also had
important administrative functions — the Assize Hall and County Jail were at Launceston;
Helston, Truro, Liskeard and Lostwithiel were stannary coinage towns, and also at
Lostwithiel was the Duchy's administrative centre, the 'Duchy Palace'.

Urban Origins
Early Trade and Trade Centres
The existence, character and location of trading centres early in the Dark Ages are as
obscure as for their assumed Romano-British predecessors. Gwithian, with its estuarine
location, range of imported wares and evidence for industrial activity (see below) may
perhaps be one such site. Tintagel may be another. If it can be regarded as a 'royal' seat
where mediterranean wines were exchanged for local goods, most probably tin (Thomas,
1982, 26), then one of its roles may have been as a royally controlled emporium. Contact
between Wales, Cornwall and Brittany is also apparent at an early date, and the frequent
waterside location of early churchyard sites, the lanns, suggests that they are looking out to
the sea rather than in to the land. Were these contacts largely cultural or also based on trade?

163
Markets in the 10th and 11th Centuries
Five markets are recorded at the time of the Norman conquest, at Launceston, Liskeard,
Bodmin, St Germans and Marazion . Bodmin, Helston and St Stephen by Launceston can also
be regarded by implication as boroughs: Bodmin had 68 houses; Helston had 40 'ale-men';
St Stephen had a mint from 976 to 1160 (King and Sheppard, 1973a, 64). A pattern of hedges
and sunken lanes at St Stephen outlines a possible enclosure surrounding the town, perhaps
a large monastic enclosure (see above) or a defensible enclosure comparable to the Wessex
burhs (Sheppard, 1980, 79; L. Keen, pers.comm.).
It is striking that all the markets except Liskeard were at important ecclesiastical centres.
It is likely that similar sites, such as Crantock, Probus, St Piran's, Padstow and St Buryan
also acted as markets from a very early date; the markets recorded at some of them in the
later medieval period could indeed be a continuation of a function that had existed unofficially
and unrecorded at the time of Domesday Book and later, though perhaps diminished by the
pre-Conquest suppression of Celtic monasteries. That the major religious communities may
have been the main foci for early medieval nucleated settlement is further suggested by
settlement patterns, as described above. In Ireland, the administrative function of some of
the major monastic sites, and the need to support a non-agricultural community, both with
food and in craft specialisations, were the context for the growth of proto-urban centres
which could be very extensive (de Paor, 1958, 54). Developments in Cornwall may have
been comparable. One may further speculate that some of the coastal sites, such as Crantock
and Phillack, were established at existing trading centres, because they were already
important centres of population.
There may, then, have been a broad provision for markets at an early date which is not
apparent in the documentary record indicated in Fig 11. Another such example might be
suggested by the place-name Marazanvose (marghas an fos, 'the market at the dyke', Padel,
1985, 157).
After 1066 the new Norman lords secured the valuable urban revenues. Count Robert
undermined the church-owned markets of St Stephen and St Germans by establishing his own
markets in the new castles at Dunheved and Trematon. He also held Liskeard.

The 12th Century and Later

Fig 11 shows the documented increase in towns and markets up to the 14th century. The
seven or eight further towns that had developed by the end of the 12th century were all coastal
or inland ports. Clearly sea trade was a major factor in their siting. In the 13th and 14th
centuries the pattern filled out considerably, hand in hand with economic growth and popula-
tion expansion. The new towns were mostly on spine roads or were fishing ports. Only on
the Lizard and in the heart of Bodmin Moor were country folk more than six or seven miles
from a market. The general accessibility of a wide range of craft specialisations may have
allowed a rise in the standard of living in the countryside. Of particular importance
archaeologically is Sheepstall (Somerscales, 1964) which as a deserted site provides an
opportunity unique in Cornwall to investigate the character of a rural market centre.
Henderson viewed the towns as 'essentially plants of exotic growth, fostered and cherished
by great landowners as profitable sources of revenue' (1935, 19-24). Linked to this is the
relationship between castles and towns; almost all the castles were in or near places with
markets and in many cases were a major element of the urban topography. In contrast,
Witherick (1967) prefers to see them as more spontaneous developments and suggests pre-
conquest urban origins for towns like Truro and Lostwithiel; but there is no strong evidence
for this. Beresford (1971) suggests that about half the towns evolved from small early
settlements and that the rest were planted.

164
 • TOWN

o MARKET ONLY

c 1066

c 1350

10km

10miles

Fig 11
The documented increase in towns and markets in later medieval Cornwall.

165
Urban Topography and Components
Street plans. There has been little analysis of urban topography in Cornwall, though here
as elsewhere much of the medieval layout can still be traced in the modem pattern of streets
and long, narrow burgage plots. Grampound, Penryn and Bodmin show the usual layout —
a single main street with two or three side roads. That at Bodmin is almost a kilometre long.
A broad market street, as at Tregony, is a common feature. Liskeard, Truro, Launceston and
Lostwithiel have more complex plans, perhaps the result of several phases of development,
but the grid pattern at Lostwithiel could suggest a planned town (Sheppard, 1980, 40).
Defences. Reflecting its importance, only Launceston had a town wall, though little now
survives (King and Sheppard, 1973b). Because of the threat of attack from the sea, some of
the ports had late medieval fortifications: a blockhouse and bastioned ramparts ('the
bulwarks') at St Ives; blockhouses, a sea-facing wall, and the fortified Place House at Fowey;
possible defences at East Looe, and the fortified wall of Glasney College facing the Creek at
Penryn (Sheppard, 1980, 8, 35-6, 44, 17). The Fowey and Fal were later defended by the
Henrician artillery forts of St Catherine's Point, Pendennis and St Mawes, but these were
not elements in the layout of towns.
The Church. St Germans and St Stephens by Launceston, important early monasteries,
formed the focus for the growth of towns, and Penryn was linked to the establishment of
Glasney College; by contrast the later friaries at Bodmin and Truro, and perhaps the small
Augustinian priory at Tregony, were established because of the importance of the towns.
Most of the towns, being relatively late foundations, were served by chapels rather than
parish churches; for example, the parish church at Lostwithiel was initially a chapelry of
Lanlivery (Henderson, 1935, 44). The strength of religion in town life is most strikingly
demonstrated at Bodmin, where in the 16th century in addition to the priory, friary, parish
church, five chapels, two hospitals and two lazar houses, a large proportion of the 40 guilds
were religious or charitable associations (Rowse, 1941, 97).
Guildhalls and Coinagehalls. Most towns had guildhalls, though none survive, and the
stannary towns, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Truro and Helston, had coinagehalls for the twice
yearly assaying of tin (Lewis, 1908). At Lostwithiel the Coinagehall formed part of an
impressive administrative complex, the so-called Duchy Palace (Pounds, 1979). The shell of
the great hall survives and shows it to have been comparable in scale to any major hall in
Britain. Built at the end of the 13th century as the Duchy's administrative centre in Cornwall,
the 'Palace' served three main functions; the centre from which the estates were managed,
county court (a prison was also here), and Coinagehall.
Town Buildings. Surviving Cornish medieval town houses are rare and little studied.
Cornwall may be similar to Devon, where most of the early buildings are late 16th or 17th
century with very few as early as the 15th century (Laithwaite, 1978, 30). The most obvious
early buildings are those with stone side-walls and jettied, timber-framed gable, end-on to
the narrow street frontage, as at Fowey, Port Isaac, Penryn and Launceston. Though mostly
17th century, such buildings probably continue a medieval tradition. The 'Old Post Office'
at Tintagel is different, a 15th or early 16th century hall-house which is most probably a
town-house of rural type.
With so many varied and interesting towns in Cornwall it is all the more remarkable that
they have received so little archaeological attention. Until the towns are examined as an
integral element of the medieval landscape neither town nor country will be properly
understood. To this end the study of smaller towns such as Mitchell or Camelford may be
as necessary as excavation in 'important' towns like Lostwithiel or Truro.
166
 INDUSTRY
Cornwall was one of England's most industrialised counties in the later medieval period.
Tinning and fishing were the principal industries, with wool cloth manufacture, quarrying
and ship-building gradually increasing in importance (Hatcher, 1970, 29-35; Elliott-Binns,
1955, 173). The quarrying and export of roofing slates from Devon and Cornwall was well
established by the end of the 12th century (Jope and Dunning, 1954).
In addition to these major industries there is much documentary evidence for activities
found generally in medieval Britain. Mills would have been a very common feature of the
Cornish landscape, attested by documentary evidence and by place-names in melin (Hatcher,
1970; Padel, 1985, 160). Most would have been water-mills, but a few windmills are
recorded (Douch, 1963). References to fulling-mills exist from 1260 (Henderson, 1935,
206). Place-names like Trengove (tre an gof, 'the farm of the smith') demonstrate the
existence of the blacksmith in the early medieval period: his presence at a later date is
illustrated by the smith's tools carved on the 16th century bench-ends at St Ives Church
(Sedding, 1909, 226; Cox, 1912, 41, 126).
Records exist of guilds of cobblers, skinners and glovemakers, smiths, fishermen and
probably many more; mention is made of tanners, curers, brewers, bakers, builders and
carpenters, fullers and weavers, pewterers and goldsmiths (Douch, 1969, 1970). Potters are
documented at St Germans and Lostwithiel and in the 16th century at St Columb Major and
Constantine (Douch, 1969). Ten salt houses are attested at Stratton in Domesday Book,
(though Cornwall was generally an importer of salt in the later medieval period) and lime
pits at Liskeard in the 15th century (Thorn, 1979, 5, 1, 3; Hatcher, 1970, 223).
There has been virtually no archaeological or documentary study of these minor industries
in Cornwall. Evidence for smithing has been found at Launceston Castle, at the village or
hamlet of Tresmorn and possibly Gwithian (Saunders, 1968; Beresford, 1971, 62; Thomas,
1953 -4, 63-4; 1958, 20; 1967c, 77). Pottery kilns have been excavated at St Germans but
are not yet fully published (Medieval Archaeology 1, 1957, 170: Sheppard, 1980, 53 -54),
while the kilns at Lostwithiel, of which quantities of wasters have been found, still elude
discovery (Miles, 1976, 1979). The site of a kiln was possibly located at Landulph (Douch,
1969, 45) and there is a brief reference to a kiln-flue in layer C at Gwithian, site GM/1
(Thomas, 1968, 314). Leatherworking, metalworking and weaving implements have also
been found here (Thomas, 1953-4, 65-66). Spindle-whorls and loom-weights are evidence
for weaving at Mawgan Porth too, and simple bone-working is implied by the decorative
knife handles found there (Bruce-Mitford, 1956, 185-86).

The Early Medieval Tin Industry

Penhallurick, summarising the early evidence (1986, 237-45), concludes that the
industry in the Dark Ages was 'healthy and thriving'. Some of the evidence is circumstantial,
such as the documented use of tin in northern Europe and Cornwall's trading links with Gaul,
Iberia and the Mediterranean as indicated by the imported post-Roman pottery. In addition
there are finds of dateable objects from streamworks, noteably the Trewhiddle hoard (Wilson
and Blunt, 1961), and carbon-14 dates from a shovel at Boscame (dated between AD 635
and 1045, Penhallurick, 1986, 212, 237) and from peat associated with ingots at Praa Sands
(ad 660±70, Harwell, ibid 234; Thomas, 1982, 26 and 32n).

The Later Medieval Tin Industry (based on information supplied by S. Gerrard)

Archaeological research into the medieval tin industry has, until recently, been limited to
Dartmoor, where work by R. H. Worth (1967) and more importantly, by Dr T.A.P. Greeves
167
FIELD SYSTEM
WITH
RIDGING

Fig 12
Tin works on Bodmin Moor. North Penkestle: earthwork remains of eluvial extraction, superimposed on an earlier
field system with cultivation ridges (survey supplied by Sandy Gerrard).
(1981), has revealed the character and extent of the activity. In Cornwall, by contrast, only
historical examination of the trade, customs and laws has been utilized to demonstrate the
importance of the industry to the county (Lewis, 1908; Hatcher, 1973). From this it appears
that the average Cornish output was ten times greater than that of Dartmoor. Work in recent
years has demonstrated the archaeological potential of the industry in Cornwall, starting with
the excavation of a late medieval tin stamping mill at Colliford, St Neot (Austin et al, 1980,
76; Austin and Greeves, 1981, 221-22; Gerrard, 1983; Austin, Gerrard and Greeves,
forthcoming). This was followed by extensive survey in St Neot and on Bodmin Moor linked
to a widely based documentary search (Gerrard, forthcoming). In the west of the county the
remarkable collection of late medieval processing works at Retallack, Constantine has been
recorded and discussed by Gerrard (1985).
Survey on Bodmin Moor has shown most valleys to contain extensive remains of
streamworks, exploiting the tin ore weathered from the lodes or veins. Many or most of these
are probably of later medieval date. Associated with them are the reservoirs and leats
supplying the water essential for separating the ore from lighter waste material. The
apparently random dumps of the streamworks resolve, after survey, into evidence for a very
systematic and predictable process of exploitation (Fig 12). Open works, exploiting the lode
in situ, are rare on Bodmin Moor, as is evidence for early mining. This accounts for the rarity
of stamping mills, which are much commoner on Dartmoor. Stamps were necessary to crush
mined, but not streamed ore. A good indication of the presence of a mill is a mortar stone,
on which the ore was crushed by the stamp heads. This process leaves a characteristic line
of hollows, normally three, on the mortar stone (Gerrard, 1985, Fig 2). The 'black tin' from
the mill was then taken to the blowing house (eg Retallack, Gerrard, 1985) to be smelted into
ingots of 'white tin' Finally, these ingots were taken to the coinage towns, where tax was
paid prior to its transport to many different markets, both national and international.
Tinworks of the medieval period are found throughout the metalliferous zones of
Cornwall, but because of widespread 19th and 20th century activity, many of the earlier
earthworks have been destroyed. However, documentation is able to complete the otherwise
partial archaeological picture. In the medieval period the major streamworks were on
Foweymore (Bodmin Moor) and Blackmore (St Austell), whilst the openworks and mines
were in the two remaining stannaries of Tywarnhaile (west of Truro) and Penwith-and-
Kerrier. The five major mining concentrations were at: Tregrehan (SX 0454), Polgooth, St
Agnes, Creegbrawse (SW 7443) and Porkellis (SW 6832), where a combined total of over
70 stamping mills were employed. The blowing houses, by contrast, were not tied to the
mines and were often situated to take advantage of a good supply of wood, adequate com-
munications and proximity to the coinage towns.

CASTLES AND DEFENDED MANORS

Most Cornish castles belong to the uncertain times of the late 11th and 12th centuries, built
by the new Norman Lords as badges of rank, symbols of dominion, and strongholds against
their enemies. From the 13th century the four major castles, Launceston, Trematon,
Restormel and Tintagel were in the hands of the Earls and then the Dukes of Cornwall, but
in the 13th and 14th centuries some of the leading Cornish families also provided their
residences with some form of defence. A few houses of the 15th or 16th centuries also have
defences, but against sea-borne rather than local hostility (Place House, Fowey, late 15th
century (Pounds, 1937, 31); Pengersick Castle, Breage, mid 16th century (Schofield, 1973)).
The last twenty-five years have seen major excavation at two quite different sites, the
important administrative centre of Launceston Castle, and the possible ringwork and 12th to

169
 Fig 13
Castles in Cornwall. a Launceston. b Trematon. c Cardinham. d Kilkhampton. e Eastleigh Berrys. f Castle
Goff. possible ring-work and bailey, but more probably a prehistoric multiple enclosure. g Restormel. h Upton.
i Bossiney. j Week St Mary. The ring-work or motte and other earthworks sit within a possible enclosure which
appears to pre-date the church. k Berry Court, Penhallam. I Tintagel. In some instances B marks the position
of the bailey. Sources: Odnance Survey, except a (Saunders, 1984) and j (earthworks, CAU survey).

170
14th century moated manor-house at Penhallam, Jacobstow. Other research has been at a
more modest level — surveys of Kilkhampton (National Trust), Week St Mary (CAU) and
Upton Castle (RCHME); and publication of an 18th century description of Lanihorne Castle
(Whitaker, 1974). Various medieval features have been identified during renovation of the
unusual castle at Cam Brea (Tangye, 1981, 44). In 1985 and 1986 observation by the Central
Excavation Unit and the Cornwall Archaeological Unit during the construction of the new
County Court on the site of Truro Castle located rock-cut features which may be part of the
defences. The origins and dating of Tintagel have been discussed by Padel (1981b); three
small trenches in advance of consolidation of the masonry have failed to clarify matters
(Browse, 1982; McAvoy, 1984; S. Hartgroves, pers.comm.).
The 1961 to 1982 excavations at Launceston are summarised in four main interim reports
(Saunders, 1964; 1970; 1977; 1982) and in the English Heritage site guide (Saunders, 1984).
From the 11th to 13th centuries, and to a lesser extent subsequently, the castle was
Cornwall's most important administrative centre. The excavations have established the
character and development of the defences, of which perhaps the main surprise was the iden-
tification of stone-based mural towers, probably of the 12th century. These may provide an
explanation for similar features at Restormel (Saunders, 1977, 133 —4). But the outstanding
feature of the programme has been the extensive excavations within the bailey, where a great
density of occupation and a well planned layout has been revealed. Rows of mostly small oval
and rectangular sunken floored structures associated with bar-lug pottery probably housed the
initial garrison (Saunders, 1977, 132; 1979; 1982; 1984, 3, 6). These were replaced in the
late 11th century by rows of substantial, closely set stone houses, perhaps halls of the holders
of knights' fees 'performing their feudal service of castle guard' (Saunders, 1977, 137; 1982;
1984, 5 — 6). In a major reorganisation of the 13th century by Richard of Cornwall the Great
Hall was rebuilt (Saunders, 1980; 1981; 1982; 1984, 7, 14, 16) and the older buildings
replaced by a kitchen and another hall, probably with a cruck roof (Saunders, 1970, 89;
1977, 132, 134, Fig 49; 1984, 14). The Great Hall was the fourth on its site and continued
as the Assize Hall until the early 17th century. The defences were also rebuilt. The gate-
houses were reconstructed, the bailey rampart was surmounted by a stone curtain wall, and
on the motte a tower was built within the 12th century shell keep (Saunders, 1964; 1970;
1977; 1984). From the late 13th century the castle declined in importance, with the transfe-
rence of many of its administrative functions to Lostwithiel by Earl Edmund.

Penhallam, excavated extensively from 1968 to 1973 (Beresford, 1974), provides a

valuable contrast to Launceston. Although it belonged to two important families, first the
Cardinhams, then the Champernownes, it was not the main residence of either family nor
a great administrative centre. Nevertheless it possessed an impressive suite of fine stone
buildings of the late 12th to early 14th centuries in a tight complex around a courtyard, the
ranges comprising the appropriate accommodation for an important manor, a ground floor
hall with central hearth, with access to a wardrobe with chamber over and also to a late 12th
century first floor chamber, or 'camera', with a fireplace; a chapel; a service range with
kitchen, buttery, bake and brew-house and pantry. The extant moat, 1.3m to 2.4m deep and
7m to 1 lm wide, encloses a sub-circular area 54m by 48m and was crossed by a drawbridge.
The shape, together with some fragments of a bank levelled by the later buildings, suggested
that the earthwork originated as a Norman ringwork, perhaps of the late 11th century, but
there was no dating evidence (for example, no bar-lug pottery) and no associated early
structures, though one sunken floored feature is said to predate the ringwork bank (Beresford,
1974, 89, 125).
171
Castles in the 11th and 12th Centuries
The character of the sixteen or so castles probably of late 11th or 12th century date can
be briefly summarised.

Motte and Bailey: Launceston, Trematon, Cardinham, Tregony (destroyed), Kilkhampton

(2 baileys), Eastleigh Berrys (2 baileys).
Ringwork: Restormel, Week St Mary, Penhallam(?), Bossiney, Upton Castle.
Motte or Ringwork?: Truro (destroyed), Botreaux Castle (mostly destroyed).
Other: Tintagel ? (or 13th century — Padel, 1981b).
Unknown Form: Liskeard, Helston (sites only); date also uncertain; perhaps only major
manor houses).

Analysis of earthwork enclosures at present classed as rounds and multiple enclosures may
produce further examples. A good candidate is Castle Goff in the important manor of Helstone-
in-Trigg , perhaps a ring-work and bailey (Fig 131). At Eastleigh Berrys, Launcells (SS
244067), a low mound 1.7m high, 50m across, with a flattened dome profile, has been
identified as a motte (N.V. Quinnell, OS Index SS 20NW8; Fig 13e), perhaps slighted or
unfinished. One bailey adjoins to the north-east, with a second beyond.
Apart from Launceston and Penhallam, dating is mostly imprecise. Unpublished early
archaeological work at Restormel and Tintagel was presumably clearance rather than
excavation. Apart from the Domesday Book entries for Launceston and Trematon early
documentation is almost entirely lacking. Dating, therefore, tends to be partly by form and
architectural detail and mostly by linking the castles to the documented presence of important
families. Tintagel is a good example of the ambiguity of this evidence. Padel (198 lb) has
recently argued that there is little evidence for the mid 12th century foUndation by Earl
Reginald, suggested by Radford (1935). More probably it was built by Earl Richard in the
13th century, or perhaps by the de Hornicotes, who changed their family name to de Tintagel
at the end of the 12th century.
In 1086 Robert of Mortain held some 277 of the 350 or so Cornish manors, and had castles
at Launceston and Trematon. Some of the castles can probably be associated with his major
tenants, who between them held most of the manors; Richard FitzTurold — Cardinham,
Week St Mary, Penhallam; Reginald de Valletort — Trematon; Turstin the Sheriff or his son
Baldwin — Restormel; Hamelin — perhaps Truro (in his manor of Trehaverne). Other castles
can be attached to important families of the 12th century, the Pomeroys at Tregony, Richard
de Lucy at Truro, the Botreaux at Botreaux Castle. Killchampton may be an adulterine castle
of Robert of Gloucester or perhaps the Granvilles (Dew, 1926, 6, 66). The ringwork at
Bossiney could be either a 12th century predecessor to Tintagel or a minor castle of Robert
of Mortain, as he held the manor from St Petroc's in 1086. Upton was probably the 12th
century residence of the Uptons (Polsue, 1870, 118).
Both mottes and ringworks vary greatly in size. The motte at Launceston is 20m high, that
at Kilkhampton only 6m-9m. The distinction between motte and ringwork is not always
clear, Week St Mary seeming to be a hybrid, consisting of a low mound 1.5m high with a
bank around the rim. It is also unclear from early descriptions whether Truro and Botreaux
Castle were mottes or ringworks. Upton is motte-like, but the effect is produced largely by
its location on a small knoll, which together with an enclosing unmortared wall makes a
barrier 2.5m high. The enclosed area, 25m by 23m, contains two buildings, one of which
is 13m x 8m internally and is probably a hall (N.V. Quinnell, OS Index SX 27NW35). The

172
site may be more a defended manor house than a castle, perhaps of a type widespread in 12th
century Cornwall and earlier but only rarely surviving. Penhallam and Week St Mary are
comparable in scale.
The term 'castle' can, therefore, cover a wide range of sites. The castles of the 11th and
12th centuries can be roughly assigned to three groupings.
1. The great strongholds and administrative centres of Count Robert and his successors
(Launceston, Trematon).
2. The principal seats of major `Cornish' landholders, eg Cardinham.
3. The lesser residences of major landholders, or the residences of lesser landholders, eg
Week St Mary or Upton.

The 13th Century and Beyond

In the late 13th and early 14th centuries local gentry were again (or still?) providing them-
selves with fortification, though more in the tradition of Penhallam than Launceston or
Cardinham. In Cornwall five Royal Licences to Crenellate were granted, all between 1330
and 1336, and all to prominent and active local families: William Basset at Tehidy (1330),
Ranulph Blancluninster of Binhamy, Stratton (1335), John Lercedekne of Ruan Lanihome
(1335), Ralph de Bloyou of Truthwall, Ludgvan (1335), John Dawney of Sheviock (1336)
(Coulson, 1982). Sheviock, Truthwall and probably Tehidy have completely disappeared.
Tehidy's licence could have been for the extant castle on Cam Brea, but is more likely to
have been at Tehidy itself. Considerable fragments of the castle at Ruan Lanihorne survived
to the 18th century. It was a very substantial complex, probably of quadrangular form,
perhaps with an outer court, and with seven towers (Whitaker, 1974; Whitley, 1888). Only
Binhamy is relatively intact. A rectangular area 60m x 50m is enclosed by a ditch or moat
10m wide and 2.2m deep; the buildings within are now only amorphous mounds and hollows.
Only three or four other moats are known in Cornwall, though reassessment and fieldwork
may produce further examples of comparable sites, as in Devon (Silvester, 1980). None had
licences to crenellate but all are associated with families of similar status to those above.
Penhallam has already been mentioned. At Carminow, remains of moat and house survived
to the last century (Rogers, 1875). At St Columb Major the buildings of the moated rectory
were replaced in the last century, but traces of the moat remain, enclosing an area 40m
square. In 1309 the rectory withstood seige by a mob of tinners (Henderson, 1930, 9). It was
probably built by Ralph de Arundell, rector from 1303 to 1329, a relative of the powerful
Arundells of Lanherne. A single stretch of broad ditch on the west side of Lanherne itself
might also be part of a moat. Fragments of a possible moat also survive at Lee in
Morwenstow, (SS 23121227, OS Index SS 21SW15).
In many cases these sites probably differed from other major manor houses more in the
pretentions of their owners than in the character and extent of the accommodation.

173
 20cm
10M

Fig 14
A selection of medieval pottery, including comparanda from outside Cornwall. a—g, early medieval imported
wares. a BIV amphora (Fox, 1973, Fig 56). b BI amphora, Gwithian (Thomas, 1981b). c ARSW bowl, Tintagel
(Thomas, 1981b). d PRSW bowl, Tintagel (Radford, 1956, Fig 13) e Slipped, wheel-made bowl, Gwithian
(Thomas, 1956-57 Fig 5; 1981b, 25). f E ware; E2 beaker (Thomas, 1959, Fig 43). g E ware; E4 jug
(ibid). h—t, grass-marked and related wares. h, i Grass-marked cooking pots, Gwithian (Thomas, 19686, Fig
72). j, k Grass-marked cooking-pots, Larriban, Co Antrim (Childe, 1936, Fig 5). 1 Grass-marked platter, Sandy
Lane Style 2, Gunwalloe (Thomas, 1963b, Fig 20). m Bar-lug pot, Gunwalloe (Jope and Threlfall, 1956, Fig
27). o Bar-lug pot, Hellesvean (Hutchinson, 1979, Fig 42). p and q, bar-lip pottery from the Continent. p Bar-lip
pot from Leeuwarden (Dunning, 1959, Fig 21). q Bar-lip pot from Ezinge, near Groningen (ibid). r Cooking-pot,
Sandy Lane style 1, Gwithian (Thomas, 1964c, Fig 17). s Cooking-pot, Sandy Lane style 2, Chapel Jane (Russell
and Pool, 1968, Fig 12). t Cooking-pot, Sandy Lane style 3, Chapel Jane (ibid). v Later medieval cooking-pot
rims: i Penhallam (Beresford, 1974, Fig 40); ii—iv Treworld (Dudley and Minter, 1966, Fig 16). w Cooking-pot
base, Treworld (ibid). x Jug, Penhallam (Beresford, 1974, Fig 39). y Imported jug from the Saintonge, 13th
century, found at Penhallam (ibid, Fig 42). z Bowl, probably 16th century, Garrow (Dudley and Minter,
1962-63, Fig 91).

174
 ARTEFACTS
Early Medieval Pottery
An outline for a local early medieval pottery sequence had already been established, by
Thomas, in the late 1950s, as a result of his work at Gwithian (1957-58). This was extended
by the assemblage from the Sandy Lane midden site (Thomas, 1964c, 48 —50, 56-58). The
entire sequence has been conveniently summarised (Thomas, 1968); it is as follows: —

1. Sub-Roman Gwithian style, a devolved continuation of Romano-British forms. Jars and

platters. (Thomas, 1957-58, 59-60). In East Cornwall, Gwithian style is said to have
continued in use until the introduction of bar-lug (Thomas, 1960, 457; 1968b, 326; 1958,
23-24n).
2. Grass-marked pottery was introduced in the 6th (Thomas, 1957-58, 65; 1968b, 324) or
7th century (1985, 186; 1986b, 76), possibly by settlers from Ireland. Platters and
cooking pots, the latter said to resemble Ulster Souterrain Ware (cf Childe, 1935, 189).
Fig 14h, i, j, k, m.
3. In about the 9th century, grass-marked pots were transformed by the application of a new
feature — the bar-lug. This innovation is attributed to the influence of Frisian traders
(Bruce-Mitford, 1956, 193-4; Dunning et al, 1959, 46-49; Thomas, 1957-58,
70-71). Platters continue. It is now known that the use of bar-lug pottery did extend
into East Cornwall, where it was used until after the Norman Conquest (Saunders, 1970,
91; 1971, 95; 1977, 132-3, 136; Hutchinson, 1979, 84, 89)). Fig 14n, o, p, q.
4. In the 11th century, Sandy Lane style 1 replaced bar-lug pottery in West Cornwall
(Thomas, 1964c, 46-51, 56-59; 1965; 1968b, 320; 1964, 46-51). Grass-marked in
its early phase only, Sandy Lane underwent a gradual evolution via styles 2 and 3 to the
standard, wheel-made, sagging base medieval cooking-pot. Fig 14r, s, t, u.

Many aspects of the sequence cannot at present be regarded as satisfactorily demonstrated.

Finds from numerous sites since 1957-8 have been listed by Hutchinson (1979), but no site
has produced so full a sequence as Gwithian. At present the material from only 8 of the 40
sites listed by Hutchinson has been published. Consequently, much of the discussion,
including that for Gwithian, has been about unpublished or partly published sites. Clearly,
this leaves much room for uncertainty in a subject already complex. Many of the problems
are highlighted in Hutchinson's paper on bar-lug pottery (1979). The main conclusion (ibid,
89) is that the dating is far less secure than suggested by Thomas, while the different grass-
marked types could represent 'contemporary and complementary items of domestic
equipment' rather than separate chronological horizons. Two basic problems are involved:
one, the poor stratification at Gwithian, which makes associations with the dateable imported
wares uncertain; and two, the lack of useful small finds for cross-dating (ibid, 86, 84). In
addition, any date for bar-lug based on the Frisian connection must be dubious, since there
is no other evidence for Frisian merchants in Cornwall while there are, in fact, other possible
sources for the bar-lug idea (ibid, 89).
The problems associated with bar-lug pottery apply equally to other aspects of Thomas'
sequence. Thus, the date to which Gwithian Style continued and its relationship with grass-
marked pottery are not established. Indeed, its very existence as a post-Roman pottery type
has yet to be demonstrated in print. Altogether very little is known of Gwithian Style, though
the material from structure 63 at Carngoon Bank has been put forward as belonging to this
horizon (McAvoy et al, 1980, 47-48). At Trethurgy late Roman hand-made jars and bowls
175
of `gabbroic' fabric continued unchanged through the 5th century and perhaps into the 6th
century (Quinnell, forthcoming; and CAS lecture, Jan 1987). Doubts also exist about the
derivation of Cornish grass-marked ware from Souterrain Ware (Ryan, 1973); moreover,
evidence from Samson, where grass-marked pottery was found securely stratified above
imported Class E ware, may indicate that grass-marking was introduced far later than
originally supposed (Thomas, 1985, 186).
Equally, the gradual evolution of the grass-marked pottery of West Cornwall into the
standard medieval cooking-pot, via Sandy Lane style (Thomas, 1964c, 48-51, 56-59;
1968b, 320) is not entirely clear-cut, or well dated. Dating for the end of bar-lug is clearest
not in the west but in the east, at Launceston (Hutchinson, 1979, 84). It cannot be assumed,
on present evidence, that it ended earlier in the west. It is, therefore, possible that Sandy Lane
styles 1 and 2 belong to the 12th century rather than the 10th or 11th. Furthermore the rela-
tionship between styles 1 and 2 is unclear: their suggested difference in dating at Sandy Lane
seems to be based on 'typology rather than. . . stratigraphy' (Hutchinson, 1979, 92), though
excavations at Chapel Jane and Fenton Ia may confirm a chronological distinction (Russell
and Pool, 1968, 54-57; Thomas, 1967a, 81-82). A starting date for style 3 is also not
firmly established, but it appears to be the local, West Cornish version of the typical later
medieval cooking-pot.

Early Medieval Imported Pottery

In 1959, Thomas published an account of the current state of knowledge of early medieval
imported wares in the British Isles. Since then, much work has taken place, leading to a
refinement of typology and a closer identification of the souces and dates of the various types.
Many new sites have been added to the distribution; these advances were most recently
summarised by Thomas in 1981b.
The picture is of wine, oil and other commodities being transported in a range of amphorae
(collectively known as Class B wares; Fig 14a, b) from the Eastern Mediterranean in the late
5th and 6th centuries. The fine red-slipped dishes and bowls (originally Class A) from
Western Turkey and Africa arrived as space-fillers in the cargo (Thomas, 1981b, 4, 6-9)
(Fig 14c, d, e). Some of the wares are very closely dateable and may, therefore, be important
dating evidence for any site on which they occur. The same is not true of the 'robust kitchen
wares' (Class E) from north-west France which may have had a slightly longer currency,
from the 6th to the 8th century (Peacock and Thomas, 1967; Thomas, 1986, 95) (Fig 14f,
g). But perhaps the chief significance of these wares in Cornwall is that they constitute
evidence for trade: and Cornwall's most desirable product, for which there is little other
evidence at this period, is likely to have been tin (Thomas, 1982, 26; Penhallurick, 1986,
239).

Later Medieval Pottery (Fig 14v —z)

The study of Cornish later medieval pottery is at an early stage. Most of the published
sites are rural and lack stratified sequences. Their dating has tended to be in relation to broad
regional traditions (eg Jope and Threlfall, 1958), and in the 1960s these could not always
be applied with accuracy. Improvements in the dating of material from Cornwall, especially
east Cornwall, are largely the result of the improved basis for comparison now available
outside the county, particularly through work at Okehampton and Exeter (Allan and Perry,
1982; Allan, 1984). As an example, it can now be seen that the pottery from the long-house
at Garrow, which was dominated by bowls with complicated rim forms (Fig 14z), is not, as
the excavators suggest, 13th to 15th centuries (Dudley and Minter, 1962-3), 285 —94) but

176
is more probably post-medieval. Throughout most of the later medieval period the cooking-
pot was by far the commonest ceramic item used (Allan, 1984, 13). Bowls do not appear until
the 16th century.
Close dating from a few rim sherds alone is not possible as coarse-ware forms can have
a long duration. At Exeter some rim forms continued unchanged from the late 10th to perhaps
the early 14th centuries (Allan, 1984, 10) and wares at Okehampton, probably originating
from North Devon, are much the same from the late 13th to 15th centuries (Allan and Perry,
1982, 90).
Analysis of the fabric of the pottery is beginning to throw light on its various sources,
complementing the archaeological and documentary evidence for these sites (see 'Industry'
above). The 13th/14th century pottery at Stuffle, St Neot, comes mostly from the Lostwithiel
and St Germans areas; that at Davidstow Moor ('Goosehill') from the Lostwithiel area, from
North Devon, and perhaps from St Germans (0'Mahoney, forthcoming). A further source
of production, in West Cornwall, is suggested by the Sandy Lane style 3 pots (Thomas, 1964,
50). At Launceston Castle, the commonest wares of the 11th and 12th centuries were chert-
tempered cooking pots from South East Devon or Somerset, which are found widely in the
South West at this date (Allan and Perry, 1982, 88).
Cornish later medieval pottery would benefit from a full reassessment. Publication of the
material from Launceston will provide a sound basis for this, together with analysis of fabrics
and forms from the large body of published and unpublished material that is now known.

Other Artefacts
The subsistence equipment of the early medieval sites of both Mawgan Porth and Gwithian
included a wide range of stone and bone tools (Thomas, 1953-4, 65-66; Bruce-Mitford,
1956, 187). However Gwithian, unlike Mawgan Porth, was distinguished by a large collec-
tion of metalwork (Thomas, 1953 -4, 64; 1960, 456), perhaps because of a difference in the
social standing of the two settlements. In contrast with these, the stonework of the recently-
excavated later medieval settlements has consisted only of querns, whetstones and
architectural fragments. Reflecting the importance of the sites, the major metalwork finds,
and a small amount of glass have been recovered from Launceston Castle (Saunders, 1977,
131, 132, 134) and the moated manor house of Penhallam (Beresford, 1974, 138-40).
Owing to the damp environment, a small quantity of leatherwork (mainly shoes) was also
preserved at Penhallam (ibid, 141 —42).
In 1961, one of the most important finds of early medieval Cornwall, the Trewhiddle
Hoard, finally received full publication (Wilson and Blunt, 1961). This hoard of English
ecclesiastical plate, hidden in the gravels of a tin-streamwork in c. 875 must have comprised
'the moveable treasure of a church' (ibid, 117). But though the metalwork has now been
thoroughly studied, its context remains a mystery. By whom was it buried, and why? To
which church did it belong and what does the presence of a collection of English metalwork
indicate about the relationship between the English and Cornish churches, only a short time
after Bishop Kenstec's profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury (833 x 870:
Finberg, 1963, 17)?

177
 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK
These have been noted or implied in the previous sections, and are further summarised
below.

Tintagel
Reassessment of early medieval Tintagel, and particularly the recent survey, have raised
many questions which can only be answered by excavation, in particular to establish the date
of the many rectangular buildings.

Rural Settlement
County-wide documentary and field survey to locate and record deserted and shrunken
settlements.
Analysis of settlement patterns, particularly through place-names, and including the
relationship between medieval and pre-medieval settlement, and secular and ecclesiastical
sites.
Excavation of 'lowland' settlements, especially tre settlements.
Excavation of early medieval settlements; high priority should be given to the full
excavation of any early medieval settlement site known to be threatened.
Environmental work on Bodmin Moor and further analytical survey of fields and
settlements.
Survey of known medieval buildings.

The Church
Excavation of a typical lann and (this may be more practical) excavation around an
important lann for evidence of early medieval settlement and perhaps `proto-urban'
development.
County-wide assessment of medieval chapel and cemetery sites, for a programme of pre-
servation and further work.
Excavation/geophysical survey to determine the character of extensive cist cemeteries.
Excavation of an early Christian cemetery of possible pre-medieval origin (eg Crantock)
to establish date and nature of change.
Assessment and protection of later medieval religious houses.

Towns and Markets

Excavations at important early ecclesiastical centres, including excavation to establish the
character of the supposed early enclosure at St Stephens by Launceston.
Excavations in open plots in small towns such as Mitchell.
Research excavation at Sheepstall, the only deserted rural market.
Observation during redevelopment to assess the archaeological potential of the towns.
Analysis of urban topography.
A programme of major urban excavations.

Industry
The Cornish medieval tin industry is of more than national significance but until recently
its archaeology has been little studied. There is still enormous scope for documentary
research, for county-wide survey to identify and protect areas of early streamworks, mining
and associated structures, and for excavation of most classes of site.
Analysis of building stone and building technique in the churches to locate quarries/

178
workshops and demonstrate the organisation of the later medieval quarrying industry,
including transportation and supply.
Extensive documentary research to establish the full variety, character and location of
rural and urban medieval industrial activity.

Castles
Several castles require more detailed survey (eg there are unsurveyed platforms in the
bailey at Restormel).
Reassessment of existing information may produce further examples of earthwork castles
and perhaps moated sites.

Pottery
The precise detail of the early medieval pottery sequence may only become apparent
through further excavation, coupled with carbon 14 dating, but publication of the Gwithian
material would perhaps provide satisfactory demonstration of the sequence.
Later medieval pottery in Cornwall requires thorough assessment. In the short term this
will depend largely on comparison with stratified assemblages from Devon (eg Allan, 1984)
and on the forthcoming publication of material from Launceston Castle.
Documentary research (eg of port books) would identify likely sources of later medieval
imported pottery.

Bibliography
Adams, J.H., 1957. 'The medieval Chapels of Cornwall', J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 3, pt 1, 48-65.
Alcock, L., 1963. Dinas Powys: an Iron Age, Dark Age, and Early Medieval Settlement in Glamorgan, Cardiff.
Alcock, L., 1972. By South Cadbury is that Camelot, London.
Allan, J.P., 1984. Medieval and Post-Medieval Finds from Exeter, 1971-1980, Exeter.
Allan, J.P. and Perry, I., 1982. `Pottery and tiles' in R.A. Higham et al 'Excavations at Okehampton Castle,
Devon. Part 2 - The Bailey', Proc Devon Archaeol Soc 40, 19-151.
Andrew, C.K.C., 1942. Davidstow Moor Excavations, 20th October, 1941 to 27th June, 1942. A synopsis of the
results, (Typescript).
Austin, D., 1978. 'Excavations in Okehampton Park, Devon, 1976-1978', Proc Devon Archaeol Soc 36,
191 -239.
Austin, D., 1985. 'Dartmoor and the Upland Village of the South West of England in D. Hooke (ed) Medieval
Villages, O.U.C.A. Monograph No. 5, Oxford.
Austin, D., Greeves, T. and Daggett, R., 1980. 'Colliford Reservoir, Bodmin Moor', Cornish Archaeol 19, 76.
Austin, D. and Greeves, T., 1981. 'Colliford Reservoir, Bodmin Moor', Cornish Archaeol 20, 221-22.
Baker, A.R.H. and Butlin, R.A. (eds), 1973. Studies of Field Systems in the British Isles, Cambridge,
Baring-Gould, Rev S., 1891. 'An ancient settlement on Trewortha Marsh', T Roy lnst Cornwall 11, 57-70.
Baring-Gould, Rev S., 1892. 'Ancient settlement at Trewortha', J Roy Inst Cornwall 11, 289-290.
Beacham, P., 1980. 'Local building traditions in Devon from the Medieval Period to 1700', in S. Timms (ed)
Archaeology of the Devon Landscape, Exeter.
Beresford, G., 1971. `Tresmorn, St Gennys', Cornish Archaeol 10, 55-73.
Beresford, G., 1974. 'The medieval manor of Penhallam, Jacobstow, Cornwall', Medieval Archaeol 18, 90-145.
Beresford, G., 1979. 'Three deserted medieval settlements on Dartmoor: a report on the late E. Marie Minter's
excavations', Medieval Archaeol 23, 98-158.
Beresford, M.W., 1964. 'Dispersed and Grouped Settlement in Medieval Cornwall'. Agric Hist Review 12.1,
13 - 27.
Beresford, MW., 1971. New Towns of the Middle Ages, London.

179
Brisbane, M. and Clews, S., 1979. 'The East Moor Field Systems, Altarnun and North Hill, Bodmin Moor',
Cornish Archaeol 18, 33-56.
Browse, R.G., 1982. `Tintagel Castle', Cornish Archaeol 21, 189-90.
Bruce-Mitford, R.L.S., 1956. 'A Dark Age Settlement at Mawgan Porth, Cornwall', in R.L.S. Bruce-Mitford (ed)
Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain, London.
Burrow, I., 1973. `Tintagel - Some Problems' Scot Archaeol Forum 5, 99-103.
Butler, L.A.S., 1979. "The Monastic City' in Wales: Myth or Reality?', Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies
28.3, 458 - 68.
Canner, A.C., 1982. The Parish of Tintagel: Some Historical Notes, Camelford.
Carew, R., 1602. The Survey of Cornwall, ed F.E. Halliday, New York, 1969.
Chesher, V.M., 1974. 'Mullion in the Mid Nineteenth Century. The anatomy of a Lizard Parish', The lizard 5.2,
19-25.
Chesher, V.M., and Chesher, F.J., 1968. The Cornishman's House, Truro.
Childe, V.G., 1936. 'A Promontory Fort on the Antrim Coast', Antiq J 16, 179-98.
Christie, P.M., forthcoming. 'Excavations on Davidstow Moor by C.K. Croft Andrew 1941-42 - Post-
Prehistoric sites', Cornish Archaeol.
Clarke, H., 1984. The Archaeology of Medieval England, London.
Coulson, C., 1982. Handlist of English Royal Licences to Crenellate 1200-1578, (MS).
Cox, J.C., 1912. County Churches: Cornwall, London.
Dark, K.R., 1985. 'The Plan and Interpretation of Tintagel', Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 9, 1-18.
Davies, W., 1978. An Early Welsh Microcosm: Studies in the Llandaff Charters, London.
Davies, W., 1982. Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Leicester.
Dew, R., 1926. A History of the Parish and Church of Kilkhampton, London.
Doble, G.H., 1936. Saint Samson in Cornwall, Cornish Saints Series 36.
Doble, G.H., 1940. Saint Winwaloe, Cornish Saints Series 4, 2nd edit.
Doble, G.H., 1960. The Saints of Cornwall: Part 1, Saints of the Lands End District, ed D. Attwater, Truro.
Doble, G.H., 1962. The Saints of Cornwall: Part 2, Saints of the lizard District, ed D. Attwater, Truro.
Doble, G.H., 1964. The Saints of Cornwall: Part 3, Saints of the Fal, ed D. Attwater, Truro.
Doble, G.H., 1965. The Saints of Cornwall: Part 4, Newquay, Padstow and Bodmin District, ed D. Attwater,
Truro.
Doble, G.H., 1970. The Saints of Cornwall: Part 5, Saints of Mid-Cornwall, ed D. Attwater, Truro.
Douch, H.L., 1963. Cornish Windmills, Truro.
Douch, H.L., 1969. 'Cornish Potters and Pewterers', J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 6.1, 33-80.
Douch, H.L., 1970. 'Cornish Goldsmiths', J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 6.2, 121-38.
Dudley, D., 1955-56. 'Recent work in Cornish Archaeology', Proc West Cornwall FC ns 1.4, 147-52.
Dudley, D. and Minter, E.M., 1962-63. 'The Medieval Village at Garrow Tor, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall',
Medieval Archaeol 6-7, 272 - 94.
Dudley, D. and Minter, E.M., 1966. 'The Excavation of a Medieval Settlement at Treworld, Lesnewth, 1963';
Cornish Archaeol 5, 34-58.
Dunning, G.C., 1959. 'Anglo-Saxon Pottery: a symposium, IV. Pottery of the late Anglo-Saxon period in
England', Medieval Archaeol 3, 31 - 78.
Elliott-Binns, L.E., 1955. Medieval Cornwall, London.
Emanuel, H.D., 1967. The Latin Texts of the Welsh Laws, Cardiff.
Finberg, H.P.R., 1963. The Early Charters of Devon and Cornwall, Leicester.
Flatres, P., 1957. Geographie Rurale de Quatre Contrees Celtiques, Rennes.
Fowler, P.J. and Thomas, C., 1962. 'Arable fields of the Pre-Norman period at Gwithian', Cornish Archaeol 1,
61-84.
Fox, A., 1973. South-West England 3500 BC - AD 600, Newton Abbot.
Fox, H.S.A., 1971. A Geographical Study of the Field Systems of Devon and Cornwall, PhD Thesis, University
of Cambridge.

180
Fox, H.S.A., 1972. 'Field systems of East and South Devon, Part 1, East Devon', Trans Devon Assoc 104,
81 —135.
Fox, H.S.A., 1973. 'Outfield cultivation in Devon and Cornwall: a reinterpretation'; in M. Havinden (ed)
Husbandry and Marketing in the South-West 1500-1800, Exeter Papers in Economic History No. 8,
19-38, Exeter.
Gelling, M., 1982. 'Some Meanings of Stow', in S.M. Pearce (ed) The Early Church in Western Britain and
Ireland, Brit Archaeol Rep 102, Oxford.
Gerrard, S., 1983. The Excavation of a Medieval Tin Works at West Colliford, St Neot Parish, Cornwall, (unpub
MA thesis, University of Wales).
Gerrard, S., 1985. 'Retallack: a Late Medieval tin milling complex in the parish of Constantine, and its Cornish
context', Cornish Archaeol 24, 175-82.
Gerrard, S., forthcoming. The Early Cornish Tin Industry, an Archaeological and Historical Survey, (unpub PhD
Thesis, University of Wales).
Greeves, T.A.P., 1981. 'The archaeological potential of the Devon tin industry', in D.W. Crossley (ed) Medieval
Industry, CBA Res Rep 40.
Griffith, F.M., 1984. 'Archaeological investigations at Colliford Reservoir, Bodmin Moor, 1977-78', Cornish
Archaeol 23, 49-139.
Griffith, F.M., 1985. 'Enclosures in the Launceston Area', Cornish Archaeol 24, 149-54.
Guthrie, A., 1959-60. 'Hellesvean Dark Age house', Proc West Cornwall FC ns 1.2, 73-75.
Hamlin, A., 1970. 'The Moving of Copplestone Cross', Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 31, No. 8, 246.
Hartgroves, S. and Walker, R., forthcoming. 'Excavations at the Lower Ward, Tintagel Castle', Cornish
Archaeol.
Hatcher, J., 1970: Rural Economy and Society in the Duchy of Cornwall 1300-1500, Cambridge.
Hatcher, J., 1973. English Tin Production and Trade Before 1550, Oxford.
Hencken, H.O'N., 1932. The Archaeology of Cornwall and Scilly, London.
Henderson, C., 1925. Cornish Church Guide, Truro (2nd edit 1928, and reprinted 1964).
Henderson, C., 1930. St Columb Major, Church and Parish.
Henderson, C., 1935. Essays in Cornish History, Oxford.
Herring, P.C., 1986. Prehistory and history of land-use and settlement on North-West Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,
M Phil Thesis, University of Sheffield.
Hoskins, W.G., 1960. The Westward Expansion of Wessex, Leicester.
Hughes, K., 1966. The Church in Early Irish Society, London.
Hulland, C., 1978. 'Notes on building materials in Devon', in P. Beacham (ed), Devon's Traditional Buildings,
Exeter.
Hurley, V., 1982. 'The Early Church in the South-West of Ireland: Settlement and Organisation' in S.M. Pearce
(ed) The Early Church in Western Britain and Ireland, Brit Archaeol Rep 102, Oxford.
Hutchinson, G., 1979. 'The Bar-Lug Pottery of Cornwall', Cornish Archaeol 18, 81-103.
Jackson, K.H., 1953. Language and History in Early Britain, Edinburgh.
Johnson, N., 1980. 'Later Bronze Age settlement in The South-West', in J. Barrett and R. Bradley (eds), The
British Later Bronze Age, Brit Archaeol Rep 83(i), Oxford.
Johnson, N. and Rose, P., 1982. 'Defended settlement in Cornwall: an illustrated discussion', in D. Miles (ed)
The Romano-British Countryside, Studies in Rural Settlement and Economy, Brit Archaeol Rep 103(i),
Oxford.
Jones, G.R., 1976. 'Multiple Estates and Early Settlement', in P.H. Sawyer (ed) Medieval Settlement, London.
Jones, G.R., 1972. 'Post-Roman Wales' in H.P.R. Finberg (ed) The Agrarian History of England and Wales Vol
1, Part 2, 283-382, Cambridge.
Jope, E.M., 1961. 'Cornish Houses, 1400-1700', in E.M. Jope (ed), Studies in Building History: essays in
recognition of the work of B.H. St..!. O'Neil, London.
Jope, E.M. and Dunning, G.C., 1954. 'The use of blue slate for roofing in Medieval England', Antiq J 24,
209-17.
Jope, E.M. and Threlfall, R.I., 1956. 'A late Dark Ages site at Gunwalloe', Proc West Cornwall FC ns 1.4,
136 — 40.

181
Jope, E.M. and Threlfall, R.I., 1958. 'Excavation of a Medieval Settlement at Beere, North Taunton, Devon',
Medieval Archaeol 2, 112-40.
King, G. and Sheppard, P., 1973a. 'Parochial Checklist of Antiquities; East: 1, St Stephen's by Launceston',
Cornish Archaeol 12, 64 — 66.
King, G. and Sheppard, P., 1973b. 'Parochial Checklist of Antiquities; East: 3, St Mary Magdalene', Cornish
Archaeol 12, 69 — 72.
Laithwaite, M., 1978. 'Town Houses up to 1700' in P.M. Beacham (ed) Devon's Traditional Buildings, Exeter.
Lane-Davies, A., 1970. Holy Wells of Cornwall, Federation of Old Cornwall Societies.
Langdon, A.G., 1896. Old Cornish Crosses, London.
Langdon, A.G., 1906. 'Early Christian Monuments', in VCH Cornwall Vol 1, 407-49, London.
Lewis, G.R., 1908. The Stannaries, (reprinted 1965, Truro).
Macalister, R.A.S., 1945. Corpus Inscriptionum Insulanim Celticarum Vol 1, Dublin.
Macalister, R.A.S., 1949. Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, Vol 2, Dublin.
Marstrander, C.J.S., 1937. Treen og Keill', Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap 8, 287-500.
McAvoy, F., 1984. `Tintagel Castle excavation', Cornish Archaeol 23, 184.
McAvoy, F. et al, 1980. 'The excavation of a multi-period site at Carngoon Bank, Lizard, Cornwall, 1979',
Cornish Archaeol 19, 31 — 62.
Megaw, B., 1978. 'Norseman and Native in the Kingdom of the Isles: a re-assessment of the Manx Evidence',
in P. Davey (ed) Man and Environment in the Isle of Man, Brit Archaeol Rep 54(i), Oxford.
Meyrick, J., 1980. A Pilgrim's Guide to the Holy Wells of Cornwall.
Miles, H., 1977. 'Excavations at Killibury Hillfort, Egloshayle, 1975-76', Cornish Archaeol 16, 89-121.
Miles, H. and Miles, T., 1973. 'Excavations at Trethurgy, St Austell: Interim Report', Cornish Archaeol 12,
25-29.
Miles, H. and Miles, T., 1975. Tilton, North Devon. Excavation within a Medieval Village', Proc Devon
Archaeol Soc 33, 267-95.
Miles, T., 1976. 'Late Medieval Potter's Waste from Lostwithiel', Cornish Archaeol 15, 115-17.
Miles, T., 1979. 'Late Medieval Potter's Waste from Lostwithiel', Cornish Archaeol 18, 103-4.
Minter, E.M., 1965. `Lanyon in Madron: Interim Report on the Society's 1964 Excavation', Cornish Archaeol
4, 44 — 45.
Nash-Williams, V.E., 1950. The Early Christian Monuments of Wales, Cardiff.
Noall, C., 1964. 'Nineteenth Century Discoveries at Lelant', Cornish Archaeol 3, 34-36.
Norman, E.R. and St Joseph, K.J., 1969. The Early Development of Irish Society: the evidence of Aerial
Photography, Cambridge.
O'Hara, P., 1985. 'Bodmin Priory', Cornish Archaeol 24, 212.
Oliver, G., 1856. Monasticon Diocesis Exoniensis, Exeter.
Olson, B.L., 1975. 'Saint Entenyn', Cornish Studies 3, 25-28.
Olson, B.L., 1980. Early Monasteries in Cornwall, University of Toronto PhD thesis.
Olson, B.L., 1982. 'Crantock, Cornwall, as an Early Monastic Site', in S.M. Pearce (ed) The Early Church in
Western Britain and Ireland, Brit Archaeol Rep 102, Oxford.
Olson, B.L. and Padel, 0.J., 1986. 'A 10th Century List of Cornish Parochial Saints', Cambridge Medieval Celtic
Studies 12.
O'Mahoney, C., forthcoming. Tottery from Sites at Davidstow Moor and Treligga', in P.M. Christie,
forthcoming, 'Excavations on Davidstow Moor by C.K. Croft Andrew 1941-42 — Post-Prehistoric
sites', Cornish Archaeol 26.
O'Neill, H., 1964. 'Excavation of a Celtic Hermitage on St Helen's, Isles of Scilly, 1956-58', Archaeol J 121,
40-69.
Padel, 0.J., 1976-77. 'Cornish Names of Parish Churches' Cornish Studies 4/5, 15-27.
Padel, 0.J., 1981a. 'The Cornish Background of the Tristan Stories', Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 1,
53-81.
Padel, 0.J., 1981b. l'intagel: an Alternative View', in C. Thomas, A Provisional List of Imported Pottery in Post-
Roman Western Britain and Ireland, 28-29, Redruth.

182
Padel, 0.J., 1984. 'Geoffrey of Monmouth and Cornwall', Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 8, 1-28.
Padel, 0.J., 1985. Cornish Place-Name Elements, English Place-Name Society Vol 56-57, Nottingham.
De Paor, M. and L., 1958. Early Christian Ireland, London.
Peacock, D.P.S. and Thomas, C., 1967. 'Class 'E' Imported Post-Roman Pottery: a Suggested Origin', Cornish
Archaeol 6, 34-46.
Pearce, S.M., 1978. The Kingdom of Dumnonia: Studies in History and Tradition in South-Western Britain,
Padstow.
Pearce, S.M. and Swanton, M., 1982. 'LustLeigh, South Devon: its Inscribed Stone, its Churchyard and its Parish',
in S.M. Pearce (ed), The Early Church in Western Britain and Ireland, Brit Archaeol Rep 102.
Pearce, S.M., 1985. 'The Early Church in the Landscape: the Evidence from North Devon', Archaeol J 142,
255 - 75.
Penhallurick, R.D., 1986. Tin in Antiquity, London.
Penna, L.J., 1968. Term Sands', Cornish Archaeol 7, 82.
Peter, 0.B., 1892. 'Excavations on the Site of Launceston Priory', J Roy lnst Cornwall 11, 91-96, 249-50.
Picken, W.M.M., 1985. 'Light on Lammana', Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 35, pt 8, 281-86.
Platt, C., 1976. The English Medieval Town, London.
Pollard, S.H.M., 1966. 'Neolithic and Dark Age Settlements on High Peak, Sidmouth, Devon', Proc Devon
Archaeol Soc 23, 35-59.
Polsue, J. (ed), 1870. 'Lake's Parochial History of Cornwall', 3.
Pounds, N.J.G., 1937. 'The Medieval Castle in Cornwall', Roy Cornwall Polytechnic Soc ns 9.1, 27-32.
Pounds, N.J.G., 1945. 'The Lanhydrock Atlas', Antiquity 19, 20-26.
Pounds, N.J.G., 1947. The Historical Geography of Cornwall, London University PhD Thesis.
Pounds, N.J.G., 1979. 'The Duchy Palace at Lostwithiel Cornwall', Archaeol J 136, 203-17.
Preston-Jones, A., forthcoming. 'Road Widening at St Buryan and Pelynt, 1985', Cornish Archaeol.
Pryce, H., 1984. 'Ecclesiastical Sanctuary in Thirteenth Century Welsh Law', Journal of Legal History 5 no 3,
1-13.
Quinnell, H., forthcoming. Trethurgy Round, St Austell, Cornwall.
Quinnell, H. and Harris, D., 1985. 'Castle Dore: the Chronology Reconsidered', Cornish Archaeol 24, 123 -32.
RCHME, forthcoming. Bodmin Moor: the Prehistoric and Historic Landscape, London.
Radford, C.A.R., 1935. `Tintagel; the Castle and Celtic Monastery - Interim Report', Antiq J 15, 401-19.
Radford, C.A.R., 1951. 'Report on the Excavations at Castle Dore', J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 1, Appendix, 1-119.
Ravenhill, W.L.D., 1967. 'Cornwall' in H.C. Darby and R. Welldon Finn (eds) The Domesday Geography of
South-West England, Cambridge.
Ravenhill, W.L.D., 1969. 'The Early Settlement of South West England', in A.H. Shorter et al (eds) South West
England, London.
Richards, M., 1960. 'The Irish Settlements in South West Wales: a Topographical Approach', Proc Roy Soc Antiq
Ireland 90, 133 - 62.
Rogers, J.J., 1985. `Carminow of Carminow', J Roy Inst Cornwall 5, 231-35.
Rose, P. and Johnson, N., 1983. 'Some Cropmark Enclosures in Cornwall', Cornish Archaeol 22, 99-104.
Rowse, AL., 1941. Tudor Cornwall, London.
Ryan, M.F., 1973. 'Native Pottery in Early Historic Ireland', Proc Roy Irish Academy 72, 619-45.
Russell, V. and Pool, P.A.S., 1968. 'The excavation of Chapel Jane, Zennor', Cornish Archaeol 7, 43-60.
Saunders, A., 1964. 'Launceston Castle: an interim report', Cornish Archaeol 3, 63-69.
Saunders, A., 1970. 'Excavations at Launceston Castle 1965-69: interim report', Cornish Archaeol 9, 83-92.
Saunders, A., 1971. 'Launceston Castle', Cornish Archaeol 10, 95.
Saunders, A., 1977. 'Excavations at Launceston Castle 1970-76: interim report', Cornish Archaeol 16, 129-37.
Saunders, A., 1979. 'Launceston Castle', Cornish Archaeol 18, 80.
Saunders, A., 1980. 'Launceston Castle', Cornish Archaeol 19, 97-98.
Saunders, A., 1981. 'Launceston Castle', Cornish Archaeol 20, 220-21.
Saunders, A., 1982. 'Launceston Castle Excavations in 1981 - an interim report', Cornish Archaeol 21, 187-88.
Saunders, A., 1984. Launceston Castle, HBMCE, London.

183
 Saunders, C., 1972. 'The Excavations at Grambla, Wendron, 1972: Interim Report', Cornish Archaeol 11,
50-52.
Schofield, S., 1973. 'Pengersick Castle, Archaeol J 130, 264-65.
Sedding, E.H., 1909. Norman Architecture in Cornwall, London and Truro.
Sheppard, P., 1980. The Historic Towns of Cornwall, an archaeological survey, Truro.
Silvester, R.J., 1980. `An excavation at Dunkeswell', Proc Devon Archaeol Soc 38, 53-66.
Somerscales, MI., 1964. 'The Deserted Village of Sheepstall', Cornish Archaeol 3, 102-3.
Somerscales, M.I., 1965. `Lazar Houses in Cornwall', J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 5, 61-99.
Tangye, M., 1981. Cam Brea. Brief History and Guide, Redruth.
Tangye, M., 1985. 'A New Inscribed Stone and Churchyard Cross, St Euny's Church, Redruth', Cornish Archaeol
24, 171.
Taylor, T., 1916. The Celtic Christianity of Cornwall, London.
Taylor, T., 1924. `The Domesday Survey for Cornwall', in VCH Cornwall Part 8, London.
Thomas, C., 1953-54. `Excavation of a Dark Ages Site, Gwithian, Cornwall: Interim Report, 1953-54', Proc
West Cornwall FC ns 1.2, 59-72.
Thomas, C., 1956. `Evidence for Post-Roman Occupation of Chem Castle, Cornwall', Antiq J 41, 89-92.
Thomas, C., 1957-58. `Cornwall in the Dark Ages', Proc West Cornwall FC 2.1, 59-72.
Thomas, C., 1958. Gwithian: Ten Years' Work, 1949-1958, Camborne.
Thomas, C., 1959. 'Imported Pottery in Dark Age Britain', Medieval Archaeol 3, 89-111.
Thomas, C., 1960. `People and Pottery in Dark Age Cornwall', Old Cornwall 5.2, 452-460.
Thomas, C., 1963a. Phillack Church: An Illustrated History of the Celtic, Norman and Medieval Foundations,
Phillack and Gwithian.
Thomas, C., 1963b. 'Unpublished material from Cornish Museums: 2, Gunwalloe Pottery, Helston Museum',
Cornish Archaeol 2, 60 -64 .
Thomas, C., 1964a. `Settlement History in Early Cornwall: 1, The Hundreds', Cornish Arcluteol 3, 70-79.
Thomas, C., 1964b. Gwithian: Notes on the Church, Parish and St Gothian's Chapel.
Thomas C., 1964c. `Minor Sites in the Gwithian Area', Cornish Archaeol 3, 37-62.
Thomas C., 1965. `Gwithian, Site SL', Cornish Archaeol 4, 67.
Thomas, C., 1967a. Christian Antiquities of Camborne, Camborne.
Thomas, C., 1967b. `Fenton-la Chapel, Troon', Cornish Archaeol 6, 78-79.
Thomas, C., 1967c. `Gwithian Beach', Cornish Archaeol 6, 77.
Thomas, C., 1968a. `Merther Uny, Wendron' Cornish Archaeol 7, 81-82.
Thomas, C., 1968b. 'Grass-Marked Pottery in Cornwall', in Coles, J.M. and Simpson, D.D.A. (eds), Studies in
Ancient Europe, 311-32, Leicester.
Thomas, C., 1969. `Excavations at Crane Godrevy, Gwithian, 1969 Interim Report', Cornish Archaeol 8, 84-88.
Thomas, C., 1971. The Early Christian Archaeology of North Britain, Oxford.
Thomas, C., 1972. `The Irish Settlements in Post-Roman Western Britain: a Survey of the Evidence' J Roy Inst
Cornwall, 4.4, 251 - 74.
Thomas, C., 1973. `Irish Colonists in South-West Britain', World Archaeology 5, 5-13.
Thomas, C., 1978a. `Ninth Century Sculpture in Cornwall: a Note' in James Lang (ed), Anglo-Saxon and Viking
Age Sculpture, Brit Archaeol Rep 49, Oxford.
Thomas, C., 1978b. `Hermits on Islands or Priests in a Landscape?', Cornish Studies 6, 28-44.
Thomas, C., 1981a. Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500, London.
Thomas, C., 1981b. A Provisional List of Imported Pottery in Post-Roman Western Britain and Ireland, Redruth.
Thomas, C., 1982. `East and West: Tintagel, Mediterranean Imports and the Early Insular Church', in S.M.
Pearce (ed), The Early Church in Western Britain and Ireland, Brit Archaeol Rep 102, Oxford.
Thomas, C., 1985. Exploration of a Drowned Landscape, London.
Thomas, C., 1986a. Tintagel Castle, HBMCE, London.
Thomas, C., 1986b. Celtic Britain, London.
Thomas, C. and Fowler, P.J., 1985. l'intagel: a new survey of the `Island" RCHME Annual Review 1984-85,
London.

184
Thorn, C. and F. (eds), 1979. Domesday Book, 10, Cornwall, Chichester.
Thorpe, L., 1978. Gerald of Wales: The Journey through Wales/The Description of Wales, Harmondsworth.
Todd, M., 1983. `Lanunana', Cornish Archaeol 22, 122-23.
Tonkin, J.W., 1965. `The Recording of Vernacular Architecture in Cornwall', Cornish Archaeol 4, 51-64.
Trudgian, T.P.F., 1978. 'Excavation of Cemeteries near St Endellion', Cornish Archaeol 17, 135.
Warner, R.B., 1965. `Rediscovery of the Chapel at Chapel Porth, St Agnes', Cornish Archaeol 4, 41-43.
Whitaker, J., 1974. 'The History of Ruan Lanihorne', ed H.L. Douch, J Roy Inst Cornwall ns 7.2, 108-52.
Whitley, H.M., 1888. `Lanyhorn Castle and its Lords', J Roy Inst Cornwall 9.3, 425-48.
Whitelock, D., (ed), 1961. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a Revised Translation, London.
Wiliam, A.B., 1960. Llyfr lorwerth, Cardiff.
Wilson, D.M. and Blunt, C.E., 1961. 'The Trewhiddle Hoard', Archaeologia 98, 75-122.
Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, D.G., 1965. 'Medieval Britain in 1964', Medieval Archaeol 9, 170-229.
Wingfield, D.E.V., 1979. Penryn: Archaeology and Development — Survey, ICS/CCRA Special Report 5.
Witherick, ME., 1967. The Medieval Boroughs of Cornwall — An Alternative View of their Origins, Southampton
Research Series in Geography 4.
Wood, P.D., 1963. `Open Field Strips, Forrabury Common, near Boscastle', Cornish Archaeol 2, 29-33.
Worth, R.H., 1967. Worth's Dartmoor, Newton Abbot.

185