Colan Church, Cornwall - Arthur J Jewers, 1887

COLAN CHURCH, CORNWALL.

BY ARTHUR J. JEWERS, F.S.A.

WE propose, as far as the imagination will permit, to take our readers with us to pay a visit to the little parish church of Colan, while we give some account more particularly of its monuments.

This church and parish lies between St. Columb Major and Newquay, though not on the main road between those places, by a rather open and uninteresting road, which crosses at one point a bit of moor with a marsh in a hollow. The church, when these notes were made, in 1876, was in a very dilapidated state; the ribs of the roof had acquired a most perilous slope towards the tower, which was itself held together by iron bands; the interior was filled by the ordinary high pews; while a faded and moth-eaten baize cloth covering the ricketty table that served the place of altar, added to the damp-stained walls, gave the whole a most forlorn and miserable appearance—indeed the fabric was held to be in too dangerous a condition for service to be held in it. But this has since been all changed: the church has been completely restored by the efforts of the late vicar and of the lord of the manor, Mr. Paget Hoblyn, Esq., m.a., of the Fir Hill, in this parish, the representative of the very ancient family of Hoblyn of Nanswhedden, the ruins of which noble mansion lie close at hand, but within the parish of St. Columb Major.

We will now turn our attention to the monuments, which are few and not imposing. The only two of any importance are two brasses, and these having been already fully treated by Mr. E. H. W. Dunkin, in his Monumental Brasses of Cornwall, it will be needless to do more than notice briefly, referring, as the old writers used to say, the curious reader to that work for further information. The oldest of these two brasses is a large slate slab fixed against the wall of the north aisle; round the edge is cut this inscription:—

"Here lyethe the body of ffrauncys Bluet Esquier who maried Elizabethe Colan & they had XIII sonnes and IX daughters; who decessed the XX of Maye; 1572; & the sayd Elizabethe decessed y^e [a blank space] off [another blank]."

Here the blank left to be filled in with the date of a death which had not taken place, as so often happens in such cases, has never been filled in; but her will was proved at Bodmin, 19th February, 1592. Within the above inscription are cut some moralising lines, and the motto. "Cito pede labitur ætas," warning all who read, that with rapid footsteps time glides away. Between these is inserted a small square brass plate, on which is engraved the portraitures of Francis Bluett, his wife and children—the sons beneath the father and the daughters beneath the mother; between the parents being a large shield charged with the arms of Bluett of Holcombe, viz., (or), a chevron between three eagles displayed (vert), on the chevron a crescent for the difference of a second son; imp. two lions rampant combatant supporting between them a sword erect, in base a cushion charged with a human skull. These arms were originally enamelled in their proper colours, but no trace of the colours now remains, The impalement is intended for Colan of Colan, though this coat does not appear ever to have been recorded for them, and has the appearance of a fancy device rather than a regular coat of arms. Colan of Helland bore, argent, a chevron between three choughs sable; of which family a pedigree is given in Sir John Maclean's History of Trigg Minor, but their connection with Colan of Colan does not appear. Francis Bluett was the second son of Richard Bluett, of Holcombe Regis, co. Devon, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville, Knight; hence the crescent on the chevron in the arms of Bluet in the brass. He married Elizabeth, daughter and coheiress of Tristram Colan of Colan. The will of this Tristram is one of the thirteen wills that are all that now remain in the Bodmin registry prior to a.d. 1600, and is given in full by Mr. Dunkin. It is dated 5th October, 1517: in it he desires to be buried near his wife in the chancel of Truro church, and after various pious gifts gives the residue of his estate to his two daughters and heirs, Ann and Elizabeth. Ann married John Trefusis. The manor of Colan and other lands were divided between Trefusis and Bluet; the latter retained their portion until Robert Bluet sold it, in 1699, to Robert Hoblyn, of Nanswhydden. The following genealogical memorandum, written by the above Robert Bluet on the back of an old deed, is worthy of being recorded, as it has not before been printed:—

"ffrancis Bluett Esq^r. was of Holcomb Rogus alius Regis, who maried Eli the Daughter of Tristrum Colan Esq^r. had 22 sonns & Daughters, viz^t. 13 sonns and 9 Daug^rs. as appears on the Toom in y^e Parish of Litt.le Colan in y^e County of Cornwall of w^h 22 Colan was the eldest sonn who maried & having no Issue Left his Estate to his Brother John was Y^e 10^th Sonn who was Vicar of S^d Parish of Litle Colan & of y^e Parish of Nulan who maried & by his first wife had one sonn viz^t. Colan (my Grandfather) & severall Daughters & by the second wife had a sonn called Francis who maried first Godolphin & then my Lady Killegrew had many children by S^d. Godolphin whose sonns & grandsonns are all dead some in the Island of S^t. Marys Sille: my s^d. Grandfather Colan had 10 children viz^t. 6 sonns & 4 dau^ts. y^e sonns were named viz^t. Colan, Valentine, John, (Richard my father, Samuel, and Robert, which s^d Colan, Valentine & Richard maried but excepting my ffather neither had issue. My ffather maryed .at about 27 Yeares of Age Eli: the Daughter of Thomas Arundle Esq^r. of S^t. Cullume whose ffather was younger Brother to S^r John Arundles Grandfather of Lanhearne in Cornwall: my ffather had only 4 children, viz^t. Colan y^r. dyed at a yeare old my selfe named Robert Eliz: & Mary my 2 Sisters.

"Pr me Robert Bluett 1706.

" So that John B. within named was my Grandfathers ffather.
robtB."

From the above document it would appear that the sons coming between Colan, the eldest, and John, the tenth, died without issue. It is very unfortunate that Robert Bluett did not write a little more fully, as there seems to be some uncertainty about this part of the Bluett pedigree. A careful consideration of dates will show that the pedigree differs considerably from what has already appeared in print. We have the wife of Francis Bluett named in the will of her father in 1517. Her husband's will was proved at Bodmin in July, 1572, and her own will on the 19th February, 1592-3; we may therefore well suppose, taking into consideration the large family she had, that she was married not later than 1530; this would well allow of her younger son. John, having his eldest son, Colan, married in 1611. There is little doubt the pedigree stands thus:

Francis Bluett, second son of Richard Bluett of Holcombe, by Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville, Knt. He married, probably about 1530, Elizabeth, second daughter and coheiress of Tristram Colan of Colan; named in the will of her father, October, 1517, and then under age; her will being proved at Bodmin, 19th February, 1592-3. He died 20th May, 1572, and was buried at Little Colan, with a monument which states that he had thirteen sons and nine daughters; of these the eldest and tenth succeeded to Colan, viz., Colan Bluet, married, but died sine prole, leaving his estates to his brother John. John, Vicar of Little Colan and Newlyn, whose will was proved at Bodmin, 3rd September, 1615, married twice, having by the first wife one son, Colan (below), and his second wife a son Francis, who married first, Godolphin, and secondly, "my Lady Killegrew"; by his first wife he had many children, but his sons and grandsons were all dead in 1706. Colan Bluet, the eldest son of the Rev. John Bluet, married first at Boyton, 23rd February, 1611, Martha, daughter of Richard Loveys of Beardon, who died without issue; and secondly, Margery, daughter of — Ley alias Kempthorne, by whom he had six sons and four daughters, viz., 1, Colan (below); 2, Valentine, married, but died s.p., his wife being probably the Mrs. Martha Bluett, widow, buried at Little Colan, 25th April, 1668 (vide Parish Register); 3, John, died unmarried; 4, Richard (below); 5, Samuel, died unmarried; 6, Robert, died unmarried.

Colan, the eldest son, was baptised at Colan, 14th September, 1630, and married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Wrey, Knt. and Bart., publication being made at St. Columb Major in the market-place, as was usual at that date, on 21st and 28th of June, and on 3rd July, 1655, the father of each being said be deceased (see Parish Register of St. Columb Major, page 155). He was a major in the army of King Charles I., and died without issue.

Richard, fourth son of the above Colan Bluett and Margery Ley alias Kempthorne, succeeded to the Colan property, and married, as stated by his son, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Arundle, of St. Columb, whose relationship to the head of the family appears to be clearly defined in the manuscript above given, but on turning to the Arundle pedigree we find that there was no Sir John Arundle, of Lanherne, then living, the last having died five years before and been buried at St. Columb Major, 2nd November, 1701, leaving two daughters, his coheirs. But supposing it to be this Sir John to whom Robert Bluett refers, we find his grandfather had two younger Brothers, George and Thomas; the former left a son and heir, Charles, aged 19 years 10 months and 26 days at his father's death in 1636, and two daughters, Mary and Gertrude. Of Thomas we only know that he is named in the will of his uncle, Edward Arundle, dated 15th October, 1587, which would very well allow of his having married and been father of Thomas, whose daughter married Richard Bluett, and, weighing all the evidence, this appears the most likely, though we are met with the difficulty of there being no trace of the marriages or baptisms required to prove it; there was another Thomas Arundle living at St. Columb who might have been father of Elizabeth Bluett, but he was a grandson of Thomas, uncle of the George and Thomas named above, and consequently more remotely related to Sir John Arundle of Lanherne than the manuscript states. Richard Bluett was buried at Little Colan, 8th November, 1672, his wife on the 18th December, 1690, her will being proved at Bodmin, 11th February, 1690 (o.s.). He had issue: Colan, who died an infant; Robert, born 25th January, 1652, the writer of the above manuscript; Elizabeth, and Mary. Robert Bluett, last named, married Kerenhappuch, daughter and coheir of Robert Wood, d.c.l., ol Shenfield, Essex. He sold his lands and rights in Colan, etc., to the Rev. Robert Hoblyn, of Nanswhydden, in 1699, and in 1700 he succeeded to the Holcombe property, on the death of his kinsman, John Blewett, of Holcombe Rogus, co. Devon.

We will now turn our attention to the other brass in this church—that of John Cosoworth. The floor slab in which it is fixed is placed against the south wall of the chancel, so that the communion rails come against it, dividing the lower portion into two. It consists of a gentleman in armour, his head resting on his helmet; the face is well cut, with flowing moustache and beard, and has the appearance of having aimed at being a portrait, but the armour, though generally correct, is not quite so well executed, the left arm, particularly, being too curved. By his side is a lady with a close-fitting dress, richly embroidered, a collar close about her neck, and a frill projecting above it; the dress is mostly covered by an outer dress, open up the front of the skirt and standing up in a stiff collar at some distance from the neck. Her hands are folded in prayer, which brings them near the region of the heart, and in the left one is a deep indentation in the brass, ending in a small hole in the centre, caused by some blunt pointed instrument having been driven against it when in its original position on the floor; it is not noticed by Mr. Dunkin, and attention is drawn to it here particularly, as it has given rise to a local tradition in the parish which is an instance of how traditions sometimes arise and the care needed to ascertain the authority for them. It is currently believed by the inhabitants that the monument is in memory of a lady who was shot through the heart by her lover, when crossing a stile in some fields near. It seems difficult for so small a cause to have attached such a tradition to the brass, for allowing that the inscription in Old English was unintelligible to the natives, how have they got over the group of seven sons and the daughter below the principal figures? Over the head of the gentleman is a square brass plate with these arms and crest, with helmet and mantling, viz., (or) on a chevron between three falcons' wings (azure), five bezants. Crest, a dragon's head couped (azure pursted or, langued gules), Cosowarth. Over the lady is a shield charged with the arms of Lock, Per fess (or and azure) a pale and three falcons, wings addorsed, each holding in the beak a padlock (all countercharged). The inscription on a brass fillet round the bordure records that "Here lyeth Buryed" John Cosowarth of Cosowarth, Esq., sometime of London, mercer, and Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall, who died 20th December, 1575. He was the second son of Robert Cosowarth of Cosowarth, in this parish, and married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Lock, alderman of London. He was appointed jointly with Sir Edward Waldegrave, to the office of Receiver-General to the Duchy of Cornwall. He succeeded to the family estates on the death of his nephew, John Cosowarth, only son of his elder brother, Nicholas, on 13th January, 1567. His will, dated 3rd August, 17th Queen Elizabeth, was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 5th March, 1575, by his eldest son, Thomas Cosowarth. Of his eight children, only five sons are named in his will—consequently the other two sons and the daughter doubtless died before him. The survivors were Thomas, John, Edward, Michael, and William, to each of whom he left £250, to be paid to them at the age of 25 years, except John, who was to be 27 before he had his portion. To his wife he left £1000, the profits from his tin works in St. Agnes, and the use of "two chambers over the buttrye in Cosowarthe aforesaide duringe her natural life with free comyng and goynge for herself her famillye and servantes in and to the said chambers." His son Thomas to be residuary legatee and executor. He directs that his executor "shall bestowe one Tombestone of the value of tenne pounds to laye over me when I am buryed." This will give some idea of the difference in the producing value of money, then and now; when we consider that a large slab of hard stone could be prepared, by facing, sinking the matrices for the reception of the brass, engraving the brass, etc., for such a small sum.

Of his surviving sons, Thomas succeeded to Cosowarthe and the office of Receiver-General, and married Agnes, daughter of Sir John St. Aubyn, of Clowance, by whom he had an only daughter and heir, who was married to Thomas Kendall, of Treworgie. John was of Little Colan, gent., and married Bridget, daughter of Henry Champernowne and relict of Thomas Hele, of Fleet, co. Devon; she was buried at Stoke Damerel, 22nd May, 1639, s.p. Edward succeed to Cosowarth and married his cousin, Dorothy, daughter and coheir of John Arundell, of Trerise, by his wife, Katherine, only child of John Cosowarthe, nephew of John of whose monument we are treating. His will was proved at Bodmin, 16th June, 1639. He had issue several children, of whom Samuel succeeded him and was knighted at Bristol, 3rd August, 1643, and buried at Colan, 6th May, 1666, leaving by his wife, Dulcebella, daughter of Thomas Hele, of Fleet, several children, all of whom died without issue, except Bridget, who married Henry Maynard. Their only daughter and heiress married Francis Vivian, of Trewan, and had an only child, Mary, married to Sir Richard Vyvyan, from whom descends the present baronet of Trelowarren. Michael, younger son of John Cosowarthe, was Rector of Redruth and Duloe, and in 1589 appointed Rector of Sampford Courtenay, co. Devon. William must have died soon after his father, as we find no trace of him.

The registers of Little Colan are in a very fragmentary state, and the following are the only entries relating to this family:—

baptism.

1681, September 28th. Mary, daughter of Francis Vivian, Esq., and Ann, his wife.

burial.

1666, May 6th. Sir Samuel Cosowarth, Knight.

1670, April 21st. Henry Maynard, gent.

1670, January 26th. Mrs. Julian Maynard.

1673, December 14th. William Cosworth, gent (son of Edward and Dorothy Cosoworthe).

1678, May 27th. Robert Cosoworth of Cosoworth, Esq. (son of Sir Samuel Cosoworth. He died s.p.).

1680, December 5th. Nicholas Cosworth, Esq. (son of Sir Samuel. He died s.p., and his will was proved at Bodmin, 27th December, 1680).

1683, January 24th. Margaret Cosoworth (a daughter of Edward and Dorothy).

1685, September 8th. Ann, wife of Francis Vivian, of Cosoworth, Esq. (she was the daughter and heiress of Henry and Bridget Maynard).

1686, October 8th. Mrs. Bridget Maynard (the daughter and heiress of Sir Samuel Cosoworth).

1690, 2nd August. Francis Vivian, of Cosoworth, Esq.

1707, February 29th. John Cosoworth, gent. (son of Sir Samuel Cosoworth).

The will of John Cosoworth, of Colan, was proved at Bodmin, 27th October, 1671.

We will now pass on to the remaining memorials, which are modern and simply marble tablets. The earlier of the two is in memory of the Rev. John Gurney, Vicar of Colan and St. Allen, who died 17th January, 1790, aged 48. His grand-daughter, Maria Covyn Gurney, died 7th February, 1790, aged fidteen months. In Pennycross church is a monument to some members of this family, viz., Maria Covyn Gurney Hughes, who died at St. Jean d'Acre Terrace, Stoke Damerel, 11th June, 1855, aged 44. Also Louisa Covyn, wife of John Nicholas, Esq., Commander R.N., and mother of above, died at Home Park, Stoke Damerel, 16th August, 1858, aged 66. Arms, quarterly: 1, gules three holy lambs passant, with banners argent; 2, argent a lion's head erased or; 3, argent a griffin segreant or, surmounted by a bend sable; 4, gules, on the sea in base, a line-of-battle ship, all proper. This shield appears to be quite incorrect; the first quarter is the coat of Rowe of Staverton and Lamerton, co. Devon. The second quarter is heraldically incorrect, being metal on metal; argent, a lion's head erased gules, is assigned to Govis of London, and with the head sable to Boots of Suffolk, with the field azure and the argent to Braid. Vert, a griffin segreant argent, is ascribed to Covyn. Argent, in the sea vert a ship in full sail proper, M'Nair; also by Mayre and Appleby. Azure, in the sea vert a ship in full sail proper, Craik.

The last to be noticed is a plain tablet for James Magor Cardell, of Cosoworth, born 3rd December, 1834, died 20th November, 1864.

This closes the account of the monuments in this church. The registers offer little of interest beyond what has been given above, and some further extracts will be found printed at the end of The Parish Registers of St. Columb Major. Pedigrees of Cosworth of Cosworth, or Cosowarthe, and Blewett or Bluett of Cosowarthe, will be found in the Visitation of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J. L. Vivian; and plates of the above brasses, with an account of the persons commemorated, will be found in The Monumental Brasses of Cornwall, by Edwin Hadlow Wise Dunkin, Esq.

Extracted from The Western Antiquary, Volume VI, No.9, Feb 1887, pp207-211.