Is bounded on the north by Penwith and Powder hundreds, and on every other side by the sea.

      ST. ANTHONY, in Meneage, 10 miles S.E. from Helston, and 7 miles S. from Falmouth, contains 56 houses and 330 inhabitants. It is a vicarage, value 4l. 15s. 10d., in the patronage of the crown. Adjoining the church-yard, was formerly a cell of black monks of Angiers, belonging to the priory of Tywardreth, which existed as early as the reign of Richard I. The rectory here, as parcel of the possessions of Tywardreth, was granted in 1563 to William and John Killigrew. Trewothick, an ancient seat of the family of Tregose, is now a farm house. Rosecreeg, the seat of a family of that name, is the residence of William Morgan, Esq. Near it is Rosecreeg beacon, one of the most commanding spots on the southern coast of Cornwall. There are two ancient entrenchments in this parish, the Great and Little Dennis, or great and little castle. The latter was the site of a fort, occupied during the civil war for the security of Helford harbour, but was surrendered in 1646.

      BREAGE, 3 miles W. from Helston, contains 682 houses and 3668 inhabitants, including the hamlets of Kenegy, Portleven, Rinsey, Tregunno, Trescow, Trevonian, Trevorvas, and Trew. It is a vicarage, value 33l., in the patronage of the crown. Godolphin or Godolghan, anciently the seat of a family of that name, upon the death of Francis Lord Godolphin, in 1758, passed to the Duke of Leeds, grandson of the first Earl of Godolphin. On Pencair or Tregonin Hill, in this parish, is the site of a circular fortress, mentioned by Leland as Cair Corin. The site is marked by two ditches.

      BUDOCK, 2 miles W. from Falmouth, contains 254 houses and 1634 inhabitants, including Dunstanville town or Greenbank, one of the suburbs of Falmouth. It is a curacy to the vicarage of St. Gluvias; in the church are monuments of the Killigrew family of Arwenack, and one of Sir Nicholas Parker, governor of Pendennis Castle, who died in 1603. The castle is within this parish, but is described in that of Falmouth. Rosmeran is the seat of P. B. Harris, Esq.

      CONSTANTINE, 5 miles E. from Helston, and the same distance S.W. from Penryn, contains 297 houses and 1671 inhabitants, including the hamlets of Calmansack, Dergon, and Gweek. It is a vicarage, value 19l. 3s. 10d., in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Exeter. The church appears to have been collegiate at the time of the Domesday survey: in the chancel are monuments of Richard Gerveys, obit. 1574, and John Pendarves, obit. 1616. Carwithenack is the seat of Peter Hill, Esq.; and Trevardreva of Charles Scott, Esq. Benallack is the property of the Rev. Richard Gerveys Grylls, of Helston, but the old hall, which has painted glass in the windows, and retains other curious vestiges, is now a farm house.
      The river Hel rises on Wendron hills, near Penhal Guy, about three miles above Gweek, to which places barges come up at high tide; a mile lower down, the Hel is joined by Mawgan creek on the south, and three miles farther, by Gillian creek, formed by the river Durra, which rises between Manaccan and St. Kevern; on the north it has Polperre and Polwherrell creeks, running up towards Constantine church, and a mile below, Calmansack creek. Helford haven, within a mile of its mouth, is secure, and at its passage into the sea is about a mile wide.
      In this parish is a curious massive rock, the Tolmen, or Hole of stone. The length is 33 feet, its breadth 18 feet 6 inches, and its depth 14 feet 6 inches. It measures 97 feet in circumference, and weighs at least 750 tons. A natural heap of granite forms a broad foundation for the tolmen, which is elevated on the points of two or three masses higher than the others, which lie detached from each other so as to allow a passage of three or four feet wide, and nearly as much in height.

      CURY, or Corantyn, 5 miles S. from Helston, contains 83 houses and 505 inhabitants, including the hamlet of Cross Lanes. The church, dedicated to St. Ninian, is a curacy to Breage. Bonython is the seat of Thomas Hartly, Esq., and an old house at Bochym, is now a farmer's residence.

      FALMOUTH, a sea port town at the mouth of the river Fal, 55 miles W. from Plymouth, and 265 miles from London, contains 441 houses and 4392 inhabitants, within the town; besides which, the parish contains 262 houses and 1982 inhabitants, making a total of 6374 inhabitants. This town is first recorded by the name of Falmouth, in the charter of King Charles II., in 1661, which incorporates the inhabitants by the style of mayor, aldermen, and burgesses. In 1664 an act of parliament was passed, making Falmouth, which had till that time been part of St. Budock, a separate parish.
      About the year 1670, Sir Peter Killigrew, Bart, constructed a quay, and the trade of the town, from its advantageous situation, soon began to be extensive and exceeded that of any other port in this county. Its principal imports are timber, hemp, tallow, grain, iron, &c. from the north; wine, fruits, and spirits from Spain, Portugal, and Holland; rum and sugar from the West Indies; and provision, grain, &c. from Ireland. Its principal exports are tin, tin plates, copper, woollens, pilchards and other fish, oil, &c. Cotton goods from Manchester are sent in large quantities from this port to Malta, &c. and a coasting trade of very considerable extent is carried on between this town and London, Bristol, Plymouth, &c. Much of its prosperity is owing to the establishment of the post office packets to Lisbon and the Mediterranean, the West Indies, North and South America, &c.
      Falmouth harbour, in point of safety and accommodation, is considered the second in Great Britain. It is four miles long and above a mile wide, and on the eastern side, opposite St. Just, is fourteen fathoms deep. On the western side of the haven are three creeks, Restronguet, Mylor, and King's Road; on the eastern side, St. Just and St. Mawes. Restronguet creek is formed by the Tretheag river, which rises between Stithians and Gwennap; the Chasewater, which rises north-eastward of St. Day, and some other brooks. Mylor pool, supplied by a brook which rises near Enys and King's Road, extends from Falmouth to Penryn, two miles in length, and is navigable for ships of 100 tons burden. The river Fal opens into the ocean between Pendennis castle, on the western bank, and St. Mawes and Anthony point on the east, its channel being nearly a mile wide. Near the middle is a large rock, concealed at high water, on the highest part of which, to obviate its dangers, a tall pole is fixed. The town of Falmouth is chiefly built along the western shore of the harbour, forming a street nearly a mile in length, which has a very prepossessing appearance. The church, dedicated to the memory of Charles I. king and martyr, is a rectory, value 31l., in the patronage of Lord Wodehouse. It was built soon after the restoration.
      Arwenack House, adjoining the town of Falmouth, and formerly a seat of the Killigrew family, was built about 1560, but was nearly destroyed by fire during the civil war. Sir William Killigrew, of Arwenack, was created a baronet in the year 1660, with remainder to Peter, son of his elder brother. Sir Peter Killigrew. The titles became extinct by the death of this Peter, the second baronet, in 1704. The estates are in the possession of Lord Wodehouse, descended from Sophia Berkeley, representative of the Killigrew family.
      Adjoining to Falmouth, but in the parish of Budock, is Pendennis Castle, built by King Henry VIII., on the summit of a hill, upwards of 300 feet above the level of the sea, commanding the harbour. John Killigrew, on whose land the castle was erected, was appointed the first governor. In November, 1717, the castle received great injury from a storm, when the lightning struck through the walls of the building, which are about nine feet thick, removing stones, as it was said, of five or six hundred weight. It is now a fortification, containing barracks for troops, storehouses, and magazines, besides a residence for the lieutenant-governor.

      GERMOE, or St. Germowe, 5 miles W. from Helston, contains 148 houses and 830 inhabitants, including the hamlets of Tresowes and Boscreeg. It is a curacy to the vicarage of Breage. In the church-yard is a building called St. Germoe's chair. The Godolphin tin mines are in this parish.

      GRADE, 9 miles S.E. from Helston, contains 69 houses and 355 inhabitants, including the hamlet Cadgwith. The church, dedicated to Holy Cross, is a rectory, value 11l. 1s. 5d. In the chancel are several monuments of the Erisey family, of which Lord Wodehouse is the representative, but the manor of Erisey is now the property of Viscount Falmouth.

      GWENNAP, 3 miles E. from Redruth, and 6 miles W. from Truro, contains 1165 houses and 6294 inhabitants, including the hamlet of St. Daye. The church, dedicated to St. Wennap, is a vicarage, value 16l. 18s. 11d., in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Exeter. The manor of Pensignance, now belonging to Lord Clinton, anciently gave name to the parish, and was formerly the property of the Carew family; it was occasionally the residence of Richard Carew, the historian of this county. Trevince, or Trefyns, anciently a seat of a family of the same name, passed by descent to the Beauchamps, of Pengreep in this parish. Scorrier House, the seat of John Williams, Esq., contains a remarkably fine collection of minerals.
      There was formerly a chapel at St. Day, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and it is said, "that in times past men and women came to it in pilgrimage, and the resort was so great that it grew to a kind of market, which continueth to this day without farther charter." At St. Day is a weekly market on Saturday, for the accommodation of the miners, and here is also an annual fair on Easter Monday.
      Huel Unity, one of the largest tin mines working, is in Gwennap parish and the great mine at Poldice, formerly one of the most productive tin mines in Cornwall, but now worked as a copper mine is, in this parish; it is said to have employed for forty years from 800 to 1000 men. In the year 1800 there were forty-five copper mines worked in the county, of which eleven were in this parish, and three in Germoe.

      HELSTON, or Helleston, on the river Loo, 17 miles W. from Truro, 13 miles E. from Penzance, and 274 from London, contains 446 houses and 2671 inhabitants. The town is built on the side of a hill gradually sloping to the Cober, a branch of the Loo, and principally consists of four streets, built in the form of a cross. A weekly market is held on Saturday, for corn and all sorts of provisions, supplying a large district, including the whole of the peninsular called Meneage. The annual fairs, which are considerable marts for cattle, are held on the day before Midlent Sunday, Whit Monday, 20th July, 9th September, and on St. Simon and St. Jude's day. Shoes, which are mostly made in the town, are exposed to sale at the fairs and markets, and carried to Redruth market and other places. The tolls of the fairs, markets, and mills, form part of the town revenue, under a grant of Richard King of the Romans and Earl of Cornwall.
      At this town, on the 8th of May, the festival of the apparition of St. Michael is kept as a day of rejoicing, with music, singing, dancing, and processions, under the name of The Furry. Similar sports, under the same denomination, are said to have been held at the Lizard, at Sithney, and other places. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a curacy to the vicarage of St. Wendron. It stands on the northern side of the town, and was built at the expence of Francis Earl of Godolphin, in 1763 ; in the chancel are monuments of the families of Rogers, of Treassowe, in Ludgvan, now of Penrose, and of the manor of Helston. There is a grammar school, endowed out of the tolls belonging to the corporation. There are no remains of the castle of Helston, at which Edmund Earl of Cornwall is said to have resided. The site commands a view down the valley of the Loo; and at the northern side is an office of the Duchy of Cornwall, and a coinage hall. Helston was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth in 1585: the corporation consists of a mayor, four aldermen, a recorder, town clerk, and freemen, who are chosen by the majority of the mayor and aldermen. The mayor is elected by a majority of the aldermen and freemen, out of two aldermen nominated by the mayor and aldermen. The seal of the borough, apparently as old as the fourteenth century, bears the figure of St. Michael, holding a shield, charged with the arms of England, and standing between two towers: it is inscribed "Sigillum communitatis ville de Hellestone Burgh."
      The Loo pool, near this town, is the most considerable lake in the county; it is about two miles long, and a furlong wide, being formed by a bar of pebbles, sand, and shingles, forced up against the mouth of the river Loo by south-westerly winds. Towards the west it forms a little creek, stretching up to Penrose, in the parish of Sithney; and to the east is Carminow creek, half a mile in length. In the winter the whole valley is frequently overspread with water from Helston to the sea. The scenery about the Pool is picturesque; the rocks rise abruptly from the margin of the water, and hanging woods adorn the sides of the neighbouring hills. On the western side of the lake, two miles from Helston, is Penrose, the seat of John Rogers, Esq.

      ST. KEVERNE, 10 miles S.E. from Helston, and about the same distance S. from Falmouth, contains 460 houses and 2505 inhabitants, including the several hamlets of Coverack, Porthalla, and Porthoustock, on the sea coast, and Arrowan, Grugith, Gwinter, Roscorwell, Rosnithen, Rosewick, Traboc, Tregarne, Tregowris, Treleever, Trenance, Trevallack, Trevalsoe, Trevoothen, and Trewillis. At St. Keverne is an annual fair for cattle on the Tuesday after Twelfth day. There is an endowed school for reading, writing, and arithmetic, and six reading schools. Part of the endowment was given by Sampson Sandys in 1698, and the remainder by John Hosken, of Tregowris, in 1770. It is a vicarage, value 18l. 11s. 5d. In the church are monuments of the families of Bogan, Sandys, and Squier. The manor of Lan Kevern belonged to a college of canons, who are called in Domesday Book the canons of St. Achebran; it was afterwards in the possession of the abbot and convent of Beaulieu, in Hampshire, who had a cell here. The manor was granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1559, to Francis Earl of Bedford, and passed through the family of Bogan to that of Vyvyan. At Tregoning, the site of the priory, are some remains of conventual buildings.
      Trelayse is the seat of William Sandys, Esq. The river Durra, a branch of the Hel, rises in this parish, and Black head is a promontory on the coast.

      MANACCAN, 10 miles S.W. from Helston, contains 108 houses and 591 inhabitants, including the hamlet of Helford. The church, dedicated to St. Menacus and St. Dunstan, is a vicarage, value 4l.16s., in the patronage of the Bishop of Exeter.
      At Helford there is a passage over the Hel leading to Falmouth, and a small port, having a trade for timber and coals from Wales.

      MAWNAN, 5 miles N. from Penryn, and the same distance from Falmouth, contains 93 houses, and 536 inhabitants. The church, dedicated to St. Mawnan, is a rectory, value 14l. 16s. 3d. Penwarne, in this parish, was formerly the seat of a family of the same name, who were heredetary bailiffs of the hundred of Kerrier.

      MULLION, on the sea coast, 6 miles S. from Helston, contains 121 houses and 692 inhabitants, including the hamlet of Pradannack. The church, dedicated to St. Melan, is a vicarage, value 9l. 4s. 4d., in the patronage of the Bishop of Exeter. The tower of this church forms a conspicuous feature in the views of the neighbourhood. On the coast is the Gull rock, or Mullion island, a small distance from the shore.

      PERRAN ARWORTHALL, 4 miles N. from Penryn, and 5 miles S.W. from Truro, contains 243 houses and 1362 inhabitants, including Perran well and Perran cove. The church, dedicated to St. Piran, the patron of tanners, is a curacy to St. Stithian's. Greenwith common is in this parish.

      RUAN MAJOR, 8 miles S.E. from Helston, contains 28 houses and 187 inhabitants. The church, dedicated to St. Rumon, is a rectory, value 10l. 10s. 2d. Erisey, a manor house, rebuilt in 1620, is partly in this parish, and partly in that of Grade; it belongs to the Earl of Falmouth.

      RUAN MINOR, 10 miles S.E. from Helston, contains 66 houses and 293 inhabitants, including Cadgwith,a fishing cove. The church, dedicated to St. Rumon, is a rectory, value 4l. 4s. 4d. The rector of this parish, by ancient usage and prescription, claims a right of sending a horse into a certain field in the parish of Landewednack, whenever it is cropped with corn, and taking away as many sheaves as the horse can carry on his back.

      SITHNEY, or Sinney, 2 miles N.W. from Helston, contains 367 houses and 2238 inhabitants, including the hamlets of Gwavas, St. John's, Lannervean, Millingoos, Penrose, Portleven, Prospidnick, Tregoose, Trevarnoe, and Truthall. The church, dedicated to St. Sithney, is a vicarage, value 19l. 11s. 5d., in the patronage of the Bishop of Exeter. In the chancel is a monument of John Arundell, of Truthall, the son of Thomas, who died in 1671, and another of Richard Hoblyn, of Antron, who died in 1692; there is also a slab said to be the tomb of Bernard Penrose, prior of St. John's Hospital, who died in 1532. At St. John's, which adjoins the town of Helston, was a hospital or priory, said to have been founded by one of the Killigrew family, and to have been dependant on the priory of St. Michael's Mount. Bishop Stafford, when he was at Helston in the year 1411, granted an indulgence to all benefactors of this hospital. At the dissolution its revenue was valued at 12l. 6s. 4d. per annum. The manor of Truthall, which belonged to the priory of St. John, was, after the reformation, in the possession of the family of Nants, who were succeeded by the Arundells of Talverne. It was purchased by Sir Francis Buller, who died in 1800, and is still vested in his family, but the house is occupied by a farmer. Penrose, the seat of John Rogers, Esq. is situated on the western side of Loo pool, amidst very beautiful scenery. The lake abounds with water fowl, and a peculiar species of trout. This lake, in the year 1771, was found to contain 163 statute acres, but its dimension varies according to the season of the year. The family of Treville, in the reign of Edward I., held lands near Helston, by the service of providing a boat and nets for the king's use in Loo pool, during the whole time of his stay, whenever he should visit Helston. Antron lodge is the seat of Captain Rogers, and Trevarnoe of Christopher Wallis, Esq.
      An act of parliament was passed in 1811, for constructing a harbour at Portleaven, in this parish, between Gunwalloe cove and Cudden point, on the western coast. It is situated about two miles northward of the mouth of the Loo river, which is choked by a bar of sand and pebbles.

      STITHIANS, 5 miles N.W. from Penryn, and 4 miles S.E. from Redruth, contains 277 houses and 1688 inhabitants, including the hamlet of Kennalwood. The church, dedicated to St. Stithian, is a vicarage, value 14l. 0s. l0d. in the patronage of the Earl of Falmouth. Tretheage is the seat Mrs. Curgenven.