Besides the parish church, to which are attached well-attended national schools, there are chapels for the Methodists and Bible Christians in the churchtown.

Edward I, in 1302, granted to the dean and canons here a market on Saturdays, and a fair on the eve, day, and morrow of S. Martin. The parish feast is on May 29.

Pendrea, the birthplace and property of William Noye, the attorney-general, who died in 1634, was sold by his eldest son, Edward Noye, to Mr. Davies, of Burnuhall and by his grandson to Mr. Tonkin, whose representative, the Rev. Uriah Tonkin, still possesses it.

At Burnuhall, until recently was to be seen a curious performance of shell work, said to have been made by Mr. Davies’s daughters, strongly expressive of political feelings, then almost universal in the county. Charles II. is represented flying from his enemies, and one of them, in full pursuit, has the legend, “This is his heir! come let us kill him, that the inheritance may be our own!” whilst an angel exclaims from a cloud, in the same way, “Is it not written, Thou shalt do no murder?” The material of this work is found in great variety and beauty round the coast, and particularly at Porth Kernow. The last Mr. Davies of Burnuhall married Kegwin of Newlyn; he wasted the remains of a property which had been gradually diminishing in the hands of his predecessors; so that about the year 1750, Burnuhall and some other farms were sold to Admiral Boscawen, in whose family it still remains.

Boskenna is the property, and was for some time, the residence of the Paynter family. There is a tradition of its having been purchased of one whose family had long possessed it, but who had ultimately become the huntsman of a pack of hounds kept originally as his own.

Mr. Francis Paynter, of Boskenna, was distinguished for his wit and humour. He was either the sole or joint author of a poem ridiculing the then dean of Burian, called “The Consultation.” He practised as a lawyer at S. Columb, and married Miss Pender, of Penzance, by whom he had several sons. The exercise of wit is seldom associated with pecuniary gain; and Mr. Paynter has been heard to declare that “The Consultation” prevented his obtaining a valuable stewardship from the family of which the dean was a member.

Boskenna is now held of the Paynters by Charles Dacres Bevan, Esq., the judge of the district county court, who has considerably improved and beautified it.

The manor of Treviddren, still the property of the Vyvyan family, was their original seat, and continued to be their residence until they removed to Trelowarren. The fee of this manor appears to have been in the Champernownes in the reign of Edward III. Will. de Campo Arnulphi ten. 7. feod. et di. in Luduon trewedryn, Maien et Kellemeke. On this estate are the ruins of an old chapel, not far from the sea, generally known by the name of S. Loy. The ruins of another chapel are also on an estate called Vellanserga.

The barton of Trou or Trewoofe, which is pleasantly situated on the side of a woody hill overlooking a romantic valley terminated by Lamorna Cove, was anciently the seat of the family of Levelis, which became extinct at the death of Arthur Levelis in 1671. It is now divided into severalties, and is the property of the Paynters and others. There is a chalybeate spring on this estate.

Bolleit, formerly the residence of a family of that name, is now the property of Lord Falmouth and others. Tresidor or Treseder, which was formerly called a manor, belonged in ancient times to the family of Whalesborowe. For many years the barton belonged to the Tresilians, and was sold by their representative, Mrs. Jenkins, to Messrs. Weymouth and Permewan. Lord Chief Justice Tresilian is said to have been a native of this parish.

The manor of Eglosberrie, in this parish, according to Domesday, belonged to the Canons of S. Buryan, temp. Edward the Confessor. [See the main St. Buryan page]

The manor of Trevidor, described in Domesday as being held by Ulward under the Earl of Moriton, is the property of Sir R. R. Vyvyan, Bart. of Trelowarren. [See the main St. Buryan page]

With the market on Saturday, Edward I. granted two fairs, one on the festival of S. Burian and the other at that of S. Martin, in the winter.

A charity school was established in 1800, under the management of trustees, who were to provide a house for the master, and pay him eight guineas per year for teaching seven poor boys.

This parish was formerly the residence of several opulent and respectable families, namely, the Boscawens, Vyvyans, Trewoofs, Noyes, Pendres, Levelises, Tresilians, Tresiders, Davieses, and Paynters, all of whom are either extinct, or have removed their establishments into other parts of the county.

Among the chief landowners will be found Viscount Falmouth, S. Aubyn, Vyvyan, Tonkin, Scobell, Paynter, Pender, Permewan, and Coulson.

The villages, besides the churchtown, are Bolleit, Boscaven-oon, Boscavern-rose, Penberth Cove, Alsa, Rosemoddris, Selena, Treeve, Tregadgwith, Trelew, Tregurno, Trevorgans, Trevorrian, &c.

A station of the Trigonometrical Survey was placed in 1796 very near the church. The l attitude of the town is stated to be 50 degrees, 4 minutes, 32.8 seconds, and the longitude is 5 degrees, 36 minutes, 10.5 seconds, or in time 22 minutes, 24.7 seconds west of Greenwich.

The whole of this parish, with the exception of a small patch of slate, at Rosemoddris, rests on granite, and in some of the more elevated portions it is sterile and comparatively unproductive, but in general it is well cultivated and fertile. This difference in the granite soils of east and west Cornwall, may be in part explained by the gradual diminution of height towards the west, accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the climate; but in this part of the county more of the debris, especially of diluvial clay, is retained on the surface, that of the more elevated eastern ridges having been in a great measure swept away.

This circumstance must not however, be omitted. The granite of this parish exhibits more varieties than have been yet found in the eastern district. The slate in the cliffs at Rosemoddris is a felspar rock, and its contact with the granite is distinctly seen; where it may be observed at the eastern extremity traversed by numerous granite veins and the granite near this junction abounds in shorl.

Dr. Paris has remarked on the granite of this district, that it contains full 25 per cent. of felspar, which he says at once explains the rapidity of this stone’s decomposition, and the fertility which is so very unusual in granite countries; and that this granite in a state of decomposition, when it is provincially called growan, has actually been applied to some lands as a manure, and with the best effect.

Felspar is said to contain nearly a third part of its weight of alumine, about an eighth part of lime, and a twentieth of soda.

Pedigree of the VYVYANS of Treviddren, in S. Burian, and Trelowarren.

(From the Heralds’ Visitation of 1620).

[ Regrettably, I have had to insert this tree as an image as I can find no other way to format it. As a consequence it will not be viewable by a text or speech browser. If you need help, please contact me. The surnames included, other than Vyvyan/Vivian are Grenville, Ferrers, Peverell, le Force, Kempell/Kymyell, Antron, Arundell, Glynn, Trethurffe, Mallet, Kestell, Tremayne]

More about St. Buryan