medieval cornwall

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30 .31 SS 24 32* 15 16 • 22 25. • 26 Stannary Stannary of • BODMINST of Blackmore 27 19 Fowey more 00 SX 90 5‘ 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 4 2* Stannary 3. of •6 Stannary of Penwith Tywarnhaile i .8 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

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"Medieval Cornwall" by Ann Preston-Jones and Peter Rose appearing in Cornish Archaeology No. 25 (1986)

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Page 1: Medieval Cornwall

30 .31 SS24 32*

15•16 • 22 25. • 26

StannaryStannary

of • BODMINST ofBlackmore 27

•19 Fowey more

00

SX

90

5‘

CORNISH ARCHAEOLOGY No. 25 (1986)

Medieval CornwallANN 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; latermedieval — late 11th to mid 16th century. In some instances it has also proved useful to applypost-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 aunity. The framework of the later medieval period, which underpins much of the organisationof the Cornish countryside today, has its foundations very firmly in the early medievalperiod. 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 usefor Christian worship since this period; and most are on sites established at some date beforethe 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 tresettlements, became the norm, forming the pattern of dispersed settlement that is so mucha feature of Cornwall. Meanwhile, maritime contact between Cornwall, Wales, Ireland andBrittany 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 latermedieval trading links with these countries could be seen as part of this same long tradition.

5/0

" MEDIEVAL SITES

4

2* Stannary3. of •6 Stannary of

Penwith Tywarnhaile•i .8

Stannary TRUROof

Kerrier 12 • 14

9• •10 ••11

70

SW SX 605/0 6,0 7,0 8,0 9,0 0/0 1,0

2,0

3,0

405

Fig 1Location 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.

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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 inthe colonisation of areas like Bodmin Moor, in the development of sub-divided arable, andin the growth of a large number of small towns. The Norman Conquest marks a change indirection in Cornwall's urban development. Earlier markets were mostly associated withimportant ecclesiastical centres; later ones with seigneurial enterprise. Unlike other areasCornwall had wider scope for economic expansion. Trade, fishing, quarrying, the clothindustry and especially the tin industry all expanded in this period, developing the diverseeconomic and social base which was so characteristic of Cornwall's later medieval and subse-quent history. Cornwall's Industrial Revolution merely represents an intensification ofprocesses that had been established for centuries.

Research into most aspects of medieval archaeology in Britain is largely a phenomenonof the last thirty or so years. The development of the subject is reflected in the establishmentof 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 late1950s 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' continuedexamination of the landscape of the Gwithian area, while his fundamental work on EarlyChristianity 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 twocontrasting 'high status' sites: the moated manor house at Berry Court, Penhallam, andLaunceston Castle, where the excavations were a regular fixture in the CAS diary from 1960to 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, mayin fact be late Iron Age (Quinnell and Harris, 1985). Tintagel, long interpreted as an earlymedieval 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 structuresthought 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 byThomas (eg 1968) but there are problems in its dating and interpretation which have beenhighlighted by Hutchinson (1979). A continuing difficulty in studying the period is that mostof the excavations are still unpublished. Of the major excavations from the 1950s to 1980sonly 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 OrdnanceSurvey archaeological division (now part of the RCHME), and the Parochial Checklists ofAntiquities produced by CAS members. This has formed a basis for the development of thecounty Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) since 1976. One problem with some of theearlier work has been the lack of a clear context to it. A trend in recent years, developingfrom the existence of an SMR, has been for broader-based, but nonetheless detailed, studiesand field surveys. These are essential in setting the context for sites of the medieval periodand in providing a framework for future work. In particular may be noted the survey ofBodmin Moor by the CAU and RCHME (forthcoming); pioneering survey and research intothe medieval tin industry by S. Gerrard (fothcoming doctoral thesis); place-names survey by0. Padel (Institute of Cornish Studies), now being utilised by the CAU to analyse the patternof medieval settlement (see below).

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STRATTON

LESNEWTH

Tintagel*•

0—,Helstone

KilliburyPYDAR

EASTCastle an Dia, WIVELSHIRE

PEN WITH• •

Arrallas

A Domellick /St Dennis

Lanescot•

POWDER WESTWIVELSHIRE

• Helston• *l_ys names

A 'traditional' sites

* excavated evidence

* ? "

eAk L stowder

LesneageKERRIER

In this paper each aspect of the period will receive a brief summary of work over the pasttwenty-five years, but the main aim will be to provide a context for this and future work bypainting 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-divisionwhich is now Cornwall may have been in existence (Thomas, 1964, 74; 1986b, 64). TheKingdom was probably divided into units equivalent to the modern hundred (Fig 2; Thomas,1964; 1986b, 68), whose Cornish name, keverang, suggests that they were 'districtsoperating as a unit for military service' (Padel, 1985, 56, 64). Each hundred consisted ofmultiples of about 100 trefs, like the Welsh cantref (Padel, 1985, 226). Analogy with thesituation 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 ownreligious focus and administrative cente or llys (Jones, 1972, 299-302; 1976, 15-19;Davies, 1982, 43-46).

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

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Davies' work on early Welsh charters has shown that the earliest land grants were of verylarge 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 beinggranted and the large estates becoming fragmented. This picture agrees with the little whichis known for Cornwall, where the earliest Anglo-Saxon grants record transfers of largeestates, often with topographical names: Linig, Ros, Kelk, Macor, Caellwic, Landwithan,Polltun (Finberg, 1963, 17). Grants of smaller estates named from settlements, likeTrematon, Bosowsa, Tregony, tend to be slightly later (Finberg, 1963, 18-20). Daviessuggests that the fragmentation of large estates was prompted by the desire of the non-royallaity 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 toseek 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 besuggested by archaeological evidence, by tradition, folklore and documentary evidence andby place-names, in particular *lys, 'court' (Padel, 1985, 150-51). Folklore and traditionlocate 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 CastleDore where he sought, and believed he had found, Lantien, one of the seats of the legendaryKing Mark (Radford, 1951). However, a recent reappraisal argues convincingly that thestructures thought by Radford to be post-Roman are more probably late Iron Age (Quinnelland Harris, 1985).

The problem is further illustrated by excavations at three sites where in each case the aimwas at least partly to identify early medieval activity; Castle-an-Dinas is traditionallyassociated with the 'Dukes of Cornwall' (Padel, 1981a, 71); Castle Gotha was conceivablyto 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 thepotential site of the *arghans-lys, 'silver court' (K. Dark, pers.comm.). None of these sitesproduced evidence for early medieval occupation.

Archaeological evidence by itself can be ambiguous; two sherds of post-Roman Biamphora 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 nowidentified from the site (H. Quinnell pers.comm ) If Chilli is a 'high status' site this functionneed 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 ofCornwall 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), andreinforced by the recent survey by Norman Quinnell and Martin Fletcher (RCHME, Thomasand Fowler, 1985) showing the island to be covered with over 70 rectangular structures.

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Recent minor excavations have shown that the post-Roman occupation extended onto themainland (Hartgroves and Walker, forthcoming).

Post-Roman, pre-English, administrative centres may also be represented by places witha 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 tomanorial centres recorded in Domesday Book (Padel, 1985, 150). In particular, Helston,Helstone and Liskeard were royal manors, indicating English take-over of the most importantpre-existing administrative centres. Domesday Book provides an invaluable andcomprehensive list of manorial centres of the 11th century, many of which could be of muchearlier origin. Some of these sites are now deserted and of considerable archaeologicalpotential, notably Winnianton (Jope and Threlfall, 1956; Thomas, 1963b) and Tybesta, bothof which gave their names to hundreds.

Cornwall has two major linear earthworks, the Bolster Bank and the Giant's Hedge. Theyare usually assumed to be of early medieval date like examples elsewhere, but Johnson haspointed 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 ofland, between two rivers, which contains many settlements (Fig 3) and may represent aterritorial boundary, whereas the Bolster Bank defends a much smaller area of heath-coveredupland, containing a single principal settlement and the richest tin-grounds in the parish ofSt Agnes.

RURAL SETTLEMENT

Four areas of work have been particularly important in the last twenty-five years: theexcavation of a series of long-houses in the late 1950s and 1960s; continued work in the1960s in the Gwithian area; excavation and major survey on Bodmin Moor from the late1970s; and work on place-names by Oliver Padel. The last will be of particular value in thestudy 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 andThomas, 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 andVendown (Dudley and Minter, 1962-3; Dudley, 1955 —56) continued at Treworld andLanyon (Dudley and Minter, 1966; Minter 1965; and in Wilson and Hurst, 1965) and atTresmorn (Beresford, 1971); the latter was particularly important in showing the potentialvariety to be found in medieval settlement type. This work was complemented by excavationof a major manor site, Berry Court, Penhallam (Beresford, 1974; see 'castles' section).

Early medieval settlements have proved more difficult to locate. Some sites are suggestedby chance finds (eg Hutchinson, 1979, 91 —101, lists); others have been identified becausethey 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 latercolonisation Bodmin Moor lacks the early medieval sites found in the sand dunes but it has

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4 B

• round

0 possible round

0 hillfort, promontoryfort or multipleenclosure

• tie

possible tre

Giant's Hedge

land grades

A.13 elr refer to text

• tun

o Cornish elementplus tin

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

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the advantage that overall plans are more easily recoverable. Work since the late 1970s hasreflected an awareness of the increasing pace of change on the Moor and the recognition ofthe importance of examining landscapes as well as single sites. A joint survey project by theCAU and RCHME (forthcoming) (funded by English Heritage and RCHME) has providedcover for the whole moor at 1:2500 and 1:1000 scales. Further detailed survey has beenundertaken 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 includingthe 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 settlementin medieval Cornwall (Herring, 1986).

Medieval houses in Cornwall are perhaps best known from excavated remains rather thanfrom surviving buildings. These are rare, but useful summaries have been made by theCheshers (1968) and by Jope (1961).

Place-Name Evidence and the Pattern of SettlementThe 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 medievalperiod; some 340 are mentioned in Domesday Book, and a few feature in pre-Normancharters. Moreover, the place-name evidence, particularly for names containing the elementstre, *bod and lann suggests that many, if not the majority of settlements are of early medievalorigin (Padel, 1985, 24, 144, 223 —27).

Thus any reasonably detailed modern map of Cornwall is essentially a map of medievalCornwall, with later additions. This is particularly true of the Ordnance Survey's FirstEdition One Inch Map of 1813, which pre-dates most agricultural and industrialdevelopments of the 19th and 20th centuries. It shows a pattern of small hamlets and farmsdispersed regularly throughout the landscape, linked by a cobweb of tracks and paths andseparated by stretches of unenclosed downland. Even away from the granite moors, thisdownland, which would have provided valuable rough grazing land, is seen to have been veryextensive in places. For example, much of the area between Truro and St Agnes, now allenclosed, is shown as open downland. This picture reflects Carew's description in the early17th century ('the middle part of the shire. . . lieth waste and open'; Carew, 1602, 86) andalso the evidence of Domesday Book, which records large areas of pasture throughout thecounty (Ravenhill, 1967, 333).

This pattern, in which most settlements would have had access to rough grazing, has beenalmost completely obscured by the enclosures of the 19th century and earlier but may stillbe seen in West Penwith, particularly in Zennor parish, where each of the hamlets scatteredalong 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 commongrazing of the upland moor.

The work of Oliver Padel, as Place-Names Fellow of the Institute of Cornish Studies, iscrucial to the study of settlement patterns. Its importance lies first in documenting the settle-ment pattern by providing earliest references and, therefore, 'medieval credentials' forthousands 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 ofplace-names has been transferred to a 1:25,000 map base, by the Cornwall ArchaeologicalUnit, 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 twoexamples below (Figs 3-5).

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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 isvery varied; a rough guide to land capability as given, based on a simplification of theAgricultural 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 androunds 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-Romanformation (Padel, 1985, 223-27). Fig 3.1 is undoubtedly incomplete, since many sitesremain to be discovered (Griffith, 1985) and we cannot assume furthermore that enclosedsites are the only form of pre-medieval settlement type; nevertheless it should indicate themain areas of pre-medieval settlement. The two distributions are broadly similar, no doubtreflecting the process of gradual change that continuous land exploitation represents. Thoughthere may be changes both in detail and outline, the roots of the medieval pattern must belongin their essentials to the Romano-British period. Fig 3.1 shows a comparatively evendistribution of enclosures, generally on Grade 3 land, but with notable gaps over the poorerland of Bodmin Moor (A), the Greena Moor/Ogbeare Moor area (B) and the area of HingstonDown (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 doessuggest some early medieval colonisation of the fringes of the higher areas, penetrating upthe rivers Ottery and Kensey (A), the river Inney (B) and perhaps the river Tiddy to the StCleer area (C).

In contrast, tre is conspicuous by its absence from the far north-east (D): an area withplenty of pre-medieval enclosures. This absence is partly explained by Fig 3.3, showing thedistribution of English tan, 'farm, manor', in Cornwall. Here, where over 90% of the placenames are English, and there is a particular concentration of tan, it is quite possible thatexisting Cornish settlements, of the type elsewhere called tre, were simply re-named inEnglish.

Tans are also plentiful in south-east Cornwall, around Hingston Down (B) and betweenthe rivers Tamar and Lynher (C). Unlike the north-east, these are areas where evidence forpre-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) maybe 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. Thereis no large body of English names around the estates of Lawhitton and Pawton, first grantedby King Egbert to Sherborne Abbey in 815 x 839: takeover must have been limited to theadministrative level. Only in north-east Cornwall do the English names present the kind ofproblem faced elsewhere in the country. By how many people, and at what level of societywas the area colonised? What happened to the indigenous Celtic population: where were theyliving 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 andparticularly around Bodmin and Lostwithiel. The concentration south-west of Bodmin Moormight be comparable to that in the north-east, an area of early English settlement in an areaalready quite intensively occupied; this might be associated with English interest,documented from the mid 9th century, in the monasterium called Dinuurrin, which has been

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identified with Bodmin (Olson, 1980, 166-74). Alternatively the names in tim here mayrepresent intensified occupation by English speakers of another well wooded area, as seemsto 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/OgbeareMoors (B), as indicated by the distribution of the elements cote, 'cottages'; and wordig,'enclosure'. Detailed examination of their distribution in North Petherwin parish (SX281806) suggests that names in cote are earlier. As there are many examples in DomesdayBook of manors with these names it is clear that much of this internal colonisation had takenplace by the late 11th century. By contrast the colonisation of Bodmin Moor probably tookplace 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 edgeof 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 inboth areas the pattern is dominated by the tre names, settlements very probably of earlymedieval origin (Padel, 1985, 223-27). Settlements are spread very evenly through thePadstow area but in Davidstow cling to the shelter of the Inney Valley, shunning the exposeduplands. In both areas the tre settlements show a consistent distribution, set out along thevalley 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 thatit suggests a highly organised and carefully planned layout. Each tre seems almost to beprovided with a standard amount of arable land and with access to the valley bottom forwood, fish and reeds, and to the interfluvial ridge-top for rough grazing. The settlement itselfis generally located on the valley slope, in the middle of the arable. The importance of roughgrazing land in Cornwall has been mentioned: here it can be seen that while it would be ofoverwhelming 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 villaof 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 wereintegral components in this standardised layout. Each was surrounded, like a tre, by an estateof land. St Cadoc's (A) and St Merryn (B) have average sized units but Padstow (C) and StConstantine (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 overwhelmedby sand. In contrast, Davidstow Church (A) is squashed between two tre farms and seemsto intrude on the regular layout. Stow is an English place name element and there is noevidence for an earlier name in lann, as at Padstow; this distribution may therefore suggesta 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. Otherexamples 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 areon higher, more marginal ground, where they surely represent post-tre colonisation. On theother hand, it is clear that some places with topographical names in the Padstow area —

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Fig 4Medieval 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 thetref 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, 'winterhomestead, home farm', thought to be the pair of *havos, `sheiling', as the lowlandcomponent in a system of transhumance (Padel, 1985, 127, 129). The *hendre settlementsare on the periphery of the settled parts of the parish, suggesting that they may indeed belinked to the grazing of Bodmin Moor, though their secondary positioning is more what mightbe expected for the summer camps than the winter headquarters. There are no *hendres inthe more intensely settled and cultivated Padstow area. Survey on Bodmin Moor hasidentified a number of single or grouped structures which may be herdsmen's huts ortranshumance huts of the medieval period and later. Two such huts on Davidstow Moor, builtof turf, were excavated in 1942 and may be 15th or 16th century (Fig 5; Andrew, 1942;Christie, forthcoming).

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Fig 5Medieval settlement in Davidstow parish.

Another contrast between the two areas is in the number of Domesday Manors; five inDavidstow but only one (LanguethenocIPadstow) in Padstow and St Merryn. This is becausemost of the land to the south of the Camel Estuary was part of the Bishop of Exeter's vastmanor of Pawton whose centre was in St Breock. Possibly the greater number of smallermanors 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 PatternA 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 theunenclosed settlements of the medieval period. When and why does this change occur andis it more apparent than real? The rounds and the medieval settlements occupy broadly thesame areas (above and Fig 3) and there is certainly some blurring of the distinctions between

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the periods. First, although some rounds continue into the 5th to 7th centuries — and thisis consistent with the place-name evidence (Padel, 1985, 50-52) — none has been shownto originate later than the 3rd century, suggesting that any changes in the pattern may datefrom this time. Second, the rounds may be only one of a range of settlement types in whichunenclosed settlements were equally common, or even predominated (Rose and Johnson,1983, 102-4). Thirdly, perhaps the most important attribute of the rounds as settlements isas farming hamlets of varying size, rather than as defended sites; and lastly it is possible thatthe apparent redundancy of rounds is misleading, most sites continuing in use to be obscuredby medieval and later developments.

However, the large number of deserted rounds — over 600 are known and many moreare likely to be discovered by air photography — suggests that the change is genuine, notjust in the redundancy of defences, which in itself implies political or social change, but inthe abandoning and shifting of settlements. The social, economic and environmentalbackground to these changes, which may have taken place over as long a period as the 3rdto 7th centuries, has yet to be adequately explored. Analysis of the relationship beween themedieval and pre-medieval settlements would be an obvious starting point.

Early Medieval SettlementsThe 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 andunenclosed 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 structuresare 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, thebuildings are sub-rectangular or rectangular (Thomas and Fowler, 1985): but this is not anordinary settlement and they may not be typical. In contrast the 6th to 8th century huts atGwithian (Fig 6a; Thomas, 1958, site GM/1, huts 2, 3 and 4) are tiny, and sub-circular, andwere 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 againsmall (Thomas, 1969) and perhaps not representative of the main house at a typical ruralsettlement. Fragments of larger rectangular buildings excavated at Hellesvean and PerranSands 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 ofthe buildings to be clear (Bruce-Mitford, 1956). The full extent was not uncovered but itappears to have been a hamlet of the 10th and 11th centuries of at least two farms, each withits 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 settlementtype, the hamlet of long-houses, can therefore be seen to have developed by this date but thesettlement form any earlier than this remains to be demonstrated.

The Medieval Long-House in CornwallExcavation 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 settlementplans have been recovered from ten excavated sites and from over twenty extant sites onBodmin Moor.

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pavingvi manger

s seat post-hole

a bed wooden partion

o drain "••• upright slab

hearth suggested wall-line

lOrn

openhall

Fig 6Medieval 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). fTreworld: 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 (Plansupplied 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 andbelong to the 13th, 14th and perhaps 12th centuries, with the usual arrangement of crosspassage separating, and giving access to, the living room or rooms above it and the byre orshippon below. (Fig 6).

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Excavations have revealed much evidence for internal fittings: stone hearths and benchesin the living room, drains and managers in the byre. Treworld is a particularly good exampleof this (Fig 6f; Dudley and Minter, 1966). Although there is variety in house size and thenumber of rooms, the overriding impression is of uniformity of house type throughoutCornwall.

The stone houses at Tresmorn are an exception, having no cross passage, and access tothe living room directly from the byre (Beresford, 1971). Here an earlier phase of cob is theonly excavated example of its use in medieval Cornwall (apart from a possible instance atLaunceston Castle; Saunders, 1977, 133). Cob was in general use for good quality latemedieval houses in Devon (Hulland, 1978, 1 —2; Beacham, 1980, 115), but doubt has beenexpressed 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 theformer prevalence of earth-walled houses (1602) suggests that cob buildings could have beenvery common, certainly in the late medieval period and perhaps from an early date.

More controversial is the evidence for turf-walled structures preceeding stone buildingson some sites (Treworld, Tresmorn, Lanyon and Hound Tor in Devon). The evidence forthese, discussed most fully by Beresford (1979), consists primarily of lines of stake holesthought 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 byAustin (1985), particularly with reference to Hound Tor. At none of these sites do turf wallsactually survive. Austin suggests that the stake holes are predominantly contemporary withthe stone walled houses, as the bases for internal fittings around the wall, or defining pensin the yards around the houses.

Evidence from the Cornish sites is inconclusive. At Treworld the stake holes relate soclosely 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 stonehouses, seem to define structures of similar form to them, and although no turf wallingsurvived its use cannot be ruled out. Lanyon is unpublished and, therefore, difficult tocomment upon. Thus, at present, the problem of the 'turf houses' must be regarded asunresolved.

Turf walled buildings are known, however, as isolated moorland structures. A 'finner'sshelter' 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 appearanceof a low mound before excavation.

The long-house and hall-house tradition in Cornwall was probably dying out in the 16thand 17th centuries, though the evidence is as yet slight. The excavated long-house at Garrowwas 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 houseswith central hearths as old-fashioned, though presumably still common, and 17th centuryinventories 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 thepost-medieval period. At some the long-houses continued in use, but adapted by the insertionof fireplaces and by the conversion of the byres to domestic use (Herring, 1986 and inRCHME, forthcoming). This is important evidence for a process that may have beenoccurring 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, identifiedas long-houses on Dartmoor and hall-houses in the lowlands (described in a succession ofarticles in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association by N. Alcock, Jones, C. Hullandand M. Laithwaite). But in Cornwall such survivals are very rare. This contrast seems

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

19th century farmhouse (CAU survey).

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genuine and has yet to be adequately explained. Possible long-houses have been noted atTrewitten 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 listedbuildings has added very few further examples (E. Berry, pers.comm.). There may be manyexisting 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 probablydue mostly to the extensive rebuildings of firstly the late 16th and 17th centuries and thenthe 19th century (Chesher and Chesher, 1968, 39-92).

The Excavated Later Medieval Settlements in their ContextAlthough 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 resultfrom 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). TheMoor was probably colonised from approximately the 11th to early 14th centuries (Rose andHerring, in RCHME, forthcoming).

On Bodmin Moor the deserted settlements are well preserved and so their layout can beinterpreted 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 Cornwallas 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, withsome 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; Dudleyand Minter, 1966), are small hamlets at 244m and 213m above OD (800 ft and 700 ft). Theytoo are probably examples of medieval colonisation of moorland/marginal land. The siteswere identified from earthwork remains and belong to a handful of similar sites so faridentified in north-east Cornwall, mostly much less well preserved than the Bodmin Moorsites.

Lanyon in West Penwith, a hamlet of two long-houses occupied from the 12th to 13th or14th centuries (Thomas, 1968; Minter, 1965 and in Wilson and Hurst, 1965, 208-10), isagain likely to be a secondary settlement representing an intensification of land use at thisdate. However, deserted medieval settlements are very rare in West Penwith, most of themedieval farming pattern having been established in prehistory. This contrasts with thehistory 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 SiteGM/1, overwhelmed by the sand (Thomas, 1964c, 41 —43; 1969). The original size andcharacter of the settlement are not clear, and although Thomas has stated that it was a smallmanor 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, 450ft). 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 ateither end of 0.8 ha (2 acres) of earthwork house-plots or tofts. Several other similar sites

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are known in this area, eg at Goscott, Week St Mary (Fig 7). There may be many more innorth-east Cornwall in varying states of preservation, but there has been no systematic surveyto 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 thesettlements 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 theplots. Tresmorn could perhaps be seen as a village rather than a hamlet. The small size ofthe excavated houses suggests a humble status for their occupants, perhaps reflecting socialdistinctions of the type expressed in Domesday Book in terms of bordars and villeins. In thiscontext the organised layout may be an imposed one. Tresmorn is important in demonstratingthe potential variety to be found in settlement forms, but whether its attributes were limitedto the larger settlements is at present impossible to tell.

In summary, the excavated sites are predominantly in 'marginal' or 'secondary' locationsand most are in the east of the county, reflecting the distribution of the more shrunken anddeserted settlements. In the future, it is important that more emphasis should be placed onexamination of the typical lowland settlements, in particular on the identification andexcavation 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 thedeserted settlements. Field work would identify many shrunken and deserted sites, but muchof the search can be document-based. An estimate based on the Institute of Cornish Studiesplace-name index would suggest that at least 750 places recorded in medieval documents arenow deserted. In many cases the desertion is post-medieval, and so the sites are relativelyeasy to locate through cartographic evidence and through the persistence of a tenement nameas applied to a locality; settlements deserted in the medieval period can also be located inthis way. In the parish of Gwithian, Thomas has identified six such settlements (Thomas,1967c, 51-53); this is probably a common pattern.

Medieval FieldsJust 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 stripsystem known as Forrabury Stitches (1963) and Hatcher's study of the particularly detailedDuchy records which provides much useful information about agriculture, land use and thechanging 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 smalltowns, 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 arablewas as common in Cornwall as elsewhere. Its origins, organisation, local variations anddemise remain largely unexplored, though Fox's work, mostly on Devon, contains much ofrelevance to Cornwall (1971, 1972, 1973). He concludes that the open fields in Cornwallprobably developed from the 11th to 13th centuries, and perhaps earlier, as increasingpopulation led to the division of existing holdings and the clearing of new land which wasthen similarly divided amongst the colonisers (Fox, 1971). Relaxation of these populationpressures after the Black Death may have been a major factor in the subsequent enclosureof the fields.

Carew, writing in 1602, described how the land 'lay all in common, or only divided bystitchmeal . . . in times not past the remembrance of some yet living'. Documented medieval

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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 onthe Lanhydrock Atlas (1694; Pounds, 1945) and on the Tithe Maps (c. 1840, eg St Mawganin 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 theadjoining enclosed fields is clearly related to that of the unenclosed strips and presumablyrepresents fossilisation of elements of the open fields (Fig 8). Strip-like field of this type arefound 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, perhapsthe majority of hamlets would have been surrounded by sub-divided arable.

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

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Archaeological evidence for later medieval cultivation in Cornwall survives in areas ofmoor or rough pasture where it is probably the result of outfield cultivation associated withsettlements still in use as farms today. Outfield cultivation was practised in many parts ofBritain 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 moorlandareas. The strips are normally defined by low stone banks running across the contour andcan 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 and0.15m high. Strips are widely known in West Penwith (Russell, 1971; CornwallArchaeological 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 airphoto), Treskilling Downs, Luxulyan (SX 035578, CAU survey; Fig 8), and on Kit Hill,Stoke Climsland (SX 374708, CAU survey). The examples at Belowda, Rosennanon andTreskilling are all in areas where the modern field pattern appears to fossilise elements ofsub-divided arable. This is also the case in the Tintagel area, where strip lynchets can be seenat Willapark (SX 069893) and the tips of a few long narrow strips survive as lynchetted bankson the cliff edge closer to Tintagel itself (SX 060892). Documentary evidence suggests thatoutfields in Devon and Cornwall were primarily areas of grazing and were only veryoccasionally 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 latermedieval field systems survive in their entirety. Some twenty deserted settlements have near-complete survival of their fields (Rose and Herring, in RCHME, forthcoming). Commonlya 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 haassociated 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 thefield system began with two fields divided into a total of seventeen strips. Each strip was 108feet wide (33m) ie six Cornish rods of 18 feet. Subsequently the system expanded by creatingfurther blocks of strips. A feature of cultivation in stony areas is the large number ofclearance cairns heaped onto boulders; much of the ridging in the stoniest areas may havebeen spade dug, but there was also plough cultivation, with the formation of headlands. Evensettlements of only two long-houses may have fields divided into strips (eg Brown Gelly, StNeot, SX 199730; Rose and Herring, in RCHME, forthcoming); but although strip fields arecommon they are not universal.

Bodmin Moor is particularly important because the pattern and form of settlement andcultivation probably reflect quite closely the contemporary practice in lowland Cornwall upto the 14th century, transplanted, with some necessary adaptations, to an upland granitelandscape.

THE CHURCHCharles Thomas' contribution to the 25th Anniversary number of the Proceedings of the

West Cornwall Field Club shows that the concept of an 'Early Christian' archaeologyscarcely 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 beenthe same today, were it not for Thomas' work over the last 25 years. Publication in 1963and 1964 of two of the best Cornish church guides — to Phillack and Gwithian — heralded

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Fig 9Ecclesiastical 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 StBuryan (Eglosberrie, 1086). k St Erme (Egloserm, 1344). 1 St Mabyn. m Merther (Eglosmerther, 1201). nMerther Euny. o St Enoder (Heglosenuder, 1086). p Ludgvan. q Rame. All except g and h based on Ordnance

Survey and Tithe Award maps.

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the new interest; they were followed in 1967 by the much fuller Christian Antiquities ofCambome (Thomas, 1967a). Each of these demonstrates clearly the importance of con-sidering all aspects of Christianity, from monuments to hagiography, in order to obtain thefullest possible understanding of the period. A few years later, the Early ChristianArchaeology of North Britain contained a much more detailed statement of Thomas' viewsof the development of Christian sites from the earliest unenclosed cemeteries to full parishchurches, 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 atthe 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, ofthese 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 thisfoundation of the 1960s. Pearce's Kingdom of Dumnonia (1978) contains many usefulsummaries 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 importantEarly 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 andtwo gazetteers to the holy wells of Cornwall (Lane-Davis, 1970; Meyrick, 1980). Thefollowing account is based largely upon the author's (APJ's) research on curvilinearchurchyard 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 willbe apparent in the following. It is to be hoped that this imbalance will be redressed over thenext 25 years.

The Introduction of ChristianityThomas' 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 isprobable that the most important early Christian settlements in Cornwall originated in the late5th or 6th centuries as daughter houses of Welsh monastic communities. The influence ofIrish 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 anearlier 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 beenfounded 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 largeestates could be alienated to provide support for the new religious communities.

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Early Christian Settlements and EnclosuresEvidence from Wales suggests that 'these foundations were settlements, rather than

isolated churches' (Davies 1982, 143). They therefore reflect the nature of contemporarysettlement. Like rounds, they were curvilinear or sub-rectangular enclosures, containing thecommunity's housing plus a cemetery and chapel. The enclosure also served to delimit thesacred, consecrated area. This arrangement has only been proved in the South West byexcavation on St Helen's, Isles of Scilly (O'Neill, 1964), but has been demonstratedelsewhere (eg Illauntannig Island, Kiltiernan and Ardpatrick in Ireland: Norman and StJoseph, 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). Thepersonal name could be that of the secular founder, the first priest in charge, or the motherhouse: 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 foundedby and belonged to monks from Landevennec in Brittany (Doble, 1940, 47) Similarly at Kewnear Wadebridge, originally Landocco, may have been a daughter house of Llandochau'rBontfaen or Llandochau Fach in Glamorganshire (Doble, 1936, 14). The name would thenbe 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 parishchurchyard boundaries, a considerable variety in both shape and size is apparent. They areround, oval, sub-triangular, sub-rectangular, and range in size from 0.2 to 2.0 acres (Fig 9a —h). This range probably reflects the size of the original community and its status: therelationship between lanns of different size can be seen by comparing the enclosure atProbus, whose community survived to be recorded in Domesday Book, with that atLamorran, its chapel (Fig 9a and b).

The distribution of lanns (Padel, 1976-77, 16; Preston-Jones, 1984, 173) shows that theirgreatest multiplication was in the fertile, heavily settled areas of south Cornwall, particularlyaround 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 Meneageand Roseland: Olson, 1975). In parts of Cornwall there must have been a very full provisionof lams, though many of those which never developed full parochial status, and survivetoday as place-names only, may have been no more than small local cemeteries served bya single priest. At Helland in Mabe is the only non-parochial lann to have survived: itsenclosure is smaller than the smallest parochial lann (Fig 9e).

In contrast with rounds and tre settlements, lanns are frequently located in sheltered valleybottoms or valley heads, on estuaries or close to the coast. In this, they may be reflectingthe 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) andPadstow (Lanwethenoc) are notable harbours even now. Hurley suggests that in Ireland, thesame may be due to intentional choice of the most isolated spot available in a well-settledlandscape, 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, theymay 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 lannname have probably lost an original name in lann. St Winnow, St Anthony in Roseland,Poundstock and Jacobstow are examples (Fig 9f and i).

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Inscribed StonesThe 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 ofa new review (Okasha, forthcoming), but they are perhaps most exciting when consideredfor their context and the information they convey. According to Jackson, the inscriptions canbe quite closely dated (1953, 160): if so, they provide a useful terminus ante quem for thefoundation of any church site at which they occur. Lewannick (Fig 9c), for example, wouldhave been in existence by the late 5th or early 6th century, on the basis of dates given to theinscriptions by Jackson (1953, 141). Archaeological implications may exist in the formulaeemployed: 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 tendedto be erected at the more important ecclesiastical centres like St KewILandocco, whosereligious 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 whichencircles the entire churchtown. If in its original position, the stone may be marking an earlyouter 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) andpossibly identified on the ground in Wales (Butler, 1979). Outer boundaries defined thevarying degrees of sanctity about a church and the limits to which ecclesiastical protectionextended (Pryce, 1984, especially p 5). Hypothetical survival of such an arrangement at StBuryan, St Keverne and Padstow may explain the privileged, extended sanctuaries possessedby 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 reservedfor clerics (and important lay-persons?) only, while burial in wild, isolated places, or in thehomestead was preferred by most laymen. Approximately 50% of Cornish inscribed stonesare not associated with a church site, but are found by trackways or fords where they wouldbe both isolated, yet in spots frequented by travellers. A significant number are on, or closeto, parish boundaries. The stones at Rialton and Lancarffe (Macalister, 1945, nos. 476 and457) are at places recorded as manors in Domesday Book. Tentatively, these could beconsidered to represent burials in the homestead: if so, they provide interesting evidence forthe existence of those settlements at the date when the memorial was raised. Finally, MelvilleRichards (1960, 145) has demonstrated that inscribed stones were the memorials of powerfulpeople. Thus these stones may record the names of some leading figures of 5th, 6th and 7thcentury Cornish society.

Unenclosed Cemeteries, Cemeteries and ChapelsThe combined distribution of lanns and inscribed stones is uneven and presents many

lacunae, particularly over inland parts of Cornwall. This leaves many areas with theirreligious needs apparently uncatered for, but a variety of other sites exist which may havefilled 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). Theyare undated, but by analogy with similar cemeteries elsewhere in the British Isles, may beearly Christian burial grounds for lay populations (Thomas, 1978, 50; Davies, 1982,188-89). These need not have been founded as religious settlements, but simply ascemeteries, which acquired a church later, because of their funerary tradition. Away fromareas with a tradition of burial in long-cists, similar extensive lay cemeteries may have

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existed but would not have survived, because of the speed with which organic remains decayin 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 arealso numerous traditional sites of burial grounds and many records of 'free chapels' — iechapels 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 haveserved a small group of settlements. This pattern would compare with that described byMarstrander for the Isle of Man where each treen, an administrative unit consisting of fourquarterland farms, had one keill or chapel site (Marstrander, 1937; and Megaw, 1978,296-98 for a more recent view).

Pre-Norman ChurchesGaps 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 valleysides or spurs. They are almost never found on valley bottoms. Those on valley sidesgenerally have regular, rectangular yards (Fig 9c) while those in prominent, upland locationsor 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 comparablesites without the diagnostic place-name element but where similar characteristics imply a siteof similar origin (eg — Fig 91).

Dating this group is difficult. Were they founded at the same time as lanns, or do theyrepresent 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 demonstrablyearly. Some eglos church sites suspected of being re-used rounds may have originated asburials in (former) homesteads and may be of relatively early origin. But on the other handexcavation showed that the round at Merther Euny was not re-occupied until about the 10thcentury (Thomas, 1968a), and there is no reason why most other, similar, sites should notbe similarly late foundations. The rectangular yards may have been so shaped because theyreflect the shape of the building they were designed to enclose. They were, in effect, truechurchyards, and may therefore represent a development whereby the church had supersededthe 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 toshow the same tendency (Davies, 1978, 123).

The initiative for foundation may have come from established religious houses — themanor 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 rectangularyards compare very closely with those of churches like Callington, Sheviock, Rame andBoyton in East Cornwall whose rectangular yards reflect foundations of chapels at importantEnglish 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

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element stow. This has recently been discussed by Gelling (1982). They stand apart from theEnglish foundations mentioned above as their characteristics suggest that some could be ofCeltic Christian origin (Fig 9i). An alternative name in lann is known for Padstow andMartistow (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 possessionof 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 themany 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 relicsof 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 inRedruth 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 theexcavation at Merther Euny, Wendron, indicated a 10th century foundation re-using a roundfor its chapel-yard (Thomas, 1968a). All the *merthers have characteristics which would beconsistent, 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). Themeaning '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 thewell, 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 earlierthan the 10th century (Thomas, 1967a; 1967b, 81-82). Most well-houses surviving todayare later medieval or post-medieval structures: only two, St Constantine's and St Levan'swells, may belong to this early period.

CrossesEllis, Henderson, Baird and White have made the greatest contributions to the study of

crosses over the last 30 years, in locating, rediscovering, photographing and describingmany 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 theearly medieval period. The finest ornamented crosses are probably the earliest and of late9th 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 intheir introduction, although they also have stylistic affinities with south Welsh crosses (cfNash-Williams, 1950, nos. 159, 222, 303, 360, 365). A context for the slightly later groupof West Penwith `Runhor crosses may have been Athelstan's charter to the community atSt Buryan (Thomas, 1978, 77-79).

Both ecclesiastical and lay patronage is evident in the crosses. Those at St Buryan and StNeot are associated with Domesday religious houses, but the Doniert stone and the Penzancemarket 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 inGwinear, a royal manor in 1086.

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It rapidly became fashionable to erect a cross at parish church sites and the constructionof a new Norman church may often have been the occasion for the provision of a churchyardcross (Thomas, 1978, 76). At some unrecorded point, small crosses marking the way to thechurch began to be set up. These are for the most part virtually undateable because of theirabsolute 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 Reginaldde Mertherderwa made provision for the erection of wayside crosses in the parish ofCamborne (Langdon, 1896, 7; Thomas, 1967, 91). At this time, a few churchyards acquiredadditional 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 SystemThe earliest Christian foundations, or lanns, were settlements of people dedicated to a

religious life. Like secular settlements, lanns were probably surrounded by an estate whoseproduce supported the community. With time, some of the more powerful communities likeSt Petroc's acquired very extensive lands. Foundations of churches were also made. Thedifference between a lann and an eglos in the early period is unknown. Analogy with Walessuggests that communal life was normal at both, but 'there is some suggestion . . . in thelater 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 originsthroughout the early medieval period, so that by the 10th or 1 1 th century every small groupof 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. DomesdayBook actually bears witness to the demise of one community. Sanctus Goranus, mentionedas a land-owner in the Inquisitio Geldi of 1084, failed to be recorded in Domesday Book in1086, 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 feesand a small area of glebe. Such a process would inevitably have been linked with the firmerdefinition of parochial boundaries and the demise of small local cemeteries. There is someevidence to suggest that this may already have taken place, in a Cornish context, in someareas (Olson and Padel, 1986). The process was completed in the Norman period, but it isclear that the roots of the later medieval pattern of parishes and churches lie firmly in thepre-Norman period.

Later Medieval Religious HousesA 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, indicatingtheir early, post-Roman origin, while the generally large sizes of their modern churchyardsindicate that those which survived until 1086 may have been some of the most important fromthe 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 isCrantock (Langorroch, 1086), where the many earthworks within the Old Graveyard hint atthe archaeological potential of the site (Fig 9h): a potential whose documentary aspects havebeen 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 StGermans were re-founded as houses of Augustinian canons and entirely new communities

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were established at Tywardreath, Penryn and St Michael Penkevil. The origin of thecollegiate churches at St Endellion and St Teath is not known. Friaries were founded inBodmin and Truro in the 13th century. At St Anthony in Roseland, Minster, St Carroc andLammana (Todd, 1983; Picken, 1985), sites of probable pre-Norman communities notrecorded in Domesday Book, small cells of alien priories were established and there werefurther alien cells at St Michael's Mount and Tregony (Taylor, 1916, 104-21). From the14th century it became common for wealthy laymen who would previously have endoweda monastic community to found chantries. The remains of a 15th century chapel and houseat St Benet's, Lanivet, though poorly documented, are most likely to be of a chantry chapelwith 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 beenthe subject of a thesis of Olson (1980). But the archaeological aspects of the group as a wholeare largely unconsidered. Though few standing structures survive, every one of the placesmentioned must have had, to a greater or lesser extent, the conventual and farm buildingstypical 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 andexcavation 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 needof careful survey, to identify any remains and to take measures to protect them from ignorantdestruction like that which occurred at Bodmin.

Fig 10Excavation at Bodmin Priory, 1985.

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ChapelsAlso 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 fewhave above-ground remains Those at Cotehele, Trecarrell, Tintagel, Madron Well andShillingham are examples. The majority are known only from documentary references, theirsites 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 ororatories at the mansions of the gentry. All went out of use at the Reformation. The manorialchapel at Penhallam in Jacobstow was recently excavated by Beresford, as part of hisinvestigation 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, beyonda single documentary reference. Similarly little is known of another important medievalinstitution: 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 ofSheepstall they have received no archaeological attention (Somerscales, 1964).

ChurchesThe 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, newchurches were gradually constructed all over the county. Almost 50% of Cornish churchesretain 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 mayindicate how humble were the structures they replaced. St Gothian's, preserved inexceptional 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, plateXLII). The 14th century is less well represented architecturally, but hardly any church wasnot rebuilt to some extent in the 15th or early 16th centuries. The wealth of perpendicularwork 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 oneof depression (Hatcher, 1970, 171-72). This is an aspect which would repay more detailedstudy. So too would the architecture itself: it should be possible, for example, to identify theproducts of different quarries, workshops and craftsmen from a detailed examination of theabundant 15th century granite masonry of Cornwall.

In summary, it may be said that while significant advances have been made over the last25 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 MARKETSElsewhere 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 workhas been done in Cornwall. This is due partly to the absence of Roman towns and of majorpre-Conquest and later medieval towns, but may also reflect an emphasis on the recording

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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 beenproductive — 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 theirarchaeological potential have been usefully summarised by Sheppard (1980); Penryn hasreceived individual and more detailed study of similar type (Wingfield, 1979). Witherick(1967) and Beresford (1971) have extended Henderson's discussion of urban origins inCornwall (Henderson, 1935, 19-25). Survey by local groups at Penryn and Fowey hasincluded the recording of a few late medieval buildings (E. Berry and V. Chesherpers.comm.); at a grander level, the 'Duchy Palace' at Lostwithiel has been surveyed by theRCHME and discussed by Pounds (1979).

Although, like the rest of Britain, Cornwall was overwhelmingly rural in character, by the14th century it was quite as well served by a network of towns and rural markets as mostother areas (Fig 11). As elsewhere (Platt, 1976, 15-16), the towns were numerous but smalland though retaining many rural characteristics — for example the open fields thatsurrounded them — these centres could be recognised as towns or boroughs by their relativelylarge concentrations of population, by the ordered arrangement of the houses along one ormore streets (contrasting with the haphazard arrangement of a typical hamlet), by the craftspecialisations of the occupants, and by the grant of certain privileges, the most importantbeing the right to hold markets and fairs. Charters confirming borough status, and theassociated privileges that protected the townsfolk from feudal restrictions, became commonfrom 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 tradeand 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, Cornwallexported 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, somewere important centres from an early date (Bodmin, Liskeard, Launceston), others developedlater along major roads, notably Mitchell, and Camelford, Wadebridge and Grampound. Thelast three were at crossing points on rivers as their names suggest. Some towns also hadimportant administrative functions — the Assize Hall and County Jail were at Launceston;Helston, Truro, Liskeard and Lostwithiel were stannary coinage towns, and also atLostwithiel was the Duchy's administrative centre, the 'Duchy Palace'.

Urban Origins

Early Trade and Trade CentresThe 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 estuarinelocation, range of imported wares and evidence for industrial activity (see below) mayperhaps be one such site. Tintagel may be another. If it can be regarded as a 'royal' seatwhere 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. Contactbetween Wales, Cornwall and Brittany is also apparent at an early date, and the frequentwaterside location of early churchyard sites, the lanns, suggests that they are looking out tothe sea rather than in to the land. Were these contacts largely cultural or also based on trade?

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Markets in the 10th and 11th CenturiesFive 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 alsobe 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 hedgesand sunken lanes at St Stephen outlines a possible enclosure surrounding the town, perhapsa large monastic enclosure (see above) or a defensible enclosure comparable to the Wessexburhs (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 Buryanalso acted as markets from a very early date; the markets recorded at some of them in thelater medieval period could indeed be a continuation of a function that had existed unofficiallyand unrecorded at the time of Domesday Book and later, though perhaps diminished by thepre-Conquest suppression of Celtic monasteries. That the major religious communities mayhave been the main foci for early medieval nucleated settlement is further suggested bysettlement patterns, as described above. In Ireland, the administrative function of some ofthe major monastic sites, and the need to support a non-agricultural community, both withfood and in craft specialisations, were the context for the growth of proto-urban centreswhich could be very extensive (de Paor, 1958, 54). Developments in Cornwall may havebeen comparable. One may further speculate that some of the coastal sites, such as Crantockand Phillack, were established at existing trading centres, because they were alreadyimportant centres of population.

There may, then, have been a broad provision for markets at an early date which is notapparent in the documentary record indicated in Fig 11. Another such example might besuggested 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 Robertundermined the church-owned markets of St Stephen and St Germans by establishing his ownmarkets in the new castles at Dunheved and Trematon. He also held Liskeard.

The 12th Century and LaterFig 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 coastalor inland ports. Clearly sea trade was a major factor in their siting. In the 13th and 14thcenturies 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 onthe Lizard and in the heart of Bodmin Moor were country folk more than six or seven milesfrom a market. The general accessibility of a wide range of craft specialisations may haveallowed a rise in the standard of living in the countryside. Of particular importancearchaeologically is Sheepstall (Somerscales, 1964) which as a deserted site provides anopportunity unique in Cornwall to investigate the character of a rural market centre.

Henderson viewed the towns as 'essentially plants of exotic growth, fostered and cherishedby great landowners as profitable sources of revenue' (1935, 19-24). Linked to this is therelationship between castles and towns; almost all the castles were in or near places withmarkets 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 evidencefor this. Beresford (1971) suggests that about half the towns evolved from small earlysettlements and that the rest were planted.

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• TOWN

o MARKET ONLY

c 1066

c 1350

10km

10miles

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

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Urban Topography and Components

Street plans. There has been little analysis of urban topography in Cornwall, though hereas elsewhere much of the medieval layout can still be traced in the modem pattern of streetsand 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 andLostwithiel 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 nowsurvives (King and Sheppard, 1973b). Because of the threat of attack from the sea, some ofthe ports had late medieval fortifications: a blockhouse and bastioned ramparts ('thebulwarks') 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 atPenryn (Sheppard, 1980, 8, 35-6, 44, 17). The Fowey and Fal were later defended by theHenrician artillery forts of St Catherine's Point, Pendennis and St Mawes, but these werenot 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 ofGlasney College; by contrast the later friaries at Bodmin and Truro, and perhaps the smallAugustinian 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 thanparish churches; for example, the parish church at Lostwithiel was initially a chapelry ofLanlivery (Henderson, 1935, 44). The strength of religion in town life is most strikinglydemonstrated at Bodmin, where in the 16th century in addition to the priory, friary, parishchurch, five chapels, two hospitals and two lazar houses, a large proportion of the 40 guildswere religious or charitable associations (Rowse, 1941, 97).

Guildhalls and Coinagehalls. Most towns had guildhalls, though none survive, and thestannary towns, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Truro and Helston, had coinagehalls for the twiceyearly assaying of tin (Lewis, 1908). At Lostwithiel the Coinagehall formed part of animpressive administrative complex, the so-called Duchy Palace (Pounds, 1979). The shell ofthe great hall survives and shows it to have been comparable in scale to any major hall inBritain. 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 17thcentury with very few as early as the 15th century (Laithwaite, 1978, 30). The most obviousearly buildings are those with stone side-walls and jettied, timber-framed gable, end-on tothe narrow street frontage, as at Fowey, Port Isaac, Penryn and Launceston. Though mostly17th 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 atown-house of rural type.

With so many varied and interesting towns in Cornwall it is all the more remarkable thatthey have received so little archaeological attention. Until the towns are examined as anintegral element of the medieval landscape neither town nor country will be properlyunderstood. To this end the study of smaller towns such as Mitchell or Camelford may beas necessary as excavation in 'important' towns like Lostwithiel or Truro.

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INDUSTRYCornwall was one of England's most industrialised counties in the later medieval period.

Tinning and fishing were the principal industries, with wool cloth manufacture, quarryingand 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 wellestablished by the end of the 12th century (Jope and Dunning, 1954).

In addition to these major industries there is much documentary evidence for activitiesfound generally in medieval Britain. Mills would have been a very common feature of theCornish 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 arerecorded (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 theexistence of the blacksmith in the early medieval period: his presence at a later date isillustrated 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 andprobably many more; mention is made of tanners, curers, brewers, bakers, builders andcarpenters, fullers and weavers, pewterers and goldsmiths (Douch, 1969, 1970). Potters aredocumented at St Germans and Lostwithiel and in the 16th century at St Columb Major andConstantine (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 limepits 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 industriesin Cornwall. Evidence for smithing has been found at Launceston Castle, at the village orhamlet 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 butare 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 eludediscovery (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 alsobeen found here (Thomas, 1953-4, 65-66). Spindle-whorls and loom-weights are evidencefor weaving at Mawgan Porth too, and simple bone-working is implied by the decorativeknife handles found there (Bruce-Mitford, 1956, 185-86).

The Early Medieval Tin IndustryPenhallurick, 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 additionthere are finds of dateable objects from streamworks, noteably the Trewhiddle hoard (Wilsonand Blunt, 1961), and carbon-14 dates from a shovel at Boscame (dated between AD 635and 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

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FIELD SYSTEMWITH

RIDGING

Fig 12Tin 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).

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(1981), has revealed the character and extent of the activity. In Cornwall, by contrast, onlyhistorical examination of the trade, customs and laws has been utilized to demonstrate theimportance of the industry to the county (Lewis, 1908; Hatcher, 1973). From this it appearsthat the average Cornish output was ten times greater than that of Dartmoor. Work in recentyears has demonstrated the archaeological potential of the industry in Cornwall, starting withthe 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 linkedto a widely based documentary search (Gerrard, forthcoming). In the west of the county theremarkable collection of late medieval processing works at Retallack, Constantine has beenrecorded and discussed by Gerrard (1985).

Survey on Bodmin Moor has shown most valleys to contain extensive remains ofstreamworks, exploiting the tin ore weathered from the lodes or veins. Many or most of theseare probably of later medieval date. Associated with them are the reservoirs and leatssupplying the water essential for separating the ore from lighter waste material. Theapparently random dumps of the streamworks resolve, after survey, into evidence for a verysystematic and predictable process of exploitation (Fig 12). Open works, exploiting the lodein situ, are rare on Bodmin Moor, as is evidence for early mining. This accounts for the rarityof stamping mills, which are much commoner on Dartmoor. Stamps were necessary to crushmined, 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 lineof hollows, normally three, on the mortar stone (Gerrard, 1985, Fig 2). The 'black tin' fromthe mill was then taken to the blowing house (eg Retallack, Gerrard, 1985) to be smelted intoingots of 'white tin' Finally, these ingots were taken to the coinage towns, where tax waspaid prior to its transport to many different markets, both national and international.

Tinworks of the medieval period are found throughout the metalliferous zones ofCornwall, but because of widespread 19th and 20th century activity, many of the earlierearthworks have been destroyed. However, documentation is able to complete the otherwisepartial archaeological picture. In the medieval period the major streamworks were onFoweymore (Bodmin Moor) and Blackmore (St Austell), whilst the openworks and mineswere 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, StAgnes, Creegbrawse (SW 7443) and Porkellis (SW 6832), where a combined total of over70 stamping mills were employed. The blowing houses, by contrast, were not tied to themines 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 MANORSMost 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 againsttheir 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, butin the 13th and 14th centuries some of the leading Cornish families also provided theirresidences with some form of defence. A few houses of the 15th or 16th centuries also havedefences, but against sea-borne rather than local hostility (Place House, Fowey, late 15thcentury (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, theimportant administrative centre of Launceston Castle, and the possible ringwork and 12th to

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Fig 13Castles in Cornwall. a Launceston. b Trematon. c Cardinham. d Kilkhampton. e Eastleigh Berrys. f CastleGoff. 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 whichappears 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).

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14th century moated manor-house at Penhallam, Jacobstow. Other research has been at amore modest level — surveys of Kilkhampton (National Trust), Week St Mary (CAU) andUpton Castle (RCHME); and publication of an 18th century description of Lanihorne Castle(Whitaker, 1974). Various medieval features have been identified during renovation of theunusual castle at Cam Brea (Tangye, 1981, 44). In 1985 and 1986 observation by the CentralExcavation Unit and the Cornwall Archaeological Unit during the construction of the newCounty Court on the site of Truro Castle located rock-cut features which may be part of thedefences. The origins and dating of Tintagel have been discussed by Padel (1981b); threesmall 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 wasCornwall's most important administrative centre. The excavations have established thecharacter 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 anexplanation for similar features at Restormel (Saunders, 1977, 133 —4). But the outstandingfeature of the programme has been the extensive excavations within the bailey, where a greatdensity of occupation and a well planned layout has been revealed. Rows of mostly small ovaland rectangular sunken floored structures associated with bar-lug pottery probably housed theinitial garrison (Saunders, 1977, 132; 1979; 1982; 1984, 3, 6). These were replaced in thelate 11th century by rows of substantial, closely set stone houses, perhaps halls of the holdersof 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 GreatHall was rebuilt (Saunders, 1980; 1981; 1982; 1984, 7, 14, 16) and the older buildingsreplaced 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 continuedas 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, andon 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 avaluable contrast to Launceston. Although it belonged to two important families, first theCardinhams, then the Champernownes, it was not the main residence of either family nora great administrative centre. Nevertheless it possessed an impressive suite of fine stonebuildings of the late 12th to early 14th centuries in a tight complex around a courtyard, theranges comprising the appropriate accommodation for an important manor, a ground floorhall with central hearth, with access to a wardrobe with chamber over and also to a late 12thcentury first floor chamber, or 'camera', with a fireplace; a chapel; a service range withkitchen, buttery, bake and brew-house and pantry. The extant moat, 1.3m to 2.4m deep and7m 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, suggestedthat the earthwork originated as a Norman ringwork, perhaps of the late 11th century, butthere was no dating evidence (for example, no bar-lug pottery) and no associated earlystructures, though one sunken floored feature is said to predate the ringwork bank (Beresford,1974, 89, 125).

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Castles in the 11th and 12th CenturiesThe 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 majormanor houses).

Analysis of earthwork enclosures at present classed as rounds and multiple enclosures mayproduce 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 (SS244067), a low mound 1.7m high, 50m across, with a flattened dome profile, has beenidentified as a motte (N.V. Quinnell, OS Index SS 20NW8; Fig 13e), perhaps slighted orunfinished. One bailey adjoins to the north-east, with a second beyond.

Apart from Launceston and Penhallam, dating is mostly imprecise. Unpublished earlyarchaeological work at Restormel and Tintagel was presumably clearance rather thanexcavation. Apart from the Domesday Book entries for Launceston and Trematon earlydocumentation is almost entirely lacking. Dating, therefore, tends to be partly by form andarchitectural detail and mostly by linking the castles to the documented presence of importantfamilies. Tintagel is a good example of the ambiguity of this evidence. Padel (198 lb) hasrecently argued that there is little evidence for the mid 12th century foUndation by EarlReginald, suggested by Radford (1935). More probably it was built by Earl Richard in the13th century, or perhaps by the de Hornicotes, who changed their family name to de Tintagelat the end of the 12th century.

In 1086 Robert of Mortain held some 277 of the 350 or so Cornish manors, and had castlesat Launceston and Trematon. Some of the castles can probably be associated with his majortenants, who between them held most of the manors; Richard FitzTurold — Cardinham,Week St Mary, Penhallam; Reginald de Valletort — Trematon; Turstin the Sheriff or his sonBaldwin — Restormel; Hamelin — perhaps Truro (in his manor of Trehaverne). Other castlescan be attached to important families of the 12th century, the Pomeroys at Tregony, Richardde Lucy at Truro, the Botreaux at Botreaux Castle. Killchampton may be an adulterine castleof Robert of Gloucester or perhaps the Granvilles (Dew, 1926, 6, 66). The ringwork atBossiney could be either a 12th century predecessor to Tintagel or a minor castle of Robertof Mortain, as he held the manor from St Petroc's in 1086. Upton was probably the 12thcentury residence of the Uptons (Polsue, 1870, 118).

Both mottes and ringworks vary greatly in size. The motte at Launceston is 20m high, thatat Kilkhampton only 6m-9m. The distinction between motte and ringwork is not alwaysclear, Week St Mary seeming to be a hybrid, consisting of a low mound 1.5m high with abank around the rim. It is also unclear from early descriptions whether Truro and BotreauxCastle were mottes or ringworks. Upton is motte-like, but the effect is produced largely byits location on a small knoll, which together with an enclosing unmortared wall makes abarrier 2.5m high. The enclosed area, 25m by 23m, contains two buildings, one of whichis 13m x 8m internally and is probably a hall (N.V. Quinnell, OS Index SX 27NW35). The

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site may be more a defended manor house than a castle, perhaps of a type widespread in 12thcentury Cornwall and earlier but only rarely surviving. Penhallam and Week St Mary arecomparable in scale.

The term 'castle' can, therefore, cover a wide range of sites. The castles of the 11th and12th 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 BeyondIn 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 orCardinham. In Cornwall five Royal Licences to Crenellate were granted, all between 1330and 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 tohave been at Tehidy itself. Considerable fragments of the castle at Ruan Lanihorne survivedto 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). OnlyBinhamy is relatively intact. A rectangular area 60m x 50m is enclosed by a ditch or moat10m 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 fieldworkmay produce further examples of comparable sites, as in Devon (Silvester, 1980). None hadlicences 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 survivedto the last century (Rogers, 1875). At St Columb Major the buildings of the moated rectorywere replaced in the last century, but traces of the moat remain, enclosing an area 40msquare. In 1309 the rectory withstood seige by a mob of tinners (Henderson, 1930, 9). It wasprobably built by Ralph de Arundell, rector from 1303 to 1329, a relative of the powerfulArundells of Lanherne. A single stretch of broad ditch on the west side of Lanherne itselfmight also be part of a moat. Fragments of a possible moat also survive at Lee inMorwenstow, (SS 23121227, OS Index SS 21SW15).

In many cases these sites probably differed from other major manor houses more in thepretentions of their owners than in the character and extent of the accommodation.

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20cm10M

Fig 14A selection of medieval pottery, including comparanda from outside Cornwall. a—g, early medieval importedwares. 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, Fig72). j, k Grass-marked cooking-pots, Larriban, Co Antrim (Childe, 1936, Fig 5). 1 Grass-marked platter, SandyLane Style 2, Gunwalloe (Thomas, 1963b, Fig 20). m Bar-lug pot, Gunwalloe (Jope and Threlfall, 1956, Fig27). o Bar-lug pot, Hellesvean (Hutchinson, 1979, Fig 42). p and q, bar-lip pottery from the Continent. p Bar-lippot 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 (Russelland Pool, 1968, Fig 12). t Cooking-pot, Sandy Lane style 3, Chapel Jane (ibid). v Later medieval cooking-potrims: i Penhallam (Beresford, 1974, Fig 40); ii—iv Treworld (Dudley and Minter, 1966, Fig 16). w Cooking-potbase, Treworld (ibid). x Jug, Penhallam (Beresford, 1974, Fig 39). y Imported jug from the Saintonge, 13thcentury, found at Penhallam (ibid, Fig 42). z Bowl, probably 16th century, Garrow (Dudley and Minter,

1962-63, Fig 91).

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ARTEFACTS

Early Medieval PotteryAn 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 extendedby the assemblage from the Sandy Lane midden site (Thomas, 1964c, 48 —50, 56-58). Theentire sequence has been conveniently summarised (Thomas, 1968); it is as follows: —

1. Sub-Roman Gwithian style, a devolved continuation of Romano-British forms. Jars andplatters. (Thomas, 1957-58, 59-60). In East Cornwall, Gwithian style is said to havecontinued 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) or7th century (1985, 186; 1986b, 76), possibly by settlers from Ireland. Platters andcooking 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 newfeature — 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 extendinto 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 inits early phase only, Sandy Lane underwent a gradual evolution via styles 2 and 3 to thestandard, 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 sitehas produced so full a sequence as Gwithian. At present the material from only 8 of the 40sites 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 problemsare 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 domesticequipment' rather than separate chronological horizons. Two basic problems are involved:one, the poor stratification at Gwithian, which makes associations with the dateable importedwares uncertain; and two, the lack of useful small finds for cross-dating (ibid, 86, 84). Inaddition, any date for bar-lug based on the Frisian connection must be dubious, since thereis no other evidence for Frisian merchants in Cornwall while there are, in fact, other possiblesources 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 typehas yet to be demonstrated in print. Altogether very little is known of Gwithian Style, thoughthe material from structure 63 at Carngoon Bank has been put forward as belonging to thishorizon (McAvoy et al, 1980, 47-48). At Trethurgy late Roman hand-made jars and bowls

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of `gabbroic' fabric continued unchanged through the 5th century and perhaps into the 6thcentury (Quinnell, forthcoming; and CAS lecture, Jan 1987). Doubts also exist about thederivation of Cornish grass-marked ware from Souterrain Ware (Ryan, 1973); moreover,evidence from Samson, where grass-marked pottery was found securely stratified aboveimported Class E ware, may indicate that grass-marking was introduced far later thanoriginally supposed (Thomas, 1985, 186).

Equally, the gradual evolution of the grass-marked pottery of West Cornwall into thestandard 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 clearestnot 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 Lanestyles 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 Laneseems to be based on 'typology rather than. . . stratigraphy' (Hutchinson, 1979, 92), thoughexcavations at Chapel Jane and Fenton Ia may confirm a chronological distinction (Russelland Pool, 1968, 54-57; Thomas, 1967a, 81-82). A starting date for style 3 is also notfirmly established, but it appears to be the local, West Cornish version of the typical latermedieval cooking-pot.

Early Medieval Imported PotteryIn 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 arefinement 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 recentlysummarised 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 late5th and 6th centuries. The fine red-slipped dishes and bowls (originally Class A) fromWestern 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 importantdating evidence for any site on which they occur. The same is not true of the 'robust kitchenwares' (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 constituteevidence for trade: and Cornwall's most desirable product, for which there is little otherevidence 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 broadregional traditions (eg Jope and Threlfall, 1958), and in the 1960s these could not alwaysbe applied with accuracy. Improvements in the dating of material from Cornwall, especiallyeast Cornwall, are largely the result of the improved basis for comparison now availableoutside 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-houseat Garrow, which was dominated by bowls with complicated rim forms (Fig 14z), is not, asthe excavators suggest, 13th to 15th centuries (Dudley and Minter, 1962-3), 285 —94) but

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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 untilthe 16th century.

Close dating from a few rim sherds alone is not possible as coarse-ware forms can havea long duration. At Exeter some rim forms continued unchanged from the late 10th to perhapsthe early 14th centuries (Allan, 1984, 10) and wares at Okehampton, probably originatingfrom 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 Lostwithieland St Germans areas; that at Davidstow Moor ('Goosehill') from the Lostwithiel area, fromNorth Devon, and perhaps from St Germans (0'Mahoney, forthcoming). A further sourceof 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 theSouth West at this date (Allan and Perry, 1982, 88).

Cornish later medieval pottery would benefit from a full reassessment. Publication of thematerial from Launceston will provide a sound basis for this, together with analysis of fabricsand forms from the large body of published and unpublished material that is now known.

Other ArtefactsThe 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 thesocial standing of the two settlements. In contrast with these, the stonework of the recently-excavated later medieval settlements has consisted only of querns, whetstones andarchitectural 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 alsopreserved at Penhallam (ibid, 141 —42).

In 1961, one of the most important finds of early medieval Cornwall, the TrewhiddleHoard, finally received full publication (Wilson and Blunt, 1961). This hoard of Englishecclesiastical 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 beenthoroughly studied, its context remains a mystery. By whom was it buried, and why? Towhich church did it belong and what does the presence of a collection of English metalworkindicate about the relationship between the English and Cornish churches, only a short timeafter Bishop Kenstec's profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury (833 x 870:Finberg, 1963, 17)?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORKThese have been noted or implied in the previous sections, and are further summarised

below.

TintagelReassessment 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 dateof the many rectangular buildings.

Rural SettlementCounty-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 ecclesiasticalsites.

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 ChurchExcavation 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 MarketsExcavations 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.

IndustryThe 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 documentaryresearch, for county-wide survey to identify and protect areas of early streamworks, miningand associated structures, and for excavation of most classes of site.

Analysis of building stone and building technique in the churches to locate quarries/

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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 ofrural and urban medieval industrial activity.

CastlesSeveral 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.

PotteryThe precise detail of the early medieval pottery sequence may only become apparent

through further excavation, coupled with carbon 14 dating, but publication of the Gwithianmaterial would perhaps provide satisfactory demonstration of the sequence.

Later medieval pottery in Cornwall requires thorough assessment. In the short term thiswill 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 medievalimported pottery.

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