Cornwall: Military Architecture

Polwhele says that if a castle existed before the Normans, it’s in his previous book.  I’m not saying I now jovially hate him, but he is putting extra weight on the side of the scale that says I need to go back and read his first volume. Honestly I don’t want to, because it’s slightly past the futility point on this research.  Let us instead power on to identify significant sites.

He gives a few tidbits that are significant. The Saxons used the beacon hills of Cornwall to keep the local subdued. At Trewithan there’s a battlefield, called the Swordfield, where the blood of the fallen Danes sprouted as “Dane’s-wort” or dwarf elder. This could be a vis source. In St Blazey there’s a stone inscribed “The Saxons came this far, and no further”. The Giant’s Castle in Saint Mary’s the Scily Isles, is a defensive, non-residental structure I’ll need to look into a s a potential faerie court or covenant site.

Residential castles

I need to work each of these up.

Bocastle: I need more information here.

Caer-guidn is said to be “similar to Tintagel in structure”. The name means “White Castle”.

Carn-brea is a former chapter house.

Exeter is outside Cornwall, but is perhaps important enough to be drawn into this work. It was built just after the Norman invasion.

Helston: Flags the existence of a castle, but gives no detail.

Launceston was a castle the predated the Normans: it was the home of the Earl of Cornwall at the time of the Norman invasion. It was given to Robert of Moreton, but after his son died without a heir it fell into the royal lands until the Earldom was revived under Richard, and he preferred a different castle.

Pengerswick is described as a small castle, basically two towers. It’s more a noble’s fortified house than a royal castle, like the others here. It’s important for folkloristic reasons.

Restormel: was a castle of the old Cornish kings, but it become the main home of Richard of the Romans.

Ruan-Lanyhorne: a pre-Norman castle, perhaps. It seems to belong to the archdeacons?  Sometimes it’s just called Lanyhorne, and isn’t in Domesday. At some point it was a prison. Polwhele gives a lot of detail about this place, many pages, but they are from a later period. a local man said the castle was once the home of a giant who contended with the giant of “Trelonk” by throwing stones. Where this was is a matter of conjecture. It means “noble long (house)”

St Michaels Mont is fortified, but not covered in this chapter because of its ecclesiastic history. Henry I was besieged there a couple of times.

Tintagel is one of the castles of the old Cornish kings. Richard of the Romans bought this land from its owner, rebuilt the castle here, and had a feast for his nephew David of Wales. Edmund, the son of Richard of the Romans, lived here.

Tregoney: A pre-Norman castle, seat of the powerful Pomeroy family.

Trematon: near St Stephen’s, is a castle that predates the Normans, and was swept up by Robert of Merton when he lobbed in. It had 59 kight fees in the time of Richard I. On pdf 399 (vol 2, p130) Polwhele gives the line of descent of the mastery of the castle, in case it matters.

Truro had a castle, perhaps pre-Norman. Little detail.