Great Cornish Families

Great Cornish Families: A History of the People and Their Houses is a book by Crispin Gill, published in 1995. A second edition was published in 2011 (). Crispin Gill, at the time of the book's publication, lived in Plymouth and was assistant editor of the Western Morning News. The book names many notable families that have featured prominently in Cornwall's history.

Gill's great families Gill chooses the following families:

The Arundells of Lanherne, Arundells of Trerice Bassets of Tehidy Merchant princes, the BolithosThe Bolitho family's growth to prominence started with Thomas Bolitho (1765–1868), they were initially tanners, who moved into lime-burning and tin smelting before becoming bankers. Their Bank eventually merged with Barclays in 1905. Gill cites the following references: Cornish Magazine and Devon Miscellany Matthews, W. P. History of Barclays Bank. Pool, P. A. S. History of Penzance, 1974. Boscawens, the Earls of Falmouth, Cornwall Carew Poles of Anthony Edgcumbes of Mount Edgcumbe House The Eliots, Earls of St Germans Godolphins of Godolphin The Grenvilles The Killigrews Molesworth St Aubyns of Pencarrow Prideauxs of Padstow Rashleighs of Menabilly, The Rashleigh baronets Agar-Robarteses of Lanhydrock St Aubyns of St Michael's Mount Treffrys of Fowey Trelawny of Pelynt TrevanionsTrevanions: Gill cites as source: Rowse, A. L. The Byrons and Trevanions, 1978. Vivians of GlynnGlynn of the Vivian family: an estate to the east of Bodmin. It later became a centre for biological research. Vyvyans of Trelowarren The Mining Williamses The Penroses of Killiow

Additional families

Gill's list of important families not included above In the introduction to Great families . . . , the following additional potentially great families are mentioned. They were not included in the list as they were deemed by him to have failed to "found a dynasty":

Buller family of Morval, Cornwall, later of Downes in Devon. Carminow family Coryton family of PentilliePentillie Castle described in Devonshire & Cornwall illustrated, from original drawings by T. Allom (1832) p.16-17, on Google Books. Fortescue family of Boconnoc Harvey family of Hayle Hawkins family of Trewithen Kendall of Pelyn

Lemon family of Carclew Roscarrock family of St Endellion Smith-Dorrien-Smith family of Tresco Tangye family Tregoning family of Landue, Lezant Tremayne family of Heligan Trevelyan family

Other Trefusis of Trefusis Manor, Flushing, near Falmouth, see Baron Clinton

Deacon's list of important families Bernard Deacon in his History of Cornwall (2007)Deacon, Bernard Cornwall: the Concise History, (The Histories of Europe series) University of Wales Press, (November 2007) (hardback) 978-0-7083-2031-0 (paperback) suggests the following family names ("merchant bourgeois" who joined the "gentry" from the latter part of the 18th century): Williams, Bolitho, Fox, Davey of Redruth, Daniell of Truro, Harvey of Gwennap, Foster of Lostwithiel.

Landowners Table of Principal Cornish Landowners, mid-nineteenth century (ranked)

Lord Falmouth Lord Robartes G. M. Fortescue G. L. Basset Earl of Mount Edgcumbe C. H. T. Hawkins Sir R. R. Vyvyan Col. A. Tremayne Augustus Coryton

F. Rodd J. M. Williams J. J. Rogers Earl of St Germans Revd A. Molesworth-St Aubyn Sir J. Trelawney C. P. Brune Edward Coode Col. S. M. Grylls

Source: Returns of owners of land in England & Wales – House of Commons Sessional papers 1872-3: paper No. 1874 lixxii, quoted in Edwin Jaggard Cornwall politics in the age of reform 1790–1855, (1999).Jaggard, Edwin (1999) Cornwall Politics in the Age of Reform 1790–1855. London: Royal Historical Society/Boydell Press

Top landowners in Cornwall 1872*Acres owned in CornwallMr Jonathan Rashleigh of Menabilly, Par30,156Viscount Falmouth of Mereworth Castle, Maidstone, Kent25,910Lord Robartes MP of Lanhydrock, Bodmin22,234Mr Cyril Fortescue of Boconnoc, Lostwithiel20,148Mr Gustavus Basset of Tehidy Park, Redruth16,969Earl of Mount Edgcumbe MP of Mount Edgcumbe, Devonport13,288Mr Christopher Hawkins of Trewithen, Probus12,119Mr Francis Thynne of Haynes Park, Bedford10,224Rev Sir Vyell Vyvyan of Trelowarren, Helstone9,738Colonel Arthur Tremayne MP of Carclew, Perranarworthal8,823 *(Source: Who owns Britain ? by Kevin Cahill) (Based on Return of Owners of Land, 1873)

Great Cornish Families

Bron en licentie