St Austell's Menacuddle Estate - SAWLE, CAME, HOOPER and other Families
Research Note by Wesley Johnston - Begun 13 Jun 2015, last updated 14 Jun 2015
Overview and Purpose
A number of different records, from the 1600's to the 1800's, relating to the Menacuddle Estate in the parish of St. Austell, Cornwall, show the same family names. I do not know if these families were related, but I want to bring together in one place the records and who they include. I make no claim to being an expert on Menacuddle. I am simply gathering together here fragments that I have found in my research on the KEAM/CAME family,
Origin of the name Menacuddle
There are many different claims about the origin of the word "Menacuddle".
The one that is most intriguing for the Keam family is by William Copeland BORLASE, first made in his Presidential Address as President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall (See "Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, Vol. VI, 1878-1881, p. 82 note 1 - online at https://books.google.com/books?id=RkQBAAAAYAAJ) and later in his book "The Age of the Saints: A Monograph of Early Christianity in Cornwall" (Lake and Lake, Truro: 1878, p.74 note 1 - online at https://books.google.com/books?id=kcYMAAAAYAAJ). The context of hist footnote about Menacuddle (as "a note Holy Well and Chapelry near St. Austell also called Manacutell") on the prior page is St. Mevie or St. Mevanus or St. Meen whose name may be the origin of both the parishes of Mevagissey and St. Mewan. This is of particular interest to those of us who descend from the St. Mewan KEAMs (also spelled CEAME and CAME and KEAMS and KEMYS and more), who may have been related to the 1670's Menacuddle CAMEs. The text devotes quite a bit of consideration to the names, unlike other sources which simply make a claim.
One of those other claims is cited by Joseph HAMMOND on page 298 in his 1897 book "A Cornish Paris: Being an Account of St. Austell, Town, Church, District and People" (Skeffington & Son, London: 1897 - online at https://books.google.com/books?id=Yz24cB8oregC). There, in footnote 2, he cites page 21 of Robert Charles HOPE's book "Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England" (which can be downloaded - with some pages (but not page 21) replaced with ads - as a PDF file at http://www.forgottenbooks.com/books/The_Legendary_Lore_of_the_Holy_Wells_of_England_1000141283). HOPE wrote "About half a mile from St. Austell there is an enclosed well of remarkably pure water, known as Menacuddle Well, i.e., maen-a-coedl, the hawk's stone; and also the remains of its little chapel and baptistry."
The Waymarking web page for the Menacuddle Well (http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM33XH_Menacuddle_Well) gives two possible origins: "It is believed that Menauddle derives from the late Cornish mena gothall meaning "hillside with a thicket". Some however think that the word Menacuddle may derive from mena, meaning sanctuary, and St. Guidel, an unknown saint."
The Records
The records are listed in chronological order. Thanks to Ronald Keam of New Zealand who made the transcriptions of the wills and to Helen Keam Sage of Australia who sent them to me.
December 1671 John CAME Will (CRO AP/C/15) - CAME
John CAME wrote his will either 16 or 26 December 1671, just days before he was buried at St. Austell 30 Dec 1671. His will was probated 9 Feb 1671/2. His will includes the following:
"Item I give and bequeath unto Joseph CAME my sonne All those my two several messuages Lands an Tenements called Menacuddles with the pishe of St. Austell aforesaid ffor and during all such tyme terms and estate as shall be to come and Expire at the tyme of my decease."
The 10 Jan 1671/2 inventory of all his goods and chattles included two entries related to Menacuddle:
2 Feb 1678/9 Anne Came Will Codicils (CRO AP/C/17) - CAME, SAWLE, STEPHENS, ALLEN, HOOPER, WHITE
Anne CAME, whose son John in 1671 bequeathed two chattles in Menacuddle to his son Joseph, will and probate make no mention of Menacuddle. However two codicils to her 1679 will both bring together the same family names. Both codicils are for the designation of guardians for her minor grandsons, since both of her own sons had died (John in 1671 and Andrew in 1667).
The codicil for her grandson Andrew CAME, son of her son Andrew, designates Robert SAWLE, Robert STEPHENS, William ALLEN and John HOOPER as the boy's guardians.
The codicil for her grandson Jonathan CAME, son of her son John, designates "John WHITE together with William ALLEN, John HOOPER, Robert SAWLE gent. and Robert STEPHENS to be his guardians".
April 1839 Tithe Apportionment - SAWLE, HOOPER, BARNICOT, MARTIN
Julia Mosman has indexed the St. Austell Tithe Apportionment, dated April 1839. The main page is at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~staustell/SubIndexes/TitheApIdx.htm
The Menacuddle Estate is included on two web pages:
-- near the bottom of page 15 - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~staustell/Data/Tithes/AI-p15.htm
-- near the top of page 16 - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~staustell/Data/Tithes/AI-p16.htm
The owner was Sir J. S. G. SAWLE. The tenants were as follows (with tithe map locations by number, with sizes in acres and rods):
John BARNICOT: 2988 (West Park 5.2.0), 2990 (Corner Close 5.3.26). 3024 (Higher Carloggas 2.1.34), 3025 (Lower Carloggas 3.2.28), 3027 (East Indies 4.2.30), 3028 (Pool Park 1.3.31), 3029 (Mount Pleasant 4.1.30), 3030 (Mount Breeze 3.1.22), 3031 (Long Close 3.1.34), 3032 (West Leat Close 2.1.30), 3033 (East Leat Close 2.1.3), 3034 (South Leat Close 2.2.8), 3035 (Tregonissey Close 1.2.38), 3036 (Crooked Close 2.2.12), 3037 (Round Close 4.0.10), 3038 (Under Town 1.1.34), 3039 (Square Close 2.3.1), 3040 (Town Place, Poultry Close 3.1.7), 3041 (Higher Middle Close 2.2.4), 3042 (Middle Close 3.1.32)
Francis HOPPER: 2989 (Field 2.2.4)
John MARTIN: 3044 (part of Menacuddle Wood 3.2.22)
Sir J. S. G SAWLE: 3043 (Menacuddle Wood 32.3.3)