Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town,
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
and
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
in the
Penwith
Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after ...
district of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
and west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of
Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay ( kw, Baya an Garrek) is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin ...
, the town faces south-east onto the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
, is bordered to the west by the
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
port of
Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of
Madron
Madron ( kw, Eglos Madern) is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, Great Britain. Madron is named after Saint Madern's Church. Its annual Trafalgar Service commemorating the death of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was started on 27 Oc ...
and to the east by the civil parish of
Ludgvan
Ludgvan ( ; kw, Lujuan) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, UK, northeast of Penzance. Ludgvan village is split between Churchtown, on the hill, and Lower Quarter to the east, adjoining Crowlas. For the purposes of local g ...
. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of
Mousehole
Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ...
,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Gulval
Gulval ( kw, Lannystli) is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Although historically a parish in its own right, Gulval was incorporated into the parishes of Ludgvan, Madron and Penzance in 1934, and is now considered to be a suburb ...
, and
Heamoor
Heamoor (formerly Hea) ( kw, An Hay) is a village in Cornwall, England. Formerly a secondary settlement of the village of Madron, Heamoor is situated approximately one-and-a half kilometres (just over a mile) northwest of Penzance town centr ...
. Granted various
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
s from 1512 onwards and
incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200 (2011 census).
Penzance's former main street Chapel Street has a number of interesting features, including the
Egyptian House, The Admiral Benbow
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
(home to a real life 1800s smuggling gang and allegedly the inspiration for ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
''s "Admiral Benbow Inn"),
the Union Hotel (including a Georgian
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
which is no longer in use), and Branwell House, where the mother and aunt of the famous
Brontë sisters once lived.
Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, and
Georgian terraces and houses are common in some parts of the town. The nearby sub-tropical
Morrab Gardens
Morrab Gardens are a municipal garden covering to the south of Penzance town centre, Cornwall. It is known for its Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants; and for housing the Morrab Library in the grounds.
Morrab House with its walled garden ...
has a large collection of tender trees and shrubs, many of which cannot be grown outdoors anywhere else in the UK. Also of interest is the seafront with its
promenade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
and the open-air seawater
Jubilee Pool
Jubilee Pool ( Cornish: ) is an Art Deco lido in Penzance, Cornwall. It is Grade II listed, being recognised as the finest surviving example of its type with the exception of Saltdean Lido. With a capacity of 5 million litres and 600 swimmers a ...
(one of the oldest surviving
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
swimming baths in the country).
Penzance is the base of the
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s in
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
's
comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...
, ''
The Pirates of Penzance
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...
''. At the time the
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...
was written, 1879, Penzance had become popular as a peaceful resort town, so the idea of it being overrun by pirates was amusing to contemporaries.
Toponymy
Penzance—''Pennsans''; "holy headland" in the
Cornish language
Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However, ...
—refers to the location of a chapel nowadays called
St Anthony's that is said to have stood over a thousand years ago on the headland to the west of what became Penzance Harbour. There are no early documents mentioning an actual dedication to St Anthony which seems to depend entirely on tradition and may be groundless. The only remaining object from this chapel is a carved figure, now largely eroded, known as "St Raffidy" which can be found in the churchyard of the parish church of St Mary's near the original site of the chapel.
Until the 1930s this history was also reflected in the choice of
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
for the town, the severed "holy head" of
St John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. It can still be seen on the civic
regalia
Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...
of the
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Penzance and on several important
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
s in the town.
History
Prehistory to Early Medieval period
![St John's Hall, Penzance, April 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/St_John%27s_Hall%2C_Penzance%2C_April_2021.jpg)
About 400 prehistoric stone axes, known as Group 1 axes and made from
greenstone, have been found all over Britain, which from
petrological analysis appear to come from west Cornwall. Although the quarry has not been identified, it has been suggested that the ''Gear'', a rock now submerged half a mile from the shore at Penzance, may be the site. A significant amount of trade is indicated as many have been found elsewhere in Britain.
[Pool, P. A. S. (1974) ''The History of the Town and Borough of Penzance.'' Penzance: The Corporation of Penzance.] The earliest evidence of settlement in Penzance is from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. A number of bronze implements such as a
palstave, a spear-head, a
knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evid ...
, and
pins, along with much pottery and large quantities of charcoal were discovered when building a new housing estate, at Tredarvah, to the west of Alverton. The defensive earthwork known as
Lescudjack Castle is not excavated, but almost certainly belongs to the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
. A single rampart encloses three acres of hilltop, and would have dominated the approach to the area from the east. There are no signs of the additional ramparts reported by
William Hals
William Hals (1655–1737) was a British historian who compiled a ''History of Cornwall'', the first work of any magnitude that was printed in Cornwall. He was born at Tresawsan, in the parish of Merther in Cornwall. Much of his work was never pub ...
in about 1730,
and the site is now surrounded by housing with allotments. Excavations in 2008, to the west at
Penwith College
Truro and Penwith College is a Tertiary College and Further Education College in Cornwall, United Kingdom. History
Truro College was founded in 1993 as a new college in Gloweth near Threemilestone, Truro, Cornwall, to replace the Truro ...
found an enclosure ditch and pottery indicating a settlement, and an evolving field system with ditches and interconnecting pits suggesting water management. There are traces of a rampart and ditch to the west of Penzance at Mount Misery, and an
oval rampart and ditch at Lesingey above the
St Just road, which together with Lescudjack, overlook the coast of Penzance and Newlyn.
Until recently, there was little evidence for anything but an early and short Roman occupation of Cornwall, and there have so far been only three finds in Penzance. In August 1899 two coins of
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...
(69–79 AD) were found in an ancient trench in Penzance Cemetery. The coins were eight feet below ground together with some cow bones, and are now in the
Penlee House Museum. Another coin, found in 1934 in the Alverton area, depicts
Sol
Sol or SOL may refer to:
Astronomy
* The Sun
Currency
* SOL Project, a currency project in France
* French sol, or sou
* Argentine sol
* Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864
* Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991
* Peruvian sol ...
, the Roman sun god.
It is described as a ″''coin of the reign of Constantine the Great''″, and was also donated to the museum.
A 30 mm (1 3/16 in)''
sestertius
The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin.
The ...
'' was found on a building site in or around Penzance about ten years previously, and was presented to the
Royal Institution of Cornwall
The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) is a Learned society in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
It was founded in Truro on 5 February 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seve ...
. Larger quantities of Roman coins have been found nearby, at
Marazion Marsh
Marazion Marsh is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve situated in a shallow river valley, half a kilometre to the west of Marazion, Cornwall, UK. It is separated from the coast by a shingle bar and small sand dune system a ...
and
Kerris
Kerris ( kw, Kerys) is a settlement in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is three miles (5 km) south-west of Penzance in the civil parish of Paul. Kerris means "fort-place" in the Cornish language.
Toponymy
In 1302 a document spel ...
in Paul parish, but there is no evidence of any Roman settlement in the area, although nearby villages such as
Chysauster were occupied at this time.
The
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
of
Penwith
Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after ...
had its ancient centre at
Connerton, now buried beneath the sands of Gwithian Towans at
Gwithian
Gwithian ( kw, Godhyan) is a coastal village in west Cornwall, England. It is three miles (5 km) north-east of Hayle and four miles (6.5 km) east of St Ives, Cornwall across St Ives Bay. Gwithian is in the civil parish of Gwinear ...
. A Hundred was a
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
administrative unit which was sub-divided into
tithings. The
Manor of Alverton
The Manor of Alverton was a former manorial estate located in the hundred of Penwith, west Cornwall, England, UK.
History
The first historical details of the manor were recorded in the Domesday book which stated that before the Norman conquest ...
, with an area of 64 Cornish acres, gave its name to the second largest tithing in Penwith. The manor included Penzance as well as parts of Madron, Paul, St Buryan and Sancreed.
Although Penzance is not mentioned in the survey document the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, it is likely that the area would have been included. Domesday records that in 1066 the Manor of Alwarton was owned by Alward who was dispossessed by
Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hast ...
, a half-brother of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
. The name Alward and ''tun'', a personal name combined with a town or settlement suffix, indicate Saxon land ownership. In Cornwall the ''tun'' indicates a manorial centre such as
Helston
Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map ...
or Connerton. The change of ownership in 1066 was a change from one alien landlord to another, and the name Alverton lives on as the western part of Penzance from
St John's Hall, to the housing estate on the west side of the River Laregan.
High and Late Middle Ages
![St Raffidy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/St_Raffidy.jpg)
The first mention of the name Pensans is in the
Assize
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
Roll of 1284, and the first mention of the actual church that gave Penzance its name is in a manuscript written by William Borlase in 1750:
″The ancient chapel belonging to the town of Penzance may be seen in a fish cellar, near the key; it is small and as I remember had the image of the Virgin Mary in it.″ The chapel was built of
greenstone and about 30 ft in length and 15 ft in breadth of which only a fragment remained ''in situ''. In around 1800 the chapel was converted to a fish cellar. A carving in "Ludgvan granite" thought to be of
St Anthony was removed in about 1830 and was used in the wall of a pig sty, which was further vandalised in 1850 when "a stranger ... taking fancy to the stony countenance and rough hands, they were broken off and carried away as relics ...". The remains of the vandalised relic were taken to St Mary's Churchyard by a mason who told Mr Millett that he "popped St Raffidy into a wheelbarrow and trundle him off to the chapel yard." The carving remains in St Mary's Churchyard and has been dated by Prof
Charles Thomas as early 12th century. There are no early documents mentioning the dedication to St Anthony; this seems to depend entirely on tradition and may be groundless. A licence for Divine Service in the Chapel of
St Gabriel and
St Raphael was granted in 1429, but nothing more is known of this chapel except, possibly, for the mason who mentioned ″St Raffidy″ in 1850. Adjoining the chapel is St Anthony's Gardens, named in 1933 and containing an archway said to have been taken from the chapel site.
Dominating the skyline above the harbour is the present church of St Mary's. A St Mary's Chapel is mentioned in a 1548 document which states that it was founded by Sir Henry Tyes, Knight, Lord of the Manor of Alverton, who gave a £4
stipend
A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...
for a priest. There is an earlier document from 1379, when Bishop Brantyngham licensed for services "the chapel of Blessed Mary of Pensande". At this date it was probably used as a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
, and not used for Sunday services, which would have affected the attendance at the Parish Church in Madron.
Further evidence of historical settlement from this period is in the St Clare area of the town, where a chapel existed to St Clare or Cleer. The earliest reference is a lease of 1584: "...a certain chapel situate below the high road between Pensaunce and Madderne." In the early part of the 19th century the foundations of a building, said to be the chapel, was discovered, and enough was exposed to show the shape of the building. An episcopal licence cannot be traced for this chapel.
The name, St Clare, lives on in the town as "St Clare Street", which is part of the road from Penzance to Madron, and the St Clare cricket ground at the top of the hill.
;Medieval economy
Markets were held on a fixed day each week, and fairs on fixed date(s) each year. To obtain either, a manorial lord had to apply for a
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
. The right to hold a market each Wednesday was granted by
King Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
to Alice de Lisle, sister of Lord Tyes and widow of Warin de Lisle, on 25 April 1332; a fair, lasting seven days at the Feast of St Peter ''ad Vincula'' on 1 August; and another fair of seven days on 24 August at Mousehole for the feast of St Bartholomew – later to be held in Penzance. The settlement was growing in importance as the weekly Wednesday market was confirmed by
King Henry IV and three further fairs, each of two days, were granted on 8 April 1404. These were at the Feast of the Conception of Virgin Mary (8 December), St Peter ''in Cathedra'' (22 February) and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (8 September).
It is not known when a quay was built at Penzance as there is no grant or licence, but an Inquest as to the Manor of Alverton in 1322 records eight fishing boats each paying 2 shillings each, and an unspecified number at Mousehole each paying 12 shillings. There was also a payment of 8 shillings for the rent of ''logii'' (huts or sheds) of foreign fishermen, i.e. those outside the manor. At a second Inquest in 1327 the number had risen to 13 at Penzance; with 16 recorded at Mousehole and both now paying only 1 shilling each: the total rent for ''logii'' was 8s 6d (42p) with 17 tenants paying 6d (2p) each. Both Inquests record 29
burgesses at Penzance and 40 at Mousehole. A burgess paid his rent with money rather than with personal services, and this indicates that Penzance and Mousehole were considered to be towns. A comparison of the settlements in West Cornwall can be made with the annual payments, based on the number of fishing boats, made to the
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
in 1337: Porthia (St Ives) £6; Mosehole (Mousehole) £5; Marcasion (Marazion) £3; Pensanns (Penzance) 12s (60p); Londeseynde (Land's End), (Sennen Cove) 10s (50p); Nywelyn (Newlyn) 10s; and Portmynster (Porthminster, St Ives) 2s (10p).
In 1425, 1432 and 1440 ships in Penzance were licensed to carry pilgrims to the shrine of
St James of Compostella, in north-west
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
.
In medieval times and later, Penzance was subject to frequent raiding by "Turkish pirates", in fact
Barbary Corsairs
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe a ...
. Throughout the period before Penzance gained borough status in 1614 the village and surrounding areas continued to be within the control of the Manor of Alverton and was subject to the taxation regime of that manor.
Early modern period
Tudor period
In the summer of 1578 Penzance was visited by the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
. The burial registers of Madron (where all Penzance births, deaths and marriages were recorded) shows a massive increase in deaths for 1578, from 12 the previous year to 155. This is estimated to be about 10% of the population of the village at the time. The plague also returned in 1647 and the registers again show an increase of from 22 burials to 217 in one year.
Being at the far west of Cornwall, Penzance and the surrounding villages have been sacked many times by foreign fleets. On 23 July 1595, several years after the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...
of 1588, a Spanish force of four galleys transporting 400 arquebusiers under
Don Carlos de Amesquita
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewhere ...
, which had been patrolling the Channel, landed troops in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
. The local militias, which formed the cornerstone of their anti-invasion measures and numbered several hundred men, threw down their arms and fled in panic. Only Francis Godolphin, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and commander of the militias along with 12 of his soldiers stood to offer some kind of resistance. Amesquita's force seized supplies,
raided and burned Penzance and surrounding villages, held a mass, and sailed away to successfully engage and put to flee a Dutch squadron of 46 ships .
Penzance as a town since 1614
The reason for Penzance's relative success probably stems from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries when King Henry IV granted the town a royal market in 1404.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
in 1512 granted the right to charge harbour dues,
and
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
granted the town the status of a Borough in 1614. The Charter defined the bounds of the town by an artificial line formed by a half-mile circle, measured from the market cross in the Greenmarket. The granting of Borough status made the town independent of the County Courts, a right held until County Councils came into being in 1888. Other privileges included owning land and property; imposing fines for breaking
bylaws
A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
; holding a civil court with jurisdiction over cases not exceeding £50; and providing a prison. The Charter also confirmed the harbour rights given earlier in 1512 and granted two weekly markets to be held on Tuesdays and Thursday; which replaced a single market previously held on Wednesdays. Seven fairs were granted (or confirmed):
*
Corpus Christi, the Sunday after
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...
– still held
* The Thursday before St Andrew's Day (30 November)
* St Peter's Day (1 August); first granted in 1332
* St Bartholomew's Day (24 August); originally granted to
Mousehole
Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ...
but now obsolete probably due to the
Spanish Raid of 1595
* St Mary the Virgin's Day (8 September); granted in 1404
* The Conception of St Mary the Virgin's Day (8 September); granted in 1404
*
St Peter's Day in Cathedra (22 February); granted in 1404
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
was paid a perpetual rent of five marks (£3 6s 8d / £3.33) in acknowledgment of the rights granted by the Charter, which was paid until 1832, but there was no grant of Parliamentary representation.
The old arms of Penzance were the head of St John the Baptist on a charger, with the legend "Pensans anno Domini 1614". The arms of the borough are Arg. a Paschal lamb proper in base a Maltese cross Az. on a chief embattled of the last between two keys in saltire wards upwards Or and a saltire couped Arg. a plate charged with a dagger point downwards Gu.
Within a year the new Borough bought a "substantial degree of freedom" from the
Manor of Alverton
The Manor of Alverton was a former manorial estate located in the hundred of Penwith, west Cornwall, England, UK.
History
The first historical details of the manor were recorded in the Domesday book which stated that before the Norman conquest ...
then known as Alverton and Penzance for £34 plus a perpetual annuity of £1 which was last paid in 1936.
A market-house and Guildhall was built, and together with the rights bought in 1615, provided almost all the borough income for more than two centuries.
The southern arm of the pier was built in 1766 and extended in 1785,
to add to the
first pier of which was built prior to 1512.
During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
Penzance was sacked by the Parliamentarian forces of
Sir Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented comman ...
apparently for the kindness shown to
Lord Goring and
Lord Hopton's troops during the conflict.
Further Civic improvements included the construction in 1759 of a reservoir which supplied water to public pumps in the streets.
In 1768 a friendly society of Tradesmen was formed at Penzance with 101 members living within three miles of the town. The members met on the first Monday in each month at the King's Head, kept by Richard Runnals. The benefits of the Society were: a member being sick, lame or infirm would receive seven shillings a week.
Madron_
Madron_(_kw,_Eglos_Madern)_is_a__civil_parish_and_village_in_west__Cornwall,_Great_Britain._Madron_is_named_after_Saint_Madern's_Church._Its_annual_Trafalgar_Service_commemorating_the_death_of__Vice_Admiral_Horatio_Nelson_was_started_on_27_Oc_...
._Madron_Church_was_in_fact_the_centre_of_most_religious_activity_in_the_town_until_1871,_when_St_Mary's_Church_(until_this_period_a_