Tamar.
36 N A T U R A L H I S T^O R Y
dipoflt" : 6F;, this. W ^ r ,‘ffiigHfr give the
affertiorij!: '
PetriFying Wat^s:j'firch, I mean, a&wilkfhCrufr bbdii^ffrat into
them wkfr ftbfiC, I have noi?;ffet hpM;}o f ah^ iff-Go^n^h, except
the Water at Holy Well,. ifi Chthbert, (|tgv 3!2r)
shaip fee caffid fd. Our River, Lake, or "Sea Water,- have riBf'ariy
tafte, colour, or property, more than common, but mtjft however
be here treated of as to their rife, dbuffes;eXterit; antf'iffiib,- harbours,
and tides; their prefeht ufefulnefs, and their capacity o f
being render’d ftili more ufeftrl.
C II A P. IV.
O f the Rivers and navigable Creeks, in Cornwall.
IN the middle óf this County, betwixt the North arid South Sëa£
the land js mountaiiiou%; ( as Has bëen óNervëd ehi^VM
and the mountains make a kind of broken chain the Wnófè length
of Cornwall; the links of this chain are ffiueh more- large and
maffive, i f I may fo fay, in the Eaft where thb land iswideft, but
they contract and narrow themfelves as they tfend to the Wefttvatd;
conforming their fize, as well as fhaping their courfe according to
the land. On each fide this high ridge the land fpfétós ilitb a
plainer furface, rather more hilly on the WMsreml than ön: Öib Sbüthj
but on both fides declining to the lea. This gëneral difpofttion o f
the land is far from being difadvantagéóus; for thé ridgfe of hills
running nearly Eaft and Weft, by intercepting thëfidh;Tögs;
diftributes them again in plentiful and frequëht fireams, Oii either
fide watering the Sea Coaft, the Northern Coaft well, but thé SSuthèfri
much better ; an effe£t entirely owing to the fkins being 0§érè Sequent
on the Southern fide of our1 Bills, ffiah^thdfë whiëh fcd&re
from the North. Upon the whole, ifihay Mèly Bb affetëd,' tbdt
few fpots of land of equal extent in England are fo well IVsTtered as
Cornwall.
Tamar * b the Eaftemmoft RiVer in Cornwall; it rifes in Mör-
winftow, the moft Northern parifh of this County, about^ three
miles^frqm the Sea Coaft: in June 17^7 fo incbhfidefable at its
fource, that it was with fome difficulty we' found where it fifes,
* “ A great number o f our larger Rivers begin
with the word Tav and Tiy, or, as anticntly
written, Tam or Tim. Hence Thame or Thames,
Tav, Taiiy, Stc. This Tam is in all probability
the fame with the Greek Tamos in TUk/tof, sro in
Greek being an old prepoikive.” Lhuyd in Baxter’s
Gloflar. page 265. “ Mar, Mur, and Mor,
fignified anticntly Water as well as Sea,” , ibid,
page 266. Tamar, therefore fignifies the large
River-water, ■ and.Ihould be written Tamar, quait
Tau-raarwhich
O F ’ Ct O R N. W A L L . 37
which was. on the fummit of a.'moor, fromwhence the ground*
Reclining tokthe ,North, makeWay for part o f the water to run
.northerly, which is thehead of the RiverTurridgei; navigable a little above
I f towp pfjBideford, End thedgmund ffielving away bn the Other
-W e at the. fame rime tojtheSout^ drains away the bogs’*of the W
B p I M the]-Southward fom théïfame, fountain, and forms the be-
gmnmggbf Tamar, which, at thofdiftance.of ten miles, becomes
ixonfiderable enough .to give name to the fmall parifh and village o f
N«ot,th Tamartonh, > where leaving5a|bllg|fof ftone, it continues
: ^)n to the South'tilHri,enters the parifh o f Srt’Stephéifs l; at the comer
of which parifhtit reefeives a very/ plentiful ftream, called Werington
*River. About, a mile and half ..farmer down ifreceives the Aterey-f
River (wlioh runs undeiffie walls o f Lariceftm)r and Becomes foon
Mter, at Polftun bridge^ a confiderabfr,Swide,> ind rapid ftream.
Hence it .coaffr pn nearly. South^riceiving the brooks fromdeach
fide, rill i t .haslpaflêd^Graiftun“ bridge ly.a.mile-belowwhich, it ré?
fhe. Lowley River, and foon -after!, a more, plentiful ftream
, from Altamun„,Lewanic, and Lezant parifhes;, called" the'' Intiy! and
the place where.it joins the Tamar, called Inny-foot f t p h e Tamar
.^increafing ftili, has,, a high, ftrong, ftone bridge, ift.Stokelymfland,
called commonly Horfe Bridge, but By Leknd ^HaWtebrig ; that
is, High Bridge. ' The laft Bridge on .this River iVih the: parifh o f
feCalftok, begun, fays Leland’, BySfr’ Perfe Edgcumtó1'. W f e tide
.^lmoft reached this Jbridgedn the time^ïHenry V .III .. but it Was
navigable no further than Morleham; about tw o : miles below, to ‘
^ i g h fmall.barksftili come. fcFive miles farther down; the Tamar
(5^clxesvi the Tavy on the Eaft; and; having made a Créèk ihto the
^prifhes of .Botsfleming and Landulph on the Weft^ Becomes a, fpa!- ■
^gious harbour, and wafhing the rfoot Bfhthe antiedt. borough of
Saltafh within half a. male, is joined thy the Lynher,Creek and
River, then palling ftraight forward , forms ;the noble harbour of
.Hamoze ', called formerly Tamerworth a’.; where making.'two large
.Creeks, one called;,St. John’s, the other Millbrook, at .the Weft, and
(Stonehoufe Creek' at the.Eaffr,y|after :a couffe of abou^fortyf^iiles,
nearlyl South) thé Tamar paffes into the Sea,:.having Mount
Edgcumbe for its weftern, and .the' lands of iS|oneh(fofe and -Srii Nfe
The Tamara. of Ptolemy, as. is iiippofed, from the water,1 infummerk .,
damden s laft editiènihpagè ^ : B B The fame River gives name alfo to^Wftod
‘v,, .uTih the Manor of Lawhitton, called Inny-ham
_ , . A Broke renning in the ■ ■ BSjxtf® in ,më‘ Wood.-
Subuffij caiillid ‘ Atèrey.” Leland, Itiri. voK ni/ ’ r Vol.lt. page 78.
B I lW S « Md-
T , , *“rse ®ncI fair building qf ffione, built,- , as J It is fomtómes' called NeW)ridse, fomedmes
J-eJand lays, ib. by the Abby of Tavyftoek. . CbiiHfcke Bridge. See Leland, vd. III. page 20.
| | p f c lM « ^ ; i K Tor.Grevftone, • LeTand, m., / t . . ;
A light, handfome work of ftone, Confifting of Saxon name HTam-oze 1 that i i Ae wet oozy
m8& a.r.chf3 > ™e tread of it 318 feet long, twdve 1 habitation^’WSiiit,' or indofuxe.
wide between tKè wdls, pnd tSvdiaty-feven high' ’ “ Camdèn, page 26? 1
L cholas