Nucleated Settlements of Sennen
The parish of Sennen is like others in Penwith made up of several nucleated settlements. If you study the Explorer edition of the Ordnance Survey map for the area you will see these settlements as a group of buildings surrounded by fields. Some such as Trevescan, Mayon and Treeve now have roads running through them but others such as Trevilley and Escalls still retain the look and feel of the isolated settlement of a hundred and fifty years ago.
A study of the 1841 Census tells us that each of these settlements was made up as follows:
- Treeve: 14 dwellings, - Trevescan: 18 dwellings - Escalls: 25 dwellings - Mayon 5 dwellings - Trevilley 4 dwellingsTo this list could be added the settlement within Sennen Cove with its total of 28 dwellings, which includes housing that has been created for the lighthouse keepers and the coastguard. However, before the 1800s, very little housing would have been situated in the cove itself because of the fear of attack from pirates and the press-gang so the above list is probably the places where the population settled at quite an early date.
As a result of the destruction of the Sennen church records during the civil war by Captain Ceely of the Parliamentary Army Just who lived in these settlements is hardly known. One record did survive, a Muster Roll from the 14th century. This was compiled in 1569 when Queen Elizabeth gave orders that a muster of all males over the age of sixteen and under sixty in each Parish should take place with their names and weapons being recorded. Names on this list can still be found in Sennen today and I have found it interesting to make a note of just when names first appeared in the Parish records.
I decided to look in greater detail at Escalls which lies close to the northern parish border with St Just.
Copy of the Tithe map 1838.
Today Escalls is very much a holiday centre with most of the dwellings being either holiday homes or let during the summer to visitors. When you visit Escalls for a holiday, it is hard to realise that at the time of the English Civil war in the sixteen hundreds Sennen was home to some families who were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers as well as others who opposed them. The Quakers kept very good records, which included not only the names of their members but also those who persecuted them. Names mentioned in the records which later turn up in Escalls The Quaker families were led by John Ellis who lived just over the border in St Just Parish. He was a wealthy farmer and landowner and made the land available for the Quaker burial ground on the St Just turn. There was also a meeting house the site of which is not known, however, talking to residents I believe that it may well have been situated in Escalls. One family that was active within the Society of Friends were the Vingoe family, listed on the Muster Roll as Vyngow. The descendants of the family hold evidence that Digory Vingoe, a prominent Quaker bought land at Escalls in 1655 from Sir John Arundel; this was added to his other holdings in Sennen Parish.
The Parish Records began at the beginning of the 1700s and do not show where the people lived in the parish so we have to wait until the census of 1841 to see who lived where in the settlement. We do however have the Tithe Survey and map of 1838, and by using this we can draw up a list of who owned and leased property in Escalls.
The number on Map. |
Owner |
Occupier |
50 |
Thomas Trudgeon |
Self |
51 |
John Vingoe |
Self |
52 |
John Vingoe |
StephenVingoe |
53 |
John Jenkin |
Self |
54 |
Thomas Trudgeon |
|
55 |
Nicholas Tremewan |
|
56 |
John Vingoe |
|
57 |
William Vingoe |
Self |
58 |
William Nicholas |
|
59 |
John Vingoe |
|
63 |
John Saundry |
|
67 | Dionysus Williams | James Richards |
79 |
Johnathan Humphreys |
|
Over the next 60 years thanks to the census we have good records and if you visit Escalls today you may find it hard to believe that in the past it was once home to over a hundred people.
The table below gives a breakdown of the population and names in occupation at Escalls between 1841 - 1911. For greater detail visit the census records on this web site.
KEY: cen = Census, bap Baptism, mar = Marriage, mus =Muster Roll, qua = Quaker records 5 (1) 5 = number of people (1 ) = number of households.Name | 1st Date |
Tithe 1838 |
1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 |
Axford |
1871 Cen | |||||||||
Badcock |
1782 Mar. | 5 [1] | 5[1] | 1[1] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | ||||
Barnes |
1831 | 1 [1] | 6 [1] | 8 [1] | ||||||
Ball |
1800 | 4 [1] | ||||||||
Boase |
1745 | 3 [2] | ||||||||
Bone |
1744 | 4 [1] | 3 [1] | 5 [1] | 7 [1] | |||||
Bond |
1820 Bur | 4 [1] | 2 (1) | |||||||
Botheras |
1823 | 3 [1] | 2 [1] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | |||
Bottrell |
1707 Mar | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Bruce |
4 (1) | |||||||||
Chapel |
1761 | 3 [1] | ||||||||
Chappell |
1817 Bur | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | |||||||
Chellew |
1861 | 8 [1] | 7 [1] | 6 [1] | 6 [2] | 5 [2] | 4 (1) | |||
Clemmens |
1821 | |||||||||
Daniel |
1708 Mar | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Davy |
1509 Mus | 7 [1] | ||||||||
Ellis |
1669 Qua | 4 [2] | 2 [2] | 3 [1] | 2 [1 ] | 2 [1] | 5 [2] | 4 [1] | 2 (1) | |
Farquharson | 2 (1) | |||||||||
George |
1708 | 2 [1] | 6 [1] | 1 [1] | 4 (2) | |||||
Guy |
1761 | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Hall |
1792 | 4 [1] | 8 [2] | |||||||
Harris |
1708 | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | |||||||
Harry |
1821 Bur | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Hicks |
1701 Mar | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | |||||||
Hoskin |
1569 Mus | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Humphrys |
1723 | 4 [2] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | ||||||
Humphrey |
1736 | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Humphreys |
1736 | 7 [2] | 1 [1] | |||||||
Jenkin |
1708 Mar | 2 [1] | ||||||||
Lug |
1881 Cen |
3 [1] | 6 [1] | 7 [1] | 6 (1) | |||||
Madern |
1730 Mar | 7 [1] | ||||||||
Marks |
1901 Cen | |||||||||
Mitchel |
1745 Mar | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Mitchell |
1704 Mar | 3 [1] | ||||||||
Murley |
1785 Mar | 2 [1] | ||||||||
Nicholas |
1569 Mus | (3) | 17 [ 5] | 38 [8] | 20 [6] | 9 [4] | 3 [2] | 5 [4] | 3 [2] | 3 (1) |
Oats |
1765 Mar | 6 [2] | 17 [2] | 2 (1) | ||||||
Osborne | 7 (1) | |||||||||
Pascoe |
1717 | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Penrose |
1569 Mus | 3 [1] | 7 (1) | |||||||
Prowse |
1891 Cen | 1 [1] | ||||||||
Roberts |
1569 Mus | 3 [1] | 1 [1] | 4 [1] | ||||||
Taskes |
1811 Mar | 2 [1] | ||||||||
Taskis |
1881 Cen | |||||||||
Thomas |
1569 Mus | 9 [3] | 6 [3] | 11 [3] | ||||||
Tonkin |
1569 Mus | 7 [2] | 7 [1] | 6 [1] | ||||||
Treneary |
1871 Cen | 4 [1] | ||||||||
Trewern |
1833 | 6 [1] | 8 [1] | |||||||
Trudgen |
1739 | 3 [1] | 3 [1] | 1[1] | 1 [1] | 1 [1] | ||||
Vingoe |
1569 Mus | 13 [3] | 8 [2] | 5 [1] | 6 [2] | 2 [1] | 2 [1] | 2[1] | 1 (1) | |
White |
1778 Mar | 8 [2] | 7 [3] | 5 [1] | 2 [2] | 2 [2] | ||||
Total Population | 107 | 108 | 98 | 68 | 51 | 46 | 41 | 48 | ||
Occupies Houses | 22 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | ||
Unoccupied Houses | 3 | 2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
WEBMASTER