These three parishes occur in this order (from West to East) and all are immediately to the south of the much larger parish of North Petherwin [in which parish is located Pattacott where the Trease family lived during the 1500's, 1600's and 1700's ]. At the time of the 1801 census the population of the three parishes were:-
as compared to 597 in St Gennys Parish and 673 in North Petherwin Parish. Tremaine has always been a perpetual curacy united with Egloskerry and today Tresmeer, as well as Tremaine, are in the Egloskerry benefice which also now includes North Petherwin. The baptism, marriage and burial information for Egloskerry, Tremaine and Tresmeer go back to about 1600.
There is some uncertainty about the meaning of the name Tremaine but ‘farm by a (standing) stone’ seems a strong possibility, particularly
as the church stands in isolation on a localised ‘high point’ in the parish. The church, dedicated to St Winwallo, is thought to date from
the 12th Century and it still retains its early form of just a nave and a chancel, the only more modern addition being the West Tower.
Generally the parish consists of small farmsteads and small-holdings, the main centre of population being the hamlet of Tremaine
approximately 400 yards south-east of the church.
The only one of the Trease family known to have lived in Tremaine Parish is
Thomas Trease (Generation 19) who is recorded as living at
‘The Grove’ with his wife Mary nee Prout and niece Caroline at the time of the 1851 Census, The earliest known references to the ‘parallel’
Treise family are at Castle Milford in Tremaine parish during the early 1600s.
The principal settlement in the parish of Egloskerry is at ‘Churchtown’ and is now just known just as Egloskerry although earlier, for
example in the 1861 Census returns, it was referred to as Egloskerry Village. It lies on the old main road from Launceston to Camelford.
The church is dedicated to St. Keri and the parish/village name translates as ‘Church of Keri’.
The principal settlements in the parish are at ‘Churchtown’ and the nearby Three Hammers plus at Splatt around the now-closed railway
station. The church is dedicated to St Nicholas and, like that at Tremaine, consists of just a nave and a chancel with the addition of a
later West Tower. Although of Norman origin it was almost wholly rebuilt in 1880.
After his retirement during 1820,
William Trease
, Excise Officer (Generation 18) with his wife Martha lived in the parish in a farmhouse at North Tregeare (see below)
until their deaths during 1856 and 1855 respectively. Their last child Daniel was born and baptised there. William and Martha are buried in
Tresmeer churchyard as are their daughter Martha and her husband George Frayn, their daughter Frances and her husband William Turner plus
their three daughters Martha, Jane and Fanny.
|
The farmhouse to which William retired with his family when in his late forties, and receiving an excellent pension from the Excise Service. Water was drawn from a well inside the house. |
View out from hall, showing stone floor. |
The name Tregeare is the Cornish for 'Farm by the fort'. The fort is generally taken to be an earthwork on Tregeare Down [x249867].
Records of the place-name as a surname are recorded as early as 1284.
This Tregeare is an estate and adjacent hamlet approximately ¾ mile
south-east of Tresmeer Churchtown whereas North Tregeare is a similar distance to the north-west. Both Tregeare and North Tregeare are
situated at about 555 feet above sea level (a.s.l.) but whereas North Tregeare is situated in typical North Cornwall tree-less countryside,
Tregeare itself appears to have several wooded areas in the vicinity in a more park-like setting. To the immediate east of Tregeare rises
Tregeare Beacon, about 715 feet a.s.l., and nearby ancient earthwork. To the immediate south of North Tregeare the ground rises similarly
to approximately 690 feet a.s.l. near the hamlet of Three Hammers.
From the form of the names and the location of the present Tregeare adjacent to the fort from which its name is derived, Tregeare is
thought to be the original settlement and North Tregeare the later, subsidiary, settlement. This contradicts the impression given on the
Ordnance Survey that North Tregeare is the more ancient settlement.
The present farmhouse at North Tregeare, a Grade II listed building, would appear to be in existence, essentially in its present form,
during the early 1600's and the earliest parts of it are possibly considerably older, the Ordnance Survey map stating North Tregeare and
remains of Manor House. Probably when it was built in its present form was the time when the house was at its most important as there are
in the Cornwall Record Office the following wills and inventories of the family living there in the early 1600's:-
Some idea of the relative wealth of the Sargents of North Tregeare is that the average yeoman during 1625 left between one and two hundred pounds in personal estate; many left only £50 to £100. Also a little later, but also still during the first half of the 1600's, the estate of Michael Trease of nearby Pattacott in North Petherwin parish was valued at £86 8s. 0d. during 1646. From this the Sargents would appear to have been amongst the wealthiest yeomen in the area and likewise North Tregeare would then have been one of the most important farms in the area.