The Battle Abbey Roll. Vol. II.
by
The Duchess of Cleveland.

Prepared by Michael A. Linton
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Hamelin : Three of this name are entered as under-tenants in Domesday: Hamelin homo Hugonis filii Baldrici in Lincolnshire; Hamelin holding of Roger de Montgomery in Sussex, and also mentioned in Devonshire, and Hamelin of Cornwall. "Whether Hamelin of Devonshire and Hamelin of Cornwall were the same person, does not appear. In the latter county Hamelin held twenty-two manors under the Earl of Mortaine. He is supposed to have been the ancestor of the Trelawny family, and to have resided at Treloen, one of the manors described in the Survey as his property."—Sir Henry Ellis. According to Lysons (Cornwall) this Hamelin was of unknown origin. His descendants bore the name of their residence. The pedigree begins with Richard; from whom John (living 9 Ed. I.) was fourth in descent, and the father of William, who served as one of the burgesses for Launceston in the parliament held at Westminster 19 Ed. II. He was the first of the long list of Trelawnys who succeeded each other as burgesses, High Sheriffs, and knights of the shire; and "he, Sir Reginald de Botreaux and Sir John Arundell, were Commissioners to return the names of such as held £100 yearly in the county of Cornwall." Sir John Trelawny was the companion at arms of Henry V., and shared in all the glories of his wars in France, where he "so eminently signalized himself that the King granted him twenty Pounds yearly for Life." The King honoured him with a higher reward; for, as if in illustration of the words that Shakespeare puts into his mouth before the battle of Agincourt:—

"...He this day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother..."

a memorial of his friendship for his gallant knight long remained at Launceston. There, over the great gate of the town, formerly stood the effigy of Henry V., with this rhyme written underneath:—

"Hee that will do oughte for mee,
Let hym love well Sir John Tirlawnee."

Henry VI. continued the pension, and granted him an augmentation to his arms, "the Coat of the three oaken or Laurel leaves, the Symbol of Conquest," ever since borne by the family. The direct line ended with his eldest son, and the manor of Trelawny (the original Treloen held by Hamelin at the time of the Survey) passed away through an heiress; but there remained a younger son, also named John, who held of the Courtenays. There is still extant a curious agreement between him and Thomas Earl of Devonshire, made in 1455, by which the Earl, "in consideration of an Annuity of ten Marks, yearly, covenants to be a firm and sure Lord to him in all Things that appertain to his Lands, as far as the Law shall permit." In the next generation another John Trelawny married Florence, fourth daughter of Sir Hugh Courtenay of Boconnoc, and sister to Edward, Earl of Devonshire, who, upon the extinction of the line with the last unfortunate Marquess of Exeter in 1556, became with her sisters, the co-heirs of the family. Thus a great part of the inheritance of the Courtenays was acquired by the Trelawnys; and we find the widowed Countess of Devonshire (Lady Katherine Plantagenet, the youngest daughter of Edward IV.) granting to Walter Trelawny the Constableship and Bailiwick of the Honour and hundred of Plympton for life 1 Hen. VIII., and two years later, the Bailiwick of Exitond and the West Gate of the City of Exeter to his younger brother Alneth. In 1600, "Sir Jonathan Trelawny, a knight well spoken, staid in his cariage, and of thrifty providence" purchased of Queen Elizabeth another manor of his name (there are two Trelawnys in Cornwall, one in the parish of Alternon, the other in Pelynt): and thus became once more Trelawny of Trelawny, as his forefathers had been during four hundred years, and his descendants have continued to be for nearly three hundred more. It was this Sir Jonathan, who, while serving in parliament as knight of the shire for Cornwall in 1604, died so suddenly that he was said "to be found sick and dead within a quarter of an hour," and was followed to his grave by the whole House of Commons. His son, Sir John, received a baronetcy from Charles I. in 1629. Sir Jonathan, the third baronet, Bishop of Bristol in 1685, was one of the seven prelates who signed the memorable petition to James II., pleading for the rights of the Church, that led to their subsequent trial for libel. The Bishops were admitted to the Royal Closet, and themselves presented it to the King. "James read the petition," says Macaulay; "he folded it up; and his countenance grew dark. 'This,' he said, 'is a great surprise to me. I did not expect this from your Church, especially from some of you. This is a standard of rebellion.' The Bishops broke out into passionate protestations of loyalty; but the King, as usual, repeated the same words over and over. 'I tell you, this is a standard of rebellion.' 'Rebellion!' cried Trelawny, falling on his knees. 'For God's sake, Sir, do not say so hard a thing of us. No Trelawny can be a rebel. Remember how my family has fought for the Crown. Remember how I served your Majesty when Monmouth was in the West.'" Nevertheless, the King dismissed them from his presence, in great wrath, as "trumpeters of sedition;" and within three weeks they were summoned before the Council, and committed to the Tower. The storm of indignation called forth by this arbitrary act spread like wildfire through the kingdom, and nowhere raged more violently than in the "farthest corner of the island," the remote county of Cornwall. The stout Cornish miners, "a fierce, bold, and athletic race, among whom there was a stronger provincial feeling than in any other part of the realm, were greatly moved at the danger of Trelawny," and ready to march up to London to his rescue. The old name had been held in honour among them from generation to generation, and the burden of the rousing song which then rung, like a challenge, from one end to the other of the county, still keeps its place as a popular favourite:—

"Trelawny is in keep and hold,
Trelawny he may die—
But thirty thousand Cornishmen
Will know the reason why!"

The present Trelawny of Trelawny is the ninth baronet of the name: but he does not derive from the Bishop, whose male descendants all died out in the second generation.

The seventh baronet, Sir Harry, so far departed from the family traditions as to become a Roman Catholic. He lost his father when he was a boy at school; and even at that age showed a disposition to preach, which developed itself as time went on. His first discourses were delivered at Westminster (we are not informed how his school fellows received them): and when he went from thence to Oxford, he was unable, as a professed Nonconformist, to take his degree. He began life by taking orders in the Church of Scotland, and preached at various meeting houses in his own neighbourhood—one of them built by himself at West Looe; then entered the Church of England, and obtained a Cornish living which he resigned on joining the Church of Rome. This was his last conversion; he changed no more, but died at Rome, in 1834, a Bishop in Partibus Infidelium. Soon after, several priests arrived from the Continent, bearing with them an empty coffin, and masses were said and requiems sung for the peace of his soul at Trelawny.